21–28 of 28 posts
It's been just 3 years since the first rocket landing, and we're so used to it to the point that today's mishap will get more coverage than yesterday's achievement. Seeing the renewed speed of the space launch industry puts a huge smile on me.
It's been just 3 years since the first rocket landing, and we're so used to it to the point that today's mishap will get more coverage than yesterday's achievement. Seeing the renewed speed of the space launch industry puts a huge smile on me.
Actually, that was a good "intact water landing" the rocket stopped the spin before landing, then the rocket positioned itself so it fell horizontal on the water for retrieval instead of vertical
This is the best video of the failed landing attempt I've seen so far. Elon tweeted a grid fin hydraulic pump stalled. I understand for "marketing" reasons why they stopped the video feed from the first stage but since there wasn't any danger to humans here I was disappointed that they cut away from that and pretty much went into the damage control speak of "the primary mission is going well."
Elon's saying they shouldn't have cut away from it. He just posted the rocket-eye view of the water landing: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1070399755526656000 Engines stabilized rocket spin just in time, enabling an intact landing in water! Ships en route to rescue Falcon.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s pretty much out of fuel by then, so an explosion isn’t very likely.
There's lots of great videos to prove you wrong on that one, actually. The most dangerous time for a can of gasoline is when it's just been emptied- because it's actually full, just of air and gasoline vapor. It's a bomb at that point if you aren't careful. Rockets? Similar problems. Watch what happened a few years ago when another Falcon 9 fell over because of a faulty landing leg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr…
They aren't clear about whether it was an accident that they ended up in the water or was it by design. They could have planned ahead for this situation, if they detect that they have a problem and can't do a normal safe landing (the out of control spin) and then they could send it for a 'safe' and hopefully controlled water landing like they did. Or it could just be that it was way off course because they couldn't control it and it was just luck.
Did they actually have a plan to divert to water if they knew they couldn't safely land? They aren't clear about whether it was an accident that they ended up in the water or was it by design. They could have planned ahead for this situation, if they detect that they have a problem and can't do a normal safe landing (the out of control spin) and then they could send it for a 'safe' and hopefully controlled water land…
Did they actually have a plan to divert to water if they knew they couldn't safely land? They aren't clear about whether it was an accident that they ended up in the water or was it by design. They could have planned ahead for this situation, if they detect that they have a problem and can't do a normal safe landing (the out of control spin) and then they could send it for a 'safe' and hopefully controlled water land…
It’s by design. The default for all F9 rockets is to land off-shore in the water. Once all the checks are complete and the rocket is “happy” and all systems are performing nominally, it redirects to the landing zone (either a barge or on land).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Elon's saying they shouldn't have cut away from it. He just posted the rocket-eye view of the water landing: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1070399755526656000 Engines stabilized rocket spin just in time, enabling an intact landing in water! Ships en route to rescue Falcon.
Although I'm completely unqualified to comment on it, I did notice that the spin seemed to reduce at the same time the landing legs extended. I'm wondering if they may have acted like fins and contributed to the countering of the rotation. If that's the case, it might be that a contingency approach of a small extension of the legs outwards (only a little) might help.