SpaceX rockets and launches

[coley]

It looks like they've just welded three rockets together.

Very Kerbalesque.

'Group hug'

 

[T & P]

The first Falcon Heavy rocket is now on the launchpad ahead of its maiden flight later this month.

Musk being Musk, he's sending a Tesla Roadster into space for the test flight, rather than using concrete blocks

Behold! SpaceX's 1st Falcon Heavy Rocket on the Launchpad (Photos, Video)

 

[Limejuice]

The first Falcon Heavy rocket is now on the launchpad ahead of its maiden flight later this month

Behold! SpaceX's 1st Falcon Heavy Rocket on the Launchpad (Photos, Video)

Plus...

There's a Falcon 9 launch scheduled between 01.00 and 03.00 GMT on Saturday 6th January.

Launch Schedule – Spaceflight Now

Rockets!



EDIT: Now Monday 8th Jan at 01.00 GMT.

 

[weltweit]

I wonder if they plan to land the Falcon Heavy boosters back on earth as well?

 

[Crispy]

I wonder if they plan to land the Falcon Heavy boosters back on earth as well?

Yep. Centre core downrange on the boat. Side boosters return to the cape for an almost simultaneous landing on two adjacent pads.

 

[weltweit]

Yep. Centre core downrange on the boat. Side boosters return to the cape for an almost simultaneous landing on two adjacent pads.

I wonder if there is any computery to prevent the two side boosters colliding as they return?

 

[Crispy]

I wonder if there is any computery to prevent the two side boosters colliding as they return?

Yeah I suspect the boostback burns will be subtly different. The landings will probably be separated by a minute or so

 

[weltweit]

Yeah I suspect the boostback burns will be subtly different. The landings will probably be separated by a minute or so

Aha, yes that sounds like a logical and simple solution

 

[T & P]

Presumably the second stage is not reusable and it will simply fall down to Earth when the fairing sends the payload on its merry way into space?

 

[Crispy]

Presumably the second stage is not reusable and it will simply fall down to Earth when the fairing sends the payload on its merry way into space?

For most low earth orbit missions, the 2nd stage does a 180 and decelerates in order to re-enter over open ocean. For geosynchronous and high-performance LEO missions, they just wait for the orbit to decay (which all atmosphere-grazing orbits will do after a while). They re-enter where they will and most of the stage burns up. Sometimes pressure vessels or structural pieces survive and land in the sea or on land.

 

[2hats]

There's a Falcon 9 launch scheduled between 01.00 and 03.00 GMT on Saturday 6th January.

That F9 lofted the new Zuma spy satellite* which some sources are indicating has (expensively for the spooks/taxpayer) failed at insertion. The F9 appears to have performed fine - Falcon Heavy flow processing hasn’t been disrupted which suggests the rocket operated as expected, plus the upper stage was spotted shortly after venting/de-orbit burn out over Africa by an eagle eyed cargo pilot.

Payload (or some remains thereof) are possibly in a roughly circular, mid-inclination orbit, around 1000km up, which means it might be visible within the next week to some seasoned observers who will provided the first clues as to what state it is in.

* if it doesn’t become operational then hints about the actual purpose of Zuma may never be yielded up (one speculation is that its role would have been to close rendezvous with other LEO satellites and survey them, maybe even disable them or with a view to being able to do so in the future).

e2a: though worth pointing out that there was a previous NRO launch where they tried to pass the main payload off as debris from a failure (or rather create the impression of such) so everything may not be as it seems.

 

[Limejuice]

That's a bummer. I'm no fan of big surveillance or whatever, but a total loss is disappointing for the rocket business.

Understandably, everyone involved is tight-lipped about what happened. But I love the SpaceX quote: "...as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally."

Which translates as: "not our fault, no siree."

Highly classified US spy satellite appears to be a total loss after SpaceX launch

Hey ho. They'll just have to build another one - hashtag more jobs for rocket scientists.

 

[Crispy]

Lots of smoke but no fire to this. Very few on-the-record statements. Smells like a cover story to me.

 

[2hats]

Highly classified US spy satellite appears to be a total loss after SpaceX launch

Which states:

The payload was suspected to have burned up in the atmosphere after failing to separate perfectly from the upper part of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the report said.

The WSJ reported it failed to separate from the upper stage.

Those though don't really add up with the independent observations thus far and the fact that USSTRATCOM have catalogued Zuma (as USA 280) which would imply it completed at least one orbit.

 

[Crispy]

Could well have been a re-entry or hypersonic test, hence lack of orbit (and seeming unimportance of launch window timing)

 

[Limejuice]

Let's keep watching the skies.

