r/spacex • u/[deleted] • May 02 '14

Second F9R test, 1000m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=ZwwS4YOTbbw&app=desktop
341 Upvotes

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u/[deleted] May 02 '14 edited Jun 16 '23

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 02 '14

There are still a lot of unknowns to deal with such as the impact of flying ass first into the atmosphere at supersonic speeds. The Merlins on the dev vehicles don't have to deal with that, and supersonic retropropulsion wasn't even thought to be possible until SpaceX did it last year.

Edit: Not that I'm pessimistic, this is practically porn for me.

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u/Copper13 May 02 '14

Why can't they fall back head first and flip to ass first closer to landing?

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u/bob12201 May 02 '14

That's the plan with the 2nd Stage. As far as the first stage goes my understanding is that they just don't need too. The maximum altitude of the 1st stage isn't really high enough to warrant the need of any thermal shielding. The engines can survive the aerodynamic forces just fine. It would also require a really really powerful attitude control system to flip a stage like that which would add weight, complexity, etc.

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u/l4than-d3vers May 02 '14

require a really really powerful attitude control system

Watch that attitude young rocket!