Author Topic: Floating first stage recovery vessel  (Read 6295 times)

Offline ejb749

Floating first stage recovery vessel
« on: 02/01/2018 09:18 pm »
It wouldn't be too hard to design a semi-submersible recovery vessel for floating first stages.
You could use fresh water for the ballast, which would have to be carried to the site on a support ship.

(Think quarter scale version of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mighty_Servant_2 )

The ship would maneuver under the floating stage, and then pump the fresh water out onto the stage to rinse the salt water away,at the same time lifting it up out of the ocean.  This would greatly reduce the amount of time that the stage is exposed to the salt water, which is the reason you don't want to land in the water in the first place.

The same motors could be used to drive the pumps and then to propel the ship. 
Big Horsepower = fast pumps & fast boat.

Of course, it would be fully autonomous....

Offline Jim

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #1 on: 02/01/2018 09:19 pm »
Why is this needed?

Offline mule169

Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #2 on: 02/02/2018 12:48 am »
Why is this needed?
I feel like this thread was started specifically for this response ;-)

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Offline ejb749

Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #3 on: 02/10/2018 09:34 pm »
Confirmed.  It was destroyed.  There was no safe way to tow it back without risk to land, sea, and people.

Offline Hobbes-22

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #4 on: 02/11/2018 10:33 am »
If the stage were worth recovering, they'd have sent an ASDS and landed on that.

Offline Zed_Noir

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #5 on: 02/11/2018 08:22 pm »
If the stage were worth recovering, they'd have sent an ASDS and landed on that.

SX did not have ASDS available without risking ASDS availability for the Falcon Heavy center stage recovery.

There was only 6 days between the launch of GovSat-1 and the Falcon Heavy Demo. That is not enough time for the ASDS to return with the GovSat-1 core, turnaround at port & transit to recovery site for the Falcon Heavy center core.

SX need another ASDS at Florida if they plan on recovering cores at sea at less than 10 days interval IMO.

Offline vanoord

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #6 on: 02/12/2018 08:18 am »
SX need another ASDS at Florida if they plan on recovering cores at sea at less than 10 days interval IMO.

Indeed.

The simple fix is to ensure they don't have to try to recover two first stages at sea within 10-14 days.

With the introduction of Block 5, increased ability to perform RTLS launches - and the ability to plan the launch/recovery schedule a few months ahead, there should be no need for an additional ASDS.

Offline Mader Levap

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #7 on: 02/12/2018 06:45 pm »
Except they are making third one right now... :P
Be successful.  Then tell the haters to (BLEEP) off. - deruch
...and if you have failure, tell it anyway.

Offline vanoord

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #8 on: 02/12/2018 08:17 pm »
You win some, you lose some  :)

At some point after posting that I idly wondered whether a situation might arise where they would wish to recover a pair of FH side cores at sea. At $20m a core or so, it makes sense to spend perhaps $2m+ a year just to have a spare ASDS just in case they need it.

Offline Lar

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #9 on: 03/13/2018 03:58 pm »
Except they are making third one right now... :P
Do we have any more information on that (public?)
"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk
"We're a little bit like the dog who caught the bus" - Musk after CRS-8 S1 successfully landed on ASDS OCISLY

Offline tater

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #10 on: 03/13/2018 04:08 pm »
Except they are making third one right now... :P
Do we have any more information on that (public?)
This was news a few weeks ago, we even have the name, A Shortfall of Gravitas.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-new-drone-ship-a-shortfall-of-gravitas/
« Last Edit: 03/13/2018 04:08 pm by tater »

Offline Lar

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #11 on: 03/13/2018 06:08 pm »
Except they are making third one right now... :P
Do we have any more information on that (public?)
This was news a few weeks ago, we even have the name, A Shortfall of Gravitas.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-new-drone-ship-a-shortfall-of-gravitas/
NVM I am in the wrong thread for this, but no, that's not what I meant... was seeking MORE info.... Where things stood a few weeks ago was that we had not yet been able to ferret out where it was being built or by whom.  This is discussed in the ASDS thread.
"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk
"We're a little bit like the dog who caught the bus" - Musk after CRS-8 S1 successfully landed on ASDS OCISLY

Offline Kabloona

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Re: Floating first stage recovery vessel
« Reply #12 on: 03/13/2018 09:00 pm »
Except they are making third one right now... :P
Do we have any more information on that (public?)

No, and it's puzzling. I've even been told by one person involved with the current ASDS ships (not a SpaceX employee)  that his group doesn't know of a third drone ship under construction and doesn't know why Elon said a third one was/is under construction.

The most likely explanation I can come up with is that the third ASDS is being built far from where the first two were built, and by a different company, possibly on the West Coast. If so, we're not likely to get any more info until Elon tweets an aerial  pic of it like he did before.

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