The truth is out there.

 

[2hats]

Could well have been a re-entry or hypersonic test, hence lack of orbit (and seeming unimportance of launch window timing)

Probably not. It is suspected that launch timing was being tweaked with respect to a set of satellites they could visit.

The observed pattern:

might suggest an out of control, unbalanced de-orbit burn - eg payload failed to separate from upper stage (or adapter), leaving both in orbit. Will be interesting to see if anything is spotted, tumbling, in the coming days/weeks (assuming no premature re-entry).

 

[a_chap]

Will be interesting to see if anything is spotted, tumbling, in the coming days/weeks (assuming no premature re-entry).

Not sure that would prove anything; all discarded upper stages tumble in orbit.

 

[2hats]

Not sure that would prove anything; all discarded upper stages tumble in orbit.

The upper stage was meant to be disposed of over the Pacific. Observation of what is left (additional objects, cloud of debris, degree of stabilisation and how that evolves over time) will hint at what happened and whether what is left is under control or inert.

 

[2hats]

The Falcon Heavy static fire test is due tomorrow, Wednesday, between 1800UTC-midnight.

This will be started as a full wet dress rehearsal with fuel pumped through to all engines in the first and second stages. If all goes to book they will at some point (note they may delay this stage until happy and that could be anytime up until the weekend) elect to roll into a full static fire test, in which case all 27 engines will be lit (in pairs in a staggered sequence to reduce thrust torque) for a few seconds.

If this test goes to plan and they are happy with the results then they may take a shot at a heavy launch towards the end of the month (no earlier than 25 Jan has been floated).

Back to Zuma: (assuming this isn’t a cover) it sounds like the upper stage set itself up for disposal on the following orbit (~1.5 after launch), hence got catalogued:

but possibly the third party adaptor failed to separate the payload from the upper stage, so that disposal (the burn may have been over specified) could have brought the whole lot back in a rather unplanned fashion. Subsequently a USSTRATCOM spokesperson has stated that they are not tracking anything in orbit (this scenario reconciles the 'not tracking anything' with the fact there is something in the catalogue - anything that stays up for >= 1.5 orbits gets catalogued, is the normal procedure).

PS another spysat (NRO radar satellite) is due off from Vandenberg (ULA) on Wednesday evening.

 

[T & P]

Static test successful, launch 'within a a week or so'

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Will Launch 'In A Week Or So' After Successful Static-Fire Test

 

[2hats]

Musk being Musk, he's sending a Tesla Roadster into space for the test flight, rather than using concrete blocks

Tesla ready for launch (due next Tuesday, 6 Feb, window runs from 1830-2130 GMT with relatively few constraints - range availability, ‘TMI’ burn timing, as this is to a heliocentric orbit without a precise target) …

Rumours abound that a low light level 4K camera has been custom built for this flight - perhaps to film the Tesla/from the Tesla after ‘payload’ separation.

 

[T & P]

Wow, that's a really spacious (if you'll forget the pun) payload bay.

 

[Crispy]

Wow, that's a really spacious (if you'll forget the pun) payload bay.

Pretty standard, although still not as big as the Shuttle's (and I believe Atlas 5 can match that)

 

[2hats]

Wow, that's a really spacious (if you'll forget the pun) payload bay.

Fairly standard base payload fairing shroud. Satellites tend to be quite large compared to cars - varying but up to the size of a large minibus (when packed for flight) and often stacked in pairs (or more) for launch.

 

[2hats]

Pretty standard, although still not as big as the Shuttle's (and I believe Atlas 5 can match that)

Yes, Atlas V and Ariane 5 are the current largest (5.4m), if I recall correctly. New Glenn is aiming for 7m, SLS up to 10m diameter. Skylab may have been the largest flown to date (6.7m). To some extent it depends on what the customer wants and is willing to pay for (obviously a purpose built fairing has to be modelled, tested and flight qualified first, and the intended launch vehicle has to be capable of driving it plus payload up through the lower atmosphere to the target parking orbit - so there is an incentive to conform to the vendor’s off the shelf options).

 

[Crispy]

Iirc, SpaceX are limited by the size of their autoclave, otherwise they'd offer a larger one.

 

[Crispy]

Everything is still go for tomorrow's launch attempt. Window opens at 13:30 local time (18:30 in UK)

The roadster has a "pilot"

 

[2hats]

The roadster has a “pilot"

So much for them being driverless cars eh?

 

[a_chap]

It's the Stig!