SpaceX (Vol. 2)
Discussion
C n C said:
I'm not going to try to predict what they will do next, but one thing is for certain - it'll be VERY interesting to watch, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Starship/Super Heavy launches and controlled landings also become pretty much routine in the next 10 years or so.
I can't see it being 10 years. I'd even go with half of that, maybe even a third of that time. Even if it's just to put starlinks up in greater quantity. C n C said:
Whilst I agree that they are running well within theoretical capacity by not carrying a payload etc.. I can still hardly believe that they have managed to successfully "land" the booster, and then Starship despite half melted fin(s)?
It's only 3 launches ago that the thing basically destroyed the launch pad and was blown to pieces before even getting close to separating/getting into space, never mind coming back again.
Goodness knows just how much additional data they will have collected from today's flight.
Many people have been and continue to be extremely sceptical of SpaceX, but they've made reusable rockets a reality.
The vertical landing of boosters are now totally routine - something that before they happened looked like pure science fiction.
They've managed to get Starship on its own to launch and then land vertically.
Now they've strapped it onto the biggest rocket booster ever, successfully soft landed the booster, Starship survived the re-entry (barely, but at only the 2nd attemp), and despite bits melting off it, managed a controlled soft landing in the sea.
I'm not going to try to predict what they will do next, but one thing is for certain - it'll be VERY interesting to watch, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Starship/Super Heavy launches and controlled landings also become pretty much routine in the next 10 years or so.
Brilliant stuff!
Shoutout to the delta clipper for doing vertical landings in the 1990s.It's only 3 launches ago that the thing basically destroyed the launch pad and was blown to pieces before even getting close to separating/getting into space, never mind coming back again.
Goodness knows just how much additional data they will have collected from today's flight.
Many people have been and continue to be extremely sceptical of SpaceX, but they've made reusable rockets a reality.
The vertical landing of boosters are now totally routine - something that before they happened looked like pure science fiction.
They've managed to get Starship on its own to launch and then land vertically.
Now they've strapped it onto the biggest rocket booster ever, successfully soft landed the booster, Starship survived the re-entry (barely, but at only the 2nd attemp), and despite bits melting off it, managed a controlled soft landing in the sea.
I'm not going to try to predict what they will do next, but one thing is for certain - it'll be VERY interesting to watch, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Starship/Super Heavy launches and controlled landings also become pretty much routine in the next 10 years or so.
Brilliant stuff!
Nothing new under the sun. Doing it with something 300ft tall is cool, mind!
A few hundred engineers just had a very good day at work! Building something so resilient is impressive work. When things go fine, it all looks easy. I REALLY hope that it managed a landing in 1 piece and is now floating in the ocean, because I bet it is in an absolutely heroic state.
Aphrabehn said:
Superb stuff.
Was the profile to be expected? As in very accurate holding of altitude as the speed reduces for long periods?
Was expecting gradual altitude and speed reductions within the parameters of holding a constant heat shield temperature?
The callouts suggested ship was on track the whole time. Only SpaceX will know the error bars.Was the profile to be expected? As in very accurate holding of altitude as the speed reduces for long periods?
Was expecting gradual altitude and speed reductions within the parameters of holding a constant heat shield temperature?
CraigyMc said:
Aphrabehn said:
Superb stuff.
Was the profile to be expected? As in very accurate holding of altitude as the speed reduces for long periods?
Was expecting gradual altitude and speed reductions within the parameters of holding a constant heat shield temperature?
The callouts suggested ship was on track the whole time. Only SpaceX will know the error bars.Was the profile to be expected? As in very accurate holding of altitude as the speed reduces for long periods?
Was expecting gradual altitude and speed reductions within the parameters of holding a constant heat shield temperature?
Anyone know whether the engine ‘failures’ were failures or were instead testing redundancy? It wasn’t the same engine that didn’t ignite on the first stage so just wondered whether it was intentional.
CraigyMc said:
AJLintern said:
They still seem to have telemetry as the speed and altitude are updating.
I found it odd that the sea level engines kept firing for a while after the vacuum engines shut down - is that expected...?
The sealevel engines can throttle down to a lower thrust level than the vac one while in vaccuum, so it you're trying to hit a really specific velocity you'd use the more fine-grained option, which is what they appear to have done.I found it odd that the sea level engines kept firing for a while after the vacuum engines shut down - is that expected...?
KGV said:
I believe they said no recovery, but hopefully they at least verified that it sank and is not a hazard to maritime traffic.
Starship impact was the middle of the Indian Ocean, so no recovery. They will use the FTS (Flight Termination System - the self destruct) to breach the tanks to ensure it floats. Booster is much closer to land, but will similarly use the FTS. It's likely some bits will was ashore over time, depending on the exact location and how much came apart.
Very impressive test today, I let out a "yes" squeal when the booster hovered over the sea. And 'Terminator Starship' survived as if it wouldn't die.
I would have put money on SpaceX having some sort of autonomous boat/barge/buoy with a camera on it at the landing zones to get footage of the landings and play them live, but I guess not needed as telemetry is more important for engineers.
I would have put money on SpaceX having some sort of autonomous boat/barge/buoy with a camera on it at the landing zones to get footage of the landings and play them live, but I guess not needed as telemetry is more important for engineers.
bobthemonkey said:
KGV said:
I believe they said no recovery, but hopefully they at least verified that it sank and is not a hazard to maritime traffic.
Starship impact was the middle of the Indian Ocean, so no recovery. They will use the FTS (Flight Termination System - the self destruct) to breach the tanks to ensure it floats. Booster is much closer to land, but will similarly use the FTS. It's likely some bits will was ashore over time, depending on the exact location and how much came apart.
https://www.twz.com/mq-9-reapers-were-ready-to-blo...
MiniMan64 said:
Will they recover the booster and starship does anyone know?
No, they specifically said that they would put the two down hard enough to make sure that they sink/break up to avoid an ITAR breach. I would imagine that they also open every valve so that the whole thing will sink to the bottom reasonably quickly.It might still be worth the Chinese or Indians trying to find and recover it though I expect that the location of the splashdown in the Indian ocean is kept deliberately vague and you'd likely get caught trying to salvage the booster in the Gulf of Mexico.
MiniMan64 said:
KGV said:
I believe they said no recovery, but hopefully they at least verified that it sank and is not a hazard to maritime traffic.
That’s a shame. I’d imagine there’s a few engineers who wouldn’t mind a look at it. New photo released:
I've finally been able to get home and catch up with the footage. Very impressive and another step improvement in the development process. They'll learn a lot more now and will clearly have to go back to the drawing board with that flap root design. I looked like a shot up B-17 limping home after a raid.
I've finally been able to get home and catch up with the footage. Very impressive and another step improvement in the development process. They'll learn a lot more now and will clearly have to go back to the drawing board with that flap root design. I looked like a shot up B-17 limping home after a raid.
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