I'm surprised though that fairing manufacturing is not dwarfed by second stage manufacturing. I guess it isn't...
Uhm, the cost savings isn't as clear as that because recovery and refurbishment doesn't factor in having to make them (apparently) more robust in the first place as well as adding a recovery system.
The fairings are going to fall well away from the first stage recovery vehicles so that requires another set of recovery vehicles and personnel which adds costs.
(Second stage efficiency and reusability would to me seem a higher priority)
Let me destroy a myth that has been passed off as a fact in recent years.There is a persistent myth among many people, who should know better, that assume aircraft today and yesterday are and were nearly 100% reusable, when they are and were not.First: a World War Two example: P51 Mustang fighters in that conflict flew off on long-range missions with COMPLETELY DISPOSABLE fuel drop-tanks.I won't even mention that all piston-engine aircraft after so many hours of flight, had to have their engines overhauled (many parts, pistons, etc., were disposed and replaced).Today's passenger jets also need engine overhauls from time to time; not to mention that tires, brake pads, hydraulic components, etc. all get frequently replaced.So why are some of you believing or dreaming of completely reusable spacecraft , when it will never happen? And doesn't need to happen to make space travel affordable?
And I thought you people would be discussing whether there was a boat in the area where the fairings should have fallen, possibly looking for them, this being the Fairing Reuse thread.Foolish me
Fairings break up and don't come down in one piece.
Go Quest docked last night at Port Canaveral. Unfortunately timing was bad...she came in at night, and today is Christmas Eve, so few people will want to go over and take a look and see if she has any fairing halves on board...
Quote from: Jim on 12/24/2015 04:22 pmFairings break up and don't come down in one piece.Well, I'll give you this - I know you're right on one level because I saw it break into two pieces during the webcast.
I'm pretty sure no one expects that Go Quest recovered a complete, intact, and reusable fairing from this mission. But fairing fragments have washed up before, and Go Quest might have managed to locate some---or at least the piece which has the radio beacon and instrument package on it (if indeed some experiment of that sort was flown).