CatastrophicFailure Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Also @mikegarrison, as I understand, the return trajectory of the booster is such that if control is lost prior to the landing burn, it’ll go into the drink. A big part of the landing burn is the final course tweak to put it on target for the LZ pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 2 hours ago, regex said: I hope the paint stands up for more than a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brotoro Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 SpaceX should paint all the new Falcons soot-gray with white pin stripes on the weld areas in all of the sooty areas from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regex Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 20 minutes ago, tater said: Nah man, the paint on the car what will be circling the sun, basking in solar radiation, unprotected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikegarrison Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 6 minutes ago, Brotoro said: SpaceX should paint all the new Falcons soot-gray with white pin stripes on the weld areas in all of the sooty areas from the start. It's a badge of honor. My track car is just filthy from brake dust and bits of rubber that have been flung onto it, but I don't wash it because this way it looks like it's actually been driven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racescort666 Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 11 minutes ago, mikegarrison said: It's a badge of honor. My track car is just filthy from brake dust and bits of rubber that have been flung onto it, but I don't wash it because this way it looks like it's actually been driven. We have race cars in the museum that are in the same condition that they left the track, filthy and covered in confetti. Definitely a badge of honor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatastrophicFailure Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 37 minutes ago, regex said: Nah man, the paint on the car what will be circling the sun, basking in solar radiation, unprotected. I think it might just surprise us. Modern automotive paint is some pretty tough stuff, especially the high quality stuff I’m assuming they use on an expensive electric supercar. With no atmosphere to oxidize or erode it, it might take that solar heating a good long time. The interior plastic and leather, on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh1pman Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 5 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said: I think it might just surprise us. Modern automotive paint is some pretty tough stuff, especially the high quality stuff I’m assuming they use on an expensive electric supercar. With no atmosphere to oxidize or erode it, it might take that solar heating a good long time. The interior plastic and leather, on the other hand... The paint may suffer from heavy UV irradiation where there is no ozone layer to protect it from decomposing. Even supercar paint may not be designed to withstand cosmic levels of UV-C, which is normally completely absorbed by the atmosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 1 hour ago, regex said: Nah man, the paint on the car what will be circling the sun, basking in solar radiation, unprotected. I was under the impression you thought that a FH launch was powered by magical unicorn chow, and hence I assumed you meant the regular Falcon . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regex Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 45 minutes ago, tater said: I was under the impression you thought that a FH launch was powered by magical unicorn chow Well, no, kerolox actually exists. The Falcon Heavy on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimate Steve Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 33 minutes ago, regex said: Well, no, kerolox actually exists. The Falcon Heavy on the other hand... Largely exists but has not been flown yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB666 Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 2 hours ago, sh1pman said: The paint may suffer from heavy UV irradiation where there is no ozone layer to protect it from decomposing. Even supercar paint may not be designed to withstand cosmic levels of UV-C, which is normally completely absorbed by the atmosphere. Things blacken in space, the effect of solar winds during sunspot activity and reactive hydrogen ions. It takes a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh1pman Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVDRW Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 (edited) NASA has its own footage Edited December 16, 2017 by DVDRW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotius Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Beautiful Modern optics, man - awesome stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSK Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 8 hours ago, tater said: I was under the impression you thought that a FH launch was powered by magical unicorn chow, and hence I assumed you meant the regular Falcon . But surely it is? After all, magic unicorn chow is a Highly Efficient And Very Yummy fuel/food. Coincidence? I think not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSK Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 And on a serious note, I think the thing that got me most excited about the last launch was the five minutes or so of the webcast that were devoted to talking about the new pad updates. Updating the sound suppression systems for example to cope with longer holddowns - because that means SpaceX can do the refurbishment and then static fire testing of recovered boosters right there at the launch site without needing to ship their recovered boosters to McGregor(?) and back. Increasing commonality of equipment and facilities between their three launch sites which is (presumably) cheaper and easier to manage. None of which is terribly exciting from a technical perspective but from a business perspective, I'm really liking seeing yet more evidence of SpaceX' step-by-step 'having a plan and executing it' approach, all with the goal of optimising, streamlining and further lowering launch costs. The kind of quiet behind-the-scenes work that will hopefully let them deliver on more of Elon's more aspirational goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racescort666 Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 17 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said: I think it might just surprise us. Modern automotive paint is some pretty tough stuff, especially the high quality stuff I’m assuming they use on an expensive electric supercar. With no atmosphere to oxidize or erode it, it might take that solar heating a good long time. The interior plastic and leather, on the other hand... It is pretty tough stuff but it will be in an environment that it wasn't designed for. It will probably look like a car that's been sitting in a barn for 40 years after a short period of time whose duration I'm completely unqualified to guess at. There is a non-zero chance that it has structural failure after being exposed to space. The Roadster and the Lotus Elise which it is based on have a bonded aluminum structure. The adhesive could easily degrade rapidly in space and thermal expansion of different parts could easily put unforeseen stress on the joints. 2 hours ago, KSK said: None of which is terribly exciting from a technical perspective but from a business perspective... <snip> You'd be surprised at what gets us technical people excited. I'm a firm believer in simplicity which usually translates to less expensive which the business people like. The person that asks me for more "wow factor" had better be ready for a rant on unnecessary over-complication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XB-70A Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 I shared this picture took yesterday in the Lounge some hours ago, but I think it could have been fun to show it here too. Two falcons at the same time for the price on one!.. or the Peregrine Falcon 9? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh1pman Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceception Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 The flight is gonna be fantastic. I cannot wait. Great pic! Did you make it? Or find it somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wumpus Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 20 hours ago, PB666 said: Things blacken in space, the effect of solar winds during sunspot activity and reactive hydrogen ions. It takes a long time. Aren't the flags on the Moon all white thanks to solar bleaching? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh1pman Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 1 hour ago, Spaceception said: The flight is gonna be fantastic. I cannot wait. Great pic! Did you make it? Or find it somewhere? Found it on Facebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubinator Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 1 hour ago, wumpus said: Aren't the flags on the Moon all white thanks to solar bleaching? That's what we presume. I don't think they have been imaged in enough detail to verify it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 Saw ISS and dragon pass over tonight with a fellow forum member (who gets credit for spotting dragon behind ISS). Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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