Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 - CRS-8 Dragon - NET April, 2016 - DISCUSSION  (Read 397432 times)

Offline AncientU

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Ten test fires in a row to re-qualify the booster, and another orbital launch in "June" (!).
Ha!  That'll drive our cape reporters crazy when we ask them questions on how many puffs they've seen so far.

Shoes being welded over legs to secure it.

Finally confirms - officially! - what people have been saying since the very first attempt.
Rumor of those shoes started 1/2015 when Elon himself said that's what would be done in the reddit AMA.  To my knowledge that is the only source material we had until he again confirmed it today.

Falcon FT is 2/3 on landing.
While true that is the wrong statistic. Falcon FT has achieved 100% landing success, 2/2 for flights where it stood any reasonable chance of success.  SES-9 was an extreme experiment in high energy physics.



Take a look at the landed stage.  The square which is defined by the four feet is nearly parallel and perpendicular to the deck of the ASDS.  Is this intentional or coincedence?  Of course you'd want it to be that way to reduce the chance of setting a foot off the deck (which it would be close to if rotated 45 degrees) but on the other hand forcing it to orient that way would add even more restraint on what the control system was tasked with.

Why one more restraint?  The booster knows the cardinal directions/coordinate system or it would never find the barge and the barge does, too.  Only to us do all faces of a rocket look the same.  Don't think much is left to chance...
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 12:38 am by AncientU »
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Online ugordan

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What black sheeting? The foil like stuff covering the upper part of the engine? That would probably be thermal insulation and it's been there for a while now.

Offline meekGee

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Ten test fires in a row to re-qualify the booster, and another orbital launch in "June" (!).
Ha!  That'll drive our cape reporters crazy when we ask them questions on how many puffs they've seen so far.

Shoes being welded over legs to secure it.

Finally confirms - officially! - what people have been saying since the very first attempt.
Rumor of those shoes started 1/2015 when Elon himself said that's what would be done in the reddit AMA.  To my knowledge that is the only source material we had until he again confirmed it today.

Falcon FT is 2/3 on landing.
While true that is the wrong statistic. Falcon FT has achieved 100% landing success, 2/2 for flights where it stood any reasonable chance of success.  SES-9 was an extreme experiment in high energy physics.



Take a look at the landed stage.  The square which is defined by the four feet is nearly parallel and perpendicular to the deck of the ASDS.  Is this intentional or coincedence?  Of course you'd want it to be that way to reduce the chance of setting a foot off the deck (which it would be close to if rotated 45 degrees) but on the other hand forcing it to orient that way would add even more restraint on what the control system was tasked with.

Why one more restraint?  The booster knows the cardinal directions/coordinate system or it would never find the barge and the barge does, too.  Only to us do all faces of a rocket look the same.

I'm sure they control roll, since it reduced the chance of a leg falling off the edge.
ABCD - Always Be Counting Down

Offline JasonAW3

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Hey, quick question; does anyone know the schedule of the in-flight abort test?

I'm wondering if that would be the relaunch of stage that just landed?
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Offline mlow

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What black sheeting? The foil like stuff covering the upper part of the engine? That would probably be thermal insulation and it's been there for a while now.



I think it's just the black wrap they put on it for transportation. Cut off and leaving the bits covering stage seams?
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 12:42 am by mlow »

Offline joek

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I'm not sure what your trying to say. That we should call it the F9 v1.2? And we are incorrect in calling it a F9 v1.1 FT?

Correct on both counts. Falcon 9 v1.2 is how it is referred to in official filings.  Use it.  Other nomenclature simply confuses matters. (If you think I'm being pedantic, you have not been a party to some earlier long-winded discussions on this site.)

Offline Hungry4info3

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Is this the second stage?

Offline llanitedave

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Is this the second stage?


Could be a solar panel fairing, but it sure looks like the profile of the second stage.
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Offline AncientU

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What black sheeting? The foil like stuff covering the upper part of the engine? That would probably be thermal insulation and it's been there for a while now.

Thanks, never noticed it before.  Thermal insulation in black is an interesting application... High emissivity (black) is the opposite of a good radiative insulator.  Usually highly reflective like MLI is a vacuum insulator.
"If we shared everything [we are working on] people would think we are insane!"
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Offline edkyle99

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I'm not sure what your trying to say. That we should call it the F9 v1.2? And we are incorrect in calling it a F9 v1.1 FT?

Correct on both counts. Falcon 9 v1.2 is how it is referred to in official filings.  Use it.  Other nomenclature simply confuses matters. (If you think I'm being pedantic, you have not been a party to some earlier long-winded discussions on this site.)
SpaceX personnel have, in presentations at conferences, press and otherwise, called it, repeatedly, "Falcon 9 Upgrade".  Other SpaceX workers have told us on L2 that it is named "Falcon 9 v1.1 Full Thrust".  Now we have "v1.2" on some paperwork but, if memory serves, someone at SpaceX in answer to a question once pointedly said that it was not named "v1.2". 

