Author Topic: SpaceX's Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship Updates and Discussion Thread 3  (Read 1424047 times)

Offline John Alan

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Elsbeth II went up to Jacksonville...  ???
Just pulling into port there...  :-\
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:442009/mmsi:367352720/imo:8523125/vessel:ELSBETH_II
Wonder what's up with that move...  :(
Maybe it's got a tow job to do for someone else...  :)

Meanwhile... Elsbeth III with OCISLY in tow is headed east out to sea...  8)
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:434560/mmsi:367017460/imo:8983375/vessel:ELSBETH_III
« Last Edit: 06/15/2017 02:50 pm by John Alan »

Offline pb2000

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Elsbeth II went up to Jacksonville...  ???
Just pulling into port there...  :-\

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:442009/mmsi:367352720/imo:8523125/vessel:ELSBETH_II

Wonder what's up with that move...  :(

Meanwhile... Elsbeth III with OCISLY in tow is headed east...  8)
She should be renamed "Of course I'll still tow you" just to avoid any future confusion.
Launches attended: Worldview-4 (Atlas V 401), Iridium NEXT Flight 1 (Falcon 9 FT), PAZ+Starlink (Falcon 9 FT), Arabsat-6A (Falcon Heavy)
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Offline leetdan

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Yeah, I got an email alert for Elsbeth III departing, but II showed up steaming North when I searched AIS.  Whoops!

Online Comga

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OCISLY is on the move to catch the booster:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:434560/mmsi:367017460

The official launch date may still be Sunday, but a reported request for Monday could put this four days ahead of launch.
Is three days the normal lead time to leave port?
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline John Alan

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OCISLY is on the move to catch the booster:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:434560/mmsi:367017460

The official launch date may still be Sunday, but a reported request for Monday could put this four days ahead of launch.
Is three days the normal lead time to leave port?

As I recall from past history... 3 days has been the norm for Elsbeth III to leave pre-launch on Geo flights...
The captain of EIII has also shown a tendency to baby his engines (my opinion) when towing for hours on end...
Slow steaming is a term I have heard... saves fuel and engine/driveline wear and tear...
He trades leaving a bit early for saving costs in route... and he can always go faster if need be...to be on time
When taking OCISLY to the dry dock in the Bahamas a while back... He really put the coals to it for a few hours in route...
Again... just my opinion and honestly nothing wrong with doing what he does... taking it easy on her...  8)
« Last Edit: 06/15/2017 03:35 pm by John Alan »

Offline pb2000

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OCISLY is on the move to catch the booster:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:434560/mmsi:367017460

The official launch date may still be Sunday, but a reported request for Monday could put this four days ahead of launch.
Is three days the normal lead time to leave port?
Margins should allow for a boostback burn, so they may not be going out as far as usual for a GTO launch.
Launches attended: Worldview-4 (Atlas V 401), Iridium NEXT Flight 1 (Falcon 9 FT), PAZ+Starlink (Falcon 9 FT), Arabsat-6A (Falcon Heavy)
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Offline John Alan

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OCISLY is on the move to catch the booster:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:434560/mmsi:367017460

The official launch date may still be Sunday, but a reported request for Monday could put this four days ahead of launch.
Is three days the normal lead time to leave port?
Margins should allow for a boostback burn, so they may not be going out as far as usual for a GTO launch.

They are going a ways out
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42913.msg1689913#msg1689913

Online Comga

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They are going a ways out
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42913.msg1689913#msg1689913
How far out is the target point and how does this compare to previous landings after geotransfer launches?
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline LouScheffer

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They are going a ways out
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42913.msg1689913#msg1689913
How far out is the target point and how does this compare to previous landings after geotransfer launches?
A back of the envelope calculation indicates it will be very close to previous landings, which were about 660 km out, likely within a few km.

The calculation goes like this. Bulgaria-sat is guessed to mass about 3.7t.  Previous launches were about 5.3t.  How much difference will this make in the landing site?  The second stage masses roughly 120 tonnes + payload.  The first stage is roughly 27t empty with 436t fuel.  About 20t of fuel is reserved for landing.  Using these numbers, we get initial and burnout mass for the first stage of 588.3t and 172.3t.  Reducing the mass of the payload makes these 586.7t and 170.7t.  Then we apply the rocket equation to both (delta-V = ISP*g*ln(initial mass/burnout mass) ), ISP is about 311, and then take the difference.   It's about 20 m/s, so the first stage will be going 20 m/s faster at staging.

Since more or less 100 seconds of the trajectory is horizontal, that's at most 2 km further out due to the lighter payload.  On the other hand, SpaceX might chose to reserve a little more fuel for slowing down the booster, to make re-entry a little easier on the rocket.  That could result in a few km shorter flight.  But overall, the landing will be very close to where the ship has been before.

Offline cwr

I've been looking in this thread for news of OCISLY's return ETA with Bulgariasat S1 and also JRTI's departure from LA for Iridium 2.

