Was this filmed from a drone? I couldn't find any info.
The only thing I could find describes it as a "chase plane". I know one time they used Musk's private jet but I think that was an emergency replacement.
Space X CR6 First stage landing
151–160 of 205 posts
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#152Was this filmed from a drone? I couldn't find any info.
SpaceX has a chase plane that films the landings from afar;
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/588142879245238273
I can't seem to find what type of plane it is though.
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Judging from the ensuing explosion there was still fuel left over.
Making it a little puzzling ask to why the engines didn't try harder to lower the vertical velocity on approach. Perhaps there are improvements to be made in the control systems.
When near fuel exhaustion, the Merlin engine has a thrust to weight ratio above 1. Its firing is timed in order to land at a distance above the landing surface that will allow for a reusable vehicle (close enough to not snap off the landing legs). It carries only enough fuel to do this while also using that same fuel for hydraulically actuating grid fins for aerodynamic control while in a controlled fall to the ground.
Stopping a first stage rocket traveling back to an ocean going barge from supersonic speeds with substantial lateral velocity is hard, no matter what engine is performing its suicide burn while coordinating with RCS thrusters for attitude keeping.
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are planning for when things go wrong, which is why the landing ship is unmanned and in the middle of a big exclusion zone in the ocean.
I'm talking about the economics of failures. Insurance prices will go down, the cost to orbit will be cheaper. Could probably land at the Cape, decreasing turn around time. We'll have flights everyday!
The explosion isn't going to cause significant damage to the landing ship or the landing pad. There isn't much fuel left onboard at that point anyway, so it's fairly superficial. The rocket is scrap if it falls over regardless of whether or not it explodes, and the explosion won't hurt much, so there's not much reason to put effort into reducing the risk of an explosion in a crash. The plan is to eventually land at the Cape once the technique is proven, but there's no need to make a rocket that can tip over without blowing up to achieve that.
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#155Is there a reason you couldn't have things on the side of the landing pad that "grab" onto it and secure it? It could be as simple as a huge ring of cable that just closes around the top of the rocket, then pulls it tight on all sides- like the guidelines on a tower to keep it stable. Maybe they don't want to do that because they think they can do it without it?
It might also be that the structural changes required to handle a grabbing force would be too extreme. At that point it's basically a thin shell, so a grabber or cable might just slice it.
I like the 'but then it can't land on mars' answer too though.
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#156The best part of their reusable rocket project is how incremental the progress has been. I'm not sure I would have appreciated the difficulty of what they're doing as much without these failures.
Even cooler is how they're pulling off these tests on production flights.
Getting paid to develop product features is the best way to do it!
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even cooler is how they're pulling off these tests on production flights.
Getting paid to develop product features is the best way to do it!
A ton of lessons here.
If you deliver your primary objectives well and keep improving at everything else in the process, your customers will keep on loving you for it.
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Making it a little puzzling ask to why the engines didn't try harder to lower the vertical velocity on approach. Perhaps there are improvements to be made in the control systems.
When near fuel exhaustion, the Merlin engine has a thrust to weight ratio above 1. Its firing is timed in order to land at a distance above the landing surface that will allow for a reusable vehicle (close enough to not snap off the landing legs). It carries only enough fuel to do this while also using that same fuel for hydraulically actuating grid fins for aerodynamic control while in a controlled fall to the groun…
> When near fuel exhaustion, the Merlin engine has a thrust to weight ratio above 1.
Wouldn't it have a thrust to weight ratio well above 1 all the time?
The ratio will be highest just as it's about to run out of fuel. About 160 to 1?
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm talking about the economics of failures. Insurance prices will go down, the cost to orbit will be cheaper. Could probably land at the Cape, decreasing turn around time. We'll have flights everyday!
The explosion isn't going to cause significant damage to the landing ship or the landing pad. There isn't much fuel left onboard at that point anyway, so it's fairly superficial. The rocket is scrap if it falls over regardless of whether or not it explodes, and the explosion won't hurt much, so there's not much reason to put effort into reducing the risk of an explosion in a crash. The plan is to eventually land at t…
Ok, just thought the rocket could be salvaged if it didn't get blown to pieces. That's the goal. Reusable rockets are going to lower the cost.
Re: Space X CR6 First stage landing
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
When near fuel exhaustion, the Merlin engine has a thrust to weight ratio above 1. Its firing is timed in order to land at a distance above the landing surface that will allow for a reusable vehicle (close enough to not snap off the landing legs). It carries only enough fuel to do this while also using that same fuel for hydraulically actuating grid fins for aerodynamic control while in a controlled fall to the groun…
> When near fuel exhaustion, the Merlin engine has a thrust to weight ratio above 1. Wouldn't it have a thrust to weight ratio well above 1 all the time? The ratio will be highest just as it's about to run out of fuel. About 160 to 1?
That's a thrust to weight ratio above 1 when only one of its 9 engines are firing, and running at minimum throttle to boot.