SpaceX Falcon 9 historic landing thread (1st landing attempt & most recent missions)

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The next launch at the Cape is an Atlas-5 scheduled for March 27th.

https://spacecoastdaily.com/2017/03...from-cape-canaveral-rescheduled-for-march-27/

George, I'm not sure what your connection is to SpaceX and I admittedly have not read everything you've posted here but I just want to extend a big thank you for posting all of the pictures, information and videos. Every time I see the thread has been updated I always check it out. This is a nice service for the rocketry community. Thanks.

You're welcome. I did not follow SpaceX much until the plans for landing the Falcons using rocket power, for reusable boosters. Lots of plans for that thru the years. And the Delta Clipper did so, I followed that a lot, it made a lot of flights with controlled vertical landings, until the day one leg did not deploy. But an orbital version of it had already been cancelled. Space was already successfully launching payload into orbit, so it sounded feasible that the could do that. So I started following them more. And saw the "Grasshopper" test flight videos on Youtube, and later the F9-R videos also tested at McGregor. So, I've been following a lot of news mostly via the NASA Spacefiight Forum (NSF), and also the Reddit for SpaceX (reddit.com/r/spacex), and pick up other stuff here and there.

So, I'm a rocketeer VERY interested in what they are doing. But I don't drink Kool-Aid. :) So I don't hang on every word from Elon Musk, too much of it turns out to be inaccurate anyway. And I assume nothing long-term. I don't want to get into "ITS" to Mars in this thread, someone could create a separate thread about that. Just prefer to keep this thread about what is happening NOW with the Falcon and the Dragon spacecraft, and the near-future Falcon flights. And "Red Dragon" to Mars, well, that slipped from 2018 to 2020, so that'll be ripe to discuss in this thread in 2020 unless there's some specific testing or developments before then.

And now...... this cat on a Roomba.

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In the last few weeks, the ASDS barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) has had some interesting work done on it. For one, seems that some deck plates at the middle have been replaced…. speculated to be due to accumulated heat damage.

More interesting, the barge was modified, half of one of the Blast Walls at one end was rebuilt. And after rebuilding, it has what some have called a “Garage Door”.

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Close-up:
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So, here it is open.

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May be a bit hard to realize, it is not like a real garage door that rolls up, and is not hinged at the top. Apparnetly it is hinged in the middle so it pivots to horizontal (sort of like a butterfly valve). That wastes a lot of room at the top, but is a KISS method of greatly reducing the force needed to mechanically open the door, the weight of the door is massive so by pivoting in the middle , the upper half balances out the lower half.

And now for this thing……

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It had been speculated for weeks what the heck the “garage” was meant for. Then rumors of something being spotted being assembled near the dock, under a tent. And a lot of speculation. Some of it pretty wild, some of it more reasonable.

At this point it’s not 100% certain exactly what it will do and exactly how, but it was being tested on deck Monday and a person flying over in a helicopter got this shot:

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I had not mentioned this before since, well, there was Echostar 23 coming up, being expendable, And so many rumors about this thing, which some have nicknamed “Roomba” (yes, that’s what the teaser pic with the cat was about).

So, AFTER a landing by a Falcon 9 booster, the garage door will pivot open and let the “Roomba” drive itself out. It has tank-like treads, apparently rubber, and can be steered to go under the Falcon. Perhaps a human remotely steering it, perhaps autonomously, perhaps a bit of both (SpaceX has not even acknowledged this exists).

Now that there is a good photo of it, speculations seem to be more narrowed down into likely or at least highly plausible ones than the wilder ideas, and over a week before the launch, this is a good time to introduce it into this thread.
It seems to have four jack stand type posts that can be automatically secured to the Falcon’s 4 hard points that it uses for support on the pad and also on the pedestals at Port and Landing Zone 1 when they remove the legs and prepare it to be lowered to horizontal by crane.

