Falcon Heavy Demo Mission Payload Speculation

[Zed_Noir]

So is SX going to add a solar array to power the Red camera beyond the usual battery service life?

[Jcc]

So is SX going to add a solar array to power the Red camera beyond the usual battery service life?

Good question. How much money are they willing to spend doing that for the essentially a mass simulator?

[deruch]

They may be some creedance to there been something more than the Tesla.

RED camrea has  built a special camrea for use in space for this mission to shoot 4k in near darkness. It is belived that it was Spacex that ordered them for use on this mission. So they might be a power system onboard and sat coms system to handel a 4k download.

http://www.newsshooter.com/2018/01/28/red-gemini-custom-s35-low-light-sensor-for-outer-space/

The name Gemini is undoubtedly paying homage to the NASA space program of the same name. Project Gemini was NASA’s second human spaceflight program, that took place between projects Mercury and Apollo the 1960’s.

That “very special customer” RED is talking about, is undoubtedly Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX, and co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla. There are not too many people with their own space programs, and it’s probably not NASA, as they been using Canon cameras for capturing video footage in space for quite a few years now.

1) SpaceX doesn't have any approval to use RF spectrum to send data/images back after the upper stage is safed.  What they have approval for is linked to launch operations, not for a payload.  The only "satellite" type spectrum they've applied for is for their Starlink system.  So, if they were going to use such a camera it would only be for a short time period, and I wouldn't count that as being separate from the Tesla.  Just that they upgraded the camera on the second stage pointing at the payload. 

2) NASA currently does use a RED camera on the ISS.  It wouldn't surprise me if they want others. 

ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/29/2017
Earth Imagery from ISS Target (EIISS): Using the RED camera, the crew took images of the India-Himalayas-Tibetan Plateau, Europe/Italy in winter conditions and the Nile delta.  EIISS is used to support creation of a series of videos showcasing Earth views taken from space. The videos are taken with cameras on the ISS in 6K hi-resolution and are integrated into videos for screensavers for public enjoyment, exploration, and engagement.

[speedevil]

1) SpaceX doesn't have any approval to use RF spectrum to send data/images back after the upper stage is safed.  What they have approval for is linked to launch operations, not for a payload.  The only "satellite" type spectrum they've applied for is for their Starlink system.  So, if they were going to use such a camera it would only be for a short time period, and I wouldn't count that as being separate from the Tesla.  Just that they upgraded the camera on the second stage pointing at the payload. 

In principle, the Starlink satellites have LASER comms between them. A prototype could do useful testing with a ground-based telescope to quite extended ranges.

[Mader Levap]

More like just trashing the solar system.

If you actually cared about "littering solar system", you would support launching Tesla Roadster instead of block of concrete. Former has significantly higher chance of recovery and putting in museum than latter.

[Jim]

Concrete isn't used for mass simulator

[QuantumG]

Has there ever been an interplanetary mass simulator?

[Kenp51d]

Concrete isn't used for mass simulator

What is used?


Sent from my V10 using Tapatalk

[biosehnsucht]

If they did put laser comms (and solar, and etc) on the Roadster they wouldn't be able to get any data from it until Paz flies and takes the two piggy-back Starlink prototype satellites with it, I imagine. And even then, would be limited connectivity times with only two satellites, plus bandwidth limitations (versus the 5K footage itself).

As much as I want to believe, unless they pull a FCC license out of thin air in the next few days, I doubt we'll be seeing video footage from the Roadster.

[cppetrie]

Is it reasonable that they have applied for and been granted a license for transmitting from the Tesla but requested the FCC hold the license until after they announce what they plan to do at a pre-launch reveal? Seems like the FCC might grant such a request. Apple’s FCC stuff always seems to magically appear right at launch. I hardly think that’s just lucky timing every single time.

[alhenry1231]

They may be some creedance to there been something more than the Tesla.

RED camrea has  built a special camrea for use in space for this mission to shoot 4k in near darkness. It is belived that it was Spacex that ordered them for use on this mission. So they might be a power system onboard and sat coms system to handel a 4k download.

http://www.newsshooter.com/2018/01/28/red-gemini-custom-s35-low-light-sensor-for-outer-space/

The name Gemini is undoubtedly paying homage to the NASA space program of the same name. Project Gemini was NASA’s second human spaceflight program, that took place between projects Mercury and Apollo the 1960’s.

