Author Topic: SpaceX's Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship Updates and Discussion Thread 3  (Read 1424072 times)

Offline dorkmo

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Also Elon said ultimately it'll be at Port Canaveral but not sure if it is initial destination.
What could be this initial destination ?

bahamas?

Offline Kabloona

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Also Elon said ultimately it'll be at Port Canaveral but not sure if it is initial destination.
What could be this initial destination ?

bahamas?

Doubt it, because launch azimuth is much farther north for ISS than it was for SES-9 when they did support ship runs into Bahamas. This time I think Bahamas is farther than the Cape from the LZ. My guess would be Jacksonville as the shortest run to the coast for a temporary layover.

But then they would have to go back out for a run down the coast to the Cape, and that's more exposure at sea... Hoping they opt for a straight shot into Canaveral.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 12:19 am by Kabloona »

Offline mlow

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Yeah I'm a bit confused as to the reasoning of taking a pit-stop somewhere. Perhaps something to do with the winds Elon mentioned in the post-launch conference. Maybe they want to weld shoes and get to a port and dock ASAP, idk. The winds cant be that bad close to shore as they are out there.(he mentioned 50mph winds)

I would think the safest thing would be to weld shoes and get back to the dock where they have the equipment to remove the stage from the barge. Less time in salt spray, less time bobbing around with the shoes/legs taking extra stress. That is unless they use jacks to take some strain off. But alas Elon did not make mention of jacks, only shoes. That doesn't remove them from the equation but seems like he would have made mention of them at the same time wrt the question from a reporter of the exact process the stage has ahead.

At any rate, we will know come Sunday I suppose. I'm sure more than a few people will be on-site to report and take pics/video. I look forward to that. I am also a member of the club that wishes to see Elon standing proud on the bow as it comes into port.

Offline llanitedave

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Also Elon said ultimately it'll be at Port Canaveral but not sure if it is initial destination.

@17m42s mark


I was puzzled by that -- unless it's taking a victory lap up and down the coast I can't imagine where else it would be more likely to go.
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Offline Kabloona

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For reference, here is repost of map by OxCartMark. Jacksonville is almost due west of LZ, but it looks only marginally nearer to the LZ than the Cape, so it hardly seems worth a detour.

« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 12:58 am by Kabloona »

Offline OxCartMark

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Yeah I'm a bit confused as to the reasoning of taking a pit-stop somewhere

Perhaps Amazon has a large facility near the ocean that they want to float it past?


edit: Elon's words on the subject:
"Actually I'm not certain about that I think certainly is where it will ultimately be.  I'm not sure that is the original destination"
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 02:50 am by OxCartMark »
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Offline Ohsin

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I'm looping the landing, and it really looks to me as if it bounced/scooted just a bit on landing.  (As in, it looked like the initial landing point was actually closer to the center than the final resting point.)  Obviously, it would've been built for that, and it didn't hurt, but if it did translate just a bit, the targeting may actually be a smidge *better* than the resting stage makes it look.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/718605741288894464

Ooh they were right on the 'X' at beginning and then as you said moved away slightly.

Edit: I still think shoes and jacks are same thing.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 01:23 am by Ohsin »
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Offline ericspittle

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Edit: I still think shoes and jacks are same thing.
Why would one weld a jack over the landling legs though? I suspect they'll do both, weld shoes over the feet of the legs so it can't move, and then put jacks under it (using the same aircraft style jacks they used for the RTLS in December) to take the stress off the legs.

Online Johnnyhinbos

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Um, it's my supposition that they'd head in to nearest port that can handle the barge (strike that, ship) - I.E., Jax, and offload their precious cargo. I suspect that when OCISLY returns to Port Canaveral it'll be sans cargo...
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Offline OxCartMark

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Um, it's my supposition that they'd head in to nearest port that can handle the barge (strike that, ship) - I.E., Jax, and offload their precious cargo. I suspect that when OCISLY returns to Port Canaveral it'll be sans cargo...
Um, no Falcon perch in Jacksonville.  Falcon perch and yellow crane are at Port Canaveral.

Theory (if you are not already bought into my Amazon theory above): Stop at VAB pond or elsewhere for employee celebration on ASDS and some folks remain onboard for triumphant public return to Port Canaveral.  Hmm, after looking at maps that seems vastly impractical and it almost certainly isn't certified for passengers.

Is this event historic enough that they should eventually hang ASDS OCISLY from the ceiling of the Smithsonian A&S museum?    ::)
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 02:11 am by OxCartMark »
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Offline Ohsin

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Jacks have been spotted so many times but never mentioned 'shoes' have been mentioned by Elon himself but never seen. Jack adapter goes over and secures the hold down lug and jacks could be welded to the deck. Where are these 'shoes' on deck ? Can't be in containers in my opinion very less space around them. Jacks are simply rolled out on their wheels, put under and then firmly placed. Apart from jacks so far the only leg related thing we have seen are these.



