SpaceX: Another Falcon 9 ground pad landing

[1oldman2]

As far as I know two boosters got moved out. One is supposed to stay somewhere for display, not sure about the other one. But that tweet is not so far off - they either have to start launching re-used boosters in a rapid rate, or find some other place to put them.

Static testing on a used core in Texas, haven't heard any comments on performance, however it did the full burn time so that's a good sign.
http://spaceflight101.com/returned-falcon-9-booster-fires-up-for-full-duration-ground-test-in-texas/

 

[1oldman2]

the satellites carried by the spaceX rockets , what do they do, that is -what commercial use ?

I haven't come across a manifest list of all flights, however communications satellite operators seem to be the main customers.

 

[mfb]

As usual, Wikipedia has a list

The core that was used in the test firing is not expected to fly again, but still good to see that it works.

 

[1oldman2]

but still good to see that it works.

If I'm not mistaken, the core in question is from one of the "high energy missions" so still being able to perform is very impressive.

As usual, Wikipedia has a list

Thanks, the wiki article was very interesting, it seems the telecom sats have been big business so far but they are going to be making room for more and more science oriented payloads. (on test flight two I found the test payload to be somewhat amusing) The "secret" test payload on this mission was a wheel of cheese.

 

[1oldman2]

As an update to post #36, I noticed that the core test in question consisted of three firings over three days with good results, very impressive!
From, https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/08/spacex-falcon-9-preparation-jcsat-16-amos-6/
"Despite suffering "max damage" from
its high velocity return, a major
milestone in the goal of reusing
returned first stages for additional
missions was achieved via three full
duration firings in the space of three
days."

 

[mfb]

The next Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for the night from Saturday to Sunday (2 hour launch window starting Sunday 6:26 am CET, 12:26 am east coast, Saturday evening for the other US time zones).

It will deliver a satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, which needs more fuel than the ISS launches. The first stage will attempt to land on the drone ship to save fuel, but the landing is still more challenging because the margins are smaller.

 

[1oldman2]

From, http://spaceflight101.com/falcon-9-completes-static-fire-ahead-of-next-commercial-spacex-launch/
This is the first re-entry damage control modification I've heard of, It will be interesting to see how successful it is.

"No surplus propellant is available for a boost-back maneuver and Falcon 9
will be looking at another high-energy re-entry similar to that on the
JCSat-14 mission that left the booster with what was characterized as
‘maximum damage.’
However, SpaceX is hopeful to recover future GTO boosters in better shape
using newly developed techniques to protect the first stage engines in flight.
Due to the vehicle’s orientation, the engines face the most challenging environment
during entry explaining why SpaceX was looking into procedures using onboard
resources to protect the engines. Activities such as flowing Kerosene through the
engines can assist in easing the thermal environment of the engines and a)
ensure they can ignite for landing and b) preserve their condition for re-flight."

 

[enorbet]

Didn't the tongue-in-cheek term "unscheduled disassembly" bring a wry smile to your face? I love the bravado and humor that SpaceX brings along with a real Pioneer Spirit. I sincerely hope all goes well. They've rather earned it.

 

[mfb]

The next Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for the night from Saturday to Sunday (2 hour launch window starting Sunday 6:26 am CET, 12:26 am east coast, Saturday evening for the other US time zones).

It will deliver a satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, which needs more fuel than the ISS launches. The first stage will attempt to land on the drone ship to save fuel, but the landing is still more challenging because the margins are smaller.

And we have another landed stage, number 6 in total, the 4th successful drone ship landing out of 9 attempts.

Video here although the landing itself is not visible, the usual communication problems while a rocket is trying to land there - we'll probably get some better video in the next ays.

On the mission timeline, SpaceX replaced "experimental landing" by "landing attempt". They seem to get more confident.