Base is 300 ft by 100 ft, with wings that extend width to 170 ft. Will allow refuel & rocket flyback in future.
Elon Musk @elonmusk answer to reply of his original tweetQuoteBase is 300 ft by 100 ft, with wings that extend width to 170 ft. Will allow refuel & rocket flyback in future.
This isn't Engineering 101, but it isn't post-graduate study either. The rocket walls are relatively thin metal. They are somewhat reinforced (with stringers) against losing their shape, but that strength lies mostly along the walls, not through them. Furthermore, that strength is mostly in tension, not in compression.When you apply a transverse force to the rocket (for instance, by fixing the bottom end to the ground and then pulling the top sideways (or blowing wind across it)), then in the absence of other forces there will be a compressive force on the rocket wall away from the wind, and a tensile force on the rocket wall that has the wind pushing on it. If nothing else were done, there would be a tendency for the tube to buckle on the side away from the wind, once the compressive force exceeds the compressive strength of the wall.But, if you pressurize the tank, then you have a tensile force added uniformly to the all sides of the rocket. The side away from the wind will not buckle until the compressive force due to the wind exceeds the tensile force due to the internal pressure. That net compressive force must exceed the rocket's wall strength for buckling to occur.It is possible, if the pressurization is too high, for the windward side to suffer tensile failure, but that would take some doing...Another example would be in how concrete is reinforced for use in bridges. Concrete is the opposite of metal: it is good for compression and poor in tension. So to make it stronger, you compress it, so you don't have a net tension right away.Was that clear as mud? My profession is computer programmer, but my degree was mechanical engineering.
Sorry, this is probably a dumb question - but why would you want an inbound spacecraft to land on this, only to have it fly off to another location? Wouldn't you just want to land at that other location in the first place, rather than onto this barge temporarily? What is the purpose/benefit of using this barge as a temporary landing spot?I thought the whole idea behind the barge was just to use it in the interim, until re-entry and landings are improved to be able to land on land properly with high confidence.Is this autonomous barge supposed to be a long-term addition to the SpaceX equipment lineup?
Apparently this is how they will station keep... http://www.thrustmaster.net/spacex-announces-spaceport-barge-positioned-thrustmasters-thrusters/
Quote from: symbios on 11/22/2014 09:57 pmElon Musk @elonmusk answer to reply of his original tweetQuoteBase is 300 ft by 100 ft, with wings that extend width to 170 ft. Will allow refuel & rocket flyback in future.So he's saying that rocket descending from space gets to touch down on barge, then gets to refuel there, and then gets to blast off again to fly itself back to launch port?Holy smokes! Don't you need just a little servicing in between, before rocket can take off from barge again?
This is what is meant by "rapid reusability."
Quote from: saliva_sweet on 11/22/2014 08:13 pmElon Musk @elonmuskAutonomous spaceport drone ship. Thrusters repurposed from deep sea oil rigs hold position within 3m even in a storm.Elon Musk @elonmuskBase is 300 ft by 100 ft, with wings that extend width to 170 ft. Will allow refuel & rocket flyback in future.I wonder if there's extra points for landing in the yellow circle!
Elon Musk @elonmuskAutonomous spaceport drone ship. Thrusters repurposed from deep sea oil rigs hold position within 3m even in a storm.Elon Musk @elonmuskBase is 300 ft by 100 ft, with wings that extend width to 170 ft. Will allow refuel & rocket flyback in future.
Quote from: Chris Bergin on 11/22/2014 08:20 pmQuote from: saliva_sweet on 11/22/2014 08:13 pmElon Musk @elonmuskAutonomous spaceport drone ship. Thrusters repurposed from deep sea oil rigs hold position within 3m even in a storm.Elon Musk @elonmuskBase is 300 ft by 100 ft, with wings that extend width to 170 ft. Will allow refuel & rocket flyback in future.I wonder if there's extra points for landing in the yellow circle!Well, it would be NICE if those lines and labels was added to make some office bets...