Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 - Dragon - CRS-5/SpX-5 -Jan. 10, 2015 - DISCUSSION (Read 618076 times)

laika_fr · « **Reply #660 on:** 01/10/2015 08:32 am »

youtube live link :

zerm · « **Reply #661 on:** 01/10/2015 09:05 am »

Saw it from the Washington DC area! Weather here is clear and the Falcon 9 was just an orange pinpoint. At MECO there were two real distinct and bright flashes (Don't know why there were two) They were bright white like a strobe from a great distance.

Norm38 · « **Reply #662 on:** 01/10/2015 09:11 am »

Quote

Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future tho.
Retweeted by ISS Updates

Really? With the number of times they've landed Grasshopper, I'd think final touchdown would be the least difficult task. Maybe the ship was bobbing up and down? Or problem with radar locking onto the ship itself instead of the ocean surface?

But if it hit the ship as has been reported, that means the grid fins did their job perfectly to get them the accuracy they need.

I wonder what condition the 1st stage is in and what if any images they'll release?

meekGee · « **Reply #663 on:** 01/10/2015 09:12 am »

Bummer.

I was expecting either a long range miss or a good landing.

Will be interesting to watch for the scorch marks on ASDS when it comes in, I hope they don't sneak it in during the night....

Star One · « **Reply #664 on:** 01/10/2015 09:12 am »

Sounds like it wasn't decelerated enough, could have gone straight through the landing platform.

NovaSilisko · « **Reply #665 on:** 01/10/2015 09:13 am »

Resoundingly successful launch, even if the barge has a ~~big dent~~ some scorch marks on it now instead of a stage resting gently upon it. The fact it's got ~~a dent in it~~ scorch marks at all shows that they've got falcon flying down quite precisely now.

Beautiful launch too, the shot of dragon popping its solar array covers at sunrise is what I've been waiting to see for a long time.

edit: Looks like the barge is okay, kinda

Elon Musk @elonmusk

Ship itself is fine. Some of the support equipment on the deck will need to be replaced...

Norm38 · « **Reply #666 on:** 01/10/2015 09:15 am »

Elon did say "landed hard". Sure that could mean "crashed, 100% blown up" but it doesn't sound like it. Came down too hard for the landing gear to absorb, so it bottomed out and tipped over? It could still be in one piece...

Bowl2much · « **Reply #667 on:** 01/10/2015 09:15 am »

Just to make it to the barge after a long duration flight is a amazing accomplishment!

(PS. My first post.)

Orenda · « **Reply #668 on:** 01/10/2015 09:16 am »

From Elon

@elonmusk: Didn't get good landing/impact video. Pitch dark and foggy. Will piece it together from telemetry and ... actual pieces.

Lars-J · « **Reply #669 on:** 01/10/2015 09:16 am »

Quote from: Norm38 on 01/10/2015 09:11 am

Really? With the number of times they've landed Grasshopper, I'd think final touchdown would be the least difficult task. Maybe the ship was bobbing up and down? Or problem with radar locking onto the ship itself instead of the ocean surface?

It was coming in much faster than Grasshopper, *AND* had to time the engine startup just right. Grasshopper or F9R-Dev1 never turned off its engine. The Grasshopper experience helps a lot, but this is a lot harder.

I'm just amazed that the grid fins worked, and they they actually hit the ship on a first try,

meekGee · « **Reply #670 on:** 01/10/2015 09:17 am »

"Missed it by THAT much"

Damage to the deck can be from a number of different mechanism - explosion, exhaust exposure, mechanical...

O well.

They got through all the hard parts (entry, atmospheric flight) and something went wrong.

One possibility: the rocket was not 100% healthy for the terminal landing maneuver. That would explain how it went wrong at that relatively low-risk stage.

NovaSilisko · « **Reply #671 on:** 01/10/2015 09:19 am »

Personally, I'm expecting a super mundane cause. One of the legs not latching, or a combination of a wind gust and a big wave causing it to tip, or somebody forgetting to tell it to land at 3m altitude instead of 0.0

mikelepage · « **Reply #672 on:** 01/10/2015 09:20 am »

I wonder if maybe it was off by a large enough amount that it had to do a significant sideways divert, and ran out of fuel in the final seconds.

Norm38 · « **Reply #673 on:** 01/10/2015 09:21 am »

Quote from: Lars-J on 01/10/2015 09:16 am

It was doing in much faster than Grasshopper, *and* had to time the engine startup just right. Grasshopper or F9R-Dev1 never turned off its engine. The Grasshopper experience helps a lot, but this is a lot harder.

Are they that low on fuel margin that engine ignition has to be timed exactly? I thought they'd be able to ignite, go to full thrust, slow down, and then throttle the engine down to handle the precision needed for touchdown.
But if they waited too long and were still slowing down at full thrust....

SoulWager · « **Reply #674 on:** 01/10/2015 09:22 am »

Regardless of how hard it hit, this is extremely good news for their chances of getting permission to land back at the cape.

speedevil · « **Reply #675 on:** 01/10/2015 09:23 am »

Quote from: Norm38 on 01/10/2015 09:21 am

Are they that low on fuel margin that engine ignition has to be timed exactly? I thought they'd be able to ignite, go to full thrust, slow down, and then throttle the engine down to handle the precision needed for touchdown.
But if they waited too long and were still slowing down at full thrust....

The engine has significantly more thrust than the weight of the stage - they cannot hover.

ericspittle · « **Reply #676 on:** 01/10/2015 09:23 am »

I, for one, am at least happy that Elon was so forthcoming with information about the landing. Given the statements at the presser last week I was concerned we wouldn't find out right away.

The fact that they hit the barge is a major success, and I am looking forward to the next launch (DISCOVR?) landing successfully on the barge.

cscott · « **Reply #677 on:** 01/10/2015 09:24 am »

Quote from: SoulWager on 01/10/2015 09:22 am

Regardless of how hard it hit, this is extremely good news for their chances of getting permission to land back at the cape.

And if it turns out that it was the barge pitching which threw Falcon over, then bad news for continued use of the barge (sorry, ship fans).

We shall see!

neoforce · « **Reply #678 on:** 01/10/2015 09:26 am »

Quote from: ericspittle on 01/10/2015 09:23 am

I, for one, am at least happy that Elon was so forthcoming with information about the landing. Given the statements at the presser last week I was concerned we wouldn't find out right away.

The fact that they hit the barge is a major success, and I am looking forward to the next launch (DISCOVR?) landing successfully on the barge.

I just hope the barge is ready in time. Lots of specialized equipment on that barge that if damaged could take time to replace. But as has been said here already, this is a great, great achievement. To paraphrase Edison, they didn't fail.. just found another way that didn't work.

inventodoc · « **Reply #679 on:** 01/10/2015 09:26 am »

Quote from: ericspittle on 01/10/2015 09:23 am

I, for one, am at least happy that Elon was so forthcoming with information about the landing. Given the statements at the presser last week I was concerned we wouldn't find out right away.

The fact that they hit the barge is a major success, and I am looking forward to the next launch (DISCOVR?) landing successfully on the barge.

Agree. I kind of knew something was wrong early by absence of info. When things dont turn out well, understanding SpaceX becomes like Kremlinology. Their first reaction is to hide. I give Elon a lot of credit for using twitter promptly this time.