chronological events of Falcon9/Heavy's first stage(s) after separation ?

[maicod]

After falcon9/heavy's first stage separates what happens chronologically ?

Under mentioned questions arise because most happens high up in the sky and is not visible. Only the last part is when it fires for its last deceleration burn before landing. I haven't yet found an online article that covers this all. Only snippets here and there

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does it first tumble away unpowered ?

does it turn almost upside down pointed towards earth ?

what is the deorbit burn for. Is it that high that its in orbit when it seperates ?

what does the deorbit burn accomplish ?

how does it 'fly' ? Does it use the puffs to correct heading and where do the puffs come out of ?

when are the gated flaps extended and what is their purpose ?

does it use GPS (not super accurate up to the centimeter or such) or newer means to navigate to the landing platform ?

why does it fly slightly diagonal before landing ?
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Elon Musk's Tesla related:

will/did the car get separated from its pedestal (with all the 6000 employee's autographs) and did it already detach from the second stage of the rocket ?

[Hobbes-22]

does it first tumble away unpowered ?

Not sure in case of Falcon Heavy side boosters, there was talk of having the center engine keep running throughout separation.

does it turn almost upside down pointed towards earth ?

It has to cancel out its forward and upward velocity, so the deorbit burn is with the engines pointing above the horizontal, I think.

what is the deorbit burn for. Is it that high that its in orbit when it seperates ?

No, it's at 5 km/s or thereabouts. The burn cancels out that velocity.

what does the deorbit burn accomplish ?

how does it 'fly' ? Does it use the puffs to correct heading and where do the puffs come out of ?

In between burns it's mostly ballistic (a small amount of lift from the body). The puffs come out of nitrogen thrusters at the top of the stage.

when are the gated flaps extended and what is their purpose ?

Those are the grid fins. They're aerodynamic controls that steer the stage.

does it use GPS (not super accurate up to the centimeter or such) or newer means to navigate to the landing platform ?

GPS.

why does it fly slightly diagonal before landing ?

It has to point the body diagonally to go sideways.

Elon Musk's Tesla related:

will/did the car get separated from its pedestal (with all the 6000 employee's autographs) and did it already detach from the second stage of the rocket ?

No.

[OnWithTheShow]

After falcon9/heavy's first stage separates what happens chronologically ?

Under mentioned questions arise because most happens high up in the sky and is not visible. Only the last part is when it fires for its last deceleration burn before landing. I haven't yet found an online article that covers this all. Only snippets here and there

-----

does it first tumble away unpowered ?

does it turn almost upside down pointed towards earth ?

what is the deorbit burn for. Is it that high that its in orbit when it seperates ?

what does the deorbit burn accomplish ?

how does it 'fly' ? Does it use the puffs to correct heading and where do the puffs come out of ?

when are the gated flaps extended and what is their purpose ?

does it use GPS (not super accurate up to the centimeter or such) or newer means to navigate to the landing platform ?

why does it fly slightly diagonal before landing ?
----

Elon Musk's Tesla related:

will/did the car get separated from its pedestal (with all the 6000 employee's autographs) and did it already detach from the second stage of the rocket ?

If we are talking about the center core....

does it first tumble away unpowered ?

After separation it immediately begins a 180' turn using its cold gas thrusters to point back towards the launch point. We have seen the boostback burn begin during the flip during the most recent past flights.

does it turn almost upside down pointed towards earth ?
I believe flip has always been upwards so the forward end of the rocket never points down toward the earth.

what is the deorbit burn for. Is it that high that its in orbit when it seperates ?
There are two burns during return neither of which are a traditional "deorbit" burn. The boostback burn cancels out horizontal velocity relative to the earth and in the case of return to launch site landings or close in ASDS landings starts the booster on a path back towards the landing site.  The 2nd burn is the reentry burn. This burn is performed to reduce peak heating on the booster during reentry interface. The boostback is performed on a mostly horizontal vector and the rentry on a mostly vertical vector.

how does it 'fly' ? Does it use the puffs to correct heading and where do the puffs come out of ?
By adjusting the angle of attack (vertical position relative to airflow) the booster can generate a small amount of lift. This in addition to the grid fins and cold gas thrusters help to "steer" the booster to the LZ. As the atmosphere gets thicker the cold gas thrusters lose effectiveness.

when are the gated flaps extended and what is their purpose ?
The grid fins provide more control authority during atmospheric flight. More can be read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_fin

does it use GPS (not super accurate up to the centimeter or such) or newer means to navigate to the landing platform ?
Yes it flies itself to preprogrammed GPS coordinates and then uses a radar altimeter for the final landing burn.

why does it fly slightly diagonal before landing ?
Conjecture here has been that it targets slightly off of the landing coordinates until it verifies that the landing burn has successfully started then shifts onto target. The angle of attack would also generate additional lift helping to steer and slow the rocket.

[EngrDavid]

There is a video on Youtube that shows the whole booster return which will give you a better undestanding of what's happening.

[catdlr]

There is an enhanced version of that video above:

Complete SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch to Landing Footage: Enhanced Edition