SpaceX sticks the landing perfectly!

   #221  

Uwe

Benevolent Dictator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
48,740
Reaction score
33,540
Location
USA
VCDS Serial number
HC100001
^^^ Interesting how they seem to have built a protective frame around the (presumably expensive) radar antennas and such, I suppose in case the "catch" isn't perfect..?
 
   #222  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
^^^^^ Even more interesting to see another creative use of a shipping container in a SpaceX project. Judging by the radome on top and what appears to be two window-mount air conditioners sticking out of the front side, I'm guessing that there's more than the crews' lunches in there.....
 
   #224  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
Elon Musk and I have something in common...never having used Farcebook:

"I don't use FB & never have, so don't think I'm some kind of martyr or my companies are taking a huge blow."


https://www.yahoo.com/news/spacex-facebook-page-down-musk-promises-twitter-171854506--finance.html

Musk deletes Facebook pages of Tesla, SpaceX after challenged on Twitter

Reuters
March 23, 2018

(Reuters) - Verified Facebook pages of Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX and electric carmaker Tesla Inc disappeared on Friday, minutes after the Silicon Valley billionaire promised on Twitter to take down the pages when challenged by users.

"Delete SpaceX page on Facebook if you're the man?" a user tweeted to Tesla Chief Executive Musk. His response: "I didn't realize there was one. Will do." (http://bit.ly/2pDcu3l)

Musk had begun the exchange by responding to a tweet from WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton on the #deletefacebook tag.

The hashtag gained prominence after the world's largest social network upset users by mishandling data, which ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica - a political consultancy that worked on U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.

"What's Facebook?" Musk tweeted.

Many users also urged the billionaire to delete the profiles of his companies on Facebook's photo-sharing app Instagram.

"Instagram's probably ok ... so long as it stays fairly independent," Musk responded.

"I don't use FB & never have, so don't think I'm some kind of martyr or my companies are taking a huge blow. Also, we don’t advertise or pay for endorsements, so ... don't care."

Musk has had run-ins with Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg in the past.

Last year, a war of words broke out between Musk and Zuckerberg over whether robots will become smart enough to kill their human creators.

When Zuckerberg was asked about Musk's views on the dangers of robots, he chided "naysayers" whose "doomsday scenarios" were "irresponsible." (https://reut.rs/2HWadYQ)

In response, Musk tweeted: "His understanding of the subject is limited."

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
 
   #225  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
Throwing away another "flight proven" booster at 10:13 AM EDT tomorrow from Vandenberg.....

http://www.spacex.com/webcast

IRIDIUM-5 MISSION
SpaceX is targeting Friday, March 30 for a Falcon 9 launch of the Iridium-5 NEXT mission from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This is the fifth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT. The instantaneous launch opportunity is at 7:13 a.m. PDT, or 14:13 UTC, and the satellites will begin deployment about an hour after launch.

A backup instantaneous launch opportunity is available on Saturday, March 31 at 7:08 a.m. PDT or 14:08 UTC. Falcon 9’s first stage for the Iridium-5 mission previously supported the Iridium-3 mission from SLC-4E in October 2017. SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.

You can watch the launch live below and find out more about the mission in our press kit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #226  

Uwe

Benevolent Dictator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
48,740
Reaction score
33,540
Location
USA
VCDS Serial number
HC100001
Throwing away another "flight proven" booster at 10:13 AM EDT tomorrow from Vandenberg.....
Apparently they don't care much about these older, pre-Block 5 boosters; they would require too much refurbishment to re-fly more than once or twice, whereas Block 5 is designed to re-fly up to ten times before an overhaul is necessary.
 
   #228  

Uwe

Benevolent Dictator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
48,740
Reaction score
33,540
Location
USA
VCDS Serial number
HC100001
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/CRSRA/licenseHome.html
It is unlawful for any person who is subject to the jurisdiction or control of the United States, directly or through any subsidiary or affiliate to operate a private remote sensing space system without possession of a valid license issued under the Act and the regulations.
Sheesh! No wonder Elon wants to move to Mars!
 
   #230  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
http://bgr.com/2018/03/30/spacex-fairing-recovery-failure-falcon-9/

SpaceX failed to catch its nosecone fairing again, this time for a totally different reason

Mike Wehner
March 30th, 2018 at 2:05 PM

This morning, SpaceX launched a used Falcon 9 rocket with a hefty payload of 10 satellites that it successfully delivered into orbit. Such a thing has become business as usual for the commercial spaceflight startup, but today was somewhat special in that the company decided to attempt to recover half of the rocket’s nosecone, called a fairing, before it slammed into the ocean. You might remember SpaceX trying and failing to this very thing in late February.

