Dynaverse.net
Off Topic => Engineering => Topic started by: NJAntman on December 21, 2015, 09:28:17 pm
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Looks like they got it right this time.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2015/12/21/spacex-launches-falcon-9-rocket-lands-back-land/77726386/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2015/12/21/spacex-launches-falcon-9-rocket-lands-back-land/77726386/)
Wish I'd been there to see it.
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Now is it really cost effective and safe to reuse it? Can the capsule be reused as well?
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Now is it really cost effective and safe to reuse it? Can the capsule be reused as well?
Hard to say but it is a big leap forward.
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The return trajectory seems to me like it'd be more fuel inefficient (wouldn't they want to pick some island in the Atlantic?), but I surmise that this would make turnaround a lot faster (i.e. landing within a few miles of the launch point). I guess that 120 miles up isn't that far though when you think about it (also, which island chain would be 300 or so miles off the Florida coast, along the launch trajectory?)
The Ars article described the launch to land timeline pretty well:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/12/by-making-a-historic-landing-spacex-launches-new-age-of-spaceflight/ (http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/12/by-making-a-historic-landing-spacex-launches-new-age-of-spaceflight/)
Nice to know that the space program is catching up with 1950's science fiction finally!
http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/1950s_pop_culture.htm (http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/1950s_pop_culture.htm)
Found this 'Enterprise' model (as seen in the TMP Enterprise gallery) on the same site - definitely browse the other models on this site, lost of nostalgia there!
http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/Declaration-ClassEnterprisePopCulturePage.htm (http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/Declaration-ClassEnterprisePopCulturePage.htm)
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They are working on a launch site on the gulf near TX Mex border. Could launch there and recover in FL?