Is this data no longer tracked in this ASDS thread?
Or is it in a different ASDS thread - if so which one, since my searches didn't find it?
I did find JRTI departure data in an Iridium thread - is that the current norm?

Thanks for any pointers

Carl

Offline rberry

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It usually takes 4 days (give or take some) for the return trip. That should put it arriving mid-day on Tuesday 6/27. Arrival time will become more clear when the vessel appears on AIS as it gets closer to shore.

[speculation]

I expect it to take longer to secure the stage due to the crush core damage. Possibly slower transport speed too. Also they seem to like to bring her into port when there isn't much traffic in the channel, so later in the evening or early morning. I would guess early Wednesday morning.

Based on looking at AIS data for NRC QUEST location and nearby vessels, it appears like the tug KELLY C is with JRTI. KELLY C left port at 10:00 on 6/23, so that fits. It's last updated position (not that long ago surprisingly) looks to be roughly in the NOTMAR area. Also, if I remember correctly the tug SARAH C might have been associated with JRTI before. All speculation based on data mining.

[end speculation]

« Last Edit: 06/25/2017 07:08 pm by rberry »
-Ryan

Offline cscott

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I've been looking in this thread for news of OCISLY's return ETA with Bulgariasat S1 and also JRTI's departure from LA for Iridium 2.

Is this data no longer tracked in this ASDS thread?
Or is it in a different ASDS thread - if so which one, since my searches didn't find it?
I did find JRTI departure data in an Iridium thread - is that the current norm?

Thanks for any pointers

Carl
Some discussion also occurs in the sister ships thread: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38111.0

Offline cwr

I've been looking in this thread for news of OCISLY's return ETA with Bulgariasat S1 and also JRTI's departure from LA for Iridium 2.

Is this data no longer tracked in this ASDS thread?
Or is it in a different ASDS thread - if so which one, since my searches didn't find it?
I did find JRTI departure data in an Iridium thread - is that the current norm?

Thanks for any pointers

Carl
Some discussion also occurs in the sister ships thread: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38111.0

Thanks, for the pointer to that thread - I had searched for asds in thread titles  and I didn't see that one.

Also thanks to rberry for their response. I'd similar speculations. When I was looking for the LA departure, I'd first looked for Sarah C but she's up in San Francisco today so not involved in this landing attempt.

thanks

Carl

First time in history two rockets recovered from space on barges lol well done space x  !!!

Offline JAFO

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How long after landing until the crew boards the ASDS?

TIA
Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we play for keeps.
— Ernest K. Gann

Offline ChrisC

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Some discussion also occurs in the sister ships thread: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38111.0

Can someone clarify the purposes of these two threads?  I understand updates vs discussion, so which is which here?  Combine?

This one seems to be getting far more activity.
« Last Edit: 06/26/2017 12:39 am by ChrisC »
PSA #1: EST does NOT mean "Eastern Time".  Use "Eastern" or "ET" instead, all year round, and avoid this common error.  Google "EST vs EDT".
PSA #2: It's and its: know the difference and quietly impress grammar pedants.  Google "angry flower its" .  *** See profile for two more NSF forum tips. ***

Offline CameronD

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Some discussion also occurs in the sister ships thread: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38111.0

Can someone clarify the purposes of these two threads?  I understand updates vs discussion, so which is which here?  Combine?

This one seems to be getting far more activity.

Chris, the original purpose of the 'sister ships' thread was to declutter this one (which is supposed to be solely for discussion and updates on the two ASDS's) by acting as a place for sister ships traffic information and general discussion about the SpaceX fleet.

That's kinda happening.. but it does seem folks still post here the second one of the barges picks up the tow.
« Last Edit: 06/26/2017 12:55 am by CameronD »
With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine - however, this is not necessarily a good idea. It is hard to be sure where they are
going to land, and it could be dangerous sitting under them as they fly overhead.

Offline ChrisC

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Ok thanks.  So ASDS return activity goes here.  Looking forward to watching the progress of TWO simultaneous returns!
PSA #1: EST does NOT mean "Eastern Time".  Use "Eastern" or "ET" instead, all year round, and avoid this common error.  Google "EST vs EDT".
PSA #2: It's and its: know the difference and quietly impress grammar pedants.  Google "angry flower its" .  *** See profile for two more NSF forum tips. ***

Offline Chris Bergin

I was literally heading here to ask if we should have standalone threads for the two returning boosters., given the potential issue of overlap in a single thread such as this?

So as not to clatter this thread, here's a POLL! Your vote, decides!

(Was a flash poll, but obviously the answer is an obvious "yes" so in work! Poll removed as it's now dead).
« Last Edit: 06/26/2017 12:42 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Offline Chris Bergin

Threads are live!

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=43222.0 - for OCISLY return with B1029.2 - please update with any recent notes from this thread into the standalone thread.

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=43223.0 - for JRTI return with B1036.
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