SpaceX will land a rocket on a barge before the end of the year - Polidicks

[quote]As soon as December, SpaceX will attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket booster on a floating ocean platform the size of a football field, CEO Elon Musk said today. The landing platform is being built at a Louisiana shipyard and measures 300 feet by 170 feet, Musk said during a talk at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was streamed online. The new infrastructure is SpaceX's next step in trying to recover a Falcon 9 booster so it can be flown again, a breakthrough Musk believes is critical to lowering launch costs. So far, the company has twice flown boosters as tall as 14-story buildings back from space and hypersonic speeds to soft landings in the Atlantic Ocean, where they broke up. "Unfortunately, it sort of sat there for several seconds, then tipped over and exploded," said Musk. "When a 14-story building falls over, it's quite a belly flop."[/quote] [url]http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2014/10/24/spacex-attempt-falcon-booster-landing-floating-platform/17847817/[/url] Here's video of some of their previous attempts to splashdown at sea: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIlu7szab5I[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnR5fhCXkQ[/media] Here's a test vehicle of the system, which has since exploded in flight. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgLBIdVg3EM[/media] All a part of their quest for full reusability(old concept video): [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nOCIfyRdec[/media] 1930's scifi rockets are almost here.

That third video reminds me of me in KSP when I take off then decide to come back because I forgot to grab some shit with me :v:

In all honesty landing on land is a very stupid idea since if anything goes wrong it crashes, landing on a presumable autonimus barge makes a lot of sense [editline]24th October 2014[/editline] Still landing a crew vehicle on land is a good step

[QUOTE=Sableye;46323575]In all honesty landing on land is a very stupid idea since if anything goes wrong it crashes, landing on a presumable autonimus barge makes a lot of sense [editline]24th October 2014[/editline] Still landing a crew vehicle on land is a good step[/QUOTE] The final version will land at Kennedy Space Center. 99% of its return and descent will be over the ocean. The computers will automatically be able to check if the rocket is 100% safe/nominal before it comes close to the coast. If something goes wrong, it will have an abort, where the rocket will be automatically detonated in flight. Which was unintentionally tested here: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnqjnxfjgUk[/media]

[QUOTE=OvB;46323606]The final version will land at Kennedy Space Center. 99% of its return and descent will be over the ocean. The computers will automatically be able to check if the rocket is 100% safe/nominal before it comes close to the coast. If something goes wrong, it will have an abort, where the rocket will be automatically detonated in flight. Which was unintentionally tested here: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnqjnxfjgUk[/media][/QUOTE] i guess that is true, but its very hard to imagine landing rockets on land from orbital velocity, they aren't space shuttles, but i guess we'll see in the comming months and years

[QUOTE=Sableye;46323635]i guess that is true, but its very hard to imagine landing rockets on land from orbital velocity, they aren't space shuttles, but i guess we'll see in the comming months and