LIVE: SpaceX Falcon 9 (Flight 2) - COTS-1 - Launch Updates - December 8, 2010

[Lars_J]

I'm guessing that the forward pointing Draco thrusters are the ones doing the deorbit burn. (Due to the angle of the capsule walls, they would be the most efficient for the purpose)

But there are 6 forward-facing Draco's. Perhaps the 2 remaining ones are kept in reserve, should the others overheat?

[JimO]

Folks in Hawaii, get outside and look to the south!

[James P]

Couple of questions: Any word on stage one recovery or did stage one disintegrate again?

Last update I saw on stage recovery said they had a signal and a boat (one of the SRB recovery ships presumably) was steaming to its location to see if its there.

One of the facebook posters was speculating the previously mentioned "talon" they had a lock on was a combo flotation/stabilization device and beacon.

Which makes sense in the context used, in addition to a talon being part of the foot of a falcon, in this case supporting the rocket in the water.

SpaceX webcast just says buffering for me. I'm assuming they aren't broadcasting any video from the recovery area.

I expected this portion to be pretty quiet, as I'm sure they're all concentrating on the mission.

Long time lurker here. I have been following the SpaceX's Facebook feed and the have been kind enough to answer questions posted to the feed. The talon is indeed a tracker that is activated once the stage hits the water. I just posted a question on there about how far out the recovery ship is but haven't seen a reply yet.

http://www.facebook.com/SpaceX

[ugordan]

All liquid vehicles tend to be much "smoother" than those with solids (as is shuttle once the SRBs are gone.

Not that you couldn't have the *appearance* of a smooth ride either way. It's just a matter of fixing the camera hard. I mean, for all we know there could have been some pogo and it probably would be difficult to detect in video.

[Robotbeat]

The video is from orbit, from what I can tell.

EDIT:Removed redundant message.

[craigcocca]

What's the expected splashdown latitude and longitude?

[SpacexULA]

glad to here that it appears to have made it back. EDIT: will correct trunk comment it remainded on stage 2.

It just clicked in my head, if they got a tracker, does that mean that the chutes did deploy and the vehicle is likely in 1 or a few pieces?

Could that tracker have survived the fall without the parachutes?

[Hunts Villain]

All of the Cube Sats have phoned home.

[Chris Bergin]

NASA: Dragon is expected to re-enter the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles west of the coast of Mexico.

[Avron]

All of the Cube Sats have phoned home.

Awesome...


Do we have the time of EI?

[JimO]

But there are 6 forward-facing Draco's. Perhaps the 2 remaining ones are kept in reserve, should the others overheat? 

Actually, while firing, RCS-scale thrusters don't overheat, they are well  cooled by propellant flow into them. It's only after cutoff that the hot nozzles conduct into the thrust chamber and attach points and the temp sensors rise.

Jim O
'Prop' console (OMS/RCS), STS-1, 2

[add: That was an awesome team, the STS-1 Prop Officer office -- included some Apollo vets like Gary Coen (later FD) and new NASA hires Ron Dittemore, Wayne Hale, Billy Gerstenmaier, Tony Ceccacci, and contractors such as yours truly.
 

 

[ugordan]

Actually, while firing, RCS-scale thrusters don't overheat, they are well  cooled by propellant flow into them. It's only after cutoff that the hot nozzles conduct into the thrust chamber and attach points and the temp sensors rise.

That's a great nugget there.

[Dave G]

All of the Cube Sats have phoned home.

It looks like we're in the LOS phase of reentry, so probably not a lot of Dragon news for the next few minutes.

Meanwhile, could someone give more info on the Cube Sats?  What are they?  Who are they for?

[craigcocca]

NASA: Dragon is expected to re-enter the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles west of the coast of Mexico.

Thanks, I saw that a few pages back, but was hoping for something a little more precise, like the old aim points used in Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.

[Chris Bergin]

Splashdown expected in less than 30 minutes.

Jim O
'Prop' console (OMS/RCS), STS-1, 2

Too cool for words

[Chris Bergin]

NASA: The Dragon spacecraft's main chute is scheduled to deploy in about 20-minutes.

[MarsInMyLifetime]

But there are 6 forward-facing Draco's. Perhaps the 2 remaining ones are kept in reserve, should the others overheat?

I   surmise too that the 6-min burn with only 4 thrusters helps with lower Gs.  Astronauts  on board would be forward-facing, pressing outward against  the straps.

[Halidon]

All of the Cube Sats have phoned home.

It looks like we're in the LOS phase of reentry, so probably not a lot of Dragon news for the next few minutes.

Meanwhile, could someone give more info on the Cube Sats?  What are they?  Who are they for?

Army and Office of Naval Research are 2

[Robotbeat]

All of the Cube Sats have phoned home.

It looks like we're in the LOS phase of reentry, so probably not a lot of Dragon news for the next few minutes.
...

I don't think we're at loss-of-signal until Dragon starts really hitting the atmosphere and ionizing the air. So, another 5 or so minutes until that.


Here's the video of Dragon on-orbit, again, for those who missed it: (it was "processing" when I first posted it)

[Lars_J]

But there are 6 forward-facing Draco's. Perhaps the 2 remaining ones are kept in reserve, should the others overheat? 

Actually, while firing, RCS-scale thrusters don't overheat, they are well  cooled by propellant flow into them. It's only after cutoff that the hot nozzles conduct into the thrust chamber and attach points and the temp sensors rise.

Jim O
'Prop' console (OMS/RCS), STS-1, 2

Hmm, but this Draco test video from SpaceX seems to show significant heating: (the nozzle is glowing red hot)
http://www.spacex.com/multimedia/videos.php?id=33