Falcon 9 second stage tested
Pat Flannery
It's now on its way to the Cape after a full flight duration burn test.
SpaceX seems to be shooting for a March lift-off.
The Dragon test spacecraft will be inserted into a 155 mile high orbit
if all goes well. I'm really hoping that they stick a camera on the
Dragon capsule so it can transmit some images back from orbit.
Pat
Damon Hill
news:BuWdnT2pnrCwzdjW...@posted.northdakotatelephone:
I'm really hoping they'll stick cameras on the upper stage with a
view of the engine nozzle, so we'll have fewer things to guess at
what went wrong.
Not normally a betting man, but I'm giving 50-50 odds of the first
launch getting into orbit. Better than Falcon 1 because they're
flying a lot of better-tested hardware this time around. I don't expect
any problems from the first stage.
--Damon
Pat Flannery
> Not normally a betting man, but I'm giving 50-50 odds of the first
> launch getting into orbit. Better than Falcon 1 because they're
> flying a lot of better-tested hardware this time around. I don't expect
> any problems from the first stage.
I'm on the flip side of that; I'm expecting trouble with the first stage
due to harmonic vibrations from so many engines firing at once, but
think the second stage will have fewer problems due to fewer engines.
Like you though, I'd give it around a 50-50 chance of working right on
the first flight.
Pat
Rick Jones
SpaceX PR department will call the launch a success :)
As for the Dragon, I thought it was essentially boilerplate, no
"smarts?"
rick jones
--
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The real question is "Can it be patched?"
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway... :)
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...
Pat Flannery
> I'm betting there is a 100 chance that no matter what happens the
> SpaceX PR department will call the launch a success :)
>
> As for the Dragon, I thought it was essentially boilerplate, no
> "smarts?"
Although it doesn't have any RCS system, avionics, or heat shield on
this one, they say it will send "telemetry" back from orbit, and there
is something that looks like a camera window up near the nose:
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1001/05falcon9/dragon.jpg
Does Dragon use a escape tower for launch abort in the manned version or
does it have base-mounted escape rockets?
Pat
Rick Jones
> Although it doesn't have any RCS system, avionics, or heat shield on
> this one, they say it will send "telemetry" back from orbit, and there
> is something that looks like a camera window up near the nose:
> http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1001/05falcon9/dragon.jpg
> Does Dragon use a escape tower for launch abort in the manned version or
> does it have base-mounted escape rockets?
The artist's impression of a Dragon launch as presented at:
http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php
doesn't show an escape tower. Now, whether that is an omission on the
part of the artist or reflects actual design I do not know.
rick jones
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Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
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Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?
Rick Jones
> The artist's impression of a Dragon launch as presented at:
> http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php
> doesn't show an escape tower. Now, whether that is an omission on the
> part of the artist or reflects actual design I do not know.
But this link:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/01/musk-ambition-spacex-aim-for-fully-reusable-falcon-9/
suggests there will be a Launch Escape Tower.
rick jones
--
portable adj, code that compiles under more than one compiler
Pat Flannery
>> Does Dragon use a escape tower for launch abort in the manned version or
>> does it have base-mounted escape rockets?
>
> The artist's impression of a Dragon launch as presented at:
>
> http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php
>
> doesn't show an escape tower. Now, whether that is an omission on the
> part of the artist or reflects actual design I do not know.
According to this, the service module houses some sort of abort system:
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1095
"Below the capsule (crew compartment) is an integrated service module.
In addition to on-orbit operations, the service module can also provide
the combined crew compartment/service module with the ability to pull
the entire crew and cargo off the pad or out of the flight path should
an abort be required."
That's going to be a pretty formidable system to separate that much mass.
Pat
Pat Flannery
> But this link:
>
> http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/01/musk-ambition-spacex-aim-for-fully-reusable-falcon-9/
>
> suggests there will be a Launch Escape Tower.
That's more recent, so they must have decided to go with an escape tower
and just separate the capsule rather than the whole works.
Pat
David Spain
What no sub-orbital test first? How will they vouch for the capsule integrity
if they can't inspect it?
Telemetry, shelemetry!! Show me the friggin thing back on the ground first before
I put my a$$ into it!
Beside if they don't de-orbit it, how will Elon Musk get back his 1 MEEELION
dollars? Oh of course, ANOTHER X PRIZE!!!
BRILLIANT!!!
;-)
Dave
Pat Flannery
> What no sub-orbital test first? How will they vouch for the capsule integrity
> if they can't inspect it?
Oh, it will come down somewhere eventually...probably over India, being
mistaken for a Pakistani nuclear first strike.
> Telemetry, shelemetry!! Show me the friggin thing back on the ground first before
> I put my a$$ into it!
Number two will be designed to do a set of tests on-orbit, and then be
recovered after three orbits.
Pat
Glen Overby
>Does Dragon use a escape tower for launch abort in the manned version or
>does it have base-mounted escape rockets?
Escape tower, which they haven't started developing yet. They hope to have
the US Taxpayers (or debt-owers) also fund that with the COTS phase D
contract.
It will be fun to watch F9 staging on webcam.
Glen Overby
Me
>
> What no sub-orbital test first? How will they vouch for the capsule integrity
> if they can't inspect it?
>
> Telemetry, shelemetry!! Show me the friggin thing back on the ground first before
> I put my a$$ into it!
>
> Beside if they don't de-orbit it, how will Elon Musk get back his 1 MEEELION
> dollars? Oh of course, ANOTHER X PRIZE!!!
Because it is going to fly unmanned many more times before it is
manned. This test doesn't valid the capsule design, it is for the
Falcon 9. The structural test article serves as better nose cone than
an empty fairing. Also it allows for the fairing development to be
delayed.
There is no prize money associated with this.
David Spain
Sorry, should have included this link from Oct 1 2009 as background:
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.space.policy/msg/4280830f179f12bb
Note -> :-) <-
What a great publicity stunt tho! Orbit a million dollars, with the offer
being the first NGO that retreives it gets to keep it!
Of course, that's highly likely to be SpaceX...
Nobody said the stunt had to be fair... ;-)
Dave
PS: At even 10 million or less its highly unlikely that a spacefairing
GO would "retreive" it first in violation of the rules. At 20 million,
or above, wellll, one just might find in place of the cash a note:
"Comrade, the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation thanks
you for your generous donation! With first bank note to be placed
on display at Russian National Archives next to Superbowl Ring!"
Pat Flannery
>
> Because it is going to fly unmanned many more times before it is
> manned. This test doesn't valid the capsule design, it is for the
> Falcon 9. The structural test article serves as better nose cone than
> an empty fairing. Also it allows for the fairing development to be
> delayed.
It also raises the obvious question of: "if it works like this, why do
you need a fairing?".
Pat
Me
To carry payloads other than Dragon.