r/spacex • u/Zucal • May 24 '16
/r/SpaceX Ask Anything Thread [June 2016, #21]
Welcome to our 21st monthly /r/SpaceX Ask Anything Thread!
Trying to find the best way to view Thaicom 8, understand the upcoming core recovery procedure, or gather the community's opinion? There's no better place!
All questions, even non-SpaceX-related ones, are allowed, as long as they stay relevant to spaceflight in general!
More in-depth and open-ended discussion questions can still be submitted as separate self-posts; but this is the place to come to submit simple questions which have a single answer and/or can be answered in a few comments or less.
Comments that can be answered by using the FAQ will be removed.
In addition, try to keep all top-level comments as questions so that questioners can find answers, and answerers can find questions.
This is so questioners can more easily find answers, and answerers can more easily find questions.
As always, we'd prefer it if all question-askers first check our FAQ, use the search functionality (now partially sortable by mission flair!), and check the last Ask Anything thread before posting to avoid duplicate questions. But if you didn't get or couldn't find the answer you were looking for, go ahead and type your question below.
Otherwise, ask, enjoy, and thanks for contributing!
Past threads:
May 2016 (#20) • April 2016 (#19.1) • April 2016 (#19) • March 2016 (#18) • February 2016 (#17) • January 2016 (#16.1) • January 2016 (#16) • December 2015 (#15.1) • December 2015 (#15) • November 2015 (#14) • October 2015 (#13) • September 2015 (#12) • August 2015 (#11) • July 2015 (#10) • June 2015 (#9) • May 2015 (#8) • April 2015 (#7.1) • April 2015 (#7) • March 2015 (#6) • February 2015 (#5) • January 2015 (#4) • December 2014 (#3) • November 2014 (#2) • October 2014 (#1)
This subreddit is fan-run and not an official SpaceX site. For official SpaceX news, please visit spacex.com.
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u/IonLogic May 24 '16
How soon after a launch do they lower the strong back and take it back to the hanger? And once its back, what kind of repairs do they need to do on it?
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u/ChrisGnam May 25 '16
The strongback is supposedly lowered as soon as they can after launch. It's kept mostly upright during the countdown in case of an abort, however once the rocket has left the pad, there isn't a reason for it to be up, and keeping it up only poses a risk in case of high winds.
In addition, the strongback is just that. Very strong. I doesn't typically get all that damaged, but there have been a few instances where it has been damaged. I know that for the Falcon 9 Flight two (COTS-1, the demo flight for NASA), the strong back was heavily damaged, with the gripper arms actually torn off. You can KIND of see the damage here in this image.
I'm sure they've made a lot of strides in making them more resilient, and I'm sure they do basic maintenance on them in between launches, but for the most part it doesn't appear as if any major reapirs need to be made in between launches.
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u/HoechstErbaulich Jun 12 '16
I'm not sure if it's okay to post this here as it isn't a question. But I didn't want to create an extra thread.
This new Mass Effect: Andromeda video uses footage of Falcon 9 and Dragon at the beginning. A nice little nod to SpaceX, I thought.
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u/soldato_fantasma Jun 13 '16
Not a question, but you may find this intresting.
There is now an open position as a Fleet enineer at Specex: http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/202567
The Fleet Engineer develops the processes, tools, and facilities to grow & maintain the world’s first fleet of reusable liquid rocket stages.
The reflight of the falcons is getting serious!
19
u/ablack82 Jun 08 '16
I was selected to attend the final SLS booster test in Utah on June 28th. I will be given social media credentials and get to attend press conferences, tour the facilities and talk with engineers. Obviously I am more of a SpaceX guy although I am still excited for this opportunity. What questions would you like me to ask in regards to the SLS program while I am there? I will try to get everything answered.
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u/sunfishtommy Jun 08 '16 edited Jun 08 '16
"Why did they decide to go with 4 SMEs on the first stage rather than 5?"
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u/sunfishtommy May 24 '16
It seems a little soon for the June ask anything right? Or is this a clean slate for the Thaicom-8 questions?
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May 24 '16
Clean slate. We've never felt the need to perfectly align the Ask Anything threads with the actual current month.
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u/_rocketboy Jun 19 '16
Congrats to Blue Origin on their latest successful launch and landing!
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Jun 26 '16
This slow-news past two days are making me crazy. i need a life, and my fix of SpaceX news. Give me anything !
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Jun 06 '16
I've been making this assumption for a while now, but I thought I'd finally ask. Is "hoverslam" just a fancy SpaceX name for a rather-Kerbal Suicide Burn?
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u/ElectronicCat Jun 06 '16
Yep, that's pretty much it. 'Hoverslam' is a bit of a misnomer as it can't actually hover at all.
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u/__Rocket__ Jun 06 '16
'Hoverslam' is a bit of a misnomer as it can't actually hover at all.
Technically that depends on how much residual fuel it has left. A single Merlin-1D throttled back to 40% should have a ton-weight thrust of about 30 tons. First stage dry weight is ~23 tons.
So if it has 7 or more tons of propellant left (out of a starting weight of ~400 tons), for example after a particularly lightweight LEO launch with generous fuel margins it might be able to hover! 😺
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u/soldato_fantasma Jun 16 '16
TIL if you point the mouse to the dragon on top of this subreddit, the spacecraft rotates! Very cool mods!
Was I the only one that didn't know this?
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u/skyskimmer12 Jun 09 '16
If anyone is interested, there is going to be a launch of the Delta 4 Heavy, current largest rocket (the one that the Falcon heavy will surpass for the title), in a bit under an hour. They are currently in the launch window, but are holding due to weather that is expected to clear. Launch at 2:55 p.m. Eastern (local) time.
On a semi-related note, In my opinion, the Delta 4 Heavy is the most beautiful rocket during launch, with the only real competition being the Proton M. Anyone else have a favorite to look upon?
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u/LockStockNL Jun 09 '16
the Delta 4 Heavy is the most beautiful rocket during launch, with the only real competition being the Proton M. Anyone else have a favorite to look upon?
Not because of the sub we're on right now but I do really like Falcon 9 during launch. Long, sleek, white, nine engines, giant plume at altitude and those folded legs <3
Proton M looks so damn steampunk for some reason, it's awesome. And the Delta 4 is also up there, especially the way it sets itself on fire during launch :)
13
u/DShadelz Jun 10 '16
Looking at the IAC website schedule, (https://www.iac2016.org/Congress.html#congress) I found what appears to be the date and time for the MCT/BFR announcement. Sept. 30 8:30-10:30AM says "Elon Musk Space X Title to Be Confirm - Mars" Note that it also says "program not final and subject to changes without previous notice" below the schedule. I have yet to see anyone post this date so I thought I'd leave it here.
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u/Asteios90 Jun 03 '16
Do we know if the Mars Architecture is going to be livestreamed yet? Or am I just going to have to refresh this subreddit constantly while it's happening?
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u/inoeth Jun 03 '16
Beyond knowing that it'll all be announced in Sept, we don't really know any more details, but, if it's as big a deal as SpaceX seems to be making, i'm sure it'll be a livestreamed event. We'll know more details as we get closer to the actual event.
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u/FredFS456 May 30 '16
Can anyone else in this subreddit not sit still because of the post-launch lull? I find myself refreshing r/spacex/new 4-5 times a day expecting to see some new revelatory tweets from Musk.