Author Topic: SpaceX COTS Demo 2 Updates (Read 448920 times)

Lee Jay · « **Reply #640 on:** 07/19/2011 02:52 am »

Quote from: Robotbeat on 07/17/2011 12:57 am

Quote from: Prober on 07/16/2011 10:58 pm
Fine, The Shuttle is the only proven launcher.
Commercial has failed in all its timelines (face the facts).
...
...
Both false.

I was in the room when Elon himself said Falcon 9's first flight would be between June and August of 2009. And that was in January of 2009.

Halidon · « **Reply #641 on:** 07/19/2011 03:24 am »

Quote from: Lee Jay on 07/19/2011 02:52 am

I was in the room when Elon himself said Falcon 9's first flight would be between June and August of 2009. And that was in January of 2009.

October 2009 isn't that bad as far as first flights go.

Geron · « **Reply #642 on:** 07/19/2011 03:38 am »

First flight was June 2010. I don't recall any statement in January 09 that the launch would be June 09. I guess there could have been one.

Just FYI, optimists do better than pessimists. I bet optimists even outperform realists. I am glad that the head of SpaceX is an optimist to the point of upsetting people becuase he seems to get a lot of stuff done. Whats that expression, "Aim for the moon and even if you miss you will land among the stars."

Thank you for posting pics of the second stage arriving. That is good news. Now we have two stages at the cape and a dragon who's "heart started beating" a few weeks ago. I am still hopeful for flight before the end of the year.

Lee Jay · « **Reply #643 on:** 07/19/2011 03:59 am »

Quote from: Geron on 07/19/2011 03:38 am

First flight was June 2010. I don't recall any statement in January 09 that the launch would be June 09. I guess there could have been one.

Notes, audio and pictures on L2:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15491.0

vt_hokie · « **Reply #644 on:** 07/19/2011 04:04 am »

Quote from: Geron on 07/19/2011 03:38 am

First flight was June 2010. I don't recall any statement in January 09 that the launch would be June 09. I guess there could have been one.

Just FYI, optimists do better than pessimists. I bet optimists even outperform realists. I am glad that the head of SpaceX is an optimist to the point of upsetting people becuase he seems to get a lot of stuff done. Whats that expression, "Aim for the moon and even if you miss you will land among the stars."

Doesn't make it any less stupid to retire shuttle before a replacement capability is proven, with ISS maintenance and utilization hanging in the balance.

mr. mark · « **Reply #645 on:** 07/19/2011 05:48 am »

Something I've learned in my 50 years of living. Crying about what's past won't get you anywhere. You have to look to the future and keep moving. The shuttle program is finished. No amount of anger, tears or belly aching will bring it back. As Chris has said, it's time to move forward. We can complain about late commercial's timelines not being met, we can complain about programs ending too soon. It won't change anything. What's real is that there is a rocket at pad 40 awaiting a cargo capsule to be delivered for integration and eventual launch. That's the reality.

tigerade · « **Reply #646 on:** 07/19/2011 07:26 am »

Quote from: mr. mark on 07/19/2011 05:48 am

Something I've learned in my 50 years of living. Crying about what's past won't get you anywhere. You have to look to the future and keep moving. The shuttle program is finished. No amount of anger, tears or belly aching will bring it back. As Chris has said, it's time to move forward. We can complain about late commercial's timelines not being met, we can complain about programs ending too soon. It won't change anything. What's real is that there is a rocket at pad 40 awaiting a cargo capsule to be delivered for integration and eventual launch. That's the reality.

Indeed. At the moment, commercial -is- our national space program. Unless you are taking the SLS/Orion thing seriously, which I am not. For now, the only launches we have to look forward to in the near future are commericial.

