the variable load head at the top, we're quite worried about that
Do we have a count?This is #5 at least...
Speaking of the "cap", Gwynne called it a "variable load head" at the small-sat conference, 20:50 in the below video:Quotethe variable load head at the top, we're quite worried about thatJust noticed it in passing when I was watching it and thought it was of minor interest.
I watched the clip and I still don't know why she said they're worried about the load head, because she didn't elaborate. Worried about what?
And why is it a "variable" load head?
The weight of the stack the first stage supports doesn't really vary that much as it is dominated by the second stage...
Quote from: abaddon on 08/31/2016 09:56 pmAnd why is it a "variable" load head? They need to exert additional force on the hold-downs as the vehicle burns through the propellant weight, but the thrust level remains the same. The hold-downs probably can't handle the full force of 9 M1Ds being only opposed by the empty stage weight. Or, they can but they want to be on the safe side.On the other hand, you don't need that extra load while the stage is still pretty much full.
I'm still trying and failing to understand the "variable" part. The word "variable" seems to imply they can vary the weight of the load head. Why not just make it fixed, ie the weight of a fully loaded S2/interstage?Or maybe it's a semantic misunderstanding. Maybe it's a fixed-weight "load head" that compensates for the "variable" weight of S1 as it burns. But I'd just call that a "load head" and leave the word "variable" out.So I'm still confused.
Speaking of the "cap", Gwynne called it a "variable load head" at the small-sat conference, 20:50 in the below video:Quotethe variable load head at the top, we're quite worried about that
Those thick cables coming down from the "load head" must have some function. To me it looks like winches can pull on them and add dynamic load. They don't use that device on normal testing.