Posted on 02/05/2018 10:38:46 PM PST by BenLurkin
The maiden flight of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy booster, slated to launch tomorrow (Feb. 6), comes factory-equipped with a Tesla Roadster as a part of the payload/ballast, and is meant to be hurled toward a solar orbit that could take it as far out as the orbit of Mars.
But what's the point of sending a car into space? Is it bound to become just more space junk? We asked spaceflight experts to weigh in.
...
"He is shipping it out of Earth orbit, so I do not think that there is any risk here," said orbital-debris expert Darren McKnight, technical director for Integrity Applications in Chantilly, Virginia. "The enthusiasm and interest that he generates more than offsets the infinitesimally small 'littering' of the cosmos."
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Musk mentioned several specific reasons why the Falcon Heavy's maiden flight may not go perfectly. One is the need for all 27 orbit-class first-stage engines to light at the right time. Another is the stress that the first stage's central "core" will experience during liftoff; the loads on the rocket, from aerodynamic forces to vibration and acoustic issues, will be quite high, he said.
The Falcon Heavy will be a great vehicle, Musk said, but he added that there may be some kinks to work out, especially given how challenging the rocket's development has been.
"It just ended up being really way, way more difficult than we originally thought,"
... SpaceX's Falcon Heavy successfully gunned up its 27 main engines during a test fire on Jan. 24, though it was held down tightly on the launchpad. Does that 12-second test firing signal a potential successful flight?
"Not really," said Jim Cantrell, CEO of Vector, a rocket developer in Tucson, Arizona, told Space.com. " A lot can still go wrong as this is a massive undertaking."
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
“But what’s the point of sending a cat into space?
Just for the fun of it?
Maybe with a slice of buttered toast taped to it’s back.
Tonight on Space Barn finds...Tesla roadster found!
I wouldn't think that would necessarily be the case. There are plenty of examples where things in the past that were unreliable became simpler and more reliable due to the application of technology.
If I remember correctly, with the Space Shuttle, all the main engines had to be lit within less than a second. If they were not, they aborted.
From the SpaceX press kit:
Mission Timeline (all times approximate)
COUNTDOWN
Hour/Min/Sec Events
- 01:28:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
- 01:25:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading underway
- 00:45:00 LOX (liquid oxygen) loading underway
- 00:07:00 Falcon Heavy begins engine chill prior to launch
- 00:01:00 Flight computer commanded to begin final prelaunch checks
- 00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
- 00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
- 00:00:05 Engine controller commands side booster engine ignition sequence to start
- 00:00:03 Engine controller commands center core engine ignition sequence to start
- 00:00:00 Falcon Heavy liftoff
LAUNCH, LANDINGS AND ORBITAL INSERTION
Hour/Min/Sec Events
00:01:06 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:29 Booster engine cutoff (BECO)
00:02:33 Side cores separate from center core
00:02:50 Side cores begin boostback burn
00:03:04 Center core engine shutdown/main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:03:07 Center core and 2nd stage separate
00:03:15 2nd stage engine starts
00:03:24 Center core begins boostback burn
00:03:49 Fairing deployment
00:06:41 Side cores begin entry burn
00:06:47 Center core begins entry burn
00:07:58 Side core landings
00:08:19 Center core landing
00:08:31 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:28:22 2nd stage engine restarts
00:28:52 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
Mission continues on an experimental long coast and third stage two burn to
target a precessing Earth-Mars elliptical orbit around the sun
Has anyone heard anything about the third and final burn of the 2nd Stage yet? It was supposed to be the burn that brought the craft to escape velocity to begin it’s solar orbit.
I have not heard about the second stage burn. I have seen that the central Falcon core malfunctioned on return and augered in (to the ocean). Bummer. Side stages landed fine.
Two out of three ain’t bad. (Meatloaf)
Just checked out spaceflightnow.com. According to them (story posted 7:07pm Pacific), there have been multiple sightings from Southern California of what may have been the final firing of the second stage. Some said it looked like a small comet, and one person said they saw ‘puffs’ coming out the back.
No word yet from SpaceX to confirm what happened.
Yea, just wait until they have to bring it in for that first, critical oil change. :)
But what’s the point of sending a car into space?...
Think of the message to all the aliens. Earth people have a wicked sense of humor. We might even be slightly crazy.
Yup!
What that means is...instead of an orbit that'll take it as far as Mars, they overshot the trajectory a bit and the apogee of the orbit will be out around the asteroid belt.
Wow.
Hah! It is a test flight. Looks like everything worked as well (or better) than expected except the central Falcon booster. Apparently 3 engines (of 9) failed to restart for the landing burn. The engineers have tons of data, they’ll soon know what went wrong with the return ... and all SpaceX have much to be proud of.
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