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SpaceX Loses the Center Core of Its Falcon Heavy Rocket Due To Choppy Seas (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: SpaceX successfully landed the center core of its Falcon Heavy rocket on a drone ship last week, but the vehicle accidentally fell into the ocean while in transit to the Florida coast. The company blamed the loss on choppy seas. "Over the weekend, due to rough sea conditions, SpaceX's recovery team was unable to secure the center core booster for its return trip to Port Canaveral," SpaceX said in a statement to The Verge. "As conditions worsened with eight to ten foot swells, the booster began to shift and ultimately was unable to remain upright. While we had hoped to bring the booster back intact, the safety of our team always takes precedence. We do not expect future missions to be impacted."
SpaceX does have ways to secure the rockets it lands in the ocean, including a robot known as the "octagrabber" that latches on to the base of the boosters. But because the center core connects to two side boosters, it has a different design than a normal Falcon 9 booster. So the octagrabber cannot hold on to it in the same way. The center core is a modified Falcon 9 booster -- one of three that make up the Falcon Heavy rocket -- which flew last week during the second flight of the Falcon Heavy. "Following takeoff, all three cores of the rocket successfully landed back on Earth: the two outer cores touched down on dual concrete landing pads at the Cape while the center core touched down on the company's drone ship named Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic," reports The Verge.
SpaceX does have ways to secure the rockets it lands in the ocean, including a robot known as the "octagrabber" that latches on to the base of the boosters. But because the center core connects to two side boosters, it has a different design than a normal Falcon 9 booster. So the octagrabber cannot hold on to it in the same way. The center core is a modified Falcon 9 booster -- one of three that make up the Falcon Heavy rocket -- which flew last week during the second flight of the Falcon Heavy. "Following takeoff, all three cores of the rocket successfully landed back on Earth: the two outer cores touched down on dual concrete landing pads at the Cape while the center core touched down on the company's drone ship named Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic," reports The Verge.
Metric swells would've had significantly lower numbers.
and its stupid water
holding us back from 3D printing human hearts in the asteroid belt
"You're gonna need a bigger boat"
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I mean who could have forseen such a thing as "choppy seas"? Clearly this was a once in a hundred year event . . .
Kids playing on the seashore will be finding Falcon parts on the shore for years after this, and use their Sponge Bob Squarepants phones to call their friends about the amazing discovery.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
It's always seemed to me that there just isn't enough physical support for the rocket stages on those barges. There really should be some sort of guy wire supported tower that can be raised to hold it in place.
Losing one reusable rocket is still cheaper than using three non-reusable rockets.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Perhaps they should come up with a way to lay the booster down on its side, once it's successfully landed on the drone ship?
#DeleteChrome
Makes it all go away.
They make all this cash why not some ship upgrades? Blue Origin is planning a big ship to land on.
Then they could move the core inside the ship for safe transport.
A bunch of armchair aeronautical scientists telling SpaceX how to fix their problem.
Please learn how to troll properly.
Pilot it remotely :) Obviously
[($)]
Or, they merely need to adapt the existing boat bracing system to the design of the center core booster. Obviously, they should have already done this.
Maybe this is just because eyes are so focused on the Falcon Super Heavy. However, even the little starhopper blew over in the wind not too long ago. I hope SpaceX puts more attention to the upright parking of rockets, in general. It would suck to have one fall over on the Moon or Mars.
Matthew C. Tedder
refuel the booster on the barge and fly it home :)
If its still in shallow waters, it could be picked up recovered later for analysis, but useless for launch.
Where is it? First one to find it , keepers? Maritime salvage rights?
If its on the continental shelf it would be easy to drag it up 300 ft?
If its in deep ocean water, I am sure China will send a recover sub to "steal" all the in perfect condition tech they can.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
The vessel is Autonomous
What safety is needed for the Team?
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
...Falcon Heavy's core seems to like the drink me thinks... Irrespective very well done.
Hm, I suspect the core is more engineered than the side boosters... might this affect the short-term calendar of work for FH?
Don't you have anything better to do in your $1 house than constantly post this spam? Are you really that desperate for attention that you feel the need to constantly stalk and harass SuperKendall, raymorris, and ShanghaiBill? The answer appears to be yes, though your efforts would be better spent completing a MacOS version of your toy string sorting program.
Your spam and harassment is unwelcome, Alexander. You've harassed many other users, too, including Subie, Ol Olsoc, webmistressrachel, c6gunner, Zontar The Mindless, amicusNYCL, Coren22, and so many others. Isn't it time you stop being such a bitter crybaby and do something useful with your life? Although your string sorting program (APK Hosts File Engine) is complete shit, working on it would still be better than crapflooding Slashdot.
Grow up, APK. You're 54 years old. Act your damn age.
If its in deep ocean water, I am sure China will send a recover sub to "steal" all the in perfect condition tech they can.
Or SpaceX asks the airforce or navy to air strike it, similar to the CRS-17 booster.
A few months ago, having watched video of another (successful) F9 landing on "Of Course I Still Love You", I wrote to SpaceX, suggesting that they might consider stabilizing out-riggers for their recovery barges.
Specifically, I had something like this in mind:-
https://images.app.goo.gl/CyBo...
https://images.app.goo.gl/jiPX...
[ the first image shows an outrigger canoe, the second a mobile crane].
I think the crane example is a good one, because it shows that OCISLY you could modified with hydraulic rams that are set in a horizontal configuration, with flotation units attached to the extensible end. By carefully tuning the size of the flotation unit, it would be possible to set them up to act as a "dampening" effect on the waves experienced by the barge.
Obviously, I didn't get a reply - but then I honestly didn't expect one. Now, the linked article doesn't really go in to detail as to why the first stage was lost. It isn't clear if the first stage is left upright for transit or whether there is a folding crane aboard that can be used to lower it to the deck... If the preference is to keep it upright, surely it is possible to have a set of extending metal braces, again, powered by hydraulics, that can fold up from horizontal storage to a vertical brace position, then maybe simply wrap a loop around the circumference of the first stage, attach that to lines up to the top of the upright braces, and raise the support loop until it is just beneath the fold-out fins... That would stop the stage from toppling over, even in rough seas.
Who knows, maybe they will look at something like this...
You jerked off when you heard the tale about a young girl. Admit it, leftie.
Says the guy whose mom swallowed any chance of him ever having a little brother to beat up on, that he ended up so deranged he became a Trump supporter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM
An airstrike on the seabed... probably wouldn't be an airstrike. ;)
Octograb only has a 3-second duration and a 50-second cooldown. They should have followed up with a Ring of Frost.
is APK out of meds again?
Hey asshole trying to FRAME me, tell you what: ANYTIME you want to accuse me of the bs lies you're spouting, meet me face to face & do it - I will fucking END you motherfucker...
* I SHIT YOU NOT!
(You PUSSCAKE PUNK hiding behind UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous posts weezil)
APK
P.S.=> I will FRACTURE YOUR SKULL cocksucker - guaranteed... apk
Woosh!
Frequently underestimated force of nature. You never really get the idea of the true power without experiencing it. I really have my doubts about the reliability of any floating landing platform. Better start thinking about investing in some concrete pylon if this landing at sea thing really is going to work.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Oh god you're a hilarious idiot.
Take your medications.
You couldn't END a shit properly.
Threats no less. From a cowardly keyboard warrior.
And calling out an AC while posting as an AC.
SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IMMEDIATELY.
(Preferably from someone trained by Dr. Kevorkian..)
Donald Trump, on a crusade to make Nixon look respectable