On 07/02/2018 00:18, Kenning Lundermann wrote:
The Falcon Heavy launch was certainly very impressive, but I wonder whether FH itself will ever do much of note. SpaceX itself has dropped its own plans for the rocket (Dragons to Mars, circular flights with passengers). If certified, FH could get payloads now flying on Delta 4 Heavy, but that's about one a year. It might get some planetary probes too demanding for F9 but, again, that's not a lot.Elon said 2-3 FH launches a year, qualified for National Security missions in approx 4 years...
We have heard noises from VP Pence's entourage about a role for FH, which I presume involves commercial resupply of the so-called Deep Space Gateway. But aside from that, which may well never happen, is there much concrete interest in FH among those with the ability to put there money where their mouths are?Elon said Spacex focus is now on Crew Dragon and then BFR (9m dia, >100m tall!!) ...and I think he said SSTO...
On 2/6/18, 21:35 Henry Vanderbilt <hvanderbilt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Your phrasing is ambiguous - have you seen word on the center booster
barge landing yet? All I can find is, result not known yet.
That aside - woo-HOO! An indication of the precision in the booster
recoveries was that thruster firings etc on the two boosters were
pretty
much simultaneous throughout. (One did touch down a half-second or so
after the other, mind - but I'm not complaining.)
Seriously, an historic day. 64 mt to LEO, with I guesstimate well
over
90% by value (27 of 28 engines) of the overall booster
recovereable and
reusable. A major step forward on the path.
Henry
On 2/6/2018 2:17 PM, John Stoffel wrote:
>
> Wow...just wow. Watching the liftoff, max-q, separation, side
booster
> landings, second stage ignition, etc. All just amazing. Even if they
> lost the core stage on landing... wow.
>
> Such an amazingly successful launch, congrats!
>
>