Shoes IF they go over leg tips need to be something more rigid and possibly attach.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 02:11 am by Ohsin »
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Offline Kabloona

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Quote
Where are these 'shoes' on deck ? Can't be in containers in my opinion very less space around them.

Shoes need only be maybe 2 feet square, smaller than the size of the welder. Should be enough storage space  for them in the containers, no? Or on GO Quest.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 02:19 am by Kabloona »

Offline OxCartMark

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We've never seen shoes because they are small, only need to go over feet.  Probably stored in containers.
We've never seen shoes because shoes need to be welded to a steel deck and there has never been a F9 standing on a steel deck before.
We've never seen shoes because we've never been in a situation where the F9 landed at sea and needed to be secured very quickly and easily and it was acceptable to cause more work on the receiving end (see also short list of recovered F9s)

Jacks are big because they need to reach up quite a ways to the hold down clamp attach points. 

edit:
Elon's comment from the reddit AMA 1/2015: "Mostly gravity. The center of gravity is pretty low for the booster, as all the engines and residual propellant is at the bottom.
We are going to weld steel shoes over the landing feet as a precautionary measure."

edit2:
Elon's comment on shoes today: (about 20% into the video, not possible for me to get a time)
"That's what's happening, we're welding it down.  Yea.  Make sure it doesn't tip over.  There's potentially some heavy winds coming.  We've got these steel shoes that we put over the landing feet and weld it to the deck"
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 02:42 am by OxCartMark »
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Offline Zed_Noir

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...
Is this event historic enough that they should eventually hang ASDS OCISLY from the ceiling of the Smithsonian A&S museum?    ::)

The OCISLY will make a great lawn monument at the A&S museum, especially with a flown Falcon 9 as the centerpiece on it. :D

Offline Jim

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Is this event historic enough that they should eventually hang ASDS OCISLY from the ceiling of the Smithsonian A&S museum?    ::)

Not anymore than Sea Launch Odyssey.

Offline OxCartMark

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Is this event historic enough that they should eventually hang ASDS OCISLY from the ceiling of the Smithsonian A&S museum?    ::)

Not anymore than Sea Launch Odyssey.
I doubt that ranks anywhere near what happened today.  All Sea Launch Odyssey did is launch rockets.  People have been launching rockets for longer than most of us here have been alive.  And if you classify launching rockets from water as the qualifying category there'd be a large number of submarines in line in front of it.

edit: And... Sea Launch Odyssey is too tall to fit into the room.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 03:01 am by OxCartMark »
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Offline OxCartMark

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For those of you that have been snooping ocean landing platforms for as long as some of us have recall that there were endless pages of discussion about the steel deck being unable to handle the rocket exhaust, warping, etc.  Well today we have a solid answer to that and I note after watching the video a few more times that they don't even seem to be running the red spray nozzle to wet the deck on this landing.
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Offline Ohsin

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Aware of all those Mark. Again looking at tips and not seeing anything to hook up to. Also why would they need tie downs back then when shoes were there? About the space problem I imagine something that is stored partly disassembled beam frame like thing that attaches to cylinders...but then again I think jacks are enough. :-X

Edit: Replying to shoe thingy not above.

Also on Jason-3 attempt they were spraying away from deck.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 03:08 am by Ohsin »
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Offline Kabloona

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Aware of all those Mark. Again looking at tips and not seeing anything to hook up to. Also why would they need tie downs back then when shoes were there? About the space problem I imagine something that is stored partly disassembled beam frame like thing that attaches to cylinders...but then again I think jacks are enough. :-X

Edit: Replying to shoe thingy not above.

Shoes don't need to hook to anything. They can go over the leg tips, preventing side-slipping and overturning. Just make them long enough so they cover a foot or two of leg tip.
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 03:10 am by Kabloona »

Offline Ohsin

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Aware of all those Mark. Again looking at tips and not seeing anything to hook up to. Also why would they need tie downs back then when shoes were there? About the space problem I imagine something that is stored partly disassembled beam frame like thing that attaches to cylinders...but then again I think jacks are enough. :-X

Edit: Replying to shoe thingy not above.

Shoes don't hook to anything. They go over the leg tips, preventing side-slipping and overturning.

Yes I understand that assumption I don't know how to say but doesn't sit well with me. Such shoes just appear unnecessary. Jacks are like those hold downs but movable.

Edit: Adding what little attachables leg tips have
« Last Edit: 04/09/2016 03:20 am by Ohsin »
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