- Grasshopper quick and dirty, just a concrete pad- F9R-Dev1 add a launch pad so can launch with legs not touching ground or folded- Spaceport America? My guess is the facility there will have just a bit more infrastructure
An extruded aluminum AM-2 style matting
Quote from: sghill on 05/05/2014 05:44 pmAn extruded aluminum AM-2 style matting It would melt
I think that a lot could be done with a steel pad and water sprayed on it. The film of water would act like an "ablator". It would also be a medium for the metal to conduct the heat into in the areas that are not directly heated by the blast. It would only have to work for a few seconds anyway.
what hinges?
Quote from: Elmar Moelzer on 05/05/2014 06:27 pmI think that a lot could be done with a steel pad and water sprayed on it. The film of water would act like an "ablator". It would also be a medium for the metal to conduct the heat into in the areas that are not directly heated by the blast. It would only have to work for a few seconds anyway.concrete and water spray would be better.
I wonder how the mobile exector can hook up to this "hinges" or connections since the deployed (and fragile) legs is in the way?
What about a concrete pad plastered with bricks like below and then flooded with water? The holes should prevent the water from being blown away by the engine exhaust like it would be with a smooth concrete surface. The end result would be the water evaporating and protecting the concrete bricks.
Quote from: rklaehn on 05/05/2014 06:54 pmWhat about a concrete pad plastered with bricks like below and then flooded with water? The holes should prevent the water from being blown away by the engine exhaust like it would be with a smooth concrete surface. The end result would be the water evaporating and protecting the concrete bricks.Might be awkward to put wheeled or tracked vehicles on, compared to a smooth surface. Or to land a rocket whose legs have narrow points of contact with the ground.
In any case, let's remember that all this pad needs to handle for F9 booster landings is the heat from one throttled-down Merlin, which is the load that the pad at McGregor has already handled quite a few times by now, with both Grasshopper and now F9R-dev1. If plain concrete is holding up, there's no obvious need for something more exotic.
Maybe not directly related, but what was the design for the ground support structures for DC-X?