SpaceX rockets and launches

[2hats]

Ascent trail to the left, re-entry burn top centre, landing burn on the right of the shot:

Good de-orbit burn of second stage confirmed. It should re-enter over the Indian Ocean around 0230UTC.
e2a: complete replay of the launch, landing through to payload deploy here.

 

[rover07]

Amazing! The cost of launching payloads into space just decreased by at least a factor of 10 and maybe even 100.

 

[2hats]

At the moment Orbcomm reporting that 10 out of the 11 deployed satellites 'checked in' whilst passing over a ground station on the first orbit.
e2a: now all 11 have phoned home.

 

[editor]

This is fantastic stuff!

 

[Crispy]

 

[Diamond]

Absolutely amazing stuff!

 

[MikeMcc]

Looks like that absolutely nailed the landing perfectly.

 

[Crispy]

X marks the spot indeed

 

[Crispy]

I am bouncing up and down in my chair. Why isn't this thread rammed hard at the top of New Posts? Why isn't my entire facebook freaking out? IT'S HAPPENING PEOPLE!

 

[2hats]

Though this particular rocket won't be used again. The plan is to static test fire it. Musk has said they will try to re-use a first stage sometime next year...

 

[Crispy]

Yeah, I imagine all the fine tooth combs will be out for this one.

I wonder if they'll put a paying customer on the first reused stage? Offer a bargain price and I bet they'll get some interest.

 

[DotCommunist]

yeah well unless its vouchers in the newspaper I'm out.

Suspect I couldn't handle micro g anyway.

 

[2hats]

4K video of the landing:

 

[2hats]

Another angle on the return trip:

 

[Limejuice]

Smashing stuff.

It's like Thunderbirds is coming true after all these years.

 

[StoneRoad]

That's a right bit of precision. Well done, SpaceX !

I'm wondering if part of the problem with the barge landings was the ocean swell ?

 

[2hats]

The F9R first stage was travelling at 1.62km/s at MECO (main engine cut off), about 80km up, 90km downrange. It continued on up to 170km as it performed the boost back burn to start deceleration and return to launch site.

For comparison (such as it is) Blue Origin's New Shepherd returns from a peak of 1.28km/s and an altitude of 100km.

I suspect the first stage MECO velocities of the proposed Arianespace and ULA reusable launchers will be higher than the above. It would be interesting to see what the values/profile would be for the F9R for the launch of a geo comsat.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Beautiful!

 

[Crispy]

. It would be interesting to see what the values/profile would be for the F9R for the launch of a geo comsat.

I was under the impression that there wasn't enough margin to do RTLS on geo missions?

 

[2hats]

I was under the impression that there wasn't enough margin to do RTLS on geo missions?

Ah ok. So no additional savings there for the MEO/HEO slice of the market (generally navigation, comsats, some Earth observation).

 

[Crispy]

I think they'll use falcon heavy for geo missions, and recover all three cores.

 

[T & P]

Amazing! The cost of launching payloads into space just decreased by at least a factor of 10 and maybe even 100.

I know nothing about the economics of space launches but I don't think the savings would be quite as much as that. It will lower the overall cost of course, but I doubt by a factor of 10. If it halves it we'd be doing well imo.

 

[stdP]

Ars have some nice grubby pics of the retrieved rocket booster:

New photos of SpaceX booster show sooty, but undamaged rocket

 

[Crispy]

I'm sure some of the usual suspects were watching, but spacex flew the last Falcon9 v1.1 today, from Vandenberg on the west coast, carrying a French/Italian ocean science satellite. Primary mission a success, and the barge landing was the closest yet. Made a perfect landing despite the 15 foot swell, but one of the legs failed to lock so it tipped over. They've already improved the legs on the new "Full Thrust" version of the rocket, so next barge attempt should have much better chances.

 

[Crispy]

So close!

 

[fishfinger]

Bummer

 

[existentialist]

Do they get through a lot of cameras on that barge, or are they carefully protected from blast/explosions/fire?

 

[Crispy]

Pinpoint accuracy though. That's an amazing achievement by itself.

 

[Crispy]

GoPros are cheap enough to be disposable in a situation like this.

Next launch is now set for Feb 6th, from Cape Canaveral. It's a GTO mission and carrying just about the heaviest satellite the F9 can manage to that orbit. They're still going to attempt a barge landing, but there will be so little spare fuel, it will be the fastest and furthest re-entry yet attempted. Some calculations put it at 35kg left in the tanks at touchdown. 35kg! That's barely enough to keep the pipes wet.

 

[2hats]

A Falcon-9 orbited the Jason-3 ocean surface topography satellite yesterday from Vandenberg Air Force Base but didn't quite manage a successful sea barge landing in the Pacific:

Apparently a leg didn't lock into position properly. This might have been due to ice build up after launch in fog:

e2a: serves me right for searching and not scrolling back along the thread
The satellite is being checked out but appears healthy. It will provide information about circulation patterns in the ocean and global and regional changes in sea level .