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Author
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Topic: SpaceX Headquarters: Falcon 9 landed stage
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-28-2015 12:04 AM
   
collectSPACE Where to land SpaceX's recovered Falcon 9 rocket stage for displayWhat do you do with a 15-story-tall space artifact? That's a question that SpaceX now faces given the historic landing of its Falcon 9 rocket's first stage on Dec. 21 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.  |
MarylandSpace
Member Posts: 1434
From:
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 12-28-2015 08:04 PM
Another terrifically written article Robert. I have been at the four sites and you enabled me to visualize the potential displays. |
Ronpur
Member Posts: 1260
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012
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posted 12-29-2015 04:29 PM
Maybe it should go on tour and visit all of those places for a while, then end up at Hawthorne. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-29-2015 04:34 PM
The height of the rocket will definitely be a consideration.The Engen Observation Tower at the Udvar-Hazy Center, for example, is only 8 feet taller than the recovered stage (less, if you factor in the additional height added by the deployed landing legs). (And thanks Garry for the compliment!) |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3469
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 12-29-2015 09:50 PM
Not to mention there is no room at Udvar-Hazy! But they can always display the stage horizontally, with a large-scale model next to it showing how the stage would be vertically. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-08-2016 11:35 PM
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk answered today (April 8) where the first recovered Falcon 9 stage will be displayed: Our headquarters are near the Hawthorne airport, so we needed FAA permission because it would be the highest object for quite a distance around the airport. But we got that permission, so we're planning on putting the rocket that landed back at the Cape in front of the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne hopefully in the next few months. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-20-2016 07:33 AM
The FAA form granting permission for the stage's display provides a few more details: Structure Name: Falcon 9 Space Launch Vehicle First StageDescription of Location: Northwest corner of Jack Northrop Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. This is the SE corner of SpaceX property in Hawthorne, CA. Description of Proposal: SpaceX proposes a monument to commemorate the historic landing of the Falcon 9 space launch vehicle. The monument would include the returned rocket, standing no more than 160 ft tall and 12 ft wide. The rocket will be transported to the site horizontally and lifted into a vertical position by crane. Marking/Lighting: Red lights |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-22-2016 12:05 AM
collectSPACE SpaceX lands historic recovered Falcon 9 rocket stage on displaySpaceX's first recovered rocket stage has landed on display outside of the company's California headquarters eight months after it made history. The nine engine booster, which on Dec. 21, 2015, became the world's first rocket stage to help launch a payload into Earth orbit and then fly back and touch down near where it had lifted off, is now a 15-story-tall monument at SpaceX's offices and manufacturing facility in Hawthorne, California.  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-22-2016 12:10 AM
Spaceflight Now published additional photos by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News. Crews outside the SpaceX’s headquarters in Southern California on Saturday positioned the booster that stuck the first Falcon 9 rocket landing for vertical display, and now the launcher is an unmistakable Space Age trophy visible to passersby on nearby streets and freeways. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3469
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 08-23-2016 10:21 AM
I take it SpaceX HQ is too near an airport, that's why the need for warning lights on top even though it's only 165 feet tall? (Walt Disney World's Tower of Terror was made just shy of 200 feet so they wouldn't have to put warning lights on top, which would have distracted from its late-30s appearance. As well, the STOL airport there isn't in use anymore.) |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-23-2016 10:57 AM
The FAA's published determination does not state the specific reason for the lighting requirement, but its general guidelines state that an aeronautical study can result in higher standards "for increased conspicuity to ensure aviation safety."Google Earth shows the rocket display's location about 1,200 feet from Hawthorne Municipal Airport's runway. |
JSC01
Member Posts: 85
From: Houston, Texas, USA
Registered: Nov 2011
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posted 08-23-2016 12:27 PM
Obviously this is gorgeous, congrats to all the folks at SpaceX. I must say though, after watching a historic Saturn V slowly degrade exposed to the elements at JSC... I really wish they displayed horizontally in a nice glass enclosure. Would be just as awesome from the road all lit up at night under glass... but protected! Or, perhaps SpaceX will soon have so many flown stages that they can just swap out every few years! |
Skythings
Member Posts: 271
From:
Registered: Jun 2014
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posted 08-23-2016 08:51 PM
Better yet build a tall glass enclosed structure around the vertical rocket as it sits. Complete with stairs and cat walks around it so one can get up close and personal and take in the local view at the same time. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-25-2016 09:36 PM
From Garrett Reisman on Twitter: Got some good shots of our historic first recovered SpaceX Falcon 9 booster when I flew home from work today.  
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drscoop
Member Posts: 54
From: Macclesfield, UK
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 12-29-2019 08:56 AM
For those who have visited the Falcon booster at Hawthorne, do you know if they mind you parking out front in the visitor's lot or is there alternate parking available? I'll be passing by in a few months on a work trip from the UK and thought it would be good to drop by.I'm aware a tour is highly unlikely, as I don't have a contact who works there (open to offers, though!), but is there anything else SpaceX to see in the immediate vicinity - do they have any memorabilia, etc. in the foyer, for example? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-29-2019 10:09 AM
The Falcon 9 is located on the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Jack Northrop Avenue. There is no public parking in the SpaceX parking lot (even visitors need passes) but depending on the time of day you go, you may be able to find parking along the road on Jack Northrop. Otherwise, there is a Lowe's Home Improvement store across the street on Crenshaw where you can park.There is really nothing to see in the lobby and it is not really set up for public walk-ins. |
drscoop
Member Posts: 54
From: Macclesfield, UK
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 12-31-2019 06:53 AM
Thanks for all the info - much appreciated! |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-31-2019 12:32 PM
Here are a couple of photos from my visit in September 2017: 
And here is a photo from a press event (so taken from the other side from the public view) from a year later:  |
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