Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > The successful launch and re-landing of the SpaceX Falcon 9.
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zephyr
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
PostMon Dec 21, 2015 10:21 pm 
Just got wind of this on a blog earlier, and more from my uncle in the Daytona Beach, Florida area who witnessed this tonight. This was streamed live earlier this evening. I am posting the recorded video. Here's a blurb from the post: With this mission, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit for ORBCOMM, a leading global provider of Machine-to-Machine communication and Internet of Things solutions. The ORBCOMM launch is targeted for an evening launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. If all goes as planned, the 11 satellites will be deployed approximately 20 minutes after liftoff, completing a 17-satellite, low Earth orbit constellation for ORBCOMM. This mission also marks SpaceX’s return-to-flight as well as its first attempt to land a first stage on land. The landing of the first stage is a secondary test objective. Things get really exciting around minute 30 and onwards. The successful landing is thrilling. Kind of like New Year's, only much better. There's an animated graphic shown and the commentators talk about how this is like "sending a pencil over the Empire State Building and have it descend and land upright on a shoe box, in the wind." As the video progresses, there are other cameras on the apparatus in orbit that are releasing individual satellites. Wow. ~z

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Matt
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Matt
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 12:53 am 
So cool. Real science and engineering, not fiction.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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cdestroyer
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cdestroyer
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 9:36 am 
okay the usual quip, 'flash gordon was doing this years ago'...now the grit...why expend the fuel to land a rocket tail first?

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SeanSullivan86
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 11:44 am 
cdestroyer wrote:
okay the usual quip, 'flash gordon was doing this years ago'...now the grit...why expend the fuel to land a rocket tail first?
As opposed to letting it crash, or some other alternative? I believe the hope is that it will be significantly cheaper to re-use/repair the rocket rather than needing to build a new one from scratch. The new rocket cost is apparently 80x the cost of fuel. (edit : apparently 15% of the fuel is used for the landing, 85% for the ascent)

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contour5
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 11:55 am 
A million people on Mars by 2035. A whole new world of off trail hiking and first ascents...

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touron
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touron
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 8:21 pm 
contour5 wrote:
A million people on Mars by 2035. A whole new world of off trail hiking and first ascents...
"1000 Desert Hikes Near Mt. Sharp" smile.gif The rocket launch and landing is pretty incredible. up.gif up.gif

Touron is a nougat of Arabic origin made with almonds and honey or sugar, without which it would just not be Christmas in Spain.
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AR
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AR
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 9:18 pm 
Until they can generate a Van Allen belt Mars will never be habitable. The place is bathed in radiation.

...wait...are we just going to hang here or go hiking?
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NacMacFeegle
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 9:22 pm 
This really is amazing! up.gif

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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cdestroyer
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PostTue Dec 22, 2015 9:45 pm 
SeanSullivan86 wrote "As opposed to letting it crash, or some other alternative?" ya you're right crashing is bad...(duh)

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Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > The successful launch and re-landing of the SpaceX Falcon 9.
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