I have given up trying to figure out the name.  It is the "Falcon 9 with the higher thrust Merlin 1D engines and the stretched second stage and the ulta-cool LOX".

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 12:54 am by edkyle99 »

Offline AncientU

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I'm not sure what your trying to say. That we should call it the F9 v1.2? And we are incorrect in calling it a F9 v1.1 FT?

Correct on both counts. Falcon 9 v1.2 is how it is referred to in official filings.  Use it.  Other nomenclature simply confuses matters. (If you think I'm being pedantic, you have not been a party to some earlier long-winded discussions on this site.)
SpaceX personnel have, in presentations at conferences, press and otherwise, called it, repeatedly, "Falcon 9 Upgrade".  Other SpaceX workers have told us on L2 that it is named "Falcon 9 v1.1 Full Thrust".  Now we have "v1.2" on some paperwork but, if memory serves, someone at SpaceX in answer to a question once pointedly said that it was not named "v1.2". 

I have given up trying to figure out the name.  It is the "Falcon 9 with the higher thrust Merlin 1D engines and the stretched second stage and the ulta-cool LOX".

 - Ed Kyle

F9 hereafter.
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Offline Alastor

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While true that is the wrong statistic. Falcon FT has achieved 100% landing success, 2/2 for flights where it stood any reasonable chance of success.  SES-9 was an extreme experiment in high energy physics.

I'm pretty sure high energy physics is not the appropriate word for it. The energy of the landing is completely dwarfed by the events in LHC.

Ballistic missile testing, maybe ?

Offline mlow

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What black sheeting? The foil like stuff covering the upper part of the engine? That would probably be thermal insulation and it's been there for a while now.

Thanks, never noticed it before.  Thermal insulation in black is an interesting application... High emissivity (black) is the opposite of a good radiative insulator.  Usually highly reflective like MLI is a vacuum insulator.

This pic?

Looks like a garbage bag to me :P

Offline joek

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I have given up trying to figure out the name.  It is the "Falcon 9 with the higher thrust Merlin 1D engines and the stretched second stage and the ulta-cool LOX".
Then use its official name, which by license designation is F9 v1.2.  This is not hard.  the FAA requires that  applicants distinguish their LV's.  SpaceX chose to use F9 v1.2 as a distinguishing identifier in their official filings; what they say in press releases is irrelevant.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 01:10 am by joek »

Offline jaufgang

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Did anyone else notice what looks like a crumpled up scrap of paper on the stage 2 engine go flying off into the plume?  It's in the split-screen shot just seconds after stage one landed.  I've attached a video with a close up in slo-mo.

Is it unusual to see something like that?
(edit: fix typo)
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 02:45 pm by jaufgang »

Online ugordan

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What black sheeting? The foil like stuff covering the upper part of the engine? That would probably be thermal insulation and it's been there for a while now.

Thanks, never noticed it before.  Thermal insulation in black is an interesting application... High emissivity (black) is the opposite of a good radiative insulator.  Usually highly reflective like MLI is a vacuum insulator.

It's probably got more to do with keeping off that pesky GOX outgassing from freezing stuff than radiative thermal control. They've been burned frozen with that before.

Online ugordan

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Did anyone else notice shat looks like a crumpled up scrap of paper on the stage 2 engine go flying off into the plume?  It's in the split-screen shot just seconds after stage one landed.  I've attached a video with a close up in slo-mo.

Is it unusual to see something like that?

No, it literally happens on every launch. There's what I believe as GOX vent somewhere around there and the sudden pressure drop probably causes slow buildup of oxygen ice flakes.

Offline mlow

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Did anyone else notice shat looks like a crumpled up scrap of paper on the stage 2 engine go flying off into the plume?  It's in the split-screen shot just seconds after stage one landed.  I've attached a video with a close up in slo-mo.

Is it unusual to see something like that?

No, it literally happens on every launch. There's what I believe as GOX vent somewhere around there and the sudden pressure drop probably causes slow buildup of oxygen ice flakes.

Watching from MECO to that ~8m time mark you can clearly see stuff coming out of a small vent tube and forming crystals, then floating a bit around, some goes and flies into the exhaust. That big bit forms, then flattens on that bigger piping above the skirt, then dislodges and flies off into the exhaust around 8m.

Now that you pointed it out I find it entertaining to focus on that bit of piping and see the crystals dance around :)

Offline OxCartMark

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F9 Onboard video of the landing now posted.  Not sure how to post a link more direct than this

https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Actulus Ferociter!

Offline jgoldader

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To any SpaceX folks reading this--I'm a model builder, and I'd sure like to build a whole lot of SpaceX vehicles.  I hope one day we'll have Falcons and Dragons available in plastic or resin at affordable prices.
Recovering astronomer

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