SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 - CASSIOPE - September, 2013 - GENERAL DISCUSSION THREAD

[RocketmanUS]

NASA has posted the new CASSIOPE launch date of the 14th

http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

Thanks for the update.

Well that means I'll only need one back of popcorn next Tuesday.
To bad they will not be launching on Tuesday.

Might need a poll for when they might launch this year.
Would at least be fun to see who would come the closest and time of day.

[corrodedNut]

E- 2nd stage cold gas thrusters

They would be on the base of the stage, inside the interstage

I don't know what "E" are. It seems strange to have thrusters surface mounted to the 2nd stage tanks, and not the aft bulkhead as Jim says. There appear to be four, equally spaced around the circumference of the stage, which is why I suggest they could be antennas. They look a little big for antennas, however. Whatever "G" are, they seem to be located the same longitudinally as "E", but lower down on the interstage.

[PattiM]

NASA has posted the new CASSIOPE launch date of the 14th

http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

Interesting that they are listing it;  it is still dependent on how the hot fire test goes.

When is HF scheduled?

[Jcc]

E- 2nd stage cold gas thrusters

They would be on the base of the stage, inside the interstage

I don't know what "E" are. It seems strange to have thrusters surface mounted to the 2nd stage tanks, and not the aft bulkhead as Jim says. There appear to be four, equally spaced around the circumference of the stage, which is why I suggest they could be antennas. They look a little big for antennas, however. Whatever "G" are, they seem to be located the same longitudinally as "E", but lower down on the interstage.

Above E could be attachment points for the payload fairing?

[tigerade]

When is HF scheduled?

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32667.60

[rickyramjet]

Any chance the item(s) circled in red are the hard points for attaching the two side boosters of the Falcon Heavy?  I've attached images from SpaceX Falcon Heavy page.

[PattiM]

When is HF scheduled?

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32667.60

"An Error Has Occurred!
The topic or board you are looking for appears to be either missing or off limits to you. "

[Robotbeat]

When is HF scheduled?

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32667.60

"An Error Has Occurred!
The topic or board you are looking for appears to be either missing or off limits to you. "

have to be a member of L2...

[notsorandom]

When is HF scheduled?

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32667.60

"An Error Has Occurred!
The topic or board you are looking for appears to be either missing or off limits to you. "

have to be a member of L2...

The non-L2 answer would be that the HF is scheduled before the 14th. Likely a few days before the launch so that they have time to go over the results and make any necessary changes. Since it is now being posted by NASA the NET date for launch looks to be the 14th.

[PattiM]

When is HF scheduled?

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32667.60

"An Error Has Occurred!
The topic or board you are looking for appears to be either missing or off limits to you. "

have to be a member of L2...

What's LT (besides slightly exclusive)?   I'm from the BBS era, don't really understand forums.  :-)

[Jason1701]

I was talking about first stage / interstage, sorry.

[guckyfan]

What's LT (besides slightly exclusive)?

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/

[beancounter]

What's LT (besides slightly exclusive)?

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/

Yes, well worth it.

[ChrisWilson68]

Any chance the item(s) circled in red are the hard points for attaching the two side boosters of the Falcon Heavy?  I've attached images from SpaceX Falcon Heavy page.

If so, then the stage is rotated 90 degrees from its orientation in FH mode.  And that's problematic because the umbilicals are on the side of the TE now, so rotating the stage 90 degrees would put the umbilicals in the wrong direction, facing one of the side boosters.  Also, if they are side booster hard points, there should be some on the opposite side of the core too, but none are visible.  Granted, the picture is taken from a low angle, but still the feature C is large enough to project below the bottom horizon line of the stage, so the one on top should do the same.

On the other hand, no attach points are visible on the side, where they definitely should be clearly visible in this shot if the hard points were there.

Still, I'd guess these are not booster attach points.

[cambrianera]

Any chance the item(s) circled in red are the hard points for attaching the two side boosters of the Falcon Heavy?  I've attached images from SpaceX Falcon Heavy page.