This second attempt seemed pretty promising, with Elon Musk previously promising to figure out a way to direct the fairing’s descent as it glided on parafoils. Well, funny things happen when you’re trying to do something nobody has ever done before, and SpaceX’s recovery ship once again failed to catch the fairing as it fell. This time, however, there was a completely new reason for the shortcoming.

In its first attempt, SpaceX and Musk cited the size of the chutes as the primary reason for the failure. “Should be able to catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down descent,” Musk stated on Twitter. After today’s attempt, Musk explained that it might not be the size of the chutes that is the problem after all.

GPS guided parafoil twisted, so fairing impacted water at high speed. Air wake from fairing messing w parafoil steering. Doing helo drop tests in next few weeks to solve.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2018

“GPS guided parafoil twisted, so fairing impacted water at high speed,” Musk said. “Air wake from fairing messing [with] parafoil steering. Doing helo drop tests in next few weeks to solve.”

Put simply, the turbulent air bouncing off of the fairing as it descends is screwing up the parafoil and preventing it from adequately slowing the fall. The fact that the parafoil “twisted” suggests that it was doing very little to aid in a soft landing, and it’s likely that the fairing slammed into the water at enough speed to cause serious damage to the component.

SpaceX is no stranger to failure. The company tried and failed to land its Falcon 9 rocket many, many times before eventually succeeding, and today the company’s launches and rocket returns have become so common they barely draw interest. In time, the recovery of the fairing (and potentially other valuable rocket components) will likely become routine as well, but for now it’s still a problem that Musk needs to solve.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #231  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
There is supposedly an ISS re-supply launch from KSC today at 4:30 PM EDT, but nothing on the SpaceX web site yet. Another obsolete booster going to swim with the fishes, BTW.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #232  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
Dragon on orbit, booster splashed, no silly gob'ment interruption in launch video, no thanks to NOAA at end of webcast.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #233  

Uwe

Benevolent Dictator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
48,740
Reaction score
33,540
Location
USA
VCDS Serial number
HC100001
Dragon on orbit
:thumbs:

booster splashed
Rumor has it that despite not trying to recover these now, SpaceX is "splashing" them in a controlled way, while really pushing the some of the re-entry parameters to see what the boosters can survive.

no silly gob'ment interruption in launch video, no thanks to NOAA at end of webcast.....
Well, this was a NASA mission, and I would presume NASA either has such a license, or doesn't need one?

Short & sweet launch video:

 
   #234  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
http://spacenews.com/noaa-explains-restriction-on-spacex-launch-webcast/

NOAA explains restriction on SpaceX launch webcast

by Jeff Foust
April 3, 2018
Updated 6:30 a.m. Eastern April 4.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A cutoff of live video on a recent SpaceX launch reflects new awareness by regulators of the imaging capabilities of onboard cameras on launch vehicles and requirements for companies to adhere to laws that some in the industry believe are outdated.

During the March 30 launch of 10 Iridium Next satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9, SpaceX cut off the live video from the rocket’s second stage nine minutes after liftoff. The company cited “restrictions” imposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for terminating the live feed.

“Due to some restrictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA for short, SpaceX will be intentionally ending live video coverage of the second stage just prior to engine shutdown,” said Michael Hammersley, the SpaceX engineer who hosted the launch webcast. “We’re working with NOAA to address these restrictions in order to hopefully be able to bring you live views from orbit in the future.”

In a statement later March 30, NOAA invoked federal law that requires any commercial remote sensing system capable of taking images of the Earth from orbit be licensed by the agency. “Now that launch companies are putting video cameras on stage 2 rockets that reach an on-orbit status, all such launches will be held to the requirements of the law and its conditions,” NOAA stated. At the time of the cutoff on the March 30 launch, the second stage had nearly reached orbit.

In the case of that launch, SpaceX did submit a license application to NOAA’s Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) office. However, the company did so just days before the launch.

“The SpaceX application was received by our office four days before launch,” said Tahara Dawkins, director of CRSRA, at an April 3 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing here. She noted that, under law, the office has up to 120 days to make a ruling on a license application but undertook an “extremely expedited review” that was completed in three days, working very closely with SpaceX, an effort she called “unprecedented.”

In order to get a license approved in some form in time for the launch, Dawkins said the government agreed to temporarily waive a number of requirements for the license. That, however, did not extend to permitting live public video from orbit.

“With additional time to review and evaluate and, if necessary, elevate, we could have worked it out a little bit more and maybe allowed for live streaming,” she said. For future launches, “we’re hoping to get a better review of what that livestreaming is, and what potential risk to national security each one will have.”

