Posted on 02/20/2017 5:11:52 AM PST by C19fan
Amazing video shows the historic moment the first stage of the Falcon 9 touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on the launch pad. The SpaceX rocket descended through the clouds before landing right in the middle of the pad, a perfect landing after a rocky start. The rocket was supposed to launch Saturday but took off 9:38am Sunday instead because of a technical error. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk captioned the video on Instagram: 'Baby came back'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Most people will not understand the complexity of making this happen. An incredible achievement.
This is drone video, and available in 4K on Youtube.
The live webcast had video from the first stage all the way down and is available on Youtube also.
SpaceX is starting to make it routine.
I remember when Musk had tears in his eyes when he was interviewed about criticism from some of the Apollo astronauts including Armstrong. I wonder what Armstrong would have thought of yesterday’s performance from his old launchpad.
You’d think this is the absolutely WORST way to reenter. I mean the weather, the need to have everything perfect. Wouldn’t it be safer to glide in.
While I can’t say I’ve been paying very close attention, I thought the objective was a reusable rocket for payload delivery. Can’t exactly convert a rocket to glide, I wouldn’t think.
That is so... amazing. When I worked there we used to wonder if that would ever happen. And now it has. Science Fiction once again has become Science reality.
I feel that I can understand the scope of complexity (even if I still cannot see all of it) which is why I do find it amazing each time they successfully perform it.
Granted, the power of the sensors, mechanisms, and feedback loops is something that has matured to the point of being used in a lot of everyday commonplace things, but the complexity of it in this application still staggers me.
I am thoroughly impressed, the software alone to drive that operation must have been a new level of competency!
Too much weight to turn the 1st stage into a glider. In fact, the sea platform landings also are weight/fuel saving events. Not sure why the landing this time back at pad 39A...assume launch profile permitted a Terra Firma return.
Elon Musk is an overrated hack who can only survive based on huge government handouts. (at least thats what i’ve read time and time again on this particular web site....)
Wouldn’t it be safer to glide in.
That’s the method of reentry used by the Space Shuttle. Then you’re back to using ablative tiles to withstand the enormous speed of reentry. A missing or faulty tile in the wrong place results in destruction of the craft as with Columbia.
Yes I realize that now. Incredible achievement.
You’d think this is the absolutely WORST way to reenter. I mean the weather, the need to have everything perfect. Wouldn’t it be safer to glide in.
...
I remember back in 2003 waiting for Columbia to glide in.
Other than that there were quite a few Shuttle landing diversions due to weather. In fact I’m pretty sure the Shuttle probably wouldn’t have launched yesterday due to the cloud cover. NASA wanted clear skies in case an abort back to Cape Canaveral was necessary.
It’s funny...I know it is all on my and my baggage, but I am conflicted by Elon Musk with many of his liberal views (even if I do admire his vision in many things and performance as a capitalist) and I have this odd cognitive dissonance whenever I view one of these SpaceX events with all the hipsters and glitzy presentations during a launch...I am just turning into an old coot, and my mind still thinks it should be guys with black plastic-framed glasses, white shirts and striped ties in the mission control!
I actually find it somewhat humorous to myself that I have to overcome myself to appreciate what it is they do. It’s my hangups...:)
And I also admit that I didn’t fully believe that private industry could do it. I appear to be wrong, and that was out of character for me to doubt that private industry could out-do the government, because I believed it in every other case.
I couldn’t be happier to be wrong.
I didn’t realize that it was the booster. This is an incredible achievement. I don’t know what the savings is, but must be something.
Contrast this, with the waste of supporting the reusuable energy industry like the POS imposter in chief did with our tax dollars.
I am quite sure Trump will support the space industry. He should put Newt in charge.
Paid for it with his own money, did he?
I am thoroughly impressed, the software alone to drive that operation must have been a new level of competency!
...
It’s not easy and SpaceX had to try and fail a few times before getting it right.
I don’t see how this is practical. Don’t they have to take up a huge amount of fuel to be able to land again and doesn’t that seriously impact their ability to launch heavy object?
Landing was impressive, especially because of the weather. Nose first reentry might be the worst way. Safer to glide a rocket in for landing? Something overheard from a graduate of CNN School for Aeronautical Engineering?
“Elon Musk is an overrated hack who can only survive based on huge government handouts. (at least thats what i’ve read time and time again on this particular web site....)”
I’ve noticed that some people can be very good in some areas...and decide they are experts in all areas. Bill Gates comes to mind - good at software, good at creating a business/monopoly. Poor on population control ideas.
Musk may be the same.
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