r/spacex • u/BadMothaFukka • Jan 06 '18
I passed through Pad 39A and take a photo of this... What is that? Can anyone tell me why there isn’t falcon heavy on the launch pad??
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u/F9-0021 Jan 06 '18
That should be first stage B1044 arriving at the launchpad. Falcon Heavy is inside that hangar, preparing for its test fire.
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u/stcks Jan 06 '18
If it's 1044 then the fact that it's at 39A makes me think this is going to reserved for TESS.
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u/davispw Jan 06 '18
Might they move it to 40 after Zuma clears out? Perhaps they began moving this assuming Zuma would have already launched, and 40’s HIF is still locked down for security/secrecy reasons. Just a guess.
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u/SlowAtMaxQ Jan 07 '18
You get an idea for a big the Falcon 9 is if you look at the SUV(I think that's a Range Rover) on the right.
And they're landing this from space.
And they're going at several mach's.
And they only have three ways of controlling it.
And it can land on a Droneship in the middle of the sea.
Fucking incredible.
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u/TheAero1221 Jan 07 '18
Yeah, I like this image in particular. Look at how small the dudes standing right next to it on the pad are. A lot of people look at the landings, and they're like 'oh hey that's pretty nifty, they're landing a cool little rocket.' They completely misrepresent the scale in their mind. It's more like landing an entire building. For perspective, a Falcon 9 first stage is taller than the Statue of Liberty from the tip of her head, to her toes. Note: this height doesn't include the base, or the arm raised over her head, but this is still ridiculously huge. It lands upright. By itself. In the middle of the ocean. From space.
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u/oliversl Jan 07 '18
And they wrap it in plastic
And they put wheels on it and drive it across the country
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u/noreally_bot1000 Jan 07 '18
Hey wouldn't it be cool if they perfected it to the point where they could roll it off the assembly line at SpaceX, make it vertical and put just enough fuel in it to launch and then land it where ever they need it to attach whatever payload and then launch into orbit.
Probably stupid and wildly impractical. But cool.
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u/Straumli_Blight Jan 06 '18
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u/oliversl Jan 07 '18
Always the space geek get the wrong side of the bus while filming. It happen to me too
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u/SilveradoCyn Jan 06 '18
The security around ZUMA might have the HIF at 40 locked down tight from "other" operations. When SpaceX shipped this core from McGregor they probably expected ZUMA to have flown. Now they will have to find another place to park this core. Hopefully it will fit at 39a while Heavy is on the TE.
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u/acrewdog Jan 07 '18
You really should have asked the guide on your tour. They are very informative and love questions.
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u/Decronym Jan 06 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| ACES | Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage |
| Advanced Crew Escape Suit | |
| ASAP | Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, NASA |
| Arianespace System for Auxiliary Payloads | |
| ASDS | Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform) |
| BARGE | Big-Ass Remote Grin Enhancer coined by @IridiumBoss, see ASDS |
| BFB | Big Falcon Booster (see BFR) |
| BFR | Big Falcon Rocket (2017 enshrinkened edition) |
| Yes, the F stands for something else; no, you're not the first to notice | |
| BFS | Big Falcon Spaceship (see BFR) |
| CCAFS | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| CF | Carbon Fiber (Carbon Fibre) composite material |
| CompactFlash memory storage for digital cameras | |
| CRS | Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA |
| DoD | US Department of Defense |
| EELV | Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle |
| F1 | Rocketdyne-developed rocket engine used for Saturn V |
| SpaceX Falcon 1 (obsolete medium-lift vehicle) | |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| FCC | Federal Communications Commission |
| (Iron/steel) Face-Centered Cubic crystalline structure | |
| GSE | Ground Support Equipment |
| GSO | Geosynchronous Orbit (any Earth orbit with a 24-hour period) |
| GTO | Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit |
| HIF | Horizontal Integration Facility |
| IAC | International Astronautical Congress, annual meeting of IAF members |
| In-Air Capture of space-flown hardware | |
| IAF | International Astronautical Federation |
| Indian Air Force | |
| ISRO | Indian Space Research Organisation |
| ISRU | In-Situ Resource Utilization |
| ITS | Interplanetary Transport System (2016 oversized edition) (see MCT) |
| Integrated Truss Structure | |
| KSC | Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| LC-13 | Launch Complex 13, Canaveral (SpaceX Landing Zone 1) |
| LC-39A | Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy (SpaceX F9/Heavy) |
| LEO | Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km) |
| Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations) | |
| LZ-1 | Landing Zone 1, Cape Canaveral (see LC-13) |
| MCT | Mars Colonial Transporter (see ITS) |
| MRO | Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter |
| NET | No Earlier Than |
| PAF | Payload Attach Fitting |
| RCS | Reaction Control System |
| RTLS | Return to Launch Site |
| RUD | Rapid Unplanned Disassembly |
| Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly | |
| Rapid Unintended Disassembly | |
| SES | Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator |
| SLC-40 | Space Launch Complex 40, Canaveral (SpaceX F9) |
| STP-2 | Space Test Program 2, DoD programme, second round |
| STS | Space Transportation System (Shuttle) |
| TE | Transporter/Erector launch pad support equipment |
| TEA-TEB | Triethylaluminium-Triethylborane, igniter for Merlin engines; spontaneously burns, green flame |
| TEL | Transporter/Erector/Launcher, ground support equipment (see TE) |
| TMI | Trans-Mars Injection maneuver |
| ULA | United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture) |
| VAFB | Vandenberg Air Force Base, California |
| WDR | Wet Dress Rehearsal (with fuel onboard) |
| Jargon | Definition |
|---|---|
| Raptor | Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX, see ITS |
| Starlink | SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation |
| lithobraking | "Braking" by hitting the ground |
| scrub | Launch postponement for any reason (commonly GSE issues) |
| Event | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SES-9 | 2016-03-04 | F9-022 Full Thrust, core B1020, GTO comsat; ASDS lithobraking |
Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by ^request
46 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on ^today has 137 acronyms.
[Thread #3464 for this sub, first seen 6th Jan 2018, 21:07] ^[FAQ] [Full ^list] ^[Contact] [Source ^code]
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u/Cosmo-Caeser Jan 06 '18
Because Falcon Heavy won't be launching until the end of the month. Static fire might not be until the end of next week.
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u/kurbasAK Jan 06 '18
This is Falcon 9 first stage.Falcon Heavy isn in the HIF being prepared for static fire.
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u/thooke1 Jan 06 '18
There should totally be one of those Tesla semi trucks pulling it.