Falcon 9 First Stage Return During ORBCOMM Mission

The following video of the F9 first stage return was just posted to YouTube today by SpaceX. The video is abbreviated 1/2 way through I suppose to skip the boring multi-minute reentry part and finished with the deployment of the landing legs and tip-over as the stage hits the water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnR5fhCXkQ

Dave

Looks like a lens heater might be in order...

http://www.highpointscientific.com/d...er-strip-dn003

Next two flights will not attempt recovery because of payload requirements. Flight 13 will be the next attempt at a water landing.

Upcoming Flights 14 and 15 will attempt landing on solid surface. My speculation is a sea barge.

Dave

http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/07/2...et-first-stage

David Spain wrote:
The following video of the F9 first stage return was just posted to
YouTube today by SpaceX. The video is abbreviated 1/2 way through I
suppose to skip the boring multi-minute reentry part and finished
with the deployment of the landing legs and tip-over as the stage
hits the water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnR5fhCXkQ

Kind of interesting to this observer from the peanut gallery how the
exhaust plume (term?) isn't nearly so neat and tidy on the way down as
it was on the way up.

rick jones
--
oxymoron n, commuter in a gas-guzzling luxury SUV with an American flag
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 6:24:27 PM UTC-4, David Spain wrote:
Upcoming Flights 14 and 15 will attempt landing on solid surface. My speculation is a sea barge.


Should also be able to expect sea-surface video along with booster video for the first time as well (hopefully).

Dave

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 7:14:29 PM UTC-4, David Spain wrote:
On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 6:24:27 PM UTC-4, David Spain wrote:

Upcoming Flights 14 and 15 will attempt landing on solid surface. My speculation is a sea barge.





Should also be able to expect sea-surface video along with booster video for the first time as well (hopefully).


And possibly the hex-copter drone!!!

Dave

At this point, we are highly confident of being able to land
successfully on a floating launch pad or back at the launch site
and refly the rocket with no required refurbishment.

Isn't that last bit a tad, well, optimistic? Have they really
recovered enough of these things to know there won't be any
refurbishment required? I would have thought that actually getting
one back fully intact would be something of a pre-requisit for
determining no refurbishment was required.

rick jones
--
It is not a question of half full or empty - the glass has a leak.
The real question is "Can it be patched?"
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 7:15:37 PM UTC-4, Rick Jones wrote:
At this point, we are highly confident of being able to land
successfully on a floating launch pad or back at the launch site
and refly the rocket with no required refurbishment.

Isn't that last bit a tad, well, optimistic? Have they really
recovered enough of these things to know there won't be any
refurbishment required? I would have thought that actually getting
one back fully intact would be something of a pre-requisit for
determining no refurbishment was required.

Yes it is. Let's see what they say after Flights 14 and 15....

Dave

In article ,
says...

David Spain wrote:
The following video of the F9 first stage return was just posted to
YouTube today by SpaceX. The video is abbreviated 1/2 way through I
suppose to skip the boring multi-minute reentry part and finished
with the deployment of the landing legs and tip-over as the stage
hits the water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnR5fhCXkQ

Kind of interesting to this observer from the peanut gallery how the
exhaust plume (term?) isn't nearly so neat and tidy on the way down as
it was on the way up.

Which is what one would expect when the exhaust plume is pointed
opposite the direction of the velocity vector.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer

In article ,
says...

At this point, we are highly confident of being able to land
successfully on a floating launch pad or back at the launch site
and refly the rocket with no required refurbishment.

Isn't that last bit a tad, well, optimistic? Have they really
recovered enough of these things to know there won't be any
refurbishment required? I would have thought that actually getting
one back fully intact would be something of a pre-requisit for
determining no refurbishment was required.

I'd say so, at least for "land successfully on a floating launch pad".
Unless we're talking about something as stable as a platform like those
used in oil drilling, the "floating launch pad" is going to be bobbing
around in the sea, making landing on it quite a bit more difficult than
a fixed landing pad. We'll have to wait until Flights 14 and 15 to see
exactly what SpaceX is going to try next.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer