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SpaceX Falcon 9R Vertical Take-Off and Landing Test Flight
schwit1 (797399) writes "The competition heats up: SpaceX [Wednesday] released a new video of the most recent Falcon 9R vertical take-off and landing test flight. The flight was to test the deployment and use of fins for controlling the stage during its return to Earth. Watch them unfold and adjust themselves beginning at about 1:15 into the video. In the second half you can see them near the top of the stage. Yet another video from SpaceX of the world's most blase cows. You can imagine new cows to the herd, reacting to the launch as the conditioned cows just yawn, just another 100 foot tall rocket launching and landing nearby. Nothing to see here."
Aaaand 3... 2... 1... Deploy flyswatters!
If Kerbal Space Program has taught me anything, it's that giant rocket engines are incredibley hard to control going forward. I can't even fathom the engineering skill and knowledge of physics required to make a rocket fly near flawlessly in reverse.
I have it on the authority of several friends who have been involved in the raising of cows ... cows are far too damned stupid for what you're ascribing to them.
I believe the entire cow decision tree comes down to: Does it look like it will eat me? Are the other cows moving and do they seem scared? Can I eat it? Can I poop on it? Is it time for a nap?
Everything else, apparently, is mostly random chance and blind luck.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I'm still confused how you can fire a rocket in reverse going mach 17 and not have problems with exhaust doing something to the nozzle.
also, start at 2m20s to watch the cows run away!
On a space station launch from the cape, the first stage separates 180nm down range with considerable velocity away from the launch site.
What flight path does SpaceX propose to use to get in a position to use this landing method?
How much additional take off weight will this path require?
I know Elon Musk has his haters, even in the nerd community, and they have their reasons. But personally, I am thankful beyond thankful for him, his companies, and many fine employees. There is no one out there working so hard to make the Earth a better place while also opening the doors to space in order to ensure the survival of our species. I find it interesting that the business ventures he lines up are not only geared toward making a better Earth, they simultaneously serve the purpose of developing crucial technologies we would need to colonize Mars. The man is a genius, and yes I'm a fanboy.
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
They did not like that. Watch them scatter.
If you watch the Tesla news lately, I think it is apparent that the current American launch monopolists have initiated a wide ranging propaganda and political campaign against SpaceX. Examples of this are here and here, as well as comment boards on various articles about Space X. The memes I have noticed emphasized are first and foremost that SpaceX is cutting corners (aimed at legislators), that Space X is the beneficiary of "corporate welfare", and that Musk is a "communist bum" (aimed at right-leaning readers).
One of the primary reasons I think this is evidence of an organized campaign is the timing. Space X initiated the campaign against the Russian rocket engines being used by ULA, as well as objecting to the bulk purchases of launch contracts by the Airforce from ULA, thus locking Space X out of a significant number of launches before it gains certification. I can imagine this as a directive from ULA exectives being given around that time. Such campaigns typically take a few weeks to work-up. They take studies of public opinion, come up with themes to base their campaign around, and then test those themes with the public, often with focus groups. This lag of a few weeks for propaganda campaigns is typical when an organization suddenly decides to initiate a campaign based on new information. Watch for it next time you see a government or corporation being attacked by a new threat. This lag of two or more weeks between threat and response is typical I believe of an organized propaganda campaign.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
Do you have to work at sounding that stupid, or does it come naturally?
With a thick atmosphere and oceans and wide open plains everywhere there is little engineering justification to landing a rocket when you can simply pop a parachute.
But Mars has a thin atmosphere and you need a working rocket to come home. Are the fins a lattice to simulate mar's thin air?
Elon is nothing if not forward looking...
"Knowing everything doesn't help..."
Thanks Slashdot, for continuing to fawn over this guy, it had been hours since you last told me how awesome he was.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
like apple circa 1978.
lose != loose
VERY Interesting that SpaceX added gridfins to the upper-end of the stage.
Gridfins work like regular fins (adding drag and providing steering/roll control) but at optimally at supersonic speeds (where shock waves are fomed within the voids of the grids and effectively make them like solid paddles) which is why they're most-often seen on missiles, bombs that are carried on supersonic aircraft, and the Soyuz launch escape system (they are the big rectangles folded on the side of the soyuz at launch that would fold-out into the airstream during an abort)
It appear that SpaceX decided the added weight and complexity was worth it for added roll control and guidance during the supersonic descent (where the "top" of the stage is the "back-end" where the deployed fins will be) - must have decided the current scheme of using thrusters needed lots more fuel to cover contingencies, making it heavy and no longer superior to fins.
Generic Republicans (the country-club sort who routinely get duped into supporting RINO candidates) are generally most-concerned with "the economy" and "national security" (which from their viewpoint protects the economy). Any accusation by America's old established famous and reliable defense contractors that a new guy from South Africa (not the US) who's in bed with Obama (getting tax money for Tesla as "green" subsidies AND for SpaceX under a program competing against the traditional aerospace providers) is a "commie bum" WILL have an impact. The vast majority of this type of Republican is either as ignorant of (or HATES) Ayn Rand every bit as much as the most-liberal Democrat - "Atlas Shrugged" was an equal indictment of the crony-capitalism of establishment Republicans as it was against the toxic blend of Crony Capitalism and Socialism advocated by Big-Government Democrats.
The type of Libertarians, Conservative Republicans, and TEA Partiers who embrace Ayn Rand's cautionary tales are generally fans of SpaceX and the giant crony-capitalist corps will fail to sway them with the "commie" style slurs... which is why they are ALSO pushing the "corporate welfare" attack. Good PR flaks tailor their messages to their audiences. These flaks apparently are more-sophisticated than you (knowing the different "buttons" they need to push with the different groups they need to influence) but not quite sophisticated enough to realize that the libertarians and TEA Partiers already KNOW about the cronyism the big defense contractors are involved in and already know that it was one of these firms (Lockheed Martin) that bought its rocket engines from the "Russkies" rather than employing hard-working Americans (so much for "national security" and "patriotism"...)
Your ignorance about anybody who is not a left-winger leads you to some bizarre ideas like the conclusion that this propaganda is one item aimed at one group who are ("obviously", to you) stupid-enough to fall for the contradiction. Sorry, but YOU are the dummy; you are apparently so insular in your politics that you think everybody who's not a leftist is "the same" .... sorta like some ignorant bigot who cannot pickout a particular black guy in a line-up because he thinks "they all look alike"
If there was a crash landing beef prices would have sky-"rocketed" ;)
awesome.. enough said.
Didya hear the one about two cows sent into orbit?
They were the herd shot 'round the world!
Good to know about the fins... It was just a guess.
I don't see why parachutes are inevitably destructive for Earth re entry however... Dragon design aside ...
"Knowing everything doesn't help..."
This accusation against Musk is similar to the Big FUD spread against open-source and Linus Torvalds in particular. Those conservative forums all run on open-source platforms and none run on Microsoft's servers that come to mind. There are a small but persistent group of rightwingers who regularly extoll various security-oriented Linux distros on many of these forums; no one ever calls them commie infiltrators.
I know of no major sources or forums on the Right that actually buy into this FUDding of either open source projects or SpaceX in the least.
What I see is considerable enthusiasm for Musk's space project, far more so than for some of his other efforts. A lot of these forums are older folk who recall watching the '69 moon landing and they would like to see a big return to space under American leadership if costs can be brought down sharply as Musk is trying to do.