rolosrevenge
Dr. EVS
So close. I think they'll do it next time. What's great is that this was only a secondary objective, the primary launch was perfect.
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Maybe, but to me it looks more like the rocket is dumping RCS propellant overboard. Possibly as part of a safeing procedure after touchdown or maybe as a safety protocol once the rocket deviated too far away from vertical.
beeeerock
Active Member
Arghhh! My pet peeve... it's 'engineering', not 'science'!
Although, I have to thank you for almost blaming the failure on rocket science... normally it's 'rocket science' that gets them into the air successfully, and 'engineering failures' that are blamed when they don't...
Not taking a poke at you directly - this is how the media always describe rocket launches! :redface:
beeeerock
Active Member
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I was surprised at how close to the landing it gets before the legs are moved into position. I guess they keep them up until the last seconds to cut down on windage, but it sure looks as if they are cutting it really close.
Well it isn't as if they can do a fly around and try again if the legs get stuck, so might as well wait till the end. The test F9 they had doing the vertical take off and landing showed the legs on fire (or at least the surface coating burning), so exhaust heat is an issue.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
It was discussed somewhere that their is an Ablative Coating on the Landing legs to help manage the heat a bit. The Grasshopper tests are also like 1-2 min long. I would agree that there's no point in having them down sooner due to the additional drag, just think of the change in feeling when an Aircraft lowers the landing gear, it's rough. I doubt the wee Gridfins would do much with the legs deployed anyways.
So I started reading a technical paper on Valve stiction last night, SpaceX has taken me to some interesting corners of science/engineering.
edit: Interesting Observation VolkerP. I doubt they anticipated it coming down anything other than level based on the Hover tests as the legs are not terribly omnidirectional. As long as they can get it perfectly upright prior to landing, it should work fine. I'm not sure if this was the Valve Stiction issue Elon was referring to.
When they finally recover the booster stage, that booster will become the new F9R test bed. They will be reusing the legs as well and they can study how well those hold up to repeated use. It will actually be doubled since they will need to be deployed for take off as well as landing. Or then again, maybe not if they build a simple tower for the test launching.
Space.com posted this shot taken from the deck of the drone ship. I think the angle of the photo exaggerates how far off vertical the stage was, but it is an awesome image. Imagine if you were standing on the deck (somehow protected and safe) watching the stage descend. That would be exciting. http://t.space.com/all/29311-amazing-spacex-rocket-landing-photo#1
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