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#660 by woods170 on 30 Dec, 2017 13:50
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So...let me get this strait. We have the most eagerly-awaited rocket roll-out in decades, and all we get are long-distance shots and no up-close hi-res's from SpaceX?
Patience, young Padawan.
Yeah, I keep telling Pargoo that but he just won't listen. Stubborn he is.
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#661 by daveklingler on 30 Dec, 2017 14:07
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So...let me get this strait. We have the most eagerly-awaited rocket roll-out in decades, and all we get are long-distance shots and no up-close hi-res's from SpaceX?
Patience, young Padawan.
Yeah, I keep telling Pargoo that but he just won't listen. Stubborn he is.
Launch it.
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#662 by Rocket Science on 30 Dec, 2017 14:28
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Photos and video are more than likely being taken for engineering documentation, just not released...They have other priorities at this time which also happens to be in the middle of a holiday week... Keep calm, Go SpaceX...
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#663 by the_other_Doug on 30 Dec, 2017 16:31
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Just a quick question -- I've seen a lot of images of FH being brought out to the pad, erected, then brought back down to horizontal. But nothing showing that it has been put back in the HIF.
Is it being left outside and on the pad? If so, should we expect a couple more test erections and de-erections?
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#664 by mme on 30 Dec, 2017 16:36
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Someone over in a. competitor’s thread just called SX risk averse.So...let me get this strait. We have the most eagerly-awaited rocket roll-out in decades, and all we get are long-distance shots and no up-close hi-res's from SpaceX?
Patience, young Padawan.
Yeah, I keep telling Pargoo that but he just won't listen. Stubborn he is.
I think launches are addictive. The more we get, the more we want. -
#665 by atsf90east on 30 Dec, 2017 17:15
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I can't help but wonder what the excitement and comments would have been like if the internet had existed in May of 1966 when Saturn V 500F was rolled out to Pad 39A for fit checks.
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#666 by CyndyC on 30 Dec, 2017 17:23
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I see very little (if any) risk for POGO for FH, since they are flying the same stages as F9. Same engines, same tank lengths. POGO - if present - will show up in early launches.
All this talk of possible failure points - one more dramatic than the next - starts to border on concern trolling, IMO. “Surely SpaceX has not thought of *this*?”
According to what I Googled, pogo was successfully mitigated throughout the Shuttle launch program with only 3 engines each but had a way of creeping back into the Apollo program in spite of mitigation, all the way through Apollo 17.
I doubt people here think they are pointing out anything SpaceX people don't already know, but instead are trying to figure out their extra concerns based on the scary odds Elon has given the launch attempt, beyond the lists Chris Gebhardt has presented in his single core static fire articles.
The majority of concerns are probably even more innocuous than mn's suggestion of issues discretely times 3 in place of 3 times the issues. There might be one valve in one core that needs replacing as there has been in the past.I'm amazed that people continue to not understand the expectations game that Elon plays - all the time.
If they truly think that FH only has a 50% chance of succeeding, they are not going to launch. Period. They are going to want to be a lot more confident than that.
The 1st statement is true to some extent. I've only witnessed his giving the same odds for the 1st landing attempt, and even though when asked in a Reddit AMA shortly in advance how he had calculated those odds he admitted they were completely estimated, look what happened then.
However, the 2nd statement I tend to agree with, and since Elon gave the 50/50 odds some months ago, and there are obviously many who trust his instincts, some of those same people have probably done additional checks & corrections & increased the odds of success in the interim.
The biggest indication for observers of the odds of success or failure closer to launch time is going to be the range of the hazard area, and I would NOT want to be in the USAF's position of determining that. I won't go as far as quoting the aftermath of the historically largest pad explosion, but suffice it to say windows were blown off buildings as far away as 35 & 40 km (~22 & 25 mi), and for those feeling strong enough to read more my source is http://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1_5l.html. -
#667 by FutureSpaceTourist on 30 Dec, 2017 17:49
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Just a quick question -- I've seen a lot of images of FH being brought out to the pad, erected, then brought back down to horizontal. But nothing showing that it has been put back in the HIF.
Is it being left outside and on the pad? If so, should we expect a couple more test erections and de-erections?
Now have confirmation it’s back in the HIF:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=44376.msg1765919#msg1765919 -
#668 by RocketLover0119 on 30 Dec, 2017 18:17
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According to Chris B's (awesome) article, we currently ( but don't be shocked if this slips) have a SF targeted for the 6th with a window opening on the 15th. And also what time of day is it going to be?
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#669 by Heinrich on 30 Dec, 2017 18:24
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I knew the engines were going to be started 2 at a time. But I always thought this meant at each core. (So in total 6 at a time, 5 steps). Todays article by Chris says:
"It is understood that two Merlin 1D engines will be lit simultaneously followed by the next two… and so on until all 27 are up and running, providing a controlled ramp up to full power for the business end of the vehicle."
Which to me suggests only 2 at a time, so 14 steps in total.
Can someone clarify?
