Author Topic: LIVE: SpaceX: Falcon Heavy Thread - April 5 announcement (Read 348793 times)

Chris Bergin · « **on:** 03/31/2011 03:14 pm »

Going to be announced/overviewed on April 5:

Good promo!

FH Page:
http://www.spacex.com/falcon_heavy.php

Robotbeat · « **Reply #1 on:** 03/31/2011 03:19 pm »

Good marketing.

mr. mark · « **Reply #2 on:** 03/31/2011 03:28 pm »

Ah...... Chris, It's only called Falcon Heavy now, not Falcon 9 Heavy.

starsalor · « **Reply #3 on:** 03/31/2011 03:31 pm »

"
Elon Musk and Spacex had mentioned plans for BFR (Big F**ing Rocket) and the Merlin 2 rocket engine back in 2005. Now there are details of the designs for the Merlin 2 and the Falcon X, Falcon X heavy and Falcon XX rockets.
* Falcon 9 with one successful trial launches 10 tons into orbit.
* A planned "Falcon 9 Heavy" will launch 30 tons
* Falcon X will launch 38 tons into orbit
* Falcon X Heavy 125 tons
* Falcon XX for up to 140 tons but no engine out ability to carry on mission with one engine out.
* Spacex has plans for interplanetary flight
* SpaceX thinks early unmanned cargo missions might best be carried out using "Hall thrusters" (highly efficient ion drive)
* SpaceX considers that a "nuclear thermal" rocket, able to deliver much higher thrust-to-weight ratio and thus shorter journey time than solar/ion engines, is the answer for manned ships.
* a piloted mission to Mars by 2020-2025 can be accomplished if we start building and testing hardware now
* SpaceX’s long-discussed Merlin 2 Lox/rocket propellant-fueled engine, capable of a projected 1.7 million lb. of thrust at sea level and 1.92 million lb. in a vacuum
* Spacex plans a larger Raptor engine " This is fantastic !!

mr. mark · « **Reply #4 on:** 03/31/2011 03:37 pm »

Here is a comparison of heavy lift launch vehicles along with the projected Falcon Heavy stats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_heavy_lift_launch_systems

ps. starsailor, I think we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves there.....but, I must say, when developed Falcon Heavy will be a great addition to the Spacex constellation.

Robotbeat · « **Reply #5 on:** 03/31/2011 03:39 pm »

This is about Falcon Heavy, not the HLVs. It says "FH", refering to Falcon Heavy. Go to SpaceX's page and click on "Falcon Heavy" on the left hand side, and you can see what I'm talking about.

mr. mark · « **Reply #6 on:** 03/31/2011 03:42 pm »

robo not following.....
The Falcon Heavy will be SpaceX’s entry into the heavy lift launch vehicle category. Capable of lifting over 32,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and over 19,500 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), the Falcon Heavy will compete with the largest commercial launchers now available. It consists of a standard Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters. With the Falcon 9 first stage already designed to support the additional loads of this configuration and with common tanking and engines across both vehicles, development and operation of the Falcon Heavy will be highly cost-effective.

Robotbeat · « **Reply #7 on:** 03/31/2011 03:49 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 03/31/2011 03:42 pm

robo not following.....
The Falcon Heavy will be SpaceX’s entry into the heavy lift launch vehicle category. Capable of lifting over 32,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and over 19,500 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), the Falcon Heavy will compete with the largest commercial launchers now available. It consists of a standard Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters. With the Falcon 9 first stage already designed to support the additional loads of this configuration and with common tanking and engines across both vehicles, development and operation of the Falcon Heavy will be highly cost-effective.

Sorry, I was referring to the poster above you (my fault).

kevin-rf · « **Reply #8 on:** 03/31/2011 03:52 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 03/31/2011 03:28 pm

Ah...... Chris, It's only called Falcon Heavy now, not Falcon 9 Heavy.

You better hit the mod button and report him to the moderators

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #9 on:** 03/31/2011 04:00 pm »

Sorted

Also added the FH link from the SpaceX site to the opening post.

Chris likes this vehicle.

Cherokee43v6 · « **Reply #10 on:** 03/31/2011 04:03 pm »

This is the vehicle that SpaceX was told it should focus on if it wanted a share of the military launch market. Right?

racshot65 · « **Reply #11 on:** 03/31/2011 04:05 pm »

I've never seen that video of the Dragon re entry before is it new or did I just miss it ?

