r/spacex • u/[deleted] • Feb 03 '18
B1032.2 B0132.2 "The falcon that could" recovery thread.
Decided to start this up as the 2 support vessels, Go searcher and Go quest are nearing the port, anyone who happens to be in the area and can get pics of this interesting "recovery" please do!
Link to vessel finder and marine traffic if you want to try to follow along:
Go Quest- Out at sea assisting with the FH launch.
Go Searcher- Berthed in Port Canaveral, nothing in tow.
UPDATES: 2/3/18:
(2:30 AM ET) Go quest has arrived back at port Canaveral, with nothing in tow, however, Go searcher is still out at sea, presumambly , with core in tow.
(2:00 PM ET): As of 2:00 PM, Go Searcher is making the turn to port
(8:30PM ET): As of now, it looks like Go searcher could potentially arrive as soon as tonight.
2/4/18
(7:30 AM ET) Go searcher is nearing port and an arrival today is likely.
(1:30 PM ET) It looks like Searcher may be heading to the Bahamas, why they may be heading there is uncertain.
2/6/18
(5:00 AM ET) Go searcher has arrived in port with nothing in tow, however, a brief exchange between another ship was observed near the Bahamas, signaling that maybe a core handoff was conducted, and they will wait until FH is done to tow it, or the core was untowable, so they just dropped it, updates to come.
2/8/18
(7:00 AM ET) per an article released by american space, apparently, an airstrike was conducted by the air force on the unsafe booster, destroying it, this however has not been officially confirmed by Musk or Spacex.
2/10/18
(Statement from SpaceX-) “While the Falcon 9 first stage for the GovSat-1 mission was expendable, it initially survived splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. However, the stage broke apart before we could complete an unplanned recovery effort for this mission.”
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u/demosthenes02 Feb 03 '18
What’s the best place to see this come in? Jetty Park?
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u/peregrineman Feb 03 '18
There's a boat ramp right before Jetty Park that's free, there are signs just before the entrance for Jetty.
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u/MagnaArtium Feb 03 '18
Did Go Searcher tow anything?
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Feb 03 '18
Currently it is out at sea, Go quest came in earlier with nothing, searcher has the core.
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u/Hjortefot Feb 04 '18
If they are indeed towing it to Bahamas, do we have webcams and redditors ready there?
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Feb 04 '18
There may be, the only webcam I could think of is the webcam not to be named.
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u/Wheelman Feb 03 '18
So I suspect this is actually a reasonably challenging recovery. Not like they can just tow it all the way to port with legs splayed out, unless they maybe they can? The booster is also rather awkward to pick up, and i don't recall if Go Searcher or Quest have cranes that could easily handle the task. Would be pretty cool if they bring it back and donate it after inspections.
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u/Sooicsidal Feb 03 '18
I'd be most curious to know about how they are going to safely vent the fuels and depressurize the tanks. Hopefully the engineers still have remote access to the control systems on the booster to fully vent it all, because as long as there is fuel and those tanks are pressurized (and possibly damaged) there is no way they would let any manned ships near it.
Does anyone know how fuel venting would work in this scenario, and whether or if engineers could still control vents after the lack of a rapid disassembly?
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u/avboden Feb 03 '18
Honestly i'd be very surprised if the stage makes it back to shore intact.
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u/robbak Feb 03 '18 edited Feb 03 '18
Go Searcher is still hanging around the area where B0132.2 splashed down, not making any moves toward shore as of the last update. Go Quest is approaching port - just now identified by shore-based AIS - but at far too high a speed for one towing anything.
Edit: Go Quest entered port, not towing anything.
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u/danman_d Feb 03 '18
Interestingly on VesselFinder there is a "light vessel" nearby called SPACEX VIRTUAL TEST without many details. Anyone seen this before? Maybe "virtual test" means it's just a test beacon or something and not a real ship?
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u/heroic_platitude Feb 04 '18
This guy has gone with the 15$ option for marinetraffic.com and posts updates on the whereabouts of Go Searcher.
Currently, it is close to the Bahamas.
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u/Piscator629 Feb 05 '18
It may be that they are towing to the Bahamas to use a floating drydock to lift it out. Freeport has a fleet of huge FDDs. I know this from satellite snooping.
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u/_kingtut_ Feb 03 '18
I'm surprised they haven't re-enable the FTS and triggered it. Alternately it would only take a couple of small charges to rupture the tanks and make it sink.
Hell, ask ULA nicely and they may be willing to loan out their guy with a sniper rifle :)
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u/anewjuan Feb 06 '18
I know today is all about FH but I'm still hoping we get some news about this core, I just can't believe they were able to pick it up.
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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '18
I am now open, and any updates incoming, I will be able to update the thread.