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

[manixFan]

This is a nice link:

https://multistream.co/p/bb8N9zP6r54/SN8_Multistream
It's a 4 way split screen of multiple streams.


Tony

PS: SpaceX stream has a countdown clock

 

[Greg Furtman]

This is a nice link:

https://multistream.co/p/bb8N9zP6r54/SN8_Multistream
It's a 4 way split screen of multiple streams.


Tony

Cool. Thanks!

 

[markg]

Guesing 10-15 minutes after this post

 

[Reinhard]

SpaceX stream is live. t-2min

Reinhard

 

[Antares JS]

Abort at T-1.3 seconds.

 

[Marc_G]

Sigh. I was hoping I could watch the flight.

But glad it didn't blow up!

 

[Mugs914]

Any reports on the cause of the abort?

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Oh, well... Maybe tomorrow.

 

[OverTheTop]

Any reports on the cause of the abort?

A "Raptor auto-abort" according to SpaceX website.

 

[georgegassaway]

So, it seems like they are trying again today. SpaceX's site does not have a link for a youtube feed yet, but their webpage indicates they will post one...

https://www.spacex.com/launches/
So, on Tuesday, I used the Labpadre live feed only in the background to monitor audio, as live feeds on other sites was continuous talk-talk-talk for hours. LabPadre was silent most of the time, getting more active once there were actual signs of something happening soon.

Then I begin using the NASAspaceflight (NSF) feed as things seems to be closer to happening. Such as the NASA WB-57 weather plane, and indications of fueling by visible signs of vapor.

Here's NSF's live feed for today:


The SpaceX feed went "live" only about 5 minutes before T-0. THAT is the one to watch, if you only watch one. Because of course they have various close-up cameras and the last few seconds showed an onboard base view looking down at the engines, and also two "Cineroc view" cameras onboard Starship looking down at the lower fins. Those two cameras will be VERY useful to see how well the belly-flop descent control system works out.

I had a second monitor going, so I had the SpaceX feed on the big monitor, and the NSF feed on the smaller monitor. I also had Everyday Astronaut's feed going, partly visible on the second monitor, so I could click between NSF and EA's feeds for different views. But those views were probably only going to be useful for a short time during launch, and for the last kilometer or so for landing (most critical phase), their cameras are miles away and did not seem optimal for high quality images. The rest of the flight, the best views would be the SpaceX feed, due to the onboard cameras. Also for the transition/landing, I expect SpaceX to have the best external camera views too (though with the onboard cameras, I'm not sure how much emphasis they are putting into great quality external cameras to zoom in to follow it all the way up).

I had the day off from work yesterday, so had the time to monitor what was going on, and watch. Today, I have to be at work before 2 PM, so I won't get to see it live.

 

[Marc_G]

Now scheduled live at 4pm

 

[Peartree]

T-3 minutes!

 

[Peartree]

Hold at 2:06...

 

[Reinhard]

 

[BEC]

Targeting new T-0 for 4:40 CST. Some discussion on Everyday Astronaut about a boat and possibly also a light airplane, in the exclusion zones.

 

[boatgeek]

Targeting new T-0 for 4:40 CST. Some discussion on Everyday Astronaut about a boat and possibly also a light airplane, in the exclusion zones.

"Sky is clear, range is clear. 5, 4, 3, HOLD! Wait for the airplane to clear." Is something you hear a bunch...

 

[cerving]

About 20 minutes away from lighting the world's largest steampunk rocket...

 

[modeltrains]

Don't that look grand;

 

[Marc_G]

It looks very proud!

Hopefully it will survive the test but any experiment that gives good data is a success.

Godspeed, SN8!

 

[Marc_G]

Was that engine supposed to flame out?

 

[Marc_G]

Goodbye SN8, we hardly knew ye.

But it was oh so close!

 

[cvanc]

Holy cow!!

 

[Marc_G]

I think the damage will buff right out!

 

[cerving]

I don't think they expected it to come back intact anyway, even with all three motors running. No landing gear... that should be a clue right there.

 

[modeltrains]

Text on SpaceX's own YouTube page of the test feed gives me the impression they expected they weren't going to be returning SN8 to the showroom after the test. Oh man did that flip look grand!

SpaceX

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As early as Wednesday, December 9, the SpaceX team will attempt a high-altitude suborbital flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8) from our site in Cameron County, Texas. The schedule is dynamic and likely to change, as is the case with all development testing. This live feed will start a few minutes prior to liftoff.

This suborbital flight is designed to test a number of objectives, from how the vehicle’s three Raptor engines perform, and the overall aerodynamic entry capabilities of the vehicle, including its body flaps, to how the vehicle manages propellant transition. SN8 will also attempt to perform a landing flip maneuver, which would be a first for a vehicle of this size.

With a test such as this, success is not measured by completion of specific objectives but rather how much we can learn as a whole, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship.

 

[modeltrains]

NASASpaceflight 's YouTube live coverage was a hoot to listen to!

 

[Reinhard]

Was that engine supposed to flame out?

I didn't think about that before, but the unusual flight profile and not knowing what sequence to expect made that flight certainly extra exciting to watch.

I don't think they expected it to come back intact anyway, even with all three motors running. No landing gear... that should be a clue right there.

Looks like the legs were installed, but Starship landed earlier than expected. The green flame is a sign that the combustion turned engine rich. The resulting loss of thrust made the landing not survivable anyways.

This was the first time of a Raptor relight in flight. I assume SpaceX restarted hot engines on the ground. I hope this didn't uncover something that is hard to fix, but I wouldn't rule that out.

Reinhard

 

[Marc_G]

My guess is this is a huge success. Beautiful takeoff. Well controlled ascent. If one of the engines did go out prematurely, it was well compensated by the other two. And for a brief time only one was lit, so maybe it was a planned stepdown.

Transition to bellyflop looked good. Stable control of flight on the way down. Active fin guidance. Two engine relights successful, with controlled return to vertical without overcompensation.

They landed on the pad so guidance was a-ok!

A huge telemetry package that is likely a goldmine.

And, one hell of a show!

Mission accomplished, I say!

 

[modeltrains]

A great day to be alive and watching rockets!

 

[RocketGeekInFL]

Looks like there was a fire in the engine compartment from that engine losing its light and going slightly off vector. I wonder if the fire damaged some sensor that was judging the exact distance to ground. I did notice the green flame on re-light, and if that did result in a loss of propulsion at ground level that too would certainly explain the unscheduled rapid disassembly. All in all, I would say SpaceX is very happy with this test and has a ton of data equity from this flight. Gorgeous flight!!