Stephen Clark's article over at SFN confirms thatQuoteIf the first stage lands intact, sources said the rocket will lock on to the Marmac 300 barge and technicians will vent propellants and toxic substances carried inside the booster before it starts a two-day journey back to port.
If the first stage lands intact, sources said the rocket will lock on to the Marmac 300 barge and technicians will vent propellants and toxic substances carried inside the booster before it starts a two-day journey back to port.
From the update thread:Quote from: Lars-J on 01/05/2015 06:29 pmQuote from: Jarnis on 01/05/2015 06:24 pmElon tweeted a pic of the barge enroutehttps://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/552182273865699328/photo/1Taken from air, so maybe camera drone test flight There's no tugboat pushing or pulling it in this picture. Looks to me like the barge is already station-keeping in this photo.
Quote from: Jarnis on 01/05/2015 06:24 pmElon tweeted a pic of the barge enroutehttps://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/552182273865699328/photo/1Taken from air, so maybe camera drone test flight
Elon tweeted a pic of the barge enroutehttps://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/552182273865699328/photo/1Taken from air, so maybe camera drone test flight
Quote from: Comga on 01/06/2015 02:45 amHe stated that the RP-1 would remain onboard "like a jet".You saw that too! It's gone now. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk_ceocto_of_a_rocket_company_ama/cnfqgek
He stated that the RP-1 would remain onboard "like a jet".
Quote from: Ohsin on 12/24/2014 08:36 amAlso notice those relatively smaller blue box on ASDS share same insignia as another pair of blue boxes on ground next to compressed gas trailers, not sure if they are same but looks like same company made them. Those are absolutely positively Miller brand welders. http://www.millerwelds.com/products/Less certain and less important is what in the Miller line they are. MIG welder? Stick welder? Plasma cutter? Most likely engine driven.I suppose that they are a normal part of owning and maintaining a ship, or maybe a sign that modifications to the platform are still ongoing. A more speculative and exotic rumor to start would be that the landing legs have steel foot plates that sit flat against the deck which the securing crew then is able to quickly weld to the deck for the trip back to port.Edited in second thought: The red vertical pressure cylinders next to the two welders may be to support the welders (Argon, CO2, etc). If so that's a lot of gas, but I'm not used to working on ship scale welding projects. Or maybe not related to the welders and they are CO2 for fire suppression. Then there's the two horizontal objects that may be connecting the lone welder to the shipping container. I speculate that that lone welder is being used as an electrical generator to power whatever is going on inside the container, and delving deeper into the low probability speculation pool I'd guess that one of the things in the container is a power distribution panel to all of SpaceX's electrically powered equipment at each end of the ship.Mark
Also notice those relatively smaller blue box on ASDS share same insignia as another pair of blue boxes on ground next to compressed gas trailers, not sure if they are same but looks like same company made them.
Q: What daily habit do you believe has the largest positive impact on your life?A: Showering
Quote from: QuantumG on 01/06/2015 02:48 amQuote from: Comga on 01/06/2015 02:45 amHe stated that the RP-1 would remain onboard "like a jet".You saw that too! It's gone now. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk_ceocto_of_a_rocket_company_ama/cnfqgekI thought it was said it before the AMA. I think it may have been at the CRS5 presser today.
For months we’ve been discussing and guessing how the thing would be secured on the barge (Low CG only, heligrid, ropes, sticky trap, etc.) and whether it would be brought into port vertically or horizontally. Tonight we have our answer. And congratulations to *me* for being most right (as judged by me at least).
Quote from: rpapo on 01/05/2015 06:40 pmFrom the update thread:Quote from: Lars-J on 01/05/2015 06:29 pmQuote from: Jarnis on 01/05/2015 06:24 pmElon tweeted a pic of the barge enroutehttps://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/552182273865699328/photo/1Taken from air, so maybe camera drone test flight There's no tugboat pushing or pulling it in this picture. Looks to me like the barge is already station-keeping in this photo.Nope! Musk specifically said it's heading to its stationkeeping site. The barge is self-propelled.
darkmo: So basically you're saying Musk may be lying. I doubt it. The propwash looks like it's coming right from where the thrusters are. Additionally, there's no sign of propwash from the (imaginary, in this case) towboat. Barges are often pushed, not towed, and if they ARE towed, the chains usually are plenty short enough that you'd see the tug in the frame. And even if the tug was slightly out of the frame, the propwash would be clear in the right portion this picture.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 01/06/2015 02:46 amQuote from: rpapo on 01/05/2015 06:40 pmFrom the update thread:Quote from: Lars-J on 01/05/2015 06:29 pmQuote from: Jarnis on 01/05/2015 06:24 pmElon tweeted a pic of the barge enroutehttps://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/552182273865699328/photo/1Taken from air, so maybe camera drone test flight There's no tugboat pushing or pulling it in this picture. Looks to me like the barge is already station-keeping in this photo.Nope! Musk specifically said it's heading to its stationkeeping site. The barge is self-propelled.Quotedarkmo: So basically you're saying Musk may be lying. I doubt it. The propwash looks like it's coming right from where the thrusters are. Additionally, there's no sign of propwash from the (imaginary, in this case) towboat. Barges are often pushed, not towed, and if they ARE towed, the chains usually are plenty short enough that you'd see the tug in the frame. And even if the tug was slightly out of the frame, the propwash would be clear in the right portion this picture.not sure but i think (from the one time ive witnessed it) at sea they keep a fairly big distance. also, from the vessel finder data i think they were only going about 5 or 6 knots so i think its possible prop wash could have dissipated by the time it was in the photo frame.not saying he's lying, just saying its still a little vague. if you see a wrecked car being towed, you could say "its heading to the body shop" also, i think i see a hint of a line coming off the front. perhaps in a Y shape. just a hint! lol dont hold me too it.
