Topic: [Discuss] SpaceX Falcon Heavy maiden launch
SpaceCadet1983 Member
Posts: 287 From: Pacific NW, United States Registered: May 2012
posted 02-06-2018 04:21 PM
Congratulations to Elon Musk and SpaceX on the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy with Starman onboard! I haven"t been this excited since the days of the Apollo moon landings! Fantastic!
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-06-2018 04:33 PM
quote:Originally posted by 328KF: So will there be four booms or will they be close enough together to overlap each other?
Each booster generates three sonic booms, but I could only discern two each from the press site.
From my perspective at the water's edge (standing behind the countdown clock), I thought the launch was more impressive than the landings. It was not as loud as a space shuttle launch, but I it looked a tad brighter. And it seemed to move off the pad slower than the shuttle.
David C Member
Posts: 1167 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
posted 02-06-2018 04:33 PM
Well done SpaceX, very impressive.
mode1charlie Member
Posts: 1220 From: Honolulu, HI Registered: Sep 2010
posted 02-06-2018 04:37 PM
Well. That was pretty amazing. Holy moly. They did it.
OV-105 Member
Posts: 832 From: Ridgecrest, CA Registered: Sep 2000
posted 02-06-2018 05:11 PM
Any word on the core stage?
Blackarrow Member
Posts: 3215 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
posted 02-06-2018 05:24 PM
Fantastic achievement and great TV viewing!
Hmmm, a spacecraft named Falcon carrying an electric car? Sounds familiar...
Ken Havekotte Member
Posts: 3097 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
posted 02-06-2018 05:40 PM
First try a big charm! Congratulations to Elon Musk and his entire SpaceX team.
Today Cape rocket history was made marking another great leap for our nation's space program as Falcon Heavy rocketed into space.
It was a beautiful sunny blue-sky day here on the Florida Space Coast and one of my best "live" liftoffs that I have witnessed, though, the Apollo/Saturn V's are still at the very top of my launch viewing experiences.
What was different about seeing this particular launch from 39A was that it was my closest distance to the historic launch complex when viewing a launch nearby since the Apollo and shuttle program years.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-06-2018 06:06 PM
quote:Originally posted by OV-105: Any word on the core stage?
According to Elon Musk, speaking at a post-flight press conference just now, the center core did not survive its landing attempt. It hit the ocean hard enough to take out two of the droneship's thrusters and deposit shrapnel on the deck about 330 feet (100 meters) away.
Musk said that if the cameras on the droneship survived, he will release the video in a blooper reel.
Jurg Bolli Member
Posts: 1034 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Nov 2000
posted 02-06-2018 06:09 PM
Excellent!
328KF Member
Posts: 1285 From: Registered: Apr 2008
posted 02-06-2018 06:34 PM
quote:Originally posted by Robert Pearlman: I could only discern two each from the press site.
There is a video on Twitter where six distinct sonic booms are heard. I wonder if it is a function of where someone is located in relation to the boosters?
Maybe somebody can come up with an explanation for the difference, and why the boosters would produce three booms. Do single stage landings do this?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-06-2018 07:01 PM
I believe the three sonic booms are as a result of the legs, grid fins and rocket itself going subsonic.
The ability to discern all three may be the difference between knowing how many to expect and just being surprised by the boom.
328KF Member
Posts: 1285 From: Registered: Apr 2008
posted 02-06-2018 07:55 PM
The live feed of the Tesla is surprisingly addictive to watch. Funny that almost without fail, everyone I've shared stills of that feed with has said "That looks fake!"
Also noticed that there appears to be some frozen particles of some sort venting from the upper stage when the sun catches it right.
I sure hope the final burn goes well and we get to see the Earth from a distance before the battery is depleted (12 hour lifetime Musk said).
posted 02-06-2018 08:58 PM
Excellent tracking of Falcon Heavy launch, booster separation and landing using 8 inch Meade telescope, Canon DSLR and tracking software from "Astronomy Live":
perineau Member
Posts: 289 From: FRANCE Registered: Jul 2007
posted 02-07-2018 01:31 AM
SpaceX is the new NASA.
issman1 Member
Posts: 1066 From: UK Registered: Apr 2005
posted 02-07-2018 02:00 AM
I am more optimistic today about space exploration, flight and travel than I was yesterday.
