Author Topic: Falcon Heavy Demo Mission Payload Speculation (Read 219863 times)

CuddlyRocket · « **Reply #100 on:** 06/13/2017 01:37 am »

Quote from: Herb Schaltegger on 06/11/2017 05:10 pm

Quote from: Jcc on 06/11/2017 03:24 pm
Must said it would be something crazy. If not cheese related, it is likely Pythonesque.

"Fetchez le vache!"

Quote from: envy887 on 06/12/2017 04:42 pm

Musk said they want to try getting the upper stage back, so no GEO insertion or escape trajectory burns. They could do a GTO or even lunar free return and get the stage back at perigee, depending how long it can last on orbit and whether it can do deep space nav and comms.

They could send an inflatable or other model of a cow - though, how much does a dead cow mass? - on a lunar free return. That way, a cow really would have jumped over the moon. (They might even be able to fit on a (model) cat, a fiddle, a small (model) dog, a dish and a spoon for the sake of completeness.)

docmordrid · « **Reply #101 on:** 06/13/2017 02:33 am »

Or...a basic lifting entry profile test at Mars equivalent pressure. Intern abuse project.

MATTBLAK · « **Reply #102 on:** 06/13/2017 03:48 am »

What if the cargo was a mass-simulator for a Dragon 2? And the upper stage threw it and itself on a lunar free-return trajectory...

Semmel · « **Reply #103 on:** 06/13/2017 05:33 am »

They did the wheel of cheese already with Dragon. I don't think they do the same joke twice. So the cheese is the only silly thing I would rule out...

hkultala · « **Reply #104 on:** 06/13/2017 05:56 am »

Quote from: coal_burner on 04/30/2017 07:23 pm

they could launch a Tesla straight INTO the sun.

it would be silly.
it would be the largest mass ever launched toward the sun.
it would create no new space junk.
Tesla could claim to have manufactured the fastest automobile ever produced.

is the falcon heavy even powerful enough to do that without the car taking years to slowly spiral into the sun?

No, they could not. The rocket does not capacity for that. Getting into sun requires something like 30km/s delta-v (from LEO). The maximum FH can do without payload is probably something like 6km/s.

And in case you use less than those 30km/s, there would no "slow spiraling". It would be orbiting the sun just like the planets orbit the sun.

Jdeshetler · « **Reply #105 on:** 06/13/2017 06:19 am »

That's the SpaceBall RV where the "They've Gone to Plaid" was mentioned, a perfect inspiration for EM's upcoming Tesla Roadster 2.0...

How about a 95% scaled metal framed w/ internal engineered ballasts, covered in aluminium skins wrapped with printed color decals of RV?

sanman · « **Reply #106 on:** 06/13/2017 06:28 am »

How about a very high-powered EMdrive?

MATTBLAK · « **Reply #107 on:** 06/13/2017 10:12 am »

Quote from: Semmel on 06/13/2017 05:33 am

They did the wheel of cheese already with Dragon. I don't think they do the same joke twice. So the cheese is the only silly thing I would rule out...

whitelancer64 · « **Reply #108 on:** 06/13/2017 02:13 pm »

Quote from: sanman on 06/13/2017 06:28 am

How about a very high-powered EMdrive?

That -would- be very silly indeed.

Mader Levap · « **Reply #109 on:** 06/13/2017 11:19 pm »

Quote from: Space Ghost 1962 on 06/12/2017 03:43 pm

Quote from: Mader Levap on 06/12/2017 03:37 pm
Musk's dakimakura featuring Bezos.
Rude. But amusing.

It certainly fulfill "sillest we can thought about" condition.

More seriously, I don't understand amount of people proposing wheel of cheese again or anything from Monty Python. Sending again same thing is boring.

I predict it will be something different and certainly not from same francishe that inspired cheese.

MATTBLAK · « **Reply #110 on:** 06/13/2017 11:41 pm »

I only said the 16 ton weight - e.g. Monty Python - because Elon is a Python fan and because the Falcon Heavy's maximum payload towards Mars is supposed to be about 16 tons. Ergo...

...THAT is the point of my joke.

Herb Schaltegger · « **Reply #111 on:** 06/14/2017 12:54 am »

Quote from: MATTBLAK on 06/13/2017 11:41 pm

I only said the 16 ton weight - e.g. Monty Python - because Elon is a Python fan and because the Falcon Heavy's maximum payload towards Mars is supposed to be about 16 tons. Ergo...

...THAT is the point of my joke.

"... another day older and deeper in debt."