Antares · « **Reply #647 on:** 07/19/2011 01:49 pm »

This is the Demo 2 thread, not the discussion thread.

corrodedNut · « **Reply #648 on:** 07/19/2011 08:05 pm »

What's this thing? Looks like a tank dome, but surely it can't be. Insulation? Previous photos show silver colored mylar on the 1st stage LOX dome; could it be TPS?

Halidon · « **Reply #649 on:** 07/19/2011 08:14 pm »

Looks similar to this

And this:
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=27259

Encapsulation for shipping?

Jim · « **Reply #650 on:** 07/19/2011 08:27 pm »

Quote from: corrodedNut on 07/19/2011 08:05 pm

What's this thing? Looks like a tank dome, but surely it can't be. Insulation? Previous photos show silver colored mylar on the 1st stage LOX dome; could it be TPS?

More important what is the wheeled vehicle?

ugordan · « **Reply #651 on:** 07/19/2011 08:31 pm »

Quote from: Jim on 07/19/2011 08:27 pm

More important what is the wheeled vehicle?

2nd stage transporter?

mr. mark · « **Reply #652 on:** 07/19/2011 08:38 pm »

It's the second stage transporter. See the pics I posted on page 43.

Robotbeat · « **Reply #653 on:** 07/19/2011 08:46 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 07/19/2011 02:48 am

COTS 2 second stage has arrived at the cape as expected.

Where'd you get the pics?

ugordan · « **Reply #654 on:** 07/19/2011 08:47 pm »

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/

Jim · « **Reply #655 on:** 07/19/2011 08:52 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 07/19/2011 08:38 pm

It's the second stage transporter. See the pics I posted on page 43.

It is evidence of cost creep. No more shrink wrapping the stages and just putting them on a trailer.

SpacemanInSPACE · « **Reply #656 on:** 07/19/2011 09:02 pm »

Quote from: Jim on 07/19/2011 08:52 pm

Quote from: mr. mark on 07/19/2011 08:38 pm
It's the second stage transporter. See the pics I posted on page 43.

It is evidence of cost creep. No more shrink wrapping the stages and just putting them on a trailer.

Excellent point, perhaps their hoping it will balance out in the long run?

baldusi · « **Reply #657 on:** 07/19/2011 09:15 pm »

It seems to me more like a standard low hang trailer with a foil protection on the tips.

Robotbeat · « **Reply #658 on:** 07/19/2011 09:19 pm »

Quote from: go4mars on 07/19/2011 09:15 pm

Quote from: Jim on 07/19/2011 08:52 pm
Quote from: mr. mark on 07/19/2011 08:38 pm
It's the second stage transporter. See the pics I posted on page 43.

It is evidence of cost creep. No more shrink wrapping the stages and just putting them on a trailer.

Maybe they had a 1) momentarily unoccupied tech build the shroud, and 2)weld up some axles from the local hauler-graveyard, where the cost of the overall project cost was offset by fuel savings garnered by the lower wind drag coefficient of this new transport method (notice the tapered metal). Just saying, this was likely not a bank-breaker.

1) Possibly. Doesn't look terribly expensive.
2)Doubtful. I think it's a regular low-hung flat-bed truck. Don't think they'd have someone building trailers as a side-project.

Either way, SpaceX had better focus on getting things launched quickly and safely. They will lose a lot of money if they only have a couple launches a year.

go4mars · « **Reply #659 on:** 07/19/2011 09:22 pm »

Quote from: baldusi on 07/19/2011 09:15 pm

It seems to me more like a standard low hang trailer with a foil protection on the tips.

Agreed. Having one of the tech's add a metal frame to a low-deck trailer and draping that black fabric around it might have been less expensive than shrink-wrapping it with protective plastic. Might even have been for environmental reasons (that's a lot of shrink-wrap). The wheeled part (I am pretty sure) is just one of those oversize load modules with the unecessary wheels flipped up to save the rubber. Overall it looks more aerodynamic than the original methods. The savings on fuel from the streamlining might have offset the entire cost of having an unoccupied tech or two build this for a few days.