Space X nails 1st stage landing at sea!

[Morey St. Denis]

They've done it again, stuck the booster landing at sea, within a month later! This time in darkness, during wee hours of morning and from a more difficult, considerably more energy intensive geostationary transfer orbital track. Repeatedly reigniting and throttling three of nine engines cancels its sideways, (tangential to earth) 5,200 mph trajectory and vectors it onto an open ocean landing platform. Higher velocities, apogee and therefore reentry heating on the airframe, are even more punishing with lower estimated odds of success, yet they've managed another and in fairly quick succession.

I understand that cost to build a new Falcon 9 is about $60 million; three booster stages have now returned fully intact and may potentially be refitted and recycled to loft further commercial payloads. Propellant refueling cost is estimated in the range of $200,000 (only 1/3 of one percent). Another notable accomplishment has seen the Falcon 9's payload capacity recently uprated appreciably beyond initial design intent, not just by the customary several percent, but as much as half again to both GTO and Low Earth Orbits. SpaceX Merlin engines are proving even more robust than hoped, capable of higher thrust without significant design changes, but some of this improvement apparently also relates to oxidizer loading density. What I'd learned of materials science and fluid mechanics had conventional fluids fully in a condensed liquid phase, behaving largely as incompressible. Seemingly not so with certain cryogenic liquefied gases; held under even lower super-chilled liquid conditions, one can pack even more LOX at greater volumetric density into a tank within similar pressure limits. Isn't chemistry and molecular physics way cool?.. Way To Go SpaceX!..

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[Morey St. Denis]

In case anyone is still interested in our progress toward reusable, affordable orbital launch vehicles for space exploration; a historic milestone was finally achieved last evening. This particular SpaceX Falcon 9 booster stage originally brought to our attention by Bruce less than a year ago has just completed the world's first relaunch, capped by yet another successful landing and recovery at sea. Sporting it's original complement of nine Merlin engines back in place, this launch vehicle was refurbished, freshened up with a clean coat of paint, refueled and relaunched on its second orbital delivery of a communications satellite in under a year. An additional bonus to highlight this feat was the inclusion of a recovery package to the 2nd stage's multi-million $ aerodynamic composite shell that shrouds and protects the payload. Once boost is complete and air resistance becomes negligible above the atmosphere, the enlarged diameter payload fairing is jettisoned, its task complete. This time it reportedly made a controlled reentry and was also recovered intact at sea for use another time. After 15 years of effort and now with a whole warehouse nearly full of once used and successfully landed Falcon 9 launch vehicles, SpaceX appears on track to refurbish, refuel and relaunch about six more over the span of this year. Outstanding!

[Bruce Page]

In case anyone is still interested in our progress toward reusable, affordable orbital launch vehicles for space exploration; a historic milestone was finally achieved last evening. This particular SpaceX Falcon 9 booster stage originally brought to our attention by Bruce less than a year ago has just completed the world's first relaunch, capped by yet another successful landing and recovery at sea. Sporting it's original complement of nine Merlin engines back in place, this launch vehicle was refurbished, freshened up with a clean coat of paint, refueled and relaunched on its second orbital delivery of a communications satellite in under a year. An additional bonus to highlight this feat was the inclusion of a recovery package to the 2nd stage's multi-million $ aerodynamic composite shell that shrouds and protects the payload. Once boost is complete and air resistance becomes negligible above the atmosphere, the enlarged diameter payload shroud is jettisoned, its task complete. This time it reportedly made a controlled reentry and was also recovered intact at sea for use another time. After 15 years of effort and now with a whole warehouse nearly full of once used and successfully landed Falcon 9 launch vehicles, SpaceX appears on track to refurbish, refuel and relaunch about six more over the span of this year. Outstanding!

I watched it live yesterday. I still get goosebumps!
I do wish they would overcome the loss of satellite signal as the booster nears the barge deck.

[Ole Anderson]

How do they stick the landing of that tall object, then hold their breath that the barge doesn't encounter a big wave only to have the rocket topple overboard? Well done folks. Looks like a much more laid back group of techs than what we used to see at the Houston Space Center with NASA years ago.