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#670 by dnavas on 30 Dec, 2017 18:46
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I know I am not going to make any friends by saying this but it needs to be said.
I would majorly hate to be a member of the generation that just can't stand to wait until it [whatever "it" may be] actually happens.The flip side is waiting patiently, like an 'adult,' for decades -- all the while knowing deep down that it will never happen.
I think the flip side is getting off your own backside and doing something about it. Either you're waiting to be a witness, or you're pressing to be a participant.
Most of us here are witnesses, and my counsel would be to find many things to watch in between the times when you work. We've got a launch on the 4th, and a static fire on the 6th. Then we wait to see what the outcome of that is (from launch mid-month to another pad rebuild .. ). While we wait, there's CES the week after with cameras (to photograph launches) and maybe even processors (to edit the footage). And then, hopefully, a launch.... Not sure I understand where the impatience comes from -- there's a LOT going on, especially in this corner of the world. Heck, the last launch I watched was actually two -- JAXA and SpaceX, practically at the exact same time!
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#671 by Rocket Science on 30 Dec, 2017 18:49
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I see very little (if any) risk for POGO for FH, since they are flying the same stages as F9. Same engines, same tank lengths. POGO - if present - will show up in early launches.
Over the years they though up a "lot of things" that went off with a "bang"... Flight testing is not just to uncover what you haven't thought of but also to "confirm" what you have by building confidence in the modeling... So please don't worry too much by trying to be the "SpaceX thought police"...
All this talk of possible failure points - one more dramatic than the next - starts to border on concern trolling, IMO. “Surely SpaceX has not thought of *this*?” -
#672 by jpo234 on 30 Dec, 2017 19:33
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I think launches are addictive. The more we get, the more we want.
There will be a saturation point when the Starlink build-up goes into full swing. -
#673 by tvg98 on 30 Dec, 2017 19:39
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I think launches are addictive. The more we get, the more we want.
There will be a saturation point when the Starlink build-up goes into full swing.
Assuming most if not all are broadcast to us of course. If launches become too numerous and common then I can see them only broadcasting special launches such as Crew launches, FH launches, etc. But anyway, back to Falcon Heavy. -
#674 by archae86 on 30 Dec, 2017 19:53
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Larger versions
In the post (on the update thread) I'm referencing, the posted image of the 27-Merlin business end (FH-mated3.jpg) has four curious objects, a pair between each side booster and the main. A colleague on another forum speculated that they might be damping devices, and I speculate they might be actuators in the separation system. I've cropped a closeup from the cited photo and am attaching it as FH_Whazzat_0.jpg.
Does anyone know what they are, or care to guess?
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#675 by IanThePineapple on 30 Dec, 2017 20:34
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Larger versions
In the post (on the update thread) I'm referencing, the posted image of the 27-Merlin business end (FH-mated3.jpg) has four curious objects, a pair between each side booster and the main. A colleague on another forum speculated that they might be damping devices, and I speculate they might be actuators in the separation system. I've cropped a closeup from the cited photo and am attaching it as FH_Whazzat_0.jpg.
Does anyone know what they are, or care to guess?
[GUESS]
I'd guess it's a pusher, while the other attachment points just hold it in place. Once they let go these would push the booster away.
[/GUESS] -
#676 by meekGee on 30 Dec, 2017 20:37
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I think launches are addictive. The more we get, the more we want.
There will be a saturation point when the Starlink build-up goes into full swing.
If you're near SFO, look up the Elephant Bar, located on the shoreline in line with the threshold for runway 28, and watch them land in pairs as you get the Seared Ahi-Tuna and a Jack Daniels.
If THAT doesn't get old, I can't see how a few launches per day would.
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#677 by Jim on 30 Dec, 2017 20:56
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So...let me get this strait. We have the most eagerly-awaited rocket roll-out in decades, and all we get are long-distance shots and no up-close hi-res's from SpaceX?
Not decades. There were many others, just not hyped -
#678 by old_sellsword on 30 Dec, 2017 21:11
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Larger versions
In the post (on the update thread) I'm referencing, the posted image of the 27-Merlin business end (FH-mated3.jpg) has four curious objects, a pair between each side booster and the main. A colleague on another forum speculated that they might be damping devices, and I speculate they might be actuators in the separation system. I've cropped a closeup from the cited photo and am attaching it as FH_Whazzat_0.jpg.
Does anyone know what they are, or care to guess?
They are the pneumatic pusher mechanisms. Two for each booster’s octaweb. -
#679 by Jim on 30 Dec, 2017 21:14
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Larger versions
In the post (on the update thread) I'm referencing, the posted image of the 27-Merlin business end (FH-mated3.jpg) has four curious objects, a pair between each side booster and the main. A colleague on another forum speculated that they might be damping devices, and I speculate they might be actuators in the separation system. I've cropped a closeup from the cited photo and am attaching it as FH_Whazzat_0.jpg.
Does anyone know what they are, or care to guess?
not dampers. no need for such. It is the sep system
