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

[Robotbeat]

Cog_in_the_machine, I'd like some cites for that, if you or anyone has them. I don't doubt that SpaceX can't handle a lot of configurations for the simple fact that currently they are configured for Dragon and small satellites. However, I do not see why the vast majority of potential candidates cannot work with Falcon 9.

I'd like some cites before I'd believe otherwise. Can't blame me for not taking the word of someone on a forum, even if they have "good rep."

Most customers are in GSO. Falcon 9's performance to GSO (or, rather, GTO) is still not yet established. (EDIT:Although the 2nd stage restart helps establish some credibility there.)

[Toner Soprano]

I went to cbs news web site to look at the gallery of photos.  These mainstream media sites need to stop using  interns to post stuff!  Most of the photos are of the Falcon 1 launches.

[Space Pete]

Here's the NASA/SpaceX post-landing press conference (in 4 parts).

[DragonLordNL]

Dragon Under parachutes:

[Silmfeanor]

Dragon Under parachutes:
[...]

Very nice! you can see the drogue chutes and the parachute hatch below it. This also gives more credit to the claim of landing within 800 meters of the craft.

[joshcryer]

Silly question, but was the parachute hatch recovered? I missed it if it was said or not.

[corrodedNut]

Jay Barbree has a blog post:

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/08/5613253-something-wonderful-happened-here

Very decent of him, I must say.

After watching the launch video again, I noticed the obvious scorch mark on the first stage as it falls away. It does seem to tumble at a higher rate than flight1.

[JMS]

Very decent of him, I must say.

Very decent of him indeed.

[Robotbeat]

Very decent of him, I must say.

Very decent of him indeed.

Agreed!

The only real good way to win over detractors is to succeed.

[joshcryer]

The only real good way to win over detractors is to succeed.

Best answer to really lame questions that you believe you know the answer to but can't prove it? "Let's wait and see."

I'm waiting a few more years to go back to all those people who were really nasty to me to rub it in their face. (OK, probably not, I can be content being a koolaid drinker without being a brat about it.)

[Lee Jay]

Dragon Under parachutes:
[...]

Very nice! you can see the drogue chutes and the parachute hatch below it. This also gives more credit to the claim of landing within 800 meters of the craft.

According to the EXIF data, that was shot with a full-frame camera with an 800mm lens.  That's quite a bit of telephoto power so, unless you're used to it, it's not going to make it easy to judge distance.  Further, the shot is cropped and we don't know by how much.

[Robotbeat]

Dragon Under parachutes:
[...]

Very nice! you can see the drogue chutes and the parachute hatch below it. This also gives more credit to the claim of landing within 800 meters of the craft.

According to the EXIF data, that was shot with a full-frame camera with an 800mm lens.  That's quite a bit of telephoto power so, unless you're used to it, it's not going to make it easy to judge distance.  Further, the shot is cropped and we don't know by how much.

Not only that, but it's not like you want to be right under the landing, if it's as precise as that.

[Lee Jay]

Not only that, but it's not like you want to be right under the landing, if it's as precise as that.

Like those cartoons when Elmer is looking through binoculars and suddenly see nothing but Buggs' eye balls?

[nooneofconsequence]

About wanting to take humanity to other planets and do the things in the sci fi movies.

Was at Peter Thiel's soiree last night, along with Peter Diamandis and Pete Worden (among others).

All of the advanced groups he'd funded shared the view with him that it wasn't challenging if it didn't sound like "science fiction".

So in Elon's community ... this is among the highest praise. Along with being compared to Delos D. Harriman, Robert Heinlein's "Man who sold the Moon". Quite a distance from the more staid aerospace community, who'd be very upset with it.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Congratulations to SpaceX for the successful recovery of Dragon 1!

This launch reminds me of the launch of Apollo AS-201, which launched CSM-009 into a suborbital trajectory with an apogee of 419 km with an entry speed of about 8500 m/s. Its one of the first steps in a long journey, with the most historic flights yet to come, which is a crewed Dragon which if achieved will I think deserve a place next to the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft in the National Air and Space Museum.

[Sparky]

Judging by Musk's statements about the secret cargo, (and making the Monty Python comment) who wants to bet that the cargo was a sheep of some sort?

If I'm right, I'd guess it would be something like a toy sheep, a picture of a sheep, or maybe a nice piece of mutton. I think if Musk had really wanted to show off, he might have launched a live one to show everyone that there was technically no reason a human passenger aboard wouldn't have survived, but I think that's a long shot.

And to answer the question of just what exactly are the commercial possibilities of ovine aviation:

(Edited to fix typo)

[Hanol]

According to the EXIF data, that was shot with a full-frame camera with an 800mm lens.  That's quite a bit of telephoto power so, unless you're used to it, it's not going to make it easy to judge distance.  Further, the shot is cropped and we don't know by how much.

I also looked at EXIF.  I have a similar camera and 600mm lens.  And I shoot a lot on the open water in the Ocean.  All I can say it was less then a mile.  Probably much less.  If it was significatly cropped, you would see much worse resolution.  Also EXIF would show image processsing program.

[Lee Jay]

According to the EXIF data, that was shot with a full-frame camera with an 800mm lens.  That's quite a bit of telephoto power so, unless you're used to it, it's not going to make it easy to judge distance.  Further, the shot is cropped and we don't know by how much.

I also looked at EXIF.  I have a similar camera and 600mm lens.  And I shoot a lot on the open water in the Ocean.  All I can say it was less then a mile.  Probably much less.  If it was significatly cropped, you would see much worse resolution.  Also EXIF would show image processsing program.

I agree that it's probably from the better part of a mile.

[kch]

Judging by Musk's statements about the secret cargo, (and making the Monty Python comment) who wants to bet that the cargo was a sheep of some sort?

If I'm right, I'd guess it would be something like a toy sheep, a picture of a sheep, or maybe a nice piece of mutton. I think if Musk had really wanted to show off, he might have launched a live one to show everyone that there was physically no reason a human passenger aboard.

If you're right, we'll be congratulating them for a successful first orbital free flight of their new "spacesheep" with a hearty "wool done!"  We'll probably also want to wish them "Fleece Navidad" ...

[Chris Bergin]

Here's one of the two videos I shot of the Falcon 9 launch with Dragon today. The other one didn't turn out as "interesting". We were stationed on NASA Causeway, roughly 4-ish miles from the launch pad toward the south.

This video was on the wrong section, so merged it with this thread for better exposure....and bumping it