Part of the licensing review for commercial remote sensing systems involves a check of any national security implications of that system, but it’s not clear what issues an onboard camera system, whose views of the Earth are typically low resolution and often obscured by the rocket itself, might pose.

Dawkins said that no previous SpaceX launches had NOAA commercial remote sensing licenses, even though many have flown onboard cameras, including several previous Iridium missions. An April 2 launch of a Falcon 9 from Florida carrying a Dragon cargo spacecraft had no such restrictions, she said, because that was considered a government mission. While the spacecraft is performing a mission under contract to NASA, the launch itself was considered commercial and licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

NOAA was not aware of the previous launches that featured onboard cameras. “Our office is extremely small, and there’s a lot of things out there that we miss,” she said. “The onus is on the companies to come to us and get a license when needed.”

Dawkins also said that SpaceX approached NOAA regarding a remote sensing license for the launch, and not the other way around. “It was SpaceX that came to us,” she said. “It wasn’t NOAA that went out to them and said, ‘Hey, stop, you’re going to need a license.’”

A SpaceX spokesperson referred SpaceNews to the comments from the March 30 webcast about the restrictions and the company’s efforts to provide live video on future launches. A company source, speaking on background, said SpaceX filed the license application after NOAA asserted the upper stage cameras, whose primary purpose is to collect engineering data, qualify as a remote sensing space system under law, thereby requiring a license.

The incident has puzzled many in the industry. While Dawkins said NOAA was not aware of previous circumstances of live video from launches, it has become relatively commonplace, by SpaceX and other launch providers, to add cameras to upper stages of launch vehicles to provide live video up through payload separation.

Some in the industry speculate a tipping point may have come with the inaugural launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. That launch placed a Tesla Roadster sports car in orbit, attached to the rocket’s upper stage and equipped with several cameras. Those cameras provided live views of the car, with the Earth often in the background, for several hours after launch. The live feed attracted at times hundreds of thousands of viewers.

NOAA did not directly address at the committee meeting any link between the Falcon Heavy launch and the new scrutiny regarding remote sensing licensing of upper stages. Dawkins, specifically asked about that launch, confirmed it did not have a NOAA license.

This also comes as both industry and some in government seek to reform commercial remote sensing regulations, arguing that current law, which dates back a quarter-century, has not kept up with changes in the industry. NOAA does exempt some cameras from the law, including star trackers and small handheld cameras.

Last June, the House Science Committee favorably reported the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act, whose provisions include reforms to the commercial remote sensing system. The bill would allow the Secretary of Commerce to waive licensing of remote sensing systems deemed “ancillary to the primary design purpose” of the space object or which are “too trivial” to require a national security determination. That bill is still pending consideration by the full House.

For now, NOAA does not have the ability to waive the need for a license, including for upper stages with onboard cameras. “The law doesn’t provide for a waiver,” said Glenn Tallia, NOAA general counsel, at the meeting. “Any system that is basically a private remote sensing space system requires a license.”
 
   #235  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/09/spacex-zuma-northrop-grumman-failure/

WSJ: SpaceX not to blame for 'Zuma' spy satellite disaster
The specific issue was a Northrop Grumman-provided payload adapter that didn’t work.

Swapna Krishna
1h ago in Space

All eyes were on SpaceX back in January, when a Falcon 9 rocket launched a mysterious payload called Zuma into orbit. But soon after its supposed deployment, reports started coming in that Zuma hadn't fared well and the satellite had failed. Because the payload, from contractor Northrop Grumman, was classified, there wasn't much additional information, though many grumbled that SpaceX was at fault. Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that government and industry experts are of the opinion that the failure was the fault of Northrop Grumman, not SpaceX.

It's still unclear what happened to Zuma after launch, but it appears as though the satellite failed to separate from the second stage of the rocket. Normally, this type of issue would be SpaceX's responsibility, but apparently Northrop Grumman insisted on a proprietary payload adapter that failed in space. According to The Wall Street Journal, the adapter had been tested multiple times on the ground, but it did not operate properly in zero-g.

This is in line with SpaceX's comments to Engadget after the Zuma failure. A spokesperson told us, "We do not comment on missions of this nature; but as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally." And indeed, it appears that the rocket performed as it was supposed to. That's the end of SpaceX's responsibility in this endeavor.