That “very special customer” RED is talking about, is undoubtedly Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX, and co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla. There are not too many people with their own space programs, and it’s probably not NASA, as they been using Canon cameras for capturing video footage in space for quite a few years now.

October 2017 Reddit

Anti_Pasti_
“Second, Elon we need 4K rocket porn”

ElonMusk
“Ask and you shall receive”

https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/76e79c/i_am_elon_musk_ask_me_anything_about_bfr/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=comment_list

[Johnnyhinbos]

Just send the data as FRBs. Then Breakthrough Listen will get it and market it for SpaceX...

[the_other_Doug]

Has there ever been an interplanetary mass simulator?

Maybe not "interplanetary", but definitely out-of-LEO.  Atlas-Centaur 3 carried a mass simulator of the Surveyor spacecraft.  And was a failure; the Centaur failed to re-ignite in LEO and was not able to verify a TLI burn, even though it was not to have been targeted at the Moon.

The second attempt at an AC flight in support of the Surveyor program carried what was called Surveyor SD-1, which was a more sophisticated version of the mass simulator.  I think SD stood for Spacecraft Development.  It was onboard AC-5, which rose about two feet, had a LOX pump failure, and fell back onto the pad.  It was a more impressive explosion than the somewhat similar fallback event that happened to Orbital's Antares booster.

Two more Surveyor SD payloads were flown on Atlas-Centaur in its development program.  Only one flew completely nominally.  These each tested some components of the eventual Surveyor spacecraft, but served as mass simulators for the Atlas-Centaur test flight program.

A similar tack was taken with the first two Ranger launches, though these were more incomplete Ranger spacecraft than just mass simulators.  Called Block I, they had working power and data systems, and carried a couple of particles-and-fields sensors.  No cameras, no mid-course motors.  A little more like the eventual lunar spacecraft than the Surveyor test vehicles.

So, yeah -- on development flights of their launch vehicles, mass simulators for beyond-LEO spacecraft have been used.  And, of course, on Apollos 4, 6 and 8, the Saturn V flew with LM mass simulators.  Only the one flown on Apollo 6 failed to leave LEO, and only on Apollo 8 (to my knowledge) was a mass simulator flown along with a crewed spacecraft.

Beyond the Earth/Moon system, well, I don't believe the U.S. program has shot mass simulators on any launch aimed farther than the Moon.  So, it depends on your definition of interplanetary, I suppose.

[Jim]

Beyond the Earth/Moon system, well, I don't believe the U.S. program has shot mass simulators on any launch aimed farther than the Moon.  So, it depends on your definition of interplanetary, I suppose.

Titan IIIE-1 with Viking simulator

[oiorionsbelt]

Titan IIIE-1 with Viking simulator

Concrete isn't used for mass simulator

What was it?

[Jim]

Concrete isn't used for mass simulator

What was it?

Here are two mass simulators.

[Jim]

Beyond the Earth/Moon system, well, I don't believe the U.S. program has shot mass simulators on any launch aimed farther than the Moon.  So, it depends on your definition of interplanetary, I suppose.

Titan IIIE-1 with Viking simulator

Courtesy of Gunter

[speedevil]

If they did put laser comms (and solar, and etc) on the Roadster they wouldn't be able to get any data from it until Paz flies and takes the two piggy-back Starlink prototype satellites with it, I imagine. And even then, would be limited connectivity times with only two satellites, plus bandwidth limitations (versus the 5K footage itself).

Two or three meter class telescopes on earth would fix that.

[te_atl]

Has anyone else had a dream where they are watching the falcon heavy launch, and the vehicle blows up in colossal fashion after clearing the tower and junk flies everywhere?

Not that, but did briefly think about whether they remembered to deflate the tires, remove any fluids and disarm the airbags.   Car systems (windshield washer fluid, AC coolant, air filled tires, etc) aren't exactly designed to operate in a vacuum, and it would be embarrassing if the airbags deployed during ascent.   

Or maybe the air in the tires will be rerouted and used as thruster mass 

[jgoldader]

Awright, new tack.

That report from a few days back about the Roadster not being in the fairing for reasons that will become apparent...

Wild speculation: special paint job for the Roadster.