Mike Dixon Member
Posts: 1479 From: Kew, Victoria, Australia Registered: May 2003
posted 02-07-2018 02:24 AM
Bit premature to say that. That said, I'm a very much an unashamedly supporter of NASA.
Gordon Eliot Reade Member
Posts: 46 From: Palo Alto, Calif. Registered: Jun 2015
posted 02-07-2018 07:20 AM
The future just happened.
GACspaceguy Member
Posts: 2604 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
posted 02-07-2018 07:52 AM
It was a great day for a launch, at least once the upper level winds settled down. With the launch scheduled for the last 15 minutes in the window we held our breath that we would not hear those dreaded three words "Hold, Hold, Hold." The Falcon Heavy cleared the tree line at our viewing area in the Kennedy Space Center Rocket Garden and was spectacular, moments later the "thunder" of those 27 Merlin engines pummeled our bodies. The rising Falcon Heavy was not only supported by those engines but by thousands of cheering on lookers.
We could see the side boosters separate and start they return. As the skies were mostly clear we saw the final retro burn of the twins coming home as you see as two bright dots in the photo. It was not long we saw the landing burn as the two boosters disappeared behind a building and "stuck the landing" out of our view. Our final delight came about a minute later due to our 12+ mile distance to those returning boosters, two sets of teeth rattling sonic booms.
It was an amazing event and a wonderful adventure.
Headshot Member
Posts: 948 From: Vancouver, WA, USA Registered: Feb 2012
posted 02-07-2018 08:09 AM
For when is the next Falcon Heavy launch scheduled?
I was surprised to read that the two recovered side rockets will not be used again. Is there any idea when SpaceX will fly a used first stage for a third time?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-07-2018 08:52 AM
Elon Musk said prior to the launch that if it was successful, then the next Falcon Heavy launch could be in three to six months. He said the major time factor was the production of the airframe for the center core.
As for re-flying its boosters more than once, SpaceX is planning to roll out of its final configuration of the Falcon 9, the "Block 5," which incorporates improvements based on what they have learned from the landings to date. The Block 5 vehicles are expected to be the first to fly more than two launches.
Headshot Member
Posts: 948 From: Vancouver, WA, USA Registered: Feb 2012
posted 02-07-2018 09:01 AM
That explains a lot. Thank you very much Robert.
Paul78zephyr Member
Posts: 692 From: Hudson, MA Registered: Jul 2005
posted 02-07-2018 10:38 AM
quote:Originally posted by Robert Pearlman: ...the next Falcon Heavy launch could be in three to six months.
What payload/customer would that be for? He didn't seem to elaborate on that at the press conference.
MarylandSpace Member
Posts: 1371 From: Registered: Aug 2002
posted 02-07-2018 10:40 AM
So Starman and the Tesla car are exposed to all the elements of space as they take their journey (as the fairings are ejected)?
GACspaceguy Member
Posts: 2604 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
posted 02-07-2018 11:07 AM
Any word on fairing recovery?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-07-2018 11:29 AM
Musk said yesterday that fairing recovery has proven surprisingly difficult.
I'm pretty sure we'll have fairing recovery in the next six months but it turns out when you pop the parachute on the fairing you have this giant awkward thing. It tends to interfere with the airflow on the parachutes and gets all twisty.
quote:Originally posted by MarylandSpace: ...exposed to all the elements of space
Yes, though Elon Musk said they did not "harden" or test the Roadster to see how its materials would stand up to the space environment.
We did not really test any of those materials for space. It just has the same seats that a normal car has. It is just literally a normal car — in space. And I just kind of like the absurdity of that.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-07-2018 11:50 AM
quote:Originally posted by holcombeyates: Any ideas on orbital path...
Per Elon Musk on Twitter, they overshot the intended precessing Earth-Mars elliptical orbit.