What is it’s purpose? A lot of speculation on that. Among the most practical sounding is to secure the Falcon from sliding along the deck, and also to structurally secure it from tipping/walking (I am thinking of the landing that damaged a leg where it was leaning pretty badly. Would have been nice if they could have had something like this to help hold it better).

The apparently rubber tank type treads still may not hold it well from sliding in rough seas or “walking”. I’m not going to look it up, but after one of the landings, the seas were choppy and the Falcon definitely slid or “walked” from where it had landed, all the way to one side, only stopping because the end of a leg hit the low I-beam railing (yellow) that runs along the outer edge of the deck.

This is reported to likely be very heavy. And the Falcon booster without fuel in it is not too heavy, so weight might be enough to help keep the Falcon from tipping to “walk”, but that might not be enough to keep it from sliding (the side forces on rubber treads might be enough to dislodge or even rip the treads). But, it has a long umbilical cord that in addition to providing electric power and perhaps hydraulic pressure for moving and steering, could potentially use a very interesting way to help anchor itself to the steel deck. Electromagnets. They certainly have electrical generators onboard and may have greatly upgraded that capacity for this (and perhaps more Diesel storage tanks if needed for keeping electromagnets on for days, if they use electromagnets.

Some also speculate that this would totally replace the need for crews to go onboard after a landing. Maybe reduce some workload, and maybe reduce the number of crew needed. But they have to send someone on board to hook up the towlines, and usually someone collects the GoPro cameras on deck so that the files/photos can be transmitted to SpaceX long before the ASDS would get back to port. I think perhaps that mission I mentioned with the rough seas may have been one reason they made this, for times it might be too rough for anyone to go onboard for a day or two, as well as a better way to secure it than to literally WELD steel "shoes" on the Falcon's feet, to the deck (So, if this worked as speculated then no need for a welder).

But so much of the above is speculation, and zero info from SpaceX.

So, to find out more accurate info on what it is supposed to do….. probably will require for the SES-10 booster to land safely so that the “Roomba” does come out and do its thing, whatever that thing is. Once that happens, and if it works, I figure SpaceX would say something about it, even if not a lot of info. Or maybe Musk will be in a big show-off mood and allow release of time-lapse video of it moving into place and securing itself to the Falcon.
 
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I'm going to speculate a little based on what I can see in the pictures. First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if the Roomba can't lower and raise the tank treads. Lower them to the deck to move, then set the frame down on the deck again to stay still. I don't see anything specific that shows that, just that there doesn't seem to be a hard connection between the platform and the treads or the platform the electric motor sits on. It's possible that it could lift the stage on the treads.

So possibility #1 is that after stage landing, Roomba locks up under the stage and sets itself down on deck as dead weight to help keep the stage from sliding around. However, if it's just dead weight, I'm not sure why there would be all of the circular lightening holes cut in Roomba's I-beam frame.

Possibility #2 is that Roomba is used as a hard point to connect the stage to lashing hard points on the deck. They don't know exactly where the stage will end up after landing, so lashing the stage itself to fixed hard points on the barge deck might get complicated. On the other hand, put a solid steel frame down there with some padeyes on it (I think you can see 4 or 6 of those at the top and bottom of Roomba in the closeup), and you have a somewhat easier time lashing it down without possibly breaking something. You can see a bunch of removable deck plates (easiest to find is at the top of the f in Of CISLY) scattered around the deck. It's possible those are manholes for accessing the voids below deck, but there are an awful lot of them in sort of random places. They seem a little small for manholes (look to be 12" diam, manholes are usually 18" or bigger). A lid over a hard point would make a lot of sense. However, the fact that they're in sort of random places and not in a regular pattern argues against them being hard points.

Possibility #3 is that Roomba can lift the stage and move it around the deck. Then they could maneuver it to a more fixed set of hard points to tie it down for transport home.
 
As long as we're speculating, and since it has an electrical connection, I wouldn't entirely rule out the possibility that once it has maneuvered itself under the booster and attached to it is some way, that it couldn't lower "feet" to the deck and self weld them down.
 
