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I still don't understand how hydraulic fuel is used in this case and how lack of it caused this failed landing.
I still don't understand how hydraulic fuel is used in this case and how lack of it caused this failed landing.
Sorry for sounding like such a fanboy, but during my 40 years on this earth, I have never been more impressed with a human being. The guy is pushing the envelope on perhaps the most difficult engineering/technological endeavor ever attempted by a private company - and he's making it look cool and futuristic. As if that wasn't enough, he's doing this in two different industries simultaneously. I'm not saying he can do…
Interesting. It had quite the lean, And close to zero vertical velocity. Then it looks like it accelerated at the last second in an attempt to move sideways back the center of the barge. I wonder if the top of the rocket was at or very near the center? Also you can clearly see the landing legs deployed, jeez they look tiny. Must just tweeted "Next rocket landing on drone ship in 2 to 3 weeks w way more hydraulic flui…
This was "close?"
Yeah, that was very close.
Interesting. It had quite the lean, And close to zero vertical velocity. Then it looks like it accelerated at the last second in an attempt to move sideways back the center of the barge. I wonder if the top of the rocket was at or very near the center? Also you can clearly see the landing legs deployed, jeez they look tiny. Must just tweeted "Next rocket landing on drone ship in 2 to 3 weeks w way more hydraulic flui…
Was probably the engine gimbaling and thrusting up to attempt to correct but was just unable to due to the fins not being around the whole descent.
Cool video! Just what we've been waiting to see. I wonder what actually exploded there? Part of the argument for why the landing was supposed to be relatively safe was that the stage would be mostly empty of fuel by the time that it landed, so there wouldn't be much to explode if something went wrong. So is that an explosion of the remaining fuel in the rocket, or something on deck?
We can't tell of course from the video if the barge was moving (by virtue of the camera being fixed to the barge it makes it appear to be unmoving in the video).
If you are reading this SpaceX, here is my suggestion for capturing more data in future flights. Install quad copters on the barge which launch once the barge detects the landing stage is inbound, have them position themselves using the GPS from the barge 100 yards out in four directions. Then have four reference lights on the corners of the barge (can be LEDs) to give you the ability to back compute angles from the video. Stream video from the quad copters back to a secure video storage facility in the barge which is designed to withstand rapid disassembly of the barge and float. Could make for some awesome videos too.
Cool video! Just what we've been waiting to see. I wonder what actually exploded there? Part of the argument for why the landing was supposed to be relatively safe was that the stage would be mostly empty of fuel by the time that it landed, so there wouldn't be much to explode if something went wrong. So is that an explosion of the remaining fuel in the rocket, or something on deck?
A landing stage will still have some fuel and oxidizer on board, to keep burning all the way to the deck, though not much compared to when full. But 1% of ~385,000kg of propellant is still enough to go bang. There's also a fair bit of energy in the pressurized tanks. (It's a turbo-pump engine, so the tanks are not kept at high pressure, but they still have 3-5 bar/40-70 psi and it's 70m tall structure.) That's what tears the stage apart.
Looks like it hit the fuel tank, so the pressurized kerosene was exposed to the atmosphere and a burning engine. Thus fireball. It would have been worse were the LOX tank ruptured at the same time. But it's not a very big explosion; doesn't even overexpose the camera for more than a frame.
Looks like it did not come down vertically but at a slant, but they got the positioning better than I thought they would on this try. One thing to note is that it is from now on officially a very bad idea to piss off Elon Musk if he knows where you live, being able to hit stuff with this kind of accuracy using rockets from space is normally enough to get you placed on the 'axis of evil' list. Incredible precision.
You joke but a future were corporations control ICBMs to their advantage is a realistic worry.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm trying, but not succeeding, to imagine a non-fiction situation where a corporation has any business advantage in owning and/or controlling an ICBM. Can you expand on your comment? What would a corporation do with this, other than to perhaps implement same day delivery of packages around the globe?
I don't necessarily believe this to be a possibility... but if the US contracted out "security" to companies like Blackwater, it seems at least.... plausible that they could contract out "missile defense."