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SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

nasa.gov

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Re: SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

#121

Post by icandownvote »

lutorm wrote: post #48
rvdm wrote: post #22

Such good motivation to want to be an even better programmer / engineer / scientist. So inspiring what mankind is capable of when we work together.

You guys know we are looking for software people, right? http://www.spacex.com/careers

Do you have any particular insights how to get a reply from the HR? Applied twice through this form to a super relevant position with matching skills -- no reply, not even a negative one.

All at the time when I'm rejecting other offers expecting to have a chance to talk to SpaceX.

Re: SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

#122

Post by rvdm »

lutorm wrote: post #48
rvdm wrote: post #22

Such good motivation to want to be an even better programmer / engineer / scientist. So inspiring what mankind is capable of when we work together.

You guys know we are looking for software people, right? http://www.spacex.com/careers

I actually went through a few stages of the interview process at SpaceX but was offered only a fraction of my current income.

Regardless, I greatly admire the company's ambition and goals. The methane powered Raptor engine for the MCT is just sheer insanity. I love it. SpaceX inspires many of us, young and old.

Re: SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

#123

Post by InclinedPlane »

bobcostas55 wrote: post #56

Could someone explain why it's (apparently) so much harder to land on a barge than it is to dock with the ISS?

To put things succinctly:

In mutual freefall, on orbit, it's possible to take as much time as you want, reducing relative velocities as much as you want, and keep things gentle.

When landing on the Earth (or a barge) you can only control speed so much before you run out of fuel, so you're stuck with high speeds, high accelerations, and large forces. The margins are much thinner and you have an extremely limited amount of time to get things done.

Additionally, the landings are an R&D program being carried out for very little cost, the ISS cargo trips are a commercial service being bought at around $130 million per flight, so the engineering resources available to either are considerably different. If SpaceX could plow hundreds of millions of dollars just into developing the operational capability of landing their rockets they'd likely have done it many times by now.

Re: SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

#124

Post by Rapzid »

michaelmcmillan wrote: post #35

T+17m: Not a successful landing today. That sucks. Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/32jnyd/rspacex_crs6_... Edit: "Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing" @elonmusk

I would hesitate to say it's going to be easy to fix because I would have thought this would have come up in simulations, BUT... They got this in the bag. It's going to be very exciting on the fist landing, but I think it's a forgone conclusion at this point that what they are trying to do will work.

Re: SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

#126

Post by elevensies »

WestCoastJustin wrote: post #41
michaelmcmillan wrote: post #35

T+17m: Not a successful landing today. That sucks. Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/32jnyd/rspacex_crs6_... Edit: "Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing" @elonmusk

"Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival." -- Elon Musk https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/588076749562318849 Update: Photo @ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/588082574183903232/photo...

new photo: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/588142879245238273

new video: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/588143946800463874

Re: SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

#128

Post by NeutronBoy »

rebelidealist wrote: post #127

Stupid question but why can't the rocket drop horizontally from a close altitude to a soft floating area? Do they really need it to land vertically?

The structure of the rocket is designed to support itself upright. It would likely fall apart (or at least get damaged) if you lay it on it's side, without a whole lot of (heavy) re-enforcements to the structure.

Re: SpaceX Dragon CRS-6 Launch Webcast

#129

Post by cryptoz »

rebelidealist wrote: post #127

Stupid question but why can't the rocket drop horizontally from a close altitude to a soft floating area? Do they really need it to land vertically?

SpaceX is preparing the technology to land on Mars. While this particular rocket will not go to Mars, the next iteration will. There are no soft floating areas on Mars, therefore that solution will not work. This is also the reason there are no parachutes, etc. Vertical rocket landings work on Earth, Mars, the moon, pretty much all surfaces in the accessible solar system. So having a rocket that can land vertically, refuel, and take off again is important for space travel, and that's the primary goal here. You can think of the Falcon 9 rocket and its tests to be like a revenue-generating prototype, so they're testing a bunch of future technology when they do these landings.
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