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  [Discuss] SpaceX CRS-8 space station mission

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Author Topic:   [Discuss] SpaceX CRS-8 space station mission
Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-06-2016 10:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Please use this topic to discuss the eighth of SpaceX's contracted Dragon cargo flights to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) Program.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-06-2016 10:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The CRS-8 launch will be aired live on NASA TV and webcast by SpaceX:
SpaceX is targeting Friday (April 8) at 4:43 p.m. ET (2043 GMT) for the launch of CRS-8.

The SpaceX webcast is scheduled to go live here and on YouTube about 20 minutes prior to launch. For the technical webcast (just rocket views, launch countdown audio and telemetry info), see here.

holcombeyates
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posted 04-07-2016 10:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for holcombeyates   Click Here to Email holcombeyates     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does anyone know if there will be another attempt to recover the first stage?

Second question — could the technical capability for the first stage to execute a return to a safe landing have been achieved years earlier? Could this technique have been used for say — Apollo, Soyuz and other launch vehicles?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-07-2016 10:10 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
From the status thread:
Following stage separation, the first stage of the Falcon 9 will attempt a propulsive landing on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

mf451
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posted 04-07-2016 10:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for mf451   Click Here to Email mf451     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There is a good FAQ on the SpaceX sub-reddit regarding the landing attempt as well as why the live feed from the barge usually drops out right as the booster approaches:

Don't know the answer to the second question.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-07-2016 10:14 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The precision control needed for an autonomous propulsive landing might have been a challenge for 1960s-era computers, but there were proposals for the parachute recovery and mid-air capture of the first stage of the Saturn V (S-IC).

SpaceAngel
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posted 04-07-2016 06:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAngel   Click Here to Email SpaceAngel     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What are the odds of this mission being successful, unlike last year?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-07-2016 06:23 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There have been three successful launches of the Falcon 9 since the loss of CRS-7, so SpaceX is confident it has addressed the cause(s) of the June 2015 failure. Still, with any launch there always remains a degree of risk.

OV3Discovery
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posted 04-07-2016 07:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV3Discovery     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The six month hiatus from launches after CRS-7 addressed the "strut" issue and all the other possible faults within the vehicle. So hopefully a successful mission.

Hoping for a good launch and landing. Good luck to everyone involved in the mission.

butch wilks
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posted 04-08-2016 04:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for butch wilks   Click Here to Email butch wilks     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
"WAY TO GO SPACEX!"

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-08-2016 04:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
BEAM up and Falcon down! SpaceX returned Dragon to flight and stuck the landing of its rocket's first stage on the autonomous spaceport drone ship...

OV3Discovery
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posted 04-08-2016 04:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV3Discovery     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That was wonderful way for Dragon to return to flight.

David Carey
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posted 04-08-2016 05:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Congratulations to all at SpaceX - fantastic accomplishment.

SkyMan1958
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posted 04-08-2016 05:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SkyMan1958   Click Here to Email SkyMan1958     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone at SpaceX!!!

OV-105
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posted 04-08-2016 05:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV-105   Click Here to Email OV-105     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So how do they keep the first stage from falling over at sea once it lands? That was awesome to see land.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-08-2016 05:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Gravity. The rocket is bottom heavy (its tanks are mostly empty and the nine engines weigh the vehicle down).

Once recovery team members get aboard the drone ship, they will fit steel shoes over the legs and weld them to the deck for the trip back to port.

On edit: Here is how Elon Musk described it today:

We're welding it down, making sure it doesn't tip over. There are potentially some heavy winds coming in. They've got these steel shoes they put over landing feet and weld it to the deck.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-08-2016 05:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Here is a replay of the drone ship landing:

J Blackburn
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posted 04-08-2016 07:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for J Blackburn   Click Here to Email J Blackburn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Congrats SpaceX!!!!! Awesome footage all around.

Jurg Bolli
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posted 04-08-2016 08:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jurg Bolli   Click Here to Email Jurg Bolli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, remarkable and impressive.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-08-2016 11:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Additional landing videos:

Onboard camera view of landing in high winds

A video posted by SpaceX (@spacex) on

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-08-2016 11:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
NSFW (Not Safe For Work) landing video:

(Seriously, cover your children's ears; Elon Musk tweeted and then deleted this.)

perineau
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posted 04-09-2016 09:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for perineau   Click Here to Email perineau     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Congrats to SpaceX and Blue Origin for opening the era of reusable boosters! I've been waiting since 1967 and "You only live twice" (James Bond) to see the real thing!!!

David Carey
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posted 04-09-2016 10:58 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Gravity. The rocket is bottom heavy (its tanks are mostly empty and the nine engines weigh the vehicle down).
An interesting bounce and slide to the left at touchdown. That it withstood all that, heavy seas, and a likely wind load from the (lighter) upper structure is really something. A nail-biter!

Watching the on-deck video makes me want to run out there and hold it down until the welders get busy.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-09-2016 11:04 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
According to Musk, the seas looked worse than they were:
The pitch and roll was about two to three degrees, so it was actually not too bad.

In terms of maximum, well, probably we could do double that easily and maybe triple. So maybe it is eight or nine degrees but that is probably about the limit. But that would be really intense seas.

dabolton
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posted 04-10-2016 02:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dabolton     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Has the rocket returned to port yet? Will they have to lower it to clear bridges on the return?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-10-2016 02:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
They aren't back to port yet. Here's the page on MarineTraffic.com tracking the tug.

Musk said the stage would not be lowered horizontal until makes shore.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-12-2016 04:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
SpaceX photo
Back at port

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-12-2016 05:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Live Port Canaveral webcam showing the stage at the dock.

dabolton
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posted 04-12-2016 08:45 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for dabolton     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Taken at Port Canaveral this morning...

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-12-2016 06:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
SpaceX photos

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-12-2016 06:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
SpaceX photos

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-12-2016 06:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
SpaceX photos

alcyone
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posted 04-14-2016 09:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for alcyone     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Love the clarity of the images, especially the grid fins and the RCS puffing.

Headshot
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posted 04-18-2016 11:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The CRS-8 first stage is now horizontal and will probably be trucked back to SpaceX's facilities today.

Does anyone know how this time, from lifting off the barge and placing on the dock, to being trucked back to SpaceX compares to the mid-December 2015 first stage landing and its return to SpaceX?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-18-2016 11:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If you mean the time required, from touchdown at Landing Zone 1 to arrival at the Pad 39A horizontal integration facility was four days (Dec. 21 to Dec. 25).

SpaceX told reporters that it was going to take this recovery one step at a time, with milestones separated (by at least) a day apart.

Headshot
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posted 04-18-2016 12:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks Robert. That explains some of the periods of inactivity I noticed during the processing of the first stage after it was lifted off the barge.

dabolton
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posted 04-18-2016 07:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dabolton     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It appeared to be loaded onto a barge, not a truck.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-19-2016 01:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The stage was loaded onto a multi-wheeled transporter (trailer) and trucked from the port to Cape, where it arrived today.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-19-2016 10:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Elon Musk on Twitter:
By land and sea

All times are CT (US)

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