If they were replacing panels on the deck, with thicker metal electromagnets would make a lot of sense. It wouldn't talk much power to maintain tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds of clamping force. The thicker the deck the more force they can generate with a given size and power magnet.
 
Vacuum is probably better bang-for-buck in the power consumption area, assuming there is not much in the way of leaks. Relatively easy to do.

I bet vacuum. But SpaceX swim against the stream sometimes...
 
A story in Florida Today, about the photo of the “Roomba” a couple of days ago:

“Mysterious equipment spotted on SpaceX drone ship at Port Canaveral”

A quote from part of it:

Ricky Lim, senior director of launch operations for SpaceX, told FLORIDA TODAY the device is “in the testing phase” and is a “future capability” that SpaceX plans to introduce as soon as it passes the test regimen.

“I don’t think it’s very far away” from being used, Lim said. “But it’s new.”

SpaceX did not comment when asked about its functionality and features.

Lim said SpaceX doesn’t have an official name yet for the robot, joking that, for the time being, “we’ll let Reddit name it for us.”

Full article at this link:
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/.../99457762/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=

So, I take that quote as indicating that it might not be ready to use for SES-10. So, we’ll see. If the launch is the 29th, then they’ll probably leave port on the 27th. So they have less than 5 days to complete testing and determine it’s ready (and that is if they work thru the weekend).

Below, a photo and larger view of the “garage door” opened.

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George, does the panel next to the garage door have a pivot as well, it looks like it might have one on the water side (maybe 2 garage doors?)?
 
SES-10 Launch date and time still unchanged, March 29th, 4:59 PM EDT.

Here is something I ran across today, that was created 2 years ago.

"Bird 9", a Falcon-9 parody of XKCD's excellent "Up Goer 5" drawing explaining the Saturn-V in the most popular 1000 words people use. Site: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/2rkbzq/the_bird_9_the_falcon_9_explained_using_the_1000/

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FULL SIZE readable image at this link: https://i.imgur.com/RZJHmGU.png

A sample of XKCD's Up Goer 5:

up_goer_five-e1449872528863.png


Original full size image HERE: https://xkcd.com/1133/
 
George, does the panel next to the garage door have a pivot as well, it looks like it might have one on the water side (maybe 2 garage doors?)?

Do not think so. The left side (as pictured) blast wall seems be unchanged.

In a photo taken mid-January, the whole "blast wall" was there.

The photo below was posted Jan 28th. In this, they had totally disassembled the "right side" (as pictured) wall.

index.php


A lot of guesses at the time as to why. I do not think anyone figured out that it was to add a "garage with door" until some rumors started to filter out (apparently from someone with insider knowledge) about some sort of "robot thing" and naturally it would need someplace to go (or it may have been the other way around, realizing there was some door and that the most likely reason would be to hold something inside that came out after landing. I was not following that ASDS thread very much at the time since OCISLY wasn't going to be used for the then-upcoming CRS-10 Launch/Landing. Tonight I did a quick visual browse thru thread pages to find the above photo).

The ASDS thread message with that original photo that was posted Jan 28th can be found at this link, as well as the messages that followed.

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/i...m/index.php?topic=39766.msg1636330#msg1636330
 
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Static firing delayed to Monday:

per https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/24/ses-10-flight-preps/

The Falcon 9 rocket's static fire test planned for today has been delayed until Monday, likely pushing back the launch until Thursday evening.

Launch preparations are running behind schedule, and Thursday's launch window opens around 4:59 p.m. EDT (2059 GMT).

Launch still officially set for Wednesday, though as above it is likely to move to Thursday.

An unofficial fan-made patch design for this flight:

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OCISLY left port on Saturday to go to the designated landing point in the Atlantic

Some new and high rez photos of the "Roomba" (some are also calling it Optimus Prime) have come out, from the following link: https://spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/temp/170319.OCISLY/index.html

Not known if it actually is onboard OCISLY for possible use on this mission, or not. Depends in part on whether they got it working as planned. And if it was not working as planned, did they use a crane to remove it, or just store it in the "Garage" and run the risk of damage from a possible crash when it didn't need to be there.

