Falcon Heavy making only second flight, but it’s already changing the game

DooKey

DooKey

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Last year the Falcon Heavy launched for the first time and as we all know it was carrying Elon's Tesla. Today marks the second launch and it's going to be carrying a paying payload into orbit. Also, it plans to top the double landing of booster rockets with a triple landing today. Hope all goes well and ushers in a new age of manned and unmanned space science!

Falcon Heavy.jpg


Falcon Heavy's most immediate and tangible impact has been with national security missions. In June, only a little more than four months after the vehicle's debut flight, the US Air Force certified the rocket to fly its reconnaissance and communications satellites into orbit. The Air Force also announced that it had selected the Falcon Heavy to launch its classified Air Force Space Command-52 satellite later in 2020. The rocket offers the military access to all of the desired orbits for its spacecraft.
 
That would make a great picture, shot of the command center and every screen someone is playing Kerbal.
 
Fingers crossed on this one. The pessimist in me, sees triple the failure points with the conjoined rockets.

But I am hoping for a perfect run. I found the double booster landing videos awe inspiring. Landing all three stages would be amazing, though I know it would be a simultaneous triple landing.
 
Snowdog said:
Fingers crossed on this one. The pessimist in me, sees triple the failure points with the conjoined rockets.

But I am hoping for a perfect run. I found the double booster landing videos awe inspiring. Landing all three stages would be amazing, though I know it would be a simultaneous triple landing.
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2 will be on land the other will attempt to land on the barge like the first flight. center booster should have a better chance at hitting it's mark with the new block 5 booster.
 
Snowdog said:
Fingers crossed on this one. The pessimist in me, sees triple the failure points with the conjoined rockets.

But I am hoping for a perfect run. I found the double booster landing videos awe inspiring. Landing all three stages would be amazing, though I know it would be a simultaneous triple landing.
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Yes, landing the two boosters in near synchronization was an amazing engineering feat! I was totally blown away. I was showing all the engineers at work saying basically if they can do that, we should be able to make our crap without an issue.
 
The irony is that the Merlin engines have evolved/upgraded since the contract for this satellite, such that the "standard" Falcon 9 has the lift capabilities to put this payload into proper orbit. Still, it's space stuff so I'm excited, and will give SpaceX an "easier" flight path for their inaugural commercial flight on the Heavy.
 
Update:

7:25pm ET Update: SpaceX scrubbed its first attempt to launch the Falcon Heavy rocket on Wednesday evening due to unfavorable upper-level winds. The winds were bad enough that, earlier in the afternoon, SpaceX put off its launch to the end of the window, at 8:32pm ET (00:32 UTC). As the forecast failed to improve during the approximately two hour window, SpaceX made the decision to scrub the attempt before beginning to load propellants onto the rocket.

Fortunately, there is a backup launch opportunity on Thursday, with a similar launch window opening at 6:35pm ET (10:35 UTC) and closing at 8:31pm ET (00:31 UTC).
 
Wonder what the flat earth people think of watching that launch?
 
wyqtor said:
Frankly, it looks just like one of those wacky designs you see in Kerbal Space Program videos on Youtube.
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It wont be long before you can play it in real life if you have enough dosh to make the bots.
 
Krenum said:
Wonder what the flat earth people think of watching that launch?
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I was thinking the same thing... the idiots think the "edges" are antarctica.. get on a plane and fly over antartica, look out the window. The stupidity makes me wonder if we don't have the missing link (our ancestors) still living among us.
 
GoodBoy said:
I was thinking the same thing... the idiots think the "edges" are antarctica.. get on a plane and fly over antartica, look out the window. The stupidity makes me wonder if we don't have the missing link (our ancestors) still living among us.
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The windows are thick, and the glass distorts the horizon, hence the appearance of curvature. ;)
 
Zareek said:
Yes, landing the two boosters in near synchronization was an amazing engineering feat! I was totally blown away. I was showing all the engineers at work saying basically if they can do that, we should be able to make our crap without an issue.
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Supposedly they were planned to land one after the other :)
 
I am more amazed when the 2 boosters come down to land, really looking forward to the day they touch down at exactly the same time.
Still i have much more often coursed engineers to the bowls of hell when i have to fix or work on the BS they put together. i swear some of the stuff they get away with are mind blowing.

Engineers the politicians of science. :sneaky:
 
The first Falcon heavy simu-land of the 2 outer boosters was actually a mistake, albeit one that was incredibly cool. They're *supposed* to land staggered, for some reason or another. (Safety?)

Edit -- RTFP: me, Meeho wrote the exact same 2 above, whoopsies. :)
 
Oldmodder said:
I am more amazed when the 2 boosters come down to land, really looking forward to the day they touch down at exactly the same time.
Still i have much more often coursed engineers to the bowls of hell when i have to fix or work on the BS they put together. i swear some of the stuff they get away with are mind blowing.

Engineers the politicians of science. :sneaky:
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It is pretty amazing! I had no idea that the booster landed themselves before watching the latest launch.
 
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