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SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

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Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how chanting for a group, without any implicit or explicit diminishment of other groups compares to hate speech against sexual minorities. Also, chants are not a company policy, it's what employees spontaneously do in their own private space, which you saw on their own private broadcast. (If we're bringing SJW approach into this, then I think you're advocating the minority (SpaceX employees) should adapt…

I too find it hard to see how so many have conflated chanting for a group, in this case the USA, as being equivalent to actively admonishing another group. The employees at SpaceX aren't burning the flags of foreign countries or otherwise disrespecting or mocking them, they are simply expressing pride in the nation that many of us view as playing an instrumental part in our success. I also don't know what could be do…

As a viewer of the launches, I'd be sad if the broadcast moved out of Hawthorne.

We get to see a sometimes-messy slice of the culture, but we're also seeing how real engineers celebrate a real milestone accomplishment. There's not enough of that visible outside the walls of engineering; people still think of it as a boring profession.

A society gets more of what it celebrates. We should keep highlighting the joys of a gigantic plan coming together.

Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#142
It could be argued that flying to orbit with a first stage that's being reused will be as historical when SpaceX will do it.

The Space Shuttle did reuse SRB casings and the orbiter, it was a bit different but a great achievement too.

However this time there is more potential for cost savings. It can still happen that they can't be realized because of some details or even fundamentals we don't understand from the outside.

Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#143
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because there's not much fuel left in the tank to hover They can't hover at all, since the throttle doesn't go low enough. They need to do the landing perfectly, on a single try.

Interesting. That's a change from the Grasshopper testing platform? If I recall correctly, it was able to hover.

They probably just added weight so that it can hover. For the things actually going into space you don't have that option.

Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#144
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's tribalism, which is never good, no matter how common or accepted it might be in certain regions or cultures. Much the same as sports fans cheering for their teams or extreme nationalists at a political rally, chanting such as this is symtomatic of an "us versus them" and/or a "we are better than them" mentality. I feel pride in SpaceX accomplishments even though I have in no way contributed to their success beca…

"Humans! Humans! Humans!" Yeah... that wouldn't be creepy at all...

Ma-mals! Ma-mals! Ma-mals!

I think it's quite catchy.

Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#145
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Impatient to know if the 1st stage is reusable after a 12g phase. The entire concept hangs on this and it looks like we don't have a firm confirmation yet.

12g but empty. A structure meant to survive being filled with 10+ times (fuel+upper stage) it's own weight will survive 10+Gs without effort. In other words, the stress of a 12g acceleration isn't much different than the stress of the stage sitting on the pad a few minutes previously. The overall structure actually goes through all sorts of stresses, not all of which are measured in G. The combination of push from th…

I am not a rocket scientist, but:

I think this is only sort of true. Yes, the fueled rocket is much, much heavier. But not all parts of the rocket are load bearing as it sits on the pad waiting for launch. All parts of the rocket experience the 12g (or whatever it was) deceleration.

Also, rocket skins are really, really thin (relative to their size, the forces they endure, etc.) I've read that without the fuel inside to reinforce the rocket, it is quite fragile - think of trying to crush an empty soda can vs a full one. This is part of why rockets which deviate too far from prograde on launch are ripped apart mid-air.

Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first recovered stage, F9-021, has already been static fired and will likely end up as a monument outside of SpaceX HQ as they've filed an FAA request to do so. https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action... The second recovered rocket, F9-023, will be relaunched. It has already been static fired with no announced problems. Elon said it'd be a few months before a customer was announced, but the g…

Do customers get a discount for launching on a used rocket?

Assuming SpaceX gets to the point where they are re-flying stages a dozen or more times, I might expect to see a discount on a "new" rocket, as opposed to a "tried and true" rocket.

Would you rather be on the first flight an aircraft makes after leaving the factory, or the tenth?

Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#148

Here is the video http://www.space.com/32811-spacex-rocket-landing-jcsat-14-la... Hopefully we won't have the typical hacker news discussion about why the employees chant USA.

> Hopefully we won't have the typical hacker news discussion about why the employees chant USA.

By saying this, you have now guaranteed that there will be. Well done.

Re: SpaceX lands rocket at sea second time after satellite launch

#150
post #28

I always try to watch the webcasts and I can't help but cringe so hard when they start chanting 'USA USA USA', every single time. What is up with that?

Hell, my in-laws sing patriotic songs at the dinner table during holidays. They were forced to emigrate in the 60s, settled in the US, worked extremely hard to rebuild their lives, and revere it for the opportunities and freedom it provides.

Space started out as a national effort. Most space travel is still a national effort, both here (NASA) and abroad (national space organizations). Even though it's a private company, and the stakes are well beyond a single country, I can imagine a sense of pride for representing your country well at such huge scale. For these engineers and other staff, this is the Olympics.

In short, people have all sorts of reasons for feeling prid. These folks certainly earned it. Watching others describe variations of hand wringing and alienation seems silly in comparison.

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