Why not just use JPADS and land the fairings on their own ASDS. The 10,000 lb version is already called DragonFly. Could be confusing, but their heart's in the right place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Precision_Airdrop_Systemhttp://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2014/04/computer-parachute-airdrop.html
Another slightly out-there idea: the fairing's biggest weakness will be the lack of stiffness once separted into halves.It would be an interesting little engineering project to design a strut would somehow not get in the way of the payload, but following fairing jettison would deploy to span the width of the fairing half and brace it again.
Even so, we have now multiple examples of the fairing surviving reentry and impact into the ocean.
Quote from: IntoTheVoid on 06/04/2016 05:29 amWhy not just use JPADS and land the fairings on their own ASDS. The 10,000 lb version is already called DragonFly. Could be confusing, but their heart's in the right place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Precision_Airdrop_Systemhttp://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2014/04/computer-parachute-airdrop.htmlFrom reading their brochures, the 10k version is only accurate to 250 m while the smaller (2k?) version is only accurate to 150 m. Thats reasonably tight, but nowhere near tight enough to land on any vessel at sea.From what I can tell, the smaller version should be enough as each fairing half will have its own system.
I think the fairing can be reassembled as follows. The fairing is divided in three equal sections (process symmetrical and more stable than with two sections). The tree parts are connected with hinges and weak springs. the central section has spacers keeping the necessary distance from the load during the process. The process begins with the un latching of the two side sections and starting moving them apart with a spring released by the latch or similar. When the two side sections have completed a 90 degree rotation, the springs in the hinges begin to slow their motion. The inertia of the moving side sections is transmitted to the center section that will be dragged away from the load. When the three sections are clear from the load, the hinge springs will revert the motion of the side sections that will start closing. When the two side sections fully close, a latch will anchor them and the fairing is fully reassembled!
I was recently at a tour of SpaceX Hawthorne and my guide offered information on fairing recovery.He cautioned that it was still early, but one method of interest for recovery would be to use a large semi-inflated bag to cushion the landing. He described it like a larger version of "bounce bags" that you might find at a summer camp.
Quote from: RAN on 08/11/2016 10:37 pmI was recently at a tour of SpaceX Hawthorne and my guide offered information on fairing recovery.He cautioned that it was still early, but one method of interest for recovery would be to use a large semi-inflated bag to cushion the landing. He described it like a larger version of "bounce bags" that you might find at a summer camp.They cost about $1000 online for a 3m by 7m one, so you could buy a thousand of them for a million dollars and place them in a 100m by 200m grid. Should be able to hit that with a guided parasail.
I mentioned landing on pre-positioned airbags upthread. A big challenge would be getting a 50m radius deck full of bags out in the middle of the Atlantic.
They’ve got 2 tug ships going out there all the time that aren’t towing anything. Strap the bags together, put some water in the bottom of them so they won’t blow around too easy with something that makes drag at the backend so they can pull straight. Add a little generator for compressor/lights and there you go.