Except that's not how it's done with ASDS. The tug pushes it.http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=36326.0;attach=627173
Quotedarkmo: So basically you're saying Musk may be lying. I doubt it. The propwash looks like it's coming right from where the thrusters are. Additionally, there's no sign of propwash from the (imaginary, in this case) towboat. Barges are often pushed, not towed, and if they ARE towed, the chains usually are plenty short enough that you'd see the tug in the frame. And even if the tug was slightly out of the frame, the propwash would be clear in the right portion this picture.not sure but i think (from the one time ive witnessed it) at sea they keep a fairly big distance. also, from the vessel finder data i think they were only going about 5 or 6 knots so i think its possible prop wash could have dissipated by the time it was in the photo frame.not saying he's lying, just saying its still a little vague. if you see a wrecked car being towed, you could say "its heading to the body shop" also, i think i see a hint of a line coming off the front. perhaps in a Y shape. just a hint! lol dont hold me too it.
Quote from: dorkmo on 01/06/2015 03:11 amQuotedarkmo: So basically you're saying Musk may be lying. I doubt it. The propwash looks like it's coming right from where the thrusters are. Additionally, there's no sign of propwash from the (imaginary, in this case) towboat. Barges are often pushed, not towed, and if they ARE towed, the chains usually are plenty short enough that you'd see the tug in the frame. And even if the tug was slightly out of the frame, the propwash would be clear in the right portion this picture.not sure but i think (from the one time ive witnessed it) at sea they keep a fairly big distance. also, from the vessel finder data i think they were only going about 5 or 6 knots so i think its possible prop wash could have dissipated by the time it was in the photo frame.not saying he's lying, just saying its still a little vague. if you see a wrecked car being towed, you could say "its heading to the body shop" also, i think i see a hint of a line coming off the front. perhaps in a Y shape. just a hint! lol dont hold me too it.Actually, the giveaway is the bow-wave. In the high-res pic we see it's still dark (the deck lights are on) and occasional waves show it's pushing into a moderate (but not rough) sea. If the ASDS was being towed, we'd (a) expect to see some disruption to the wave pattern around and in front - we don't - and (b) the bow wave wouldn't be pushed forwards and upwards as much as it is, since the ASDS would be following in a smoother patch of the tug-boat's wake which extends a long way back even at 5-6kts.The other thing the bow-wave confirms is that it is indeed a regular shaped barge-style hull under the flight deck - and not the catamaran or SWATH plan-form I'd hoped for...
Quote from: CameronD on 01/06/2015 03:30 amQuote from: dorkmo on 01/06/2015 03:11 amQuotedarkmo: So basically you're saying Musk may be lying. I doubt it. The propwash looks like it's coming right from where the thrusters are. Additionally, there's no sign of propwash from the (imaginary, in this case) towboat. Barges are often pushed, not towed, and if they ARE towed, the chains usually are plenty short enough that you'd see the tug in the frame. And even if the tug was slightly out of the frame, the propwash would be clear in the right portion this picture.not sure but i think (from the one time ive witnessed it) at sea they keep a fairly big distance. also, from the vessel finder data i think they were only going about 5 or 6 knots so i think its possible prop wash could have dissipated by the time it was in the photo frame.not saying he's lying, just saying its still a little vague. if you see a wrecked car being towed, you could say "its heading to the body shop" also, i think i see a hint of a line coming off the front. perhaps in a Y shape. just a hint! lol dont hold me too it.Actually, the giveaway is the bow-wave. In the high-res pic we see it's still dark (the deck lights are on) and occasional waves show it's pushing into a moderate (but not rough) sea. If the ASDS was being towed, we'd (a) expect to see some disruption to the wave pattern around and in front - we don't - and (b) the bow wave wouldn't be pushed forwards and upwards as much as it is, since the ASDS would be following in a smoother patch of the tug-boat's wake which extends a long way back even at 5-6kts.The other thing the bow-wave confirms is that it is indeed a regular shaped barge-style hull under the flight deck - and not the catamaran or SWATH plan-form I'd hoped for... I agree with you totally.However, I think a persuasive enough argument has been made that it /could/ still be under tow (though I don't believe it, considering the complete lack of any visible sign of a wake from the imaginary tug) that I must retract my "neener neener" until more information comes in that confirms it was under its own power for some of the trip to the station keeping position.
Y'alls fascination with towing, pushing, or self propelled is wasted energy. You need to get some rest and save up your bandwidth, there is a really big thing happening in a few hours.Five minutes ago about four posts up was a picture showing 90% of the ASDS at sea from a closer and lower perspective, along with only a few words. Where did that picture come from? Where did it go?I noted a few things on the deck which date that picture as very recent in my mind. The red man lift device was within the yellow perimeter (on the playing field) and had its extensible legs and neck spread out. One of the blue welders was on the playing field in the near right corner, there was a person on deck, and there were apparently two painted on circles of ?20 foot? diameter near the far right corner of the deck.Question about the broadcast tomorrow: Will the revolution be televised?Mark