New Falcon 9 update w/pics

[docm]

Link....<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

I had to stop reading it due to a severe thunderstorm.<br /><br />I'll go back shortly, just bringing the pooter back up. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[no_way]

And, TacSat-1 is being pulled from launch manifest. Due to the fact that TacSat-2 already on orbit made it obsolete.<br /><br />I guess several years of delays eventually affect the business, no matter how rosy you paint the future.

 

[nuaetius]

I think the aerospace field is full of roses. How many times a year was the Shuttle supposed to fly?

 

[thereiwas]

Gasp, you mean NASA lied to Congress? <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br />

 

[docm]

Naawwww....they just doubletalked the same way other agencies do. It's all smoke, mirrors & illusion up on The Hill whatever agency is involved. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[thereiwas]

Commuter shuttle buses with built in WiFi for the employees. Neat.

 

[arkady]

Excellent link. Thanks a bunch. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "<font color="#0000ff"><em>The choice is the Universe, or nothing</em> ... </font>" - H.G Wells </div>

 

[Boris_Badenov]

Thanks doc, a new acronym has been added to my vocabulary.<br /><br />RUD = <br />Rapid<br />Unscheduled <br />Disassembly<br /><img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>

 

[windnwar]

I have to say I'm impressed with the rate of production they are listing, especially for the engines, one every two weeks is pretty substantial. Looks like if they make the scheduled rate of production they'll have enough engines and stage components for about 3 falcon 9's a year. More if they successfully recover and can reuse the stages. Plus the runtime on the test engine is great, i'll be curious how many runs they can get out of it before it RUD's, got to say i love that silly acronym. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font size="2" color="#0000ff">""Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." --Albert Einstein"</font></p> </div>

 

[dragon04]

I'm not against SpaceX. In fact, I think that the future of spaceflight, both manned and unmanned lies in private enterprise.<br /><br />I understand that (supposedly) this is the way things work, but it's hard for me to get juiced about Falcon 9 when they have yet to get Falcon 1 and a payload into LEO.<br /><br />To me, it seems contradictory to try to run before walking has been mastered.<br /><br />But by God, I hope it works out for them. That Falcon 1 launch was <b>fun</b> to watch. It infused a little enthusiasm into me.<br /><br />These guys not only mean business, but they're personally invested, probably down to the guy that scrubs their toilets, in getting into Space. Their enthusiam at least to me is curiously contagious.<br /><br />Ironically, I think what did the trick for me was when one of their guys dropped the F Bomb for the entire world to hear. That was deliciously human. I'm sure the very same F Bomb has been dropped an uncountable number of times at Mission Control, but for the sake of sterile professionalism (and an FCC rule or two), the public has never heard it.<br /><br />I came away from that launch feeling like real people were trying to launch rockets. People just like me. I felt emotionally invested.<br /><br />Little things annoy me about NASA launches. Gotta have that announcer make a corny statement about the mission as it clears the pad.<br /><br />"And LIFTOFF!! The Delta 23 carrying Mankind to study the profound origins of space dust" or some such thing.<br /><br />Just ONCE, I'd like to hear "And LIFTOFF!! Look at that sweet ****er go!"<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>

 

[holmec]

Thanks. Sweet update! <br /><br />I'm impressed that Elon does the web updates himself. No other CEO in this business has done it and its pretty refreshing. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[holmec]

LOL, isn't that's how the Congressmen got into office?! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[baktothemoon]

I hope that SpaceX is way better at PR than NASA, I gotta say it, but nasa just cannot stir public interest to save it's life even if they're talking about something as great as going back to the moon. NASA doing a press conference is one of the dryest things I have ever seen, hopefully spacex can actually get people excited about space again, if that is they can break out into the open, i never saw anything on the news about either Falcon flight.

 

[krrr]

I find the performance figures given for the Falcon 9 hard to believe. A 325 mT vehicle with mediocre (Isp = 304) engines capable of lifting 10 mT to LEO and 5 (!) mT to GTO?!<br /><br />The Atlas V 401 is a little heavier but has high-performance engines, however LEO performance is just a little higher and GTO the same.<br /><br />Simple rocket equation calculations show that such a vehicle would have to have a dry-to-wet ratio of about 1:25. While this was even surpassed by the early Atlas with its balloon tanks, contemporary designs max out at about 1:15.<br /><br />Does anybody have concrete mass figures? In the meantime, consider me sceptic. I predict that the real numbers will be in the LEO ~ 8 mT and GTO ~ 3.5 mT ballpark. <br /><br />

