SpaceX Barge Landing Video (Onboard from Space)

[ARFlyer]

Here is an awesome sped up video of yesterday's landing. It looks like the video starts after the directional burn to directed it backwards the launch site.

I'm hoping SpaceX will post a real time video.

 

[Velocity173]

Awesome!

 

[Art VanDelay]

Having landed numerous helicopters on a ship I have to say that method of recovery seems ridiculously overly complex to me. Why not just parachute into the ocean with a transponder/PLB ? That method worked fairly well for the space shuttles SRBs.

 

[wanttaja]

Having landed numerous helicopters on a ship I have to say that method of recovery seems ridiculously overly complex to me. Why not just parachute into the ocean with a transponder/PLB ? That method worked fairly well for the space shuttles SRBs.

The SRBs were basically shells for solid propellant. The SpaceX booster is liquid-fueled, with materials that will be far more vulnerable to salt water. Plus, the impact is much more likely to damage a liquid-fueled rocket than the big pipe that composed the SRBs.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[ircphoenix]

I guess now the next step is repairing, refueling, and relaunching a previously used rocket.

 

[Art VanDelay]

The SRBs were basically shells for solid propellant. The SpaceX booster is liquid-fueled, with materials that will be far more vulnerable to salt water. Plus, the impact is much more likely to damage a liquid-fueled rocket than the big pipe that composed the SRBs.

Ron Wanttaja

Well then why not choose solid ground somewhere in the boondocks instead of a rolling and pitching barge deck ?

 

[ircphoenix]

Because solid ground requires more fuel to return back west after traveling out to the east. They've done that, btw. On launches that went into low earth orbit when the rocket had room for extra fuel. On the high earth orbit launches, the rockets expend A LOT more fuel, so it makes sense to try to catch it on a ballistic trajectory, instead of trying to reverse it's forward momentum and then return back home.

 

[ARFlyer]

Well then why not choose solid ground somewhere in the boondocks instead of a rolling and pitching barge deck ?

They need the ability to recover rockets that are launched in a polar orbit and from locations that make RTLS to risky.

 

[wanttaja]

Well then why not choose solid ground somewhere in the boondocks instead of a rolling and pitching barge deck ?

The launch system has to push the payload up to about 25,000 feet per second eastward velocity to reach orbit. The first stage grabs altitude, but also starts that forward velocity, flying basically East to capitalize on Earth's rotation. It looks like the first stage gets up to about 5,500 feet per second at the time it separates. By that time, it's several hundred miles downrange of the launch site.

Now, to land the first stage back on Earth, the booster has to have enough fuel left to cancel that 5,500 fps of velocity (and control its descent, of course). To land back at the launch site, it has to not only cancel the eastward velocity, it has apply some WESTWARD thrust to get back to the launch site....THEN additional thrust to cancel it out. Remember, we're talking rockets, not aircraft. There are no wings to convert speed in one direction to speed in another.

Now SpaceX has demonstrated that. But, fuel-efficiency wise, it makes more sense to just cancel out the eastward velocity, positioning a landing site at a location that would result in the least amount of fuel needed.

But as Phoenix says, the magic will come when they refurbish one of the flight stages and re-use it. Remains to be seen whether land/refurbish is going to be more cost-efficient than a one-shot system. The ideal is the aircraft experience, where you just fill the fuel tanks and go again. Doubt the rocket re-use is going to be that simple.....

Ron Wanttaja

 

[ARFlyer]

Well then why not choose solid ground somewhere in the boondocks instead of a rolling and pitching barge deck ?

What's also impressive is that they can land it on a barge in rolling seas. One of the landings was in about 8/10' seas.

 

[Datadriver]

It's a fake!

 

[ARFlyer]

It's a fake!

You've been watching that Russian guy a bit to much.....

 

[Auburn2002]

So how far "out to sea" are we talking here? Where are these launched from, Mojave? Canaveral? Whereabouts are they landing? In the above video at about the 13 second mark I see some land off on the right side of the frame, anyone know what we're looking at?

And as far as the pitching seas, how is the rocket secured after touching down? Those rockets are pretty tall, one would think even with a successful touchdown those 8-10' seas would cause it to tip. Are there staff members in a bunker on the barge that run out to secure it once it lands?

The overal accomplishment itself is astonishing enough, but for whatever reason I'm so much more curious about all these "little" things other than the actual navigation and tech required to make the launches and landings happen.

 

[ARFlyer]

So how far "out to sea" are we talking here? Where are these launched from, Mojave? Canaveral? Whereabouts are they landing? In the above video at about the 13 second mark I see some land off on the right side of the frame, anyone know what we're looking at?

That launch was done from their leased pad at the Cape. The barge was about 200 miles down range in the Atlantic. The stages normally boost back towards the launch site to make it to either the barge or the Cape. SpaceX wants to mostly do land returns and only use the barge when operationally needed, as in for high energy launches.

And as far as the pitching seas, how is the rocket secured after touching down? Those rockets are pretty tall, one would think even with a successful touchdown those 8-10' seas would cause it to tip. Are there staff members in a bunker on the barge that run out to secure it once it lands?

The overal accomplishment itself is astonishing enough, but for whatever reason I'm so much more curious about all these "little" things other than the actual navigation and tech required to make the launches and landings happen.

The crew is typically stationed nearby on a service vessel awaiting the landing. Once the stage lands and cools the crew board the barge. They will weld attachment plates over the legs to stabilize the stage for the tow back to port.

What I'm interested in is if they defuel the stage on site or wait until their back in port. The latest picture showed the barge next to a cruise ship. So I'm thinking they defuel and safety the stage at sea.