DAL59 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 @riocrokite hmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zolotiyeruki Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 So here's a thought on entering engine-end-first: What if they just opted to sacrifice the bell, and retain the rest of the engine? Could you design the engine so that even if the bell is damaged, the rest of it remains intact and re-usable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCgothic Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 A cutting charge around the nozzle extension wouldn't weigh much, true. Not sure how difficult it would be to change the nozzle afterwards once it's back on earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 (edited) 26 minutes ago, zolotiyeruki said: So here's a thought on entering engine-end-first: What if they just opted to sacrifice the bell, and retain the rest of the engine? Could you design the engine so that even if the bell is damaged, the rest of it remains intact and re-usable? 24 minutes ago, RCgothic said: A cutting charge around the nozzle extension wouldn't weigh much, true. Not sure how difficult it would be to change the nozzle afterwards once it's back on earth. That's certainly possible. A cutting charge would probably be unnecessary, actually. An MVac engine bell probably couldn't handle more than one re-use anyway so it would likely be replaced as a matter of course. However, even if you used a charge to cut the engine bell, it still has far too much thrust to be used for retropropulsive landing. EDIT: Crazy idea... The Merlin is a GG engine. Could they use it for retropropulsive landing by simply not lighting the engine? If they could vent the gas generator straight into the combustion chamber, it should produce SOME degree of thrust. Actually, now that I recall, the GG vent is outside of the engine, so that won't work. I was thinking of the preburners on Raptor. You could, in theory, run just a single preburner in Raptor (or both and not light it) and you'd have low engine thrust. Merlin uses pintle injectors that cannot easily have their mixture ratios varied. You'd have to use GG pressure to push propellant through without lighting it. Don't know what kind of pressure thrust that would give. Edited April 19, 2018 by sevenperforce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatastrophicFailure Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 27 minutes ago, sevenperforce said: EDIT: Crazy idea... Aaaaand this is probably why they decided to try that kooky bouncy house bit first. Sounds reasonable in context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatGuyWithALongUsername Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 (edited) 22 minutes ago, tater said: Ok... what are we looking at here? Was this at McGregor or was it from TESS? In other words, is this... the new landing legs? EDIT: NVM I'm very smart and definitely read the article. Very exciting, though! Edited April 19, 2018 by ThatGuyWithALongUsername Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Augustus_ Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 On 4/17/2018 at 10:05 AM, Nibb31 said: Misland ? It doesn't have propulsion. If you switch runways while you're still high enough, you can glide there. I could see a jet-engine upgrade similar to Buran if they get enough flights. That way it could fly from the landing site to KSC/Vandy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAL59 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh IN SPACE Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I like that ballute idea. Pretty neat. 6 hours ago, zolotiyeruki said: So here's a thought on entering engine-end-first: What if they just opted to sacrifice the bell, and retain the rest of the engine? Could you design the engine so that even if the bell is damaged, the rest of it remains intact and re-usable? Would the engine still have a lot of control on descent without the bell to help direct thrust in such a case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YNM Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 9 minutes ago, Josh IN SPACE said: Would the engine still have a lot of control on descent without the bell to help direct thrust in such a case? Not the entirety of the bells - just the vacuum extension. Basically cutting the MVac back into MAir. Although, placing detonators next to extremely hot combustion doesn't sounds like the best of ideas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatastrophicFailure Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 26 minutes ago, YNM said: Although, placing detonators next to extremely hot combustion doesn't sounds like the best of ideas... This. Not to mention introduce high-speed shrapnel into the throat of an engine you need to fire in a few minutes... Quote We are getting ready for more Falcon Heavy launches, this time flying satellites, not cars. They should launch one anyway, even if it’s a small one. That should be a thing, buy a Falcon Heavy launch, get a little car free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teilnehmer Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 On 4/17/2018 at 9:05 PM, Nibb31 said: I don't see why it would need to retract them in flight To have more lift at low speeds during landing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YNM Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 1 hour ago, Teilnehmer said: To have more lift at low speeds during landing. Sometimes it works the other way. Though given it's a flying brick, guess you just do it like Space Shuttle - only pull up at the latest of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibb31 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 6 hours ago, _Augustus_ said: I could see a jet-engine upgrade similar to Buran if they get enough flights. That way it could fly from the landing site to KSC/Vandy. The jet engines were for ferry flights on one of the Buran prototypes. They were never intended to be present during reentry. 1 hour ago, Teilnehmer said: To have more lift at low speeds during landing. How would that work ? Folding back the stabilizers would provide less lift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teilnehmer Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I meant not retracting but expanding the wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monophonic Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 6 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said: This. Not to mention introduce high-speed shrapnel into the throat of an engine you need to fire in a few minutes... They should launch one anyway, even if it’s a small one. That should be a thing, buy a Falcon Heavy launch, get a little car free. A Reliant Robin. Reuseable of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbiloid Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 8 hours ago, Nibb31 said: How would that work ? Folding back the stabilizers would provide less lift. You don't need wings neither for aerobraking, nor in orbit. You can make thin lightweight wings extending on M < 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSK Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 13 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said: This. Not to mention introduce high-speed shrapnel into the throat of an engine you need to fire in a few minutes... So start the engine first, then detonate the explosives and hope the exhaust blows all the shrapnel clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotius Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 That sounds like a surefire recipe for awesome fireball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatastrophicFailure Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 15 minutes ago, Scotius said: That sounds like a surefire recipe for awesome fireball Quite. But probably not the kind that results in controlled flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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