I this low angle nearly side view, it does indeed seem like the tank tracks retracted up to allow the rest of it to sit flush on deck.

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So....The booster is suppose to land on this thing?
I don't really see how this thing can track up next to the booster and grab it.
Or is this for something else and I'm way off track here?

No one outside of SpaceX knows for sure, but the best guess is that this thing "hides" behind the blast deflector until after the first stage lands on the barge. Then the "garage door" opens, it drives out (remotely controlled I would guess, as opposed to making the investment in something autonomous at this point), navigates between the landing legs, moves under the first stage and attaches/secures it to the deck in some way (magnets or welding maybe).
 
Static Firing complete, and good. Launch now set for Thursday:

Static fire test complete. Targeting Thursday, March 30 for Falcon 9 launch of SES-10.

Launch Window opens at... either 5 PM EDT or 6 PM EDT. Previous launch dates had targeted 4:58 and 4:59 PM EDT, so it seems likely it would be 5 PM EDT. But a writer at Florida Today posted 6 PM. Should be cleared up soon.

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See message 1761......

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...p-most-recent-missions)&p=1678774#post1678774

i WOULD temporarily re-title this thread to point out this is the first re-flight, but thanks to a really BAD DECISION it is no longer possible to edit any message after 28 days. I used to retitle this thread a lot, and also updated the first message a lot.

It's still possible for thread titles to be edited, but the mods will have to do it. As long as you ask "occasionally" and not "often" I'm sure that can probably be arranged from time to time.
 
Launch window for Thursday the 30th opens at 6:00 PM, EDT. However there is a report that the USAF's 45th Space Wing (who are in charge of the range for launches) lists 6:27 PM.

No links yet for the SpaceX Webcasts, those will definitely indicate the earliest planned launch time.

Forecast is 70% "Go".

There was mention that SpaceX are really TIGHT having it ready in time to launch. So they may have to postpone. And Friday the 31st, the weather forecast is 40% Go.
 
This was on Twitter this morning:

45th Space Wing‏ @45thSpaceWing 20h20 hours ago
We launch again in two days! @SpaceX #Falcon9 will deliver the #SES10 communications satellite into orbit at 6:27 p.m. ET.
 
SES-10 mission Thursday March 30. Launch window opens at 6:27 PM, EDT.

Weather forecast 80% "Go". Backup date is 48 hours later, April 1st.

Falcon with payload attached after the static test, was rolled out to the pad Wedensday night.

For anyone who has missed the news in this thread, this is the FIRST attempt to REUSE a first stage of an orbital launch vehicle. Falcon booster #1021, which flew the CRS-8 mission and landed safely in April 2016, is being flown again.

Two Page Press kit PDF, with info on the satellite and timeline for events before and after liftoff:

https://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/finalses10presskit.pdf

Booster should land at 8:32 after liftoff.

Hosted Webcast:

[video=youtube;xsZSXav4wI8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsZSXav4wI8[/video]

Technical Webcast:

[video=youtube;xfNO571C7Ko]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfNO571C7Ko[/video]
 
So how many times do they plan on reusing the booster?
However, initial tests on that rocket showed that the hardware was very resilient, Musk said. Some parts look like they could be reused indefinitely and even the more delicate machinery looks like it could survive 100 launches before needing to be replaced. However, Musk thought 20 flights would be a safe margin for his rockets.
"The goal is to get to the stage where we can reuse a rocket within a few weeks," Musk said. "Rapid reusability is important to be cost-effective, just like an aircraft. You can recycle a 747 that has flown from Los Angeles to London in three hours; you have to get rockets to that point too."

​https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/09/falcon_9_rocket_reused_in_two_months/
 
I think I remember reading recently that Musk said they were designed to be reused 100 times but realistically they expect to get 15-20 uses from each one.
 
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