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

[ThirstyBarbarian]

SpaceX Dragon debris lights up sky in bright fireball over western US during reentry (video)

The fireworks were harmless, but dramatic.

www.space.com

First I've heard/seen of Dragon's "Trunk" burning up at reentry. I would think it'd burn up before it gets close enough to be seen on the ground? I guess it has some pretty good mass.

View attachment 577949

Whatcha gon' do with all that junk
All that junk inside your trunk?
I'ma get, get it go kerplunk
Go kerplunk if it don’t burn up
Burn up, burn up, burn up, burn up, burn up
Burn up, burn up, burn up, my flamey little lumps
Check it out

 

[Marc_G]

Falcon Heavy now at 8:26pm ET if not scrubbed due to winds

 

[Marc_G]

No booster recovery for this one, but should look cool going up

 

[Marc_G]

Nice launch! Would have been cool if they had video from the spent boosters as they tumbled down and splash in. Or would they have used termination systems to break them into smaller pieces? I'm curious "what happens" to these expended ones. After separation and moving away from the main stack, do they just fall ballistically or is there some degree of maneuver/aspect guidance to put them in the most favorable orientation for safest possible disposal at sea?

 

[OverTheTop]

After separation and moving away from the main stack, do they just fall ballistically or is there some degree of maneuver/aspect guidance to put them in the most favorable orientation for safest possible disposal at sea?

I would have thought they would just fall uncontrollably into the sea. Saving mass was a priority, hence the lack of grid fins and attendant systems for them. I will bet they just fall into the ocean. There was a callout that FTS was safed just after booster separation. I guess they break up on impact.

 

[Marc_G]

It would be kinda cool to have a drone's-eye video of that

 

[tim cubbedge]

Back yard view. I guess this is the first falcon heavy that didn’t land the boosters at KSC.

 

[kuririn]

I love night launches.


27 burning, 0 turning.
Oh wait. Turbopumps.


Fairing separation.

Nice launch! Would have been cool if they had video from the spent boosters as they tumbled down and splash in.

Too dark.

 

[ONAWHIM]

Sometimes I can see a launch on the West coast.

This site stays current with launch times of all launches, all nations, all locations. You may find it useful.
https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/

 

[OverTheTop]

It was interesting in the FH flight that they mentioned it was the 100th flight of one of the fairing halves. So that is about $300million they have saved by reusing that fairing alone. Worth having .

 

[davel]

It was interesting in the FH flight that they mentioned it was the 100th flight of one of the fairing halves. So that is about $300million they have saved by reusing that fairing alone. Worth having .

I believe they said it was the 100th flight that they have used a flight proven fairing half. Not tht either of the fairling halves on the flight have been used 100 times.

 

[OverTheTop]

Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick, but it is still $300million saved.

 

[Marc_G]

Fairing re-entry:

 

[kuririn]

Fairing re-entry:

Wow. I wonder what kind of heat abatement they put on the fairings.
Or on the camera and lens for that matter.

 

[Marc_G]

Surprised there's no deepfake video of Elon riding the fairing in like a surfboard

 

[OverTheTop]

I am just imagining the amount of decelleration on the fairings during entry.

 

[boatgeek]

I am just imagining the amount of decelleration on the fairings during entry.

Wouldn't it be pretty gentle as the atmosphere thickens? The fairings are pretty "fluffy" in terms of weight per surface area. It seems like they'd slow down pretty quickly even from thin air.

 

[ONAWHIM]

The fairing doesn't tumble, why?

 

[OverTheTop]

Wouldn't it be pretty gentle as the atmosphere thickens? The fairings are pretty "fluffy" in terms of weight per surface area. It seems like they'd slow down pretty quickly even from thin air.

Even though it is light it still has to bleed off the kinetic energy.

 

[Charles_McG]

The fairing doesn't tumble, why?

Base drag stabilized.

I -think- they've got cold gas thrusters to make sure they start right-side-down.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

From Space.com...

Falcon family hits 200 consecutive successes. SpaceX’s launch of 51 more Starlink Internet satellites Wednesday from California marked the 200th consecutive successful mission for the company’s Falcon rocket family, a record unmatched by any other space launch vehicle. The string of successes dates back to September 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on a launch pad during pre-flight testing at Cape Canaveral, Spaceflight Now reports.

By way of comparison ... United Launch Alliance has amassed a 97-for-97 success record for its Atlas 5 rocket since its debut in 2002. Going further back, the Atlas rocket family, which includes earlier launcher designs with different engines, has a string of 172 consecutive successful missions since 1993. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology has achieved a record of 141 straight successful space launches since April 2020. This state-owned company manufactures and operates the Long March launch vehicle family. (submitted by EllPeaTea)

 

[hobie1dog]

ULA puts up some nice video tours. A great ncompany.

 

[Mushtang]

Crewed mission to the space station at 2pm eastern. Landing the booster back at the cape.

 

[bad_idea]

Crewed mission to the space station at 2pm eastern. Landing the booster back at the cape.

Instantaneous launch window is 17:37 Eastern.

Cape landing will be fun to watch.

 

[Marc_G]

Nice launch and cape landing! Well on their way to ISS

 

[Tyeeking]

Nice launch and cape landing! Well on their way to ISS

Never get tired of seeing those boosters land.

 

[Tractionengines]

Never get tired of seeing those boosters land.

That landing was a VERY gentle touchdown.

I think I heard they changed up the motor burns for this return & landing. Usually it is 3 for entry burn and 1 for landing. But the switched it today and used 1 for entry burn and then 3 for landing touchdown.

 

[Cape Byron]

I do love some grid fins in action.

 

[Huxter]

She said first land landing for a crewed mission. It was a "smooth as butta" landing!

 

[hobie1dog]

That landing was a VERY gentle touchdown.

I think I heard they changed up the motor burns for this return & landing. Usually it is 3 for entry burn and 1 for landing. But the switched it today and used 1 for entry burn and then 3 for landing touchdown.

there's Tractionengines. That was a long Birthday break