QuantumG · « **Reply #112 on:** 06/14/2017 12:59 am »

Well, the silliest thing *I* can think of is probably not the same as what they might think of... but it's still fun.

How about a giant inflatable likeness of Elon Musk? ... and I mean giant. Project Echo was 30.48 m (100.0 ft) diameter and only had a mass of 156.995 pounds (71.212 kg) at launch. That was using a completely passive approach, with a COPV inflation system it'd be lighter and scale better. Echo 2 had a rigid skin which required less pressurisation. That's probably a better design anyway, if you want a better likeness.

How big? Honestly, if you're going for a low orbit it doesn't take much to make a significant impact. 450 m diameter at 800 km will have a similar angular diameter to the sun. (Edit: scratch that, 450 km diameter at 800 km will have a similar angular diameter to the sun... to be fair, math is hard.)

With the exception of Project West Ford, it's gotta be the silliest space project ever.

DreamyPickle · « **Reply #113 on:** 06/14/2017 01:20 am »

I think this will most likely be a mass simulator with a "silly" shape, but nothing more complex than that. The purpose of the mission is to demonstrate heavy lift capability. It would be awful if they got bad press instead because of a problem with the payload, like launching a Dragon but losing comms with it.

Maybe throw a heavy school bus replica into super-sync GTO and make sure it decays very rapidly and burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere. This would very safely prove the SpaceX value proposition.

Wolfram66 · « **Reply #114 on:** 06/14/2017 01:56 am »

Quote from: whitelancer64 on 06/13/2017 02:13 pm

Quote from: sanman on 06/13/2017 06:28 am
How about a very high-powered EMdrive?

That -would- be very silly indeed.

Maybe Perhaps a large wooden badger?

obi-wan · « **Reply #115 on:** 06/14/2017 03:17 am »

Quote from: QuantumG on 06/14/2017 12:59 am

Well, the silliest thing *I* can think of is probably not the same as what they might think of... but it's still fun.

How about a giant inflatable likeness of Elon Musk? ... and I mean giant. Project Echo was 30.48 m (100.0 ft) diameter and only had a mass of 156.995 pounds (71.212 kg) at launch. That was using a completely passive approach, with a COPV inflation system it'd be lighter and scale better. Echo 2 had a rigid skin which required less pressurisation. That's probably a better design anyway, if you want a better likeness.

How big? Honestly, if you're going for a low orbit it doesn't take much to make a significant impact. 450 m diameter at 800 km will have a similar angular diameter to the sun. (Edit: scratch that, 450 km diameter at 800 km will have a similar angular diameter to the sun... to be fair, math is hard.)

With the exception of Project West Ford, it's gotta be the silliest space project ever.

The sun (and moon, for that matter) subtend 0.5deg, or 0.0087rad. At a typical LEO altitude of 500 km, your inflatable would have to be 4.36 km across to appear to be the same size.

QuantumG · « **Reply #116 on:** 06/14/2017 03:34 am »

Quote from: obi-wan on 06/14/2017 03:17 am

The sun (and moon, for that matter) subtend 0.5deg, or 0.0087rad. At a typical LEO altitude of 500 km, your inflatable would have to be 4.36 km across to appear to be the same size.

Not gunna last long at 500 km. Oh yeah? I was trying to use 31', but I'll trust your math better than mine. So, about 6.98 km at 800 km altitude. That's about 0.1 g / m^2 for a Falcon Heavy payload. So the thickness would have to be 0.724 mm for Mylar. Seems doable

watermod · « **Reply #117 on:** 06/14/2017 04:26 am »

Very silly would be an inflatable "Trojan Horse".

dror · « **Reply #118 on:** 06/14/2017 06:55 am »

Quote from: docmordrid on 06/13/2017 02:33 am

Or...a basic lifting entry profile test at Mars equivalent pressure. Intern abuse project.

IF they are going to use recovered boosters RTLS, hail mary recover for 2nd stage, bouncy castle for the fairings and a lifting body EDL ITS-shaped payload, that would be the first ever fully recoverable orbital mission !

TomH · « **Reply #119 on:** 06/14/2017 07:08 am »

Quote from: dror on 06/14/2017 06:55 am

IF they are going to use recovered boosters RTLS, hail mary recover for 2nd stage, bouncy castle for the fairings and a lifting body EDL ITS-shaped payload, that would be the first ever fully recoverable orbital mission !

It's unlikely that miniature mock ITS would be able to have maneuvering ability. Not enough time, too much investment. BUT, how far along is the smaller cargo version of Dream Chaser? As long as we're already dabbling in the completely absurd here, I wonder if SNC would be interested in a steeply discounted price to test EDL on DC?