[Malcolm McLeod]

In case anyone is still interested in our progress toward reusable, affordable orbital launch vehicles for space exploration; a historic milestone was finally achieved last evening. This particular SpaceX Falcon 9 booster stage originally brought to our attention by Bruce less than a year ago has just completed the world's first relaunch, capped by yet another successful landing and recovery at sea. Sporting it's original complement of nine Merlin engines back in place, this launch vehicle was refurbished, freshened up with a clean coat of paint, refueled and relaunched on its second orbital delivery of a communications satellite in under a year. An additional bonus to highlight this feat was the inclusion of a recovery package to the 2nd stage's multi-million $ aerodynamic composite shell that shrouds and protects the payload. Once boost is complete and air resistance becomes negligible above the atmosphere, the enlarged diameter payload shroud is jettisoned, its task complete. This time it reportedly made a controlled reentry and was also recovered intact at sea for use another time. After 15 years of effort and now with a whole warehouse nearly full of once used and successfully landed Falcon 9 launch vehicles, SpaceX appears on track to refurbish, refuel and relaunch about six more over the span of this year. Outstanding!

Amazing tech! Heard someone equate it to shooting a pencil over the Empire State Building and it landing on a dinner plate, standing on the eraser.

[Morey St. Denis]

Once the rocket is landed on deck, excess propellant purged and made safe, I understand those four landing leg pads are captured and welded in place upon the platform deck for the return trip back to harbor. As far as the well balanced descent, it's a bit like balancing a garden hoe, long chisel, or other really elongated rigid object upright on the tip of your finger. Just need to sense and respond quickly enough with a shift in the supporting thrust vector through the object's CG; thereby nulling any tendency to rotate or "fall over".

[Malcolm McLeod]

How do they stick the landing of that tall object, then hold their breath that the barge doesn't encounter a big wave only to have the rocket topple overboard? Well done folks. Looks like a much more laid back group of techs than what we used to see at the Houston Space Center with NASA years ago.

'Sticking' the landing is probably the easy part (all things being relative). The algorithms are the same as launch, just reversed. I did some work for Lockheed Martin on the Patriot III, and the steering on that beast is incredible. At altitude and mach 5, the tail fins are just a suggestion - - the terminal steering is from small pyrotechnic thrusters. And it is a kinetic energy weapon - 'Hit to Kill' - aimed at a reentry vehicle moving 10,000+mph.

As for the waves, I bet 95% of the remaining weight is in the bottom 10% of the vehicle ... weebles wobble, but they don't fall down...?

And the average age of techs in Mission Control during the moon landings was 26 yrs old. Jumping up and down with a pocket protector onboard was discouraged.

[Morey St. Denis]

"Shooting a pencil over the Empire State Building and landing on a dinner plate, standing on the eraser." Could say that's a fairly apt description! I've checked the mathematics of relative scale and that's not too far off. Actually wouldn't need to leap the full height, all 1,454 ft. including that radio antenna; say instead an open corner window on an upper floor of the ESB, perhaps the observation deck... But take very careful aim at that small window, because you're shooting from a position nearly the relative distance to Hartford, CT. Also, your pencil needs to accelerate to nearly three times that of a high velocity rifle bullet around Mach 6, then slow again to nearly zero for landing. And the dinner plate you're settling in on, better make that a serving platter. Don't forget to rotate end-over along the way to stick that landing eraser first.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We really do live in a wondrous time! My mother-in-law rode a horse to a rural one room elementary school and watched men walk on the moon on television. Though I am deaf, I hear via a cochlear implant. Technology is just beginning to scrape the surface IMO.

[Rod Sheridan]

Funny timing, I'm out working at our site in Newfoundland this week and the mechanic from Caterpillar wanted to know what the SpaceX equipment on site did.

A day later we're all watching the landing..............Well done, pretty significant accomplishment.

Now, if we could develop a technology to get rid of storms I wouldn't be stranded here...........LOL..............Rod.