SpaceX Recovered First Stage 'Monument' in Hawthorne

[matthewkantar]

I am in LA today for work and was able to stop by 1 Rocket Road in Hawthorne. I was dizzy with the tarped stage on the street and the new Falcon9 display. They really threw down for the static display, casting new concrete pad and wall around it. Looks like they are installing a glass wall around it next. They painted a SoaceX 'X' on the concrete under, just like at LZ-1and I he ASDSes. I was able to walk right up to the stage and inspect it. The tarp was torn in several spots. Many impressions, but one is how much cork insulation they use. You would think in 2016 they could come up with a better material than tree bark.

[tleski]

Aerial photos tweeted by Garrett Reisman:

astro_g_dogg: Got some good shots of our historic first recovered @SpaceX #Falcon9 booster when I flew home from work today. https://t.co/tkhypGYjcY

[CameronD]

Aerial photos tweeted by Garrett Reisman:

astro_g_dogg: Got some good shots of our historic first recovered @SpaceX #Falcon9 booster when I flew home from work today. https://t.co/tkhypGYjcY

I can see why they'd need to light it at night! 

Perhaps it'll become an aviation nav guidemark - after they update the charts to show it? It looks like it's the highest thing for miles around.
 

[TheFallen]

Stopped by Hawthorne today to check out the two Falcon 9 boosters in person!

[king1999]

Stopped by Hawthorne today to check out the two Falcon 9 boosters in person!

What is in the last two pictures? The cover of one end seems to be totally torn!

[TheFallen]

Stopped by Hawthorne today to check out the two Falcon 9 boosters in person!

What is in the last two pictures? The cover of one end seems to be totally torn!

I have no clue. I thought this booster was a brand new one that was gonna be shipped off to Florida or Vandenberg or something, but a post at the top of this page states that this is another flown booster. Could be the damaged JCSAT-14 core that will be studied by engineers. Don't hold me to that

[matthewkantar]

What is in the last two pictures? The cover of one end seems to be totally torn!

The tarp was torn on both ends, revealing a lot. The engines were removed and you could walk right up to the stage from the street side and look into the octoweb. After being there for five minutes or so, guard asked that we not take pictures.

Matthew

[envy887]

Stopped by Hawthorne today to check out the two Falcon 9 boosters in person!

What is in the last two pictures? The cover of one end seems to be totally torn!

I have no clue. I thought this booster was a brand new one that was gonna be shipped off to Florida or Vandenberg or something, but a post at the top of this page states that this is another flown booster. Could be the damaged JCSAT-14 core that will be studied by engineers. Don't hold me to that

Look further up the thread, there are more pictures of it. It's the used Thaicomm-8 stage.

[Archibald]

Great pictures, thanks to all of you lucky guys that live in L.A

They should upgrade that road sign "do not stop on tracks TO WATCH THE ROCKET"   

More seriously, some years ago Dassault put a prototype Rafale in front of its St Cloud headquarters near Paris, but they had to remove the thing as cars regularly piled up (because of distracted drivers).
Hopefully people won't stop on the railroad tracks to watch the rocket and end like Marty McFly (unfortunate) Delorean

[Helodriver]

Since I flew into LAX on the way back from the IAC in Mexico it was the perfect opportunity to swing by Hawthorne  to see what's going on.  Booster display appears complete with a glass wall now surrounding the perimeter in place of the construction fence.

[Johnnyhinbos]

Can't wait for the first ITS booster to be set up beside it

[jim6398]

And it's well lit at night, so don't skip a visit just because it's dark out.

[ScaryDare]

I claim the right of useless post.  Normally posting McGregor photos in L2, I last saw the Orbcomm-2 booster from over a mile away (Sept 9 2015 see below).  Vacation last week shows the S1 being repainted on Oct 22.  The surrounding glass wall and legs were mostly covered in plastic and they were painting the legs with a roller.  It's hard to describe but the stage is both larger and smaller than expected but still very impressive.

See L2 in a day or two for new McGregor photos.

Gary

[pospa]

Drone sneak peek inside the interstage. Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BRwgf8bgGWV/

Interesting they left so much equipment still there and didn't cover it from the top against water or birds...

(Chris Edit: This seems very naughty of the person on Instagram. I've removed the screenshot as the video may go down. In other words, we're not hosting any of this)

Pospa Edit: I agree and respect. Just, it was interesting from technical point of view, so I wanted to share it.
To make it clear, I'm not the author of that video, nor do I know that person.

[WBY1984]

One could speculate on the effects of air recirculation on a drone within the confines of an interstage. Pity it didn't happen, really: The dude deserves to lose his drone for pulling a stupid stunt like that.

[pb2000]

Wow, that's less than 150M from the foot of an active runway, never mind possibly running afoul of ITAR; completely reckless.

[envy887]

Wow, that's less than 150M from the foot of an active runway, never mind possibly running afoul of ITAR; completely reckless.

Well, it's rather unlikely that the drone would be the immediate cause of any aircraft crash. Anything that hit the drone would have much bigger problems with the giant rocket booster immediately next to it.

[IanThePineapple]

Wow, that's less than 150M from the foot of an active runway, never mind possibly running afoul of ITAR; completely reckless.

Well, it's rather unlikely that the drone would be the immediate cause of any aircraft crash. Anything that hit the drone would have much bigger problems with the giant rocket booster immediately next to it.

If the person lost control of the drone, like if a glitch or a large gust of wind occurred, and it started moving towards the airport (Unlikely, but still very possible), there could be serious issues. It was a stupid idea IMO.

[JAFO]

[thread drift]

Wow, that's less than 150M from the foot of an active runway, never mind possibly running afoul of ITAR; completely reckless.

Well, it's rather unlikely that the drone would be the immediate cause of any aircraft crash. Anything that hit the drone would have much bigger problems with the giant rocket booster immediately next to it.

If the person lost control of the drone, like if a glitch or a large gust of wind occurred, and it started moving towards the airport (Unlikely, but still very possible), there could be serious issues. It was a stupid idea IMO.

I fly a 500,000# airliner in/out of LAX on a regualr basis and have been flying rc airplanes off/on since 1978. If the guy is dumb/reckless enough to go booster-peeping, he's probably dumb/reckless enough to be up in my airspace trying to get a cool video of my airliner on approach like this clown did in Vegas.







Even a 2# drone in the wrong spot could make me have a real bad day at the office.


[/thread drift, apologies, Mods.]