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SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

universetoday.com

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Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#11

Post by skorgu »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #6
StylifyYourBlog wrote: post #2

Its likely that full-fledged Space Travel with reusable rockets will be possible in the coming years

The pace of progress seems to have been faster than even SpaceX anticipated. Within the next year we'll see very significant tests of core components of the system and flight profile (for the first stage at least). The very next Falcon 9 flight (out of Vandenberg) will use the performance overhead provided by the v1.1 upgrade to do a controlled reentry of the 1st stage and then after it has reached terminal velocity…

And I haven't been this excited (nay, giddy) since I was about 6 and reading Space Colonies For Kids or whatever.

I'm a bit worried about the bimodality of the future but man the good parts are going to be good.

Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#12

Post by rplnt »

StylifyYourBlog wrote: post #2

Its likely that full-fledged Space Travel with reusable rockets will be possible in the coming years

I believe same thing was done by NASA in the 70s. So not really big step forward in this particular regard.

edit: Can't find it at the moment. So far I've found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X which did what grasshopper and more almost 20 years back. I still believe I've read something earlier though. Will edit when/if I find it.

Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#13

Post by StavrosK »

skorgu wrote: post #11
InclinedPlane wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pace of progress seems to have been faster than even SpaceX anticipated. Within the next year we'll see very significant tests of core components of the system and flight profile (for the first stage at least). The very next Falcon 9 flight (out of Vandenberg) will use the performance overhead provided by the v1.1 upgrade to do a controlled reentry of the 1st stage and then after it has reached terminal velocity…

And I haven't been this excited (nay, giddy) since I was about 6 and reading Space Colonies For Kids or whatever. I'm a bit worried about the bimodality of the future but man the good parts are going to be good .

Hopefully the bad parts will be okay too!

Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#14

Post by marvin »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #6
StylifyYourBlog wrote: post #2

Its likely that full-fledged Space Travel with reusable rockets will be possible in the coming years

The pace of progress seems to have been faster than even SpaceX anticipated. Within the next year we'll see very significant tests of core components of the system and flight profile (for the first stage at least). The very next Falcon 9 flight (out of Vandenberg) will use the performance overhead provided by the v1.1 upgrade to do a controlled reentry of the 1st stage and then after it has reached terminal velocity…

Do you have more information on the "water landing" planned for the next Falcon 9 flight? Why won't the SpaceX team attempt to land it on some sort of floating platform?

Seems to me that this would yield an even better test "for free" and even provide the possibility of recovering the first stage for analysis.

Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#16

Post by MartinMcGirk »

luke_s wrote: post #9
InclinedPlane wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pace of progress seems to have been faster than even SpaceX anticipated. Within the next year we'll see very significant tests of core components of the system and flight profile (for the first stage at least). The very next Falcon 9 flight (out of Vandenberg) will use the performance overhead provided by the v1.1 upgrade to do a controlled reentry of the 1st stage and then after it has reached terminal velocity…

Thanks for the detailed rundown! If you don't mind me asking - where did you find all this out? I've been looking for a good source of SpaceX news. The official website/g+/facebook/etc just posts short updates whenever a mission occurs. I'm looking for news about what is on the horizon and more detailed analysis.

I am also interested in this. I know where I can get detailed news and analysis in the Tech industry, but I haven't come across too many good resources for the space industry. If I could find great news sites or podcasts or similar I'd consume them like you wouldn't believe.

Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#17

Post by btipling »

octatone2 wrote: post #7

Can't watch this in Germany of course.

Likely because of the soundtrack used. The music added is Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash which limits distribution of the video to certain countries and probably to non-mobile devices. Adding music you don't own the copyright to is probably not a good idea for achieving maximum viewership and distribution. In this case the music is distracting and doesn't add any value, although I like the song.

Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#18

Post by hughes »

deletes wrote: post #5
omegant wrote: post #4

Are that engines reusable in a short time? or must they go through a mayor refurbishment after each flight?

Basically it is just refuel. The entire rocket is reusable. Musk mentioned in some interview it would take a couple of days.

Impressively, he actually said "single digit hours" between flights for the lower stages. See "turnaround time": http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/elon-m...

Re: SpaceX Grasshopper Flies High

#19

Post by jessriedel »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #6
StylifyYourBlog wrote: post #2

Its likely that full-fledged Space Travel with reusable rockets will be possible in the coming years

The pace of progress seems to have been faster than even SpaceX anticipated. Within the next year we'll see very significant tests of core components of the system and flight profile (for the first stage at least). The very next Falcon 9 flight (out of Vandenberg) will use the performance overhead provided by the v1.1 upgrade to do a controlled reentry of the 1st stage and then after it has reached terminal velocity…

> The very next Falcon 9 flight (out of Vandenberg) will use the performance overhead provided by the v1.1 upgrade to do a controlled reentry of the 1st stage and then after it has reached terminal velocity it will slow down to a hover out over some remote part of the ocean, then splash down. This is a good and cheap test of a huge part of the flight profile.

Could you explain the first part a bit more, or point me somewhere? How was is the first stage going? Does it need a heat shield?

EDIT: Ha, looks like a lot of people had the same question at the same time.

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