Simply incredible. Why haven't we always had boosters simply return?

We needed a billionaire crazy enough to invest in it.

It seems like there's a tradeoff involved. To get them back, you have to lift some weight for the fuel and structures to land them. I wonder if some technology changed to make recovery the better cost option over disposal.

Also, I suspect that it took a different player in the market to think differently. We've always made them one-time pieces of equipment and there may not have been incentive to think differently up till now.

Good point.

I think I'll remember watching this for the rest of my life.

https://i.imgur.com/WPLXYXC.png

There's probably an element of technology allowing it too. I'm sure there are some pretty sophisticated computers running all of this stuff that might not be possible 10+ years ago.

<iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fbBWODsBzdo" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Oh I know I was over simplifying it, but until Musk ULA basically had a monopoly on the rocket game and had no reason to update their business model. Why innovate to lower prices when people had to pay 300 million for a launch.

We're gonna have some great shots of this thing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ohh my god <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisG_NSF</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASASpaceflight</a>! Remote number one from Falcon Heavy! <a href="https://t.co/aj4ly8Cr5r">pic.twitter.com/aj4ly8Cr5r</a></p>&mdash; Brady Kenniston (@TheFavoritist) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheFavoritist/status/961009750690410496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Uh, did something just happen? It looked like something hit the rocket

edit: I think it was an optical illusion based on the video skipping and suddenly a reflection is on the rocket.

Press conference coming up soon if anyone is interested.

https://abcnews.go.com/video/embed?id=abc_live3

Because the Pentium chip had a floating point problem and the rockets would miss and crash.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Do we know if the main booster landed successfully yet?

It successfully hit the water at 300 mph. 2 of 3 rockets didn't light.

Geez is it totally destroyed?

Anyone watching the star man feed? There was a few minutes where the lights died then the feed went down. Back up now though. Anyone know how long that feed is supposed to last?

The booster? Yeah, it's in a million tiny pieces. Sounds like the drone ship was damaged as well, but not beyond repair or anything.

They weren't going to reuse any of the three boosters, so at least they still got good data from it and can learn for the future.

Cool little quick recap gif.

<iframe src='https://gfycat.com/ifr/ComfortableAcclaimedBlesbok' frameborder='0' scrolling='no' allowfullscreen width='640' height='360'></iframe>

This should go without saying but never go on Twitter to see what people are saying.

People who have no idea how the space industry works ( I barely have a grasp on any of it) bitching about there being a car in space.

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/VpN0ktVlMufU4" width="480" height="198" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/hours-pipe-spell-VpN0ktVlMufU4">via GIPHY</a></p>

I have no idea how the space industry works. Twll me what the argument is.
(For me, it just looks cool as hell)

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The argument for using a car?

The launch was way too risky to put anything of value on it. They need something to simulate the weight of a satellite being launched. They have a choice: a block of metal or something that looks cool.

They chose the cool-looking thing.

That's a tax write-off..

It was ****ing awesome!!!

With the exception of the center core (which is a sad, but not significant loss), complete and utter success today.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Third burn successful. Exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid Belt. <a href="https://t.co/bKhRN73WHF">pic.twitter.com/bKhRN73WHF</a></p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/961083704230674438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Damn. 3rd burn was visible in Phoenix. I missed it.

In case anyone's feeling REALLY into this, they re-cut the video from today to get the right video in there for the boosters. (The live video had the same video on both sides for quite a while.) They also cut in the footage of the fairing deploy that cut out during the live feed.

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Well, it's kind of anticlimactic at this point, but Paz is on the clock. Back to "normal" launches for a while. :)

What's the argument against? And what's the "space industry" angle of the argument?

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I haven't dug into it much, but my guess it's just stupid people talking about polluting space or whatever. That or they're saying it was a waste of a mission that should have had some science on it. :shrug:

I read his comment as "people who don't know how the industry works don't realize that space is big and that this isn't cluttering anything up."

Oh. So this thing isnt coming back? Because I kept thinking how badass it would be to drive a car around town that had been to space.

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Nah. It'll most likely float around in space for millions (billions?) of years.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch was YouTube’s second biggest live stream ever:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/6/16...-stream-record

I made my staff stop and watch this shit.


LOL humor the old man!

Has anyone posted this yet? Love it. Computer chip onboard with the inscription "*Made on Earth buy humans*".

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be31IJxgOoK/

I just gotta thank you all for the updates on all this. It is so cool. Watching all the videos. I actually just showed the summary one DaFace posted earlier to my class.

Okay, that was one of the coolest things that I have ever seen. Wow.

Basically this. Some highlights.

- why doesn't he use the money to help fight poverty rather than a vanity project to send a car in space.

- isn't space trash already a huge problem

- look at what our tax dollars are being wasted on (it's not)

I stopped reading at that point really.

Though my fiancé made me laugh because when I told her the core crashed into the ocean she went "what about the fishies." she was joking. Mostly.

Musk said that SpaceX would now be focusing on developing the BFR. I hadn't even heard of the BFR until I googled it. Holy shit.

Is BFR short for Big F_cking Rocket?