Normally, a regular satellite launch wouldn't attract as much interest as this one did, but the secretive nature of the mission, the buzzy name of the payload -- "Zuma" -- and the rumors of failure after launch all made this quite the news story. It's good that SpaceX is in the clear, because until now, despite its statements, some were blaming the company for an issue that clearly wasn't its fault.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #236  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-apos-spacex-launches-110924417.html

Elon Musk's SpaceX launches to $25bn valuation

Matthew Field
The Telegraph
April 13, 2018

SpaceX is close to raising half a billion dollars of new funding that would value Elon Musk's rocket company at $25bn (£17.5bn), making it the world's third most valuable venture-backed start-up after Uber and Airbnb.

SpaceX is raising $507m in funding at a higher price than its last funding round, boosting its valuation from $21bn to the new high, according US regulatory filings from analytics company Lagniappe Labs.

In February, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket, designed for carrying satellites while using cheaper, re-usable rocket boosters that can return to earth.

The launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket was seen as heralding the start of a new space race as commercial companies vie for a piece of the booming satellite market. Founder Elon Musk has spoken repeatedly of his desire to die on Mars, although in the near-term commercial opportunities have been attracting investors. The company is hoping to launch a mission to Mars by 2022.

Founded in 2002, for years SpaceX met with challenges to its rocket technology, including crashes and burn-ups on landing. It has since become the world's leading commercial space start-up, growing to more than 7,000 employees and set to perform 30 launches in 2018.

SpaceX attractiveness to venture investors can be seen in a $450m funding round last autumn. TechCrunch reported last month that Fidelity was set to lead the latest $500m round.

The additional funding would add around $1.4bn to Musk's personal fortune through his stake in SpaceX, giving him a total net worth of $21.3bn, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.

SpaceX is the best funded space start-up, although it faces competition from the likes of aerospace giant Boeing, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. Virgin Galactic last year gained backing of $1bn from Saudi Arabia, although Branson's space venture is more focused on space tourism than satellite launches.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #237  

Spacewalker

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Jun 10, 2014
Messages
1,247
Reaction score
848
Location
Poland
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=159607
last week I was in Kennedy space center
not soo much to look because we was late and only one trip via bus
but was nice anyway

many outsourcing company working with NASA now






that Flag what you can see on building , each star is 6ft size
 
   #238  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
All y'all know the drill. Launch scheduled for 6:32 PM EDT tonight, Pad 40, drone ship landing.....

http://www.spacex.com/webcast

TESS MISSION

SpaceX is targeting launch of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) on Monday, April 16 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 30-second launch window opens at 6:32 p.m. EDT, or 22:32 UTC. TESS will be deployed into a highly elliptical orbit approximately 48 minutes after launch. A 30-second backup launch window opens on Tuesday, April 17 at 6:13 p.m. EDT, or 22:13 UTC.

Following stage separation, SpaceX will attempt to land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. You can watch the launch webcast live below and find out more about the mission in our press kit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #239  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
TESS is scrubbed for tonight. New T=0 Wednesday at 6:51 PM EDT.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uwe
   #240  

vreihen

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
6,395
Location
The Land of OCC, NY, USA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=31688
New signature fodder, Benevolent Dictator? "The engineering problems are likely insurmountable. It would be like proposing to use a giant party balloon to land a rocket booster section on a giant bouncy house floating in the middle of the ocean....."


https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/16/elon-musks-latest-spacex-idea-involves-a-party-balloon-and-bounce-house/

Elon Musk’s latest SpaceX idea involves a party balloon and bounce house

Matt Burns
2 days

Elon Musk took to Twitter Sunday night to announce a new recovery method for an upper-stage SpaceX rocket. A balloon — a “giant party balloon” to quote him directly — will ferry part of a rocket to a bounce house. Seriously.

If anyone else proposed this idea they would be ignored, but Elon Musk lately has a way of turning crazy ideas into reality.

It was just in 2012 that SpaceX launched and landed its first rocket, and now the company is doing it with rockets significantly larger. And then early this year SpaceX made a surprise announcement that it would attempt to use a high-speed boat and large net to catch part of a rocket — though it has yet to work.

SpaceX will try to bring rocket upper stage back from orbital velocity using a giant party balloon

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2018

And then land on a bouncy house

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2018

This isn’t the first time a balloon has been used to return a rocket. Legendary programmer John Carmack’s rocket company attempted to use a ballute in 2012 to return a rocket body and nose cone. It didn’t work as planned and, according to officials at the time, the rocket made a “hard landing” around the Spaceport America property in New Mexico.

Just like SpaceX’s self-landing rockets and its giant net boat, the goal is to reduce the cost of launching rockets by reusing parts. It’s unclear when this latest plan will be implemented, but chances are SpaceX will at least attempt it in the coming future.
 
Back
Top