SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy successfully - biggest rocket since Saturn V

[Phr3121]

If netting billions of dollars doesn’t qualify as a genius, then I don’t care what else would.

Yeah, he is a real genius alright. Married and divorced the same girl twice. If that doesn't qualify as stupid I don't know what does.

 

[HockeyBjj]

I havent been keeping up with the latest space junk, so I was impressed by the reverse landing of the boosters. That had to have been an engineering nightmare. Absolutely no room for error the way they land. The main booster pad needs some rethinking.

I’m an electrical engineer where on the job I have a LOT of crossover with controls engineer responsibilities.

Designing and then tuning that control loop to land those rockets straight up is seriously amazing. Straight up boner material that they nailed it on an object of that size who’s primary design consideration is to launch with extreme force upwards; and then using that same engine to control a soft, vertical landing counteracting gravity and mainting heads up, no tipping control when I can’t imagine the balance is in their favor is the stuff of sci fi wet dreams

I knew the launch was today. I didn’t know they planned on landing the rockets like that. Figured they’d splash down in the ocean and be pulled out. This was me watching the vid when I saw them coming back to the launch pad

((Mods this is significantly less penisy than my Trump/Kim dick measuring contest cartoon. Pls no yellows this time))

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

I’m an electrical engineer where on the job I have a LOT of crossover with controls engineer responsibilities.

Designing and then tuning that control loop to land those rockets straight up is seriously amazing. Straight up boner material that they nailed it on an object of that size who’s primary design consideration is to launch with extreme force upwards; and then using that same engine to control a soft, vertical landing counteracting gravity and mainting heads up, no tipping control when I can’t imagine the balance is in their favor is the stuff of sci fi wet dreams

I knew the launch was today. I didn’t know they planned on landing the rockets like that. Figured they’d splash down in the ocean and be pulled out. This was me watching the vid when I saw them coming back to the launch pad

((Mods this is significantly less penisy than my Trump/Kim dick measuring contest cartoon. Pls no yellows this time))

They've done it dozens of times - reusable first stage rockets, it's their business model.

 

[HockeyBjj]

They've done it dozens of times - reusable first stage rockets, it's their business model.

With the vertical landing on the launch pad like that? I knew they re-used but hadn’t seen that

If I’m that out of the loop on this my apologies and thank you for correcting me. Still super cool for me to see for the first time

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

With the vertical landing on the launch pad like that? I knew they re-used but hadn’t seen that

If I’m that out of the loop on this my apologies and thank you for correcting me. Still super cool for me to see for the first time

Yep, their first - first stage landing on the water drone pad was in '16.

Company I work for has used them 2 times to deliver a LEO sat and GTO. Their business model revolves around an end to end design solutions developed in house and reusable first stage rockets -- getting their price line to be roughly 2500-3000 per KG for a launch.

 

[JDragon]

So it turns out they failed to get the payload on a Mars orbit and now it‘s headed towards an asteroid field.

 

[MikeMcMann]

I’m an electrical engineer where on the job I have a LOT of crossover with controls engineer responsibilities.

Designing and then tuning that control loop to land those rockets straight up is seriously amazing. Straight up boner material that they nailed it on an object of that size who’s primary design consideration is to launch with extreme force upwards; and then using that same engine to control a soft, vertical landing counteracting gravity and mainting heads up, no tipping control when I can’t imagine the balance is in their favor is the stuff of sci fi wet dreams

I knew the launch was today. I didn’t know they planned on landing the rockets like that. Figured they’d splash down in the ocean and be pulled out. This was me watching the vid when I saw them coming back to the launch pad

((Mods this is significantly less penisy than my Trump/Kim dick measuring contest cartoon. Pls no yellows this time))

Question:

I get that it is a cool advancement to go to vertical landing from a water or land drop via parachute but what is the main benefit of that? Is it that theoretically a rocket that can land vertical can then take off again if it has fuel?

I think I am answering my own question here but...

 

[Rob Battisti]

I watched it live and was cheering like the space nerd I am.

The core rocket crashed unfortunately but still a monumental achievement

 

[Prokofievian]

Question:

I get that it is a cool advancement to go to vertical landing from a water or land drop via parachute but what is the main benefit of that? Is it that theoretically a rocket that can land vertical can then take off again if it has fuel?

I think I am answering my own question here but...

So like..it doesn't get destroyed...n stuff.

 

[MikeMcMann]

...



Agreed. Musk may be smart, but not as smart as people are hyping him up to be. He is a businessman by trade. He knows how to make money. Through the wealth that he generates, he invests in 'hobbies' that he likes. He is more of a Richard Branson than he is a Wernher von Braun.

you should look at Musk more like a General who assembles his battle field team.