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-07-2018 12:08 PM
quote:Originally posted by Paul78zephyr: What payload/customer would that be for?
At last update, Arabsat 6A, a Saudi Arabian communications satellite, was slated to be the first commercial payload for Falcon Heavy.
Kite Member
Posts: 894 From: Northampton UK Registered: Nov 2009
posted 02-07-2018 02:53 PM
A wonderful achievment by all at SpaceX. The future of manned space flight now appears so much brighter.
Gilbert Member
Posts: 1365 From: Carrollton, GA USA Registered: Jan 2003
posted 02-07-2018 03:04 PM
Simply amazing! Well done.
holcombeyates Member
Posts: 268 From: UK Registered: Dec 2010
posted 02-07-2018 04:26 PM
Any news on the distance the Tesla is from Earth now?
How long were the cameras broadcasting for? Be great to see how small Earth has become so far.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-07-2018 04:45 PM
The cameras had a battery life of about 12 hours.
Elon Musk said that there were no plans to track the Roadster beyond the insertion burn (as graphed above). He shared this last image on Instagram about 45 minutes ago:
Last pic of Starman in Roadster enroute to Mars orbit and then the Asteroid Belt.
denali414 Member
Posts: 704 From: Raleigh, NC Registered: Aug 2017
posted 02-07-2018 05:27 PM
Just an awesome experience! Had wondered about the car as ballast, but this video has really changed my mind, a great idea and with 15 million+ views already, hope it does inspire many of the younger generation into spaceflight.
I hadn't realized Musk was such a sci-fi geek with the Douglas Adams and "Heavy Metal" references.
SkyMan1958 Member
Posts: 929 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
posted 02-07-2018 06:58 PM
I'm guessing the over performance of the second stage, causing a heliocentric orbit out to Ceres instead of Mars, will lower the "life expectancy" of the Roadster. Clearly there will be more debris and asteroid hits on the car than there would have been if Mars was the furthest out in it's orbit that it reached. In any case, it's fun, and it still should last a good long time...
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-07-2018 07:48 PM
From Jonathan McDowell on Twitter:
SpaceX have released orbital data for the escape trajectory.
Corrected orbital data for the Roadster: 0.99 x 1.71 AU x 1.1 deg, C3 = 12.0, passes orbit of Mars Jul 2018, aphelion November.
Contrary to what was posted earlier, the Roadster will not travel out to the asteroid belt, but go just past Mars orbit.
ejectr Member
Posts: 1793 From: Killingly, CT Registered: Mar 2002
posted 02-07-2018 08:22 PM
I witnessed the launch from Playalinda Beach. One word... AWESOME! It was so close, it seemed you could touch it. Sound was almost immediate.
Saw the boosters return for a landing and heard the sonic booms. I'll never forget it and neither will the crowd that was there.
davidcwagner Member
Posts: 844 From: Albuquerque, New Mexico Registered: Jan 2003
posted 02-07-2018 11:23 PM
Best car ad in history! Everyone will want one.
I would certainly buy a model because I can never afford a real Tesla.
spaceheaded Member
Posts: 151 From: MD Registered: Feb 2003
posted 02-08-2018 09:09 AM
Kind of sad we'll never see Starman again. There's always hope for an alien tow truck, I guess. Or maybe AAA in space, tractor beam equipped.
Gordon Eliot Reade Member
Posts: 46 From: Palo Alto, Calif. Registered: Jun 2015
posted 02-08-2018 11:34 AM
This question has probably been addressed before but how much did it cost for SpaceX to develop the Falcon Heavy? How does that compare to the SLS rocket?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-08-2018 11:38 AM
Elon Musk said it cost SpaceX more than $500 million to develop the Falcon Heavy. SLS development has cost about $20 billion, though fairly comparing the two rockets is more complicated than a dollar for dollar consideration.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 44782 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-08-2018 11:41 AM
Anthony Horton has used the Huntsman Telephoto Array in Australia to image the Roadster in deep space. Via Twitter:
posted 02-06-2018 04:21 PM
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