If so, then the stage is rotated 90 degrees from its orientation in FH mode.  And that's problematic because the umbilicals are on the side of the TE now, so rotating the stage 90 degrees would put the umbilicals in the wrong direction, facing one of the side boosters.  Also, if they are side booster hard points, there should be some on the opposite side of the core too, but none are visible.  Granted, the picture is taken from a low angle, but still the feature C is large enough to project below the bottom horizon line of the stage, so the one on top should do the same.

On the other hand, no attach points are visible on the side, where they definitely should be clearly visible in this shot if the hard points were there.

Still, I'd guess these are not booster attach points.

What Chris said.
Also C and D have the same shape (probably they are similar item): being located close to the upper bulkhead of the LOX tank (C) and the upper bulkhead of the RP1 tank (D) they are most probably vents (as described in corrodedNut's post).

[dhHopkins]

Any chance the item(s) circled in red are the hard points for attaching the two side boosters of the Falcon Heavy?  I've attached images from SpaceX Falcon Heavy page.

If so, then the stage is rotated 90 degrees from its orientation in FH mode.  And that's problematic because the umbilicals are on the side of the TE now, so rotating the stage 90 degrees would put the umbilicals in the wrong direction, facing one of the side boosters.  Also, if they are side booster hard points, there should be some on the opposite side of the core too, but none are visible.  Granted, the picture is taken from a low angle, but still the feature C is large enough to project below the bottom horizon line of the stage, so the one on top should do the same.

On the other hand, no attach points are visible on the side, where they definitely should be clearly visible in this shot if the hard points were there.

Still, I'd guess these are not booster attach points.

What Chris said.
Also C and D have the same shape (probably they are similar item): being located close to the upper bulkhead of the LOX tank (C) and the upper bulkhead of the RP1 tank (D) they are most probably vents (as described in corrodedNut's post).

Hey, the whole thing looks large, but I see what could be an opening on the bottom - could that be a port for a camera.  Could this be the much anticipated source of that fantastic view of the 1st stage water landing?

[cambrianera]

A vent need an opening.
Doubt SpaceX is putting two cameras on the same side but....

[Ben the Space Brit]

A vent need an opening.
Doubt SpaceX is putting two cameras on the same side but....

They might if one camera (the one on the U/S) is not going to be present when the core tries to re-enter and splash down under propulsion.

Another possibility is that it is a sensor for the descent and slow-down.  The main navigational sensors will, again, by on the upper stage.  Maybe these are sensors specifically for the descent and (eventual) landing, placed at the top of the stage due to some weight distribution issue.

[mlindner]

Any chance the item(s) circled in red are the hard points for attaching the two side boosters of the Falcon Heavy?  I've attached images from SpaceX Falcon Heavy page.

If so, then the stage is rotated 90 degrees from its orientation in FH mode.  And that's problematic because the umbilicals are on the side of the TE now, so rotating the stage 90 degrees would put the umbilicals in the wrong direction, facing one of the side boosters.  Also, if they are side booster hard points, there should be some on the opposite side of the core too, but none are visible.  Granted, the picture is taken from a low angle, but still the feature C is large enough to project below the bottom horizon line of the stage, so the one on top should do the same.

On the other hand, no attach points are visible on the side, where they definitely should be clearly visible in this shot if the hard points were there.

Still, I'd guess these are not booster attach points.

What Chris said.
Also C and D have the same shape (probably they are similar item): being located close to the upper bulkhead of the LOX tank (C) and the upper bulkhead of the RP1 tank (D) they are most probably vents (as described in corrodedNut's post).

Hey, the whole thing looks large, but I see what could be an opening on the bottom - could that be a port for a camera.  Could this be the much anticipated source of that fantastic view of the 1st stage water landing?

That feature is too large, modern cameras need less than an inch hole, that feature is several inches large.

[kevin-rf]

That feature is too large, modern cameras need less than an inch hole, that feature is several inches large.

Depends on the lens and chip you use. Besides you always want a housing  window larger than the lense you use. Especially if it is a fish eye.

Haven't eagle eye'd NSFer's spotted the camera mount on previous Falcons. They where not small.