SpaceX Falcon Heavy

[fredymac]

You have to admit, no government would ever do something like this.

 

[sferrin]

You have to admit, no government would ever do something like this.

They would have given up after the first failed landing.

 

[merriman]

Elon Musk is to real space flight as Jim Barns was to a fictional moon landing. Two individuals of means, smarts, industrial capacity, AND both unencumbered by the whimsy and corruption of a government bureaucracy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N_Eghin6pM

David

 

[sienar]

Just publish by SpaceX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk338VXcb24

It would be nice if they stuck a camera in that suit for a drivers pov of the launch.

 

[Flyaway]

Eric Berger’s write-up of his interview with Elon Musk

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/02/at-the-pad-elon-musk-sizes-up-the-falcon-heavys-chance-of-success/

 

[mrmalaya]

Sienar,

My kids both said the same thing!!

 

[Michel Van]

According Scott Manley
Is the Lunar flyby in December canceled :'(
reason is that Falcon Heavy will NOT be Man rated !
That Manned flight will reschedule on BFR flights in 2023
If everything going to plans, the second Falcon Heavy will be launch in around 6 months

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvb3tbmIF1w

 

[TomS]

I see Elon is at it again. I love the guy, but BFR flying and man-rated by 2023? Not bloody likely!

 

[sferrin]

I see Elon is at it again. I love the guy, but BFR flying and man-rated by 2023? Not bloody likely!

Do you think it's less likely than Blue Origin flying New Glenn in 2020?

 

[TomS]

I see Elon is at it again. I love the guy, but BFR flying and man-rated by 2023? Not bloody likely!

Do you think it's less likely than Blue Origin flying New Glenn in 2020?

I think they're both unlikely.

 

[martinbayer]

I'm currently reading Musk's biography by Ashlee Vance. Across his ventures, Musk is notorious for setting unrealistic schedules.

Martin

 

[sferrin]

I'm currently reading Musk's biography by Ashlee Vance. Across his ventures, Musk is notorious for setting unrealistic schedules.

Martin

If you set, "well, we might get something done. . .sometime" schedules, like NASA, you don't get much done.

 

[sferrin]

"The first test flight of Falcon Heavy is now targeted for Tuesday, Feb. 6th at 3:05 PM ET from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams are watching upper level wind shear and will continue to update as information becomes available. "

 

[sienar]

3:45 now auto launch sequence initiated for that time

 

[blackstar]

I see Elon is at it again. I love the guy, but BFR flying and man-rated by 2023? Not bloody likely!

There's a logic to what he does and it's classic showmanship (following the maxim that there's a sucker born every minute). What he does is keep announcing big plans, and people keep paying attention to those big plans and ignore/forget about the fact that he's canceled a number of his previous big plans. So in spring 2016 he announced Red Dragon to be launched in 2018, in fall 2016 he said that the date had slipped to 2020, but they were not going to launch two Red Dragons, and by summer 2017 he had canceled it. Today nobody says "what's Red Dragon?" They've all forgotten. In February 2017 they announced a circumlunar mission with tourists by 2018, and now a year later that plan has been pushed back to 2023 with a rocket that hasn't even been built yet, let alone tested. Everybody will forget about the circumlunar tourist mission, and soon he'll be talking about something else. (You can add in a bunch of other things like propulsive landing and DragonLab and fuel crossfeed for the FH: when they finally disappear, nobody remembers them.)

There's a bit of Silicon Valley culture in there where you have to constantly be announcing new things, amping-up the hype.

So it's a strategy.

 

[Michel Van]

launch delay do strong winds

Musk tweeted this picture
it show mission sequence of Falcon Heavy

two points are interesting, Payload separation and Payload Faring RECOVERY

 

[Orionblamblam]

There's a logic to what he does and it's classic showmanship (following the maxim that there's a sucker born every minute). What he does is keep announcing big plans, and people keep paying attention to those big plans and ignore/forget about the fact that he's canceled a number of his previous big plans.

I'm still waiting for that Mars mission NASA promised in the late 60's. The one powered by NERVA engines. Followed up by the National AerospacePlane, the Space Exploration Initiative, VentureStar, the Ares rockets, Shuttle II, FLO, and every other damn thing that NASA has promised for waaaaaaay down the line and failed to deliver on. Better to promise ten things for the short term and deliver two than to promise five things for the long run and deliver none.

