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SpaceX's Big Falcon Topic 2


SpaceChampion

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12 minutes ago, SpaceChampion said:

Old thread is locked, this is a new thread; a faster, better, cheaper thread:

Falcon Heavy is at the Cape assembled like an Avenger:

Launching soon in January.

I wish I were in Beaufort for that launch.  I could probably see it there.

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Full res and non-cropped: Image 1, image 2, image 3

For people wondering about the cores:

Center Core: B1033.1 (New core built for the FH)

Left Booster: B1025.2 (refurbished, previously flown the CRS-9 mission)

Right Booster: B1023.2 (refurbished, previously flown the Thaicom 8 mission)

Payload is Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, aiming for a heliocentric Mars transfer orbit while blasting David Bowie’s 'Space Oddity' from its speakers.

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37 minutes ago, SpaceChampion said:

Full res and non-cropped: Image 1, image 2, image 3

For people wondering about the cores:

Center Core: B1033.1 (New core built for the FH)

Left Booster: B1025.2 (refurbished, previously flown the CRS-9 mission)

Right Booster: B1023.2 (refurbished, previously flown the Thaicom 8 mission)

Payload is Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, aiming for a heliocentric Mars transfer orbit while blasting David Bowie’s 'Space Oddity' from its speakers.

So, are all three first stage boosters on the Falcon Heavy designed to land and be reused?

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7 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

So, are all three first stage boosters on the Falcon Heavy designed to land and be reused?

Yep.  If you look at the photo you can see the landing legs folded up.  When it launches, the side boosters will land at LZ-1 and LZ-2, and the centre booster will land on the drone ship.

 

Blue Origin had some success recently with their suborbital New Shepard rocket.

They named the crash test dummy Mannequin Skywalker.

They have a robot for landing pad too:

 

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1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

Yep.  If you look at the photo you can see the landing legs folded up.  When it launches, the side boosters will land at LZ-1 and LZ-2, and the centre booster will land on the drone ship.

 

Blue Origin had some success recently with their suborbital New Shepard rocket.

They named the crash test dummy Mannequin Skywalker.

They have a robot for landing pad too:

 

I was looking at your photos of the Falcon Heavy again.  There are huge ice crystals in the engine bells.  :)

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1 hour ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I was looking at your photos of the Falcon Heavy again.  There are huge ice crystals in the engine bells.  :)

It's actually a residue, probably aluminum oxide, from burning an igniter to start the engines.  It has a higher melting point than the kerolox combustion burns at.

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First time I’ve watched one of their launches and wow have I been missing out! Simply looks beautiful. I saw a lot of videos on twitter of people freaking out when they saw it blasting through the sky and I don’t blame them. I didn’t realize how extraordinary a sight it made. 

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SpaceX targetting Friday for launch of the mysterious "Zuma" mission for the US government.  After that, they'll be focusing on launching Falcon Heavy.

Did anyone guess 18 launches for SpaceX in 2017?  I know there were a couple people in that range. 

For 2018, SpaceX has 30 launches on the manifest, but the last dozen or so of those don't have specific dates attached, and many could slip depending on each's situation.  The first launch of crew about Dragon 2 could slip into next year for instance.

I'll place my bet on 27 launches, with 3 slipping into 2019.

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1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

SpaceX targetting Friday for launch of the mysterious "Zuma" mission for the US government.  After that, they'll be focusing on launching Falcon Heavy.

Did anyone guess 18 launches for SpaceX in 2017?  I know there were a couple people in that range. 

For 2018, SpaceX has 30 launches on the manifest, but the last dozen or so of those don't have specific dates attached, and many could slip depending on each's situation.  The first launch of crew about Dragon 2 could slip into next year for instance.

I'll place my bet on 27 launches, with 3 slipping into 2019.

I want to see the Crewed Dragon Capsule orbit the Moon.  :)

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7 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I want to see the Crewed Dragon Capsule orbit the Moon.  :)

That probably is pushed to 2019, from late 2018.   I recall SpaceX has to actually launch a specific number of times before they'd be allowed to launch NASA astronauts to ISS, but I can't find the reference.  It's possible one of those early flights could be the moon swing-by.

First demo flight was scheduled for August, and SpaceX's president Gwynne Shotwell says to those who doubt they'll make it by the end of the year "the hell we won't!"

 

Sweet drone video of Falcon Heavy:

 

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In case anyone missed it, I’d just like to point out the awesomeness of the fact that a private company is launching a rocket to Mars this month. 

That’s what I love about SpaceX - they’re advancing the timeline of space travel so much. We can go to Mars in 10 years, not in 50. Who cares that the Falcon Heavy was pushed from 2013 to 2018, that’s still way faster than we’re used to in the space industry. Progress is now happening on the scale of years and months rather than decades, and that’s what excites me the most. The future is finally happening. 

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3 hours ago, Erik of Hazelfield said:

In case anyone missed it, I’d just like to point out the awesomeness of the fact that a private company is launching a rocket to Mars this month. 

That’s what I love about SpaceX - they’re advancing the timeline of space travel so much. We can go to Mars in 10 years, not in 50. Who cares that the Falcon Heavy was pushed from 2013 to 2018, that’s still way faster than we’re used to in the space industry. Progress is now happening on the scale of years and months rather than decades, and that’s what excites me the most. The future is finally happening. 

What are they sending in the rocket to Mars?

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4 minutes ago, Ghjhero said:

Oh yes that’s right! I was hoping they’d be sending some kind of rover, but that’s pretty neat too. 

It's not landing on Mars.  It's not even flying by Mars just yet.  It's just a test flight, so whatever they send would not really be useful for much in a sun-orbit that occasionally encounters Earth and Mars, so they might as well send something fun.

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