Beittil Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Will the press conference also be broadcast on their website? Edit, finally a word from Elon: Elon Musk ?@elonmusk7m Launch was good. All satellites deployed at the targeted orbit insertion vectors. pic.twitter.com/SUYMH7W9pH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Musk: all 1st and 2nd stage engines performed "slightly better than expected". Musk: attempted relight of upper stage, encountered anomaly. Understand what it is and will fix before next flight Musk: on track for next launch, of SES satellite, next month; may wait a few weeks to finalize second stage relight issue. Musk: Lower stage 3-engine relight went well, reentered. Single-engine relight went well, but exceeded roll control of ACS. (Attitude Control System) Musk: rolling "centrifuged" propellant, shut down engine early. Did recover "portions" of 1st stage after splashdown. Sounds very fixable and better than expected (stated 10% that any of recovery would work on the first try) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Musk: will next attempt recovery on 4th F9 v1.1 launch, of CRS-3. That vehicle may also have landing legs. Musk: (but?) won't hold up CRS-3 launch to install legs on F9. Schedule driven by upgrades to Dragon*. Probably Feb '14 launch. * upgrades requested by NASA include more refrigeration units for returning experiments & power for same. Musk: goal is to attempt 1st stage recovery on all future CRS launches and many others; next two (w/out recovery) more of an anomaly. Musk: working with Air Force and FAA on identifying landing sites for F9 1st stage, looking at eastern tip of Cape Canaveral. Musk: if things go "super well", could refly a Falcon 9 1st stage by the end of next year. End of presser. Adding legs could help with the first stage landing roll control issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsItPluggedIn Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Another cool pic of this. Linky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 A bit of unseen footage, including the first stage recovery retrofire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 http://www.spacex.com/news/2013/10/14/upgraded-falcon-9-mission-overview >(more) Though not a primary mission objective, SpaceX was also able to initiate two engine relights on the first stage. For the first restart burn, we lit three engines to do a supersonic retro propulsion, which we believe may be the first attempt by any rocket stage. The first restart burn was completed well and enabled the stage to survive reentering the atmosphere in a controlled fashion. SpaceX then lit the center engine for a single engine burn. That relight also went well, however we exceeded the roll control authority of the attitude control thrusters. This particular stage was not equipped with landing gear which could have helped stabilize the stage like fins would on an aircraft. The stage ended up spinning to a degree that was greater than we could control with the gas thrusters on board and ultimately we hit the water relatively hard. However, SpaceX recovered portions of the stage and now, along with the Grasshopper tests, we believe we have all the pieces to achieve a full recovery of the boost stage. This launch also marked the first of three certification flights needed to certify Falcon 9 to fly missions for the U.S. Air Force under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. When Falcon 9 is certified, SpaceX will be eligible to compete for all National Security Space (NSS) missions. The next few months remain busy for SpaceX and the upgraded Falcon 9. We are currently preparing to launch our first geosynchronous transfer orbit mission out of Cape Canaveral with SES-8 followed by Thaicom and our next trip to the space station in the early part of next year. First stage retro-propulsion. They almost made it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 ^^the top image is the 3-engine reentry burn. The bottom image is only ~8 meters above the sea surface. There is apparently another frame from the (as yet) unreleased video at just 3 meters from the water. Clearly, the stage was aligned properly for a landing and all that prevented a soft touchdown was the roll-induced engine cutoff. They are very, VERY close to landing an F9 first stage. Imagine the internet/TV geekgasm when they do!! bguy_1986 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geertd Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Docm : They are very, VERY close to landing an F9 first stage. Imagine the internet/TV geekgasm when they do!! can't wait to see that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 The shots were Canon DSLR stills and a frame cap from an HD video taken from an aircraft miles outside the safety zone. 400mm lens. They may still release the video. More from Jeff Foust at ISPCS https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/390517260801949697 Jeff Foust ?@jeff_foust Shotwell said after the talk SpaceX is wrapping up their investigation of the 2nd stage relight issue, should be done by week's end. #ispcs https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/390518122957914112 Jeff Foust ?@jeff_foust Shotwell didn't go into details about investigation, but indicated the issue wasn't major, or a surprise, and next launch on track. #ispcs Shotwell also said they have 25 people working on Grasshopper but 3000 want to. F9R-1 (Grasshopper 2) may fly at SpacePort America in December. If that's the case it may make a short hop or two at McGregor before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Camera location. These protuberances are what caused the aero roll that prevented a soft landing. Expect corrections that mitigate the aero forces before the next attempt. Stage flip First stage retro propulsion - rockets eye view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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