Yes. Estimated payload to be five times Falcon Heavy's.

https://s.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/mid...9+14+11+36.jpg

I hope there's a day where we ride these things for international flights. Anywhere on earth in like 20 minutes.

Musk has proposed just such an idea:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/29/1...point-to-point

Here is a good read on the BFR and estimated time lines for future plans:

https://waitbutwhy.com/2016/09/space...ull-story.html

Whoa, I read his enormous Musk series, but somehow missed this one. Thanks!

I was just about to mention the G-loading and then read the article. I haven't seen figures on the Gs pulled on ascent and descent, but I'd guess somewhere close to 8. That might kill some people and make most lose consciousness without a G suit and training.

The article uses the G forces for ballistic missiles, which have a conspicuous lack of humans on them. Assuming the flight design would be the same for human flight seems... dumb.

I tried to reply with the arch "stop. My penis can only get so erect" but apparently I cant post pictures yet.

Havent paid as much attention to this as I should, but gotta say I was just so impressed watching the two boosters come down and land... getting a tubular shape that really only seems good for going up, with no real control surfaces, to stabilize midair and smoothly land in an upright position is nothing short of mind boggling

It almost doesnt even look real, its like CGI... AMAZING technological advance

I bet it eventually has a head on collision with something, a meteor ,planet or gets sucked into a black hole. They should have put a bottle of Jack daniels in the drivers hand so they know how we rock here on Earth and can claim the first drunk driver accident in space.

You can now.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Be6VZEzgAEk/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:28.10185185185185% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GP T6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAA AElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Be6VZEzgAEk/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Last pic of Starman in Roadster enroute to Mars orbit and then the Asteroid Belt</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elonmusk/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk</a> (@elonmusk) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-02-07T22:00:57+00:00">Feb 7, 2018 at 2:00pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The hottest club is 2018.<br>It’s got everything:<br>-Kids eating detergent<br>-Chips, but for ladies<br>-Rich guys launching cars into space <a href="https://t.co/I49eJjHsyc">pic.twitter.com/I49eJjHsyc</a></p>&mdash; Ana Breton (@missbreton) <a href="https://twitter.com/missbreton/status/961092340617240576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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That was my guess as well. I bet "Big Falcon Rocket" is only what they call it publicly.

Yup.

I didn't "make" them, but it didn't take much talk them into an extended SpaceX break..

SpaceX members at the company's first group picture:

https://i.imgur.com/OOzqxQv.jpg

I have seen that image of elon numerous times but never knew where it came from.

A coworker tipped me off to a great YouTube channel about space exploration concepts and logistics based in current and not-too-far-away technologies that I've been devouring lately. This video is about Mars specifically, but he's got a ton of other great stuff too:

https://youtu.be/S0dqd72ALkQ

Dude is smart as hell and can't pronounce "R".

haha. :D

My cousin has that same speech impediment and its maddening.

Falcon Heavy breaking the sound barrier:

https://i.redd.it/3y0hpo2yc6f01.gif

That's an Atlas rocket from 2010. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory I believe.

Here's another cool shot of it (at 1:40ish):

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/axQg5vFW40k" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Pretty sure that's from an Atlas V launch a few years ago. (Still cool though!)

Derp. My bad. Reddit lies....

As the owner of 40% of the posts in this thread, it warms my heart to see so much interest this week. It's been almost surreal how many of my friends actually have paid attention. All it took was a car! ;)

https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/c...sound_barrier/

And it's alright man. Atlas launches are welcome here. Found that out when I posted one a while ago. :)

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Damn. I really need to get down there for a launch sometime. That sounds intense.

I'm always following. I'm sure there are others.

Sounds great on my stereo system.

If you don't already have it DaFace, you might want to download SpaceXlaunches. A new app built by members of the SpaceX reddit sub forum available in the Google play store.

Cool. SpaceXNow still will be my go to for notifications about news and launches, but I definitely like the extra detail they have in there on this. No harm in handing multiple SpaceX apps I suppose. :)

Unrelated, but in addition to the Paz satellite, the next launch will include a couple of microsats that are prototypes for a worldwide satellite constellation that would provide internet all over the world. This is a SpaceX product - the idea that they'd launch a **** ton of these things if the proof of concept worked and use the profits from such a service to help pay for everything else.

24 hour bump for Paz. Reflown booster, but no recovery, FWIW.

EDIT: Getting bumped again. Not sure what's going on with these new fairings.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Team at Vandenberg is taking additional time to perform final checkouts of upgraded fairing. Payload and vehicle remain healthy. Due to mission requirements, now targeting February 21 launch of PAZ.</p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/964937069901447168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Trying again with the 24 hour bump for Paz.

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSpaceX%2Fposts%2F10160562717140131&width=500&show_tex t=true&height=519&appId" width="500" height="519" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>

China and Europe love SpaceX’s new Falcon Heavy rocket. Does NASA?

“to put it more bluntly, this time the Americans showed us Chinese with pure power why they are still the strongest country in the world.”

https://qz.com/1209330/spacexs-falco...nasa-on-board/

Also, is that header picture real?

What makes you think it isn't real?