 

[bpfeifer]

"I understand that (supposedly) this is the way things work, but it's hard for me to get juiced about Falcon 9 when they have yet to get Falcon 1 and a payload into LEO. "<br /><br />I understand your concerns, but I'd like to point out three things. First the lead time on boosters is so long that you can't afford to wait until your first program reaches maturity befor you begin your second. If SpaceX is going to ever build their Falcon 9, they have do it now, even though the Falcon 1 still appears to be a development vehicle. I sure hope the Merlin 1C turns out to be as much of an improvement as they hope.<br /><br />Secondly, we need to take a little historical perspective. The world's first live broadcast of a booster launch ended in a fireball in the first seconds, and never cleared the tower. The American rocket program (not even a space program, let alone NASA) was heavily criticised and even mocked. The first Falcon 1 launch, even though it ended in it's own fireball, did much better than this. I have to give them credit for letting us watch their launches live.<br /><br />And lastly, it's not too late for them to incorporate lessons learned from their upcoming Falcon 1 launches into the Falcon 9. Since they use so much common hardware, they will be able update proceedures and practices on the fly as they gain more experience. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Brian J. Pfeifer http://sabletower.wordpress.com<br /> The Dogsoldier Codex http://www.lulu.com/sabletower<br /> </div>

 

[jimfromnsf]

"I have to give them credit for letting us watch their launches live. "<br /><br />Not so, they shut down the video once a problem developed.<br /><br />"they will be able update proceedures and practices on the fly"<br />Not good, need stabliity<br /><br />"Since they use so much common hardware,"<br />That is not a good thing. <br />The F9 could be too far along to incorporate some changes

 

[Boris_Badenov]

<font color="yellow"> I have to give them credit for letting us watch their launches live. </font><br /><br /><font color="blue"> Not so, they shut down the video once a problem developed. </font><br /><br />They shut the video feed down 5 minutes into the flight & that means I didn't really see the previous 5 minutes of flight? <br /><br />It sure <b>seems</b> to me that I watched it fly? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>

 

[jimfromnsf]

So what if they showed it live, they censored their video, which negates their "credit". They might as well just show video after the fact. Every one shows their successes. <br /><br />You state "The world's first live broadcast of a booster launch ended in a fireball in the first seconds, and never cleared the tower. "<br /><br />Spacex didn't do the same thing as the US, they were more like the soviets and didn't show their failures

 

[Boris_Badenov]

<font color="yellow">I have to give them credit for letting us watch their launches live. </font><br /><br /><font color="blue">Not so, they shut down the video once a problem developed.</font><br /><br /><font color="blue"> So what if they showed it live </font><br /><br />Make up your mind. <img src="/images/icons/rolleyes.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>

 

[windnwar]

It doesn't matter what Spacex does, Jim will have something to criticise them about, honestly i've just gotten to the point of skipping over his posts. <br /><br />I'm looking forward to seeing what Spacex does over the next year, it seems like it could be a very exciting year for them. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font size="2" color="#0000ff">""Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." --Albert Einstein"</font></p> </div>

 

[holmec]

Krrr, your not the only skeptic.<br /><br />me:<br />I take a wait and see approach. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[holmec]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Spacex didn't do the same thing as the US, they were more like the soviets and didn't show their failures<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Sorry Jim. But your wrong about that. They shut down the video after the failure. There was no deception there. <br /><br />What you made here is an opinon on what you saw. Most of us who post here, saw the video live as well. The video feed clearly showed the second stage going off course by the rocket cone of the second stage making contact with the first on separation. Also you see the second stage rocket cone glow. And then you see debris inside where the camera is.<br /><br />There was no way of hiding that a failure occurred. Subsequently Elon made updates on the analysis of the launch. He didn't have to do that, I think he values that disclosure in some way. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[jimfromnsf]

Where is the video of the first launch first stage shutting down and the vehicle impacting the island and where is the video of the 2nd flight second stage shutting down? <br /><br />Not available because it has been shutdown which is censoring.

 

[holmec]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>"Jim will have something to criticise them about, honestly i've just gotten to the point of skipping over his posts. "<br /><br />I try to as well but sometimes...I read they against my better judgement and my blood pressure goes ou of limits. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />I take what he says into consideration because sometimes he has good points but doesn't back them up. And sometimes he make opinions but states them as fact. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>