Given the excitement, I have to wonder what it would have been like to watch Saturn V takeoff. It still remains the largest most powerful (and most expensive) rocket ever built. Hats off to the previous generation.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
781–790 of 926 posts
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#782Earlier quoted context omitted.
It feels like the human race is starting to master space travel. It's probably just an illusion, but I feel like we're entering a new era.
Space rockets are 1960s technology, so I think we entered that era 50 years ago.
The goal back then was to make things possible. Right now, especially with SpaceX shaking the competition up a bit, the process is making things cheaper, which enables space access for uses that have been cost-prohibitive in the past. However, I guess cubesats and tiny launchers are just as much a part of that development as SpaceX' work on reusability.
And the landing shots are just damn cool.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#783"That core booster approached the platform as planned, but it unfortunately hit the water going 300 MPH and was lost, because some of its return engines failed to light" https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/06/spacex-landed-two-of-its-t...
'Crazy things can come true': Elon Musk discusses Falcon Heavy launch: Full presser
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#784Earlier quoted context omitted.
SpaceX has been keeping their launch prices pretty consistent, even when they couldn't know how many F9 stages they would actually recover. I think they've factored in testing losses into the price.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that advertised prices are still far above what they could achieve after flying for a while and paying down some of their R&D debt (and if/when the market becomes even a little bit competitive).
Almost inevitably. They don't need to hit rock-bottom prices because they're already there compared to the rest of the current market, and they can use the money to pay back their enormous R&D budget, or if Musk is just throwing that money off as a worthwhile loss then to pay for research on BFR and their other future projects.
After all if you can make a hefty profit while still undercutting the competition you're basically winning at capitalism.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#785Earlier quoted context omitted.
That would be $3200k for each, but they are made out of titanium, not platinum, and most of the cost is in the work, not material. I'd like to know the price too though.
Yep - Titanium is notoriously difficult to work with.
So difficult that the SR-71 leaked fuel before starts and had to be re-fueled right after take-off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird#Fuel
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#786Earlier quoted context omitted.
The damage to the ASDS might be more of a problem. Depending on how badly it was damaged, it might not be available to catch other cores that could have landed otherwise
It look cool to have them land on their own, but wouldn't it be much cheaper to use parachutes and drop them in the ocean !? Either way they are going to take them apart down to each bolt and then reassemble again to make sure there are no faults. You don't simply fill it up and relaunch.
> You don't simply fill it up and relaunch.
Yes, you do. Or at least, that's what they want to do. They've already reflown a bunch of their landed rockets, including the two boosters on Falcon Heavy. The ultimate goal is to be able to fill it up and relaunch, and the ultimate motivation for propulsive landing is simple - that's what is needed on Mars (parachutes won't do much there), so they want to master it.
EDIT: I meant that today, with Falcon Heavy Test Flight behind us, the two side boosters qualify as reflown - this was their second mission, not the third.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#787Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's going into a heliocentric orbit, and people will surely be tracking it. If it gets to be a problem in the future, it will have so much historical value that someone will launch a mission to go fetch the Roadster and bring it home to Mars.
I'm wondering if they could make it work after retrieval.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#788Earlier quoted context omitted.
Platinum is USD$32K per KG, so if the platinum grid fins are 100KG, then they would cost > $300K each just for materials. With 4 per booster that might be a million dollar price tag for the grid fins.
The fins are titanium, not platinum. The cost of material is negligible.
Oops, you’re right my mistake
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#789Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most of our space travel challenges are caused by the size restrictions and cost associated with putting spacecraft into space. Currently spaceflight is still very much an aerospace (literally translated as airspace) problem. In a theoretical world where we could just beam anything into earth orbit, unmanned interplanetary spaceflight would likely be an expensive hobby instead of something only governments attempt.
From '02 - '06 Musk dumped 100MM of his own cash into this, with uncertain outcome. Is it fair to say SpaceX was at least partially an expensive hobby, at some point?
If by "hobby" you mean "not making you money", then yes - in the same sense as just about like every startup in existence.
If by "hobby" you mean doing something for fun or personal growth, with only vague - if any - expectations of future usefulness, then no. SpaceX was aimed at getting us to Mars from the day 1; it's their entire raison d'être. Musk bootstrapped it with his own cash because he also set this goal - getting humanity to Mars.
If by "hobby" you mean doing something meaningful instead of just making moar money - then sure.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#790Given the excitement, I have to wonder what it would have been like to watch Saturn V takeoff. It still remains the largest most powerful (and most expensive) rocket ever built. Hats off to the previous generation.
We'll see when ESA or SpaceX decides to launch a Moon mission. HN should still be around then.