 

[Hobbes]

launch delay do strong winds

Musk tweeted this picture
it show mission sequence of Falcon Heavy

two points are interesting, Payload separation and Payload Faring RECOVERY

That picture was made by someone on the NasaSpaceflight forum, using a certain amount of guesswork and wishful thinking. Indications are there will not be a fairing recovery on this flight. Payload separation is also unlikely.

 

[sferrin]

HA! "Don't panic!"

 

[sienar]

Very impressive

 

[sferrin]

Hope the core didn't fail. ??? Hmmm. Looks like it did.

 

[NeilChapman]

Hope the core didn't fail. ??? Hmmm. Looks like it did.

Fail to land, you mean.

Still waiting to hear.

 

[sferrin]

Hope the core didn't fail. ??? Hmmm. Looks like it did.

Fail to land, you mean.

Still waiting to hear.

Yes. In the past, when there has been a camera glitch, it's known within minutes if it landed. When the landing fails you hear about it a few hours later, or the next day.

 

[fredymac]

The thought that eons from now some star fairing aliens could stumble across a space suited mannequin in a car and expend significant efforts pondering its meaning is highly amusing. All manner of religious and philosophical theories could be ascribed to it and provide the basis for some alien Carl Sagan to build a TV career.

 

[NeilChapman]

The thought that eons from now some star fairing aliens could stumble across a space suited mannequin in a car and expend significant efforts pondering its meaning is highly amusing. All manner of religious and philosophical theories could be ascribed to it and provide the basis for some alien Carl Sagan to build a TV career.

But that's the point, isn't it. ;D

 

[Michel Van]

DONT’PANIC !, there is Tesla in space.

Still no news of Core manage to land

The thought that eons from now some star fairing aliens could stumble across a space suited mannequin in a car and expend significant efforts pondering its meaning is highly amusing. All manner of religious and philosophical theories could be ascribed to it and provide the basis for some alien Carl Sagan to build a TV career.

And with disk of Isaac Asimov "Fundation Trilogy" on board he has or she or it has Lifetime on work

 

[NeilChapman]

Hope the core didn't fail. ??? Hmmm. Looks like it did.

Fail to land, you mean.

Still waiting to hear.

Yes. In the past, when there has been a camera glitch, it's known within minutes if it landed. When the landing fails you hear about it a few hours later, or the next day.

And that's the new one - the center, isn't it?

 

[sferrin]

Yes. How crazy is it that we see two boosters come in for a landing at the same time, and a car flying into space, yet we're still vaguely disappointed that the center booster probably failed to land? When they said they were transmitting footage from both boosters (even though it was obvious both screens were showing the same stream) I thought it was a bit fishy (though most likely a goof rather than intentional).

 

[sienar]

The thought that eons from now some star fairing aliens could stumble across a space suited mannequin in a car and expend significant efforts pondering its meaning is highly amusing. All manner of religious and philosophical theories could be ascribed to it and provide the basis for some alien Carl Sagan to build a TV career.

Just wait a few hundred years....

 

[Hobbes]

Hope the core didn't fail. ??? Hmmm. Looks like it did.

Fail to land, you mean.

Still waiting to hear.

Apparently there was a comment "lost the center core" on one of the flight control nets, a few seconds after nominal landing time.

 

[sferrin]

Hope the core didn't fail. ??? Hmmm. Looks like it did.

Fail to land, you mean.

Still waiting to hear.

Apparently there was a comment "lost the center core" on one of the flight control nets, a few seconds after nominal landing time.

That's a bummer. The good thing is they'll keep pressing forward and probably stick the landing next time.

 

[Michel Van]

here the Youtube coverage
were say it "We lost the center core"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B_tWbjFIGI&feature=youtu.be&t=2296

 

[carmelo]

http://spacenews.com/spacex-no-longer-planning-crewed-missions-on-falcon-heavy/

 

[Flyaway]

Launch webcast is now up on their page:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbSwFU6tY1c

 

[sienar]

Live view of the payload

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBr2kKAHN6M

 

[blackstar]

.

 

[SpudmanWP]

ISS in the Windshield

 

[jstar]

Might have found my next screen saver.

 

[fredymac]

A moving GIF of the final moments of this would be nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO_j9Amy8u4

 

[bobbymike]

Launch webcast is now up on their page:

When I see that and hear the cheers I get choked up, way to go SpaceX an inspiration for the nation.