Newsgroups sci.astro and sci.physics elided...

On 10/22/2013 9:32 AM, Robert Clark wrote:

Final flight of Grasshopper v1.0 sets new record.
By Brian Dodson
October 14, 2013
http://www.gizmag.com/grasshopper-re...-record/29384/

This article says this "Grasshopper 2", as it were, would have all 9
engines of the regular F9 first stage. However, discussions on other forums
have said it would only have 3 engines. That would make sense since on stage
return, you are using at most 3 engines, and moreover this way, you would
not be risking an expensive loss of 9 copies of the Merlins during these
Grasshopper test flights.
Still, in point of fact there would be an advantage of using all 9 engines
on this first stage Grasshopper, and with a full propellant load. In
November, 2012 Elon Musk gave a lecture in London at the Royal Aeronautical
Society.


Bob do you know if they are replacing the other 6 engines with mass
equivalent dummy mass? From the other forums which 3 are staying? The 3
across the center bisection? Would it not might make sense to preserve
the nozzles in the octaweb configuration to keep the aerodynamics as
close to actual as possible?

Dave