Jump to content

SpaceX Discussion Thread


Skylon

Recommended Posts

11 hours ago, Nivee~ said:

3 million each... and here I thought they would be the cheapest part of a rocket...I mean yeah they got the shock dampeners and all..... but 3 million apiece? 

It's either 6 million for a set of two or 6 million each, I forget, but IIRC it's the former. They are carbon composite, which means they take a long time to make (the size of a bus) and they use a lot of it. Since large scale composite technology is still fairly new, they are pretty expensive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Must’ve been a real interesting conversation the first time they pitched the idea to a naval architect... :o

“you want to attach what to the boat?!”

Quote

Based on specifications from the vessel’s shipyard, his current claws appear to be roughly 75% the length of the entire vessel, or something like 40m long by 30 to 40m wide.

So, doubling the reach of the arms and you’re talking about a spread of possibly 80 meters. :0.0: The width of the flight deck of the largest aircraft carrier ever, currently under construction, is “only” about 77 meters...

I can see the headline now...

BIZARRE SPACEX BOAT MISSES FAIRING, CATCHES WAYWARD F/A-18

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the boat+fairing picture @tater! If ever a photo needed a ‘well it worked in Kerbal Space Program’ caption it’s that one.

2 hours ago, JebDead said:

Check this out! The  Lego SpaceX FH only needs a few hundred more votes until it becomes a set you can buy. A science teacher built it to inspire his students. Also look at his Block 5 updates.

Awesome. Really hope that becomes a thing. I did hear that Lego weren’t really considering another rocket set after the Saturn V. On the other hand that one sold pretty well I think, so maybe there’s hope!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

Still wonder if an helicopter intercept would be better, faster and can work in 3 dimensions. 

Maybe hiring a pilot and renting and modifying a helicopter costs more than renting and modifying a boat? Maybe catching it like that is too dangerous? Or the chords (or whatever you call these paraglider lines) attachments aren't strong enough to handle a helicopter grabbing it? Or maybe they want to catch the second stage like that too so it's just a part of the testing?

There's probably a reason why they are doing it like this.

Edited by Wjolcz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Wjolcz said:

Maybe hiring a pilot and renting and modifying a helicopter costs more than renting and modifying a boat? Maybe catching it like that is too dangerous? Or the chords (or whatever you call these paraglider lines) attachments aren't strong enough to handle a helicopter grabbing it? Or maybe they want to catch the second stage like that too so it's just a part of the testing?

There's probably a reason why they are doing it like this.

My vote is that it's because they already own and have experience with barges.

It should be feasible. ULA is planning to recover engines on the Vulcan with a helicopter snatching a parafoil. It's also been done before. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, magnemoe said:

Still wonder if an helicopter intercept would be better, faster and can work in 3 dimensions. 

#1 Helicopters are expensive

#2 Helicopters have horrible fuel economy, and therefore range.  

The fairings come down hundreds of clicks from shore, even farther than the booster. It’s logistically impractical to have a helicopter fly out, loiter, then return at those kinds of distances, and that’s not even figuring the weather. To operate not just one, but a pair of helicopters (and bloody big ones, too) like that, you’d need... well, a small aircraft carrier, or... a big barge. And if you’ve got a big sea vessel there anyway...

Yes, it could be done, but not efficiently. “They” have done helicopter retrieval of space-returning things before, but there’s a reason said things were always small, high-value objects that came down over a vast expanse of land right close to an airbase. ;)

 

ULA and Vulcan... yeah... I’ll beleive they have serious plans to recover anything once I see some flight hardware.  <_<

It’s Boeing, after all... they can just make themselves a helicopter and write it off. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Yes, it could be done, but not efficiently. “They” have done helicopter retrieval of space-returning things before, but there’s a reason said things were always small, high-value objects that came down over a vast expanse of land right close to an airbase. ;)

Even so even "they" found helicopters too inefficient and went for fixed wings in the end...

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KH_film_recovery.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, tater said:

 

What is doing the maneuvering during these attempted catches? Does the boat just steer straight & steady and the fairing tries to land on it... or does the fairing just get itself in a steady glide near the ship and count on Mr Steven to maneuver underneath?

Edited by Brotoro
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Brotoro said:

What is doing the maneuvering during these attempted catches? Does the boat just steer straight & steady and the fairing tries to land on it... or does the fairing just get itself in a steady glide near the ship and count on Mr Steven to maneuver underneath?

Mr Steven is probably moving forward to reduce landing velocity, but I'd guess that the fairing is doing most of the maneuvering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Nivee~ said:

Sooo..... If I manage to steal them, who is going to buy them?? 

*Heist planning intensifies*

*cough*ULA*coughcough*<_<

So, in light of recent discussions, this:

Despite his insistence that a pod bay door override button will also be included, I think this might be settings a bad precedent... -_-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

*cough*ULA*coughcough*

ULA will buy fairings with SpaceX logo on them??? I think they will get a shaman and start exorcising the fairings to remove all the "Muskiness"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Nivee~ said:

ULA will buy fairings with SpaceX logo on them??? I think they will get a shaman and start exorcising the fairings to remove all the "Muskiness"

I think few cans of paint and a stencil with ULA's logo would do the trick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...