The General brings the over arching vision and devises the plan and then he selects the best people to ensure it is carried out.

Is the general necessarily the smartest guy in his room full of scientists and other? No? Is he necessarily the best fighter? No.

But his genius is being able to craft a game plan and see what and whom is needed to carry it out and then to inspire others to execute.

Few have that type of genius to make all the pieces work which is arguably a higher form of genius than someone who is a specialist in a task like a rocket scientist.

Don't mistake genius for IQ only as genius can go well beyond that. There will be fewer Musk's than there will be rocket scientists and that is because what Musk achieves or attempts to is greater and more challenging and takes a higher level of genius. Not sure why he would draw haters unless they are merely jealous?

 

[MikeMcMann]

So like..it doesn't get destroyed...n stuff.

there was not a big history of the ones landing via parachute getting destroyed n stuff.

 

[Prokofievian]

there was not a big history of the ones landing via parachute getting destroyed n stuff.

It's actually a more interesting question than I thought.

https://space.stackexchange.com/que...utes-for-the-final-descent-of-the-first-stage

The second post seems a lot more compelling to me than the first one. Overall I think control over where the thing is going to land, and the impracticalities of the parachute for a rocket of that size make the strongest argument for the fancy rocket controls.

 

[USA!USA!]

Wonder what the flat earthers and conspiracy theorists thought about this yesterday.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Question:

I get that it is a cool advancement to go to vertical landing from a water or land drop via parachute but what is the main benefit of that? Is it that theoretically a rocket that can land vertical can then take off again if it has fuel?

I think I am answering my own question here but...

Decent control, structural limitations the rocket (much different than capsules on re-entry), cost of refurbishing resuable first stages rockets..theres a lot of reasons

 

[ralphc1]

Not only is he a genius but he is daring. SpaceX is revolutionizing the aerospace industry. He's building and developing tech that would take NASA years as opposed to months without sacrificing quality for a fraction of the cost.

Read and learn you something ya village idiot...

Some of you Musk fanboys are really annoying. SpaceX was founded in 2002 so lets call it 15 years. NASA was founded in 1958 and landed men on the moon in less than 11 years at a time when the most powerful computers couldn't do what a cell phone can do today and took up entire floors of a building. NASA's first manned flight was in 1961 and the first manned orbital flight in 1962. NASA had missions that flew by Venus in 1962 and Mars in 1964. In 1971 they had a spacecraft in orbit around Mars.

The problem NASA ran into was when Congress wanted a reuseable vehicle to lower costs but it ended up increasing costs, adding lengthy delays and eventually costing lives.

 

[Der Eisbär]

Wonder what the flat earthers and conspiracy theorists thought about this yesterday.

simple - its all fake.

 

[Der Eisbär]

Some of you Musk fanboys are really annoying. SpaceX was founded in 2002 so lets call it 15 years. NASA was founded in 1958 and landed men on the moon in less than 11 years at a time when the most powerful computers couldn't do what a cell phone can do today and took up entire floors of a building. NASA's first manned flight was in 1961 and the first manned orbital flight in 1962. NASA had missions that flew by Venus in 1962 and Mars in 1964. In 1971 they had a spacecraft in orbit around Mars.

The problem NASA ran into was when Congress wanted a reuseable vehicle to lower costs but it ended up increasing costs, adding lengthy delays and eventually costing lives.

NASA had the full support of the largest economy in the world behind it. Big difference between that and assembling a private company and figuring it out yourself. Also what's the point of bringing NASA into this? They've shit the bed, taken their toys and gone home. They've checked out of the space race, so fuck them.

 

[HockeyBjj]

Yep, their first - first stage landing on the water drone pad was in '16.

Company I work for has used them 2 times to deliver a LEO sat and GTO. Their business model revolves around an end to end design solutions developed in house and reusable first stage rockets -- getting their price line to be roughly 2500-3000 per KG for a launch.

Water drone pad? Are you saying they also have a landing pad that will adjust to the used rocket coming back and get underneath it if the rocket can’t get over far enough?

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

NASA had the full support of the largest economy in the world behind it. Big difference between that and assembling a private company and figuring it out yourself. Also what's the point of bringing NASA into this? They've shit the bed, taken their toys and gone home. They've checked out of the space race, so fuck them.

True on the first part

Totally wrong on the 2nd part

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Water drone pad? Are you saying they also have a landing pad that will adjust to the used rocket coming back and get underneath it if the rocket can’t get over far enough?

Is that a specific question directly to water pads? Yes -- they've done it multiple times