Nice promo though, good to see a space company that can put out videos like that

notherspacexfan · « **Reply #12 on:** 03/31/2011 04:08 pm »

Quote from: racshot65 on 03/31/2011 04:05 pm

I've never seen that video of the Dragon re entry before is it new or did I just miss it ?

that was the drop test

SpacexULA · « **Reply #13 on:** 03/31/2011 04:08 pm »

Quote from: racshot65 on 03/31/2011 04:05 pm

I've never seen that video of the Dragon re entry before is it new or did I just miss it ?
Nice promo though, good to see a space company that can put out videos like that

That was the drop test from last year, notice the capsule was rare and not well done like the one that went though reentry.

Lurker Steve · « **Reply #14 on:** 03/31/2011 04:08 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 03/31/2011 03:42 pm

robo not following.....
The Falcon Heavy will be SpaceX’s entry into the heavy lift launch vehicle category. Capable of lifting over 32,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and over 19,500 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), the Falcon Heavy will compete with the largest commercial launchers now available. It consists of a standard Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters. With the Falcon 9 first stage already designed to support the additional loads of this configuration and with common tanking and engines across both vehicles, development and operation of the Falcon Heavy will be highly cost-effective.

If the Falcon 9 performance doesn't match the current Delta IV medium, how can the Falcon Heavy outperform the Delta IV Heavy ? In theory, each D4 core outperforms the Falcon core, so 3 D4 cores should lift more than 3 F9 cores, not less.

Hmmmm. Fuzzy marketing math again. Time to move to Missouri.

cuddihy · « **Reply #15 on:** 03/31/2011 04:22 pm »

Quote from: Lurker Steve on 03/31/2011 04:08 pm

Quote from: mr. mark on 03/31/2011 03:42 pm
robo not following.....
The Falcon Heavy will be SpaceX’s entry into the heavy lift launch vehicle category. Capable of lifting over 32,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and over 19,500 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), the Falcon Heavy will compete with the largest commercial launchers now available. It consists of a standard Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters. With the Falcon 9 first stage already designed to support the additional loads of this configuration and with common tanking and engines across both vehicles, development and operation of the Falcon Heavy will be highly cost-effective.

If the Falcon 9 performance doesn't match the current Delta IV medium, how can the Falcon Heavy outperform the Delta IV Heavy ? In theory, each D4 core outperforms the Falcon core, so 3 D4 cores should lift more than 3 F9 cores, not less.

Hmmmm. Fuzzy marketing math again. Time to move to Missouri.

Less gravity losses due to higher thrust-to-weight in the first stage, plus better mass ratio and lighter structure (due to higher density of RP).

It's possible.

jabe · « **Reply #16 on:** 03/31/2011 04:36 pm »

Quote from: starsalor on 03/31/2011 03:31 pm

"
Elon Musk and Spacex had mentioned plans for BFR (Big F**ing Rocket) and the Merlin 2 rocket engine back in 2005. Now there are details of the designs for the Merlin 2 and the Falcon X, Falcon X heavy and Falcon XX rockets.

curious
where was that posted? gotta read up more on the details..going to be fun to watch it being made!!
jb

simonbp · « **Reply #17 on:** 03/31/2011 04:37 pm »

Quote from: Lurker Steve on 03/31/2011 04:08 pm

Hmmmm. Fuzzy marketing math again. Time to move to Missouri.

'Cause, you know, fuzzy forum math is much better. I suggest a bit reading to understand the difference.

Robotbeat · « **Reply #18 on:** 03/31/2011 04:57 pm »

Quote from: Lurker Steve on 03/31/2011 04:08 pm

Quote from: mr. mark on 03/31/2011 03:42 pm
robo not following.....
The Falcon Heavy will be SpaceX’s entry into the heavy lift launch vehicle category. Capable of lifting over 32,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and over 19,500 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), the Falcon Heavy will compete with the largest commercial launchers now available. It consists of a standard Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters. With the Falcon 9 first stage already designed to support the additional loads of this configuration and with common tanking and engines across both vehicles, development and operation of the Falcon Heavy will be highly cost-effective.

If the Falcon 9 performance doesn't match the current Delta IV medium, how can the Falcon Heavy outperform the Delta IV Heavy ? In theory, each D4 core outperforms the Falcon core, so 3 D4 cores should lift more than 3 F9 cores, not less.

Hmmmm. Fuzzy marketing math again. Time to move to Missouri.

Falcon 9 (block 2, which is I think the only one that is available now) can do more (to LEO) than Delta IV medium (with no solids).

neilh · « **Reply #19 on:** 03/31/2011 06:35 pm »

Hmm, just to speculate, maybe they'll be announcing a multi-launch commercial customer for the Falcon Heavy, sort of like how Orbcomm is for the Falcon 9? Not sure who this could possibly be though -- maybe something Bigelow-related? Alternatively, maybe they'll announce that the Falcon Heavy will be launching multiple Iridium satellites simultaneously with a deployment mechanism (it was already announced they'd be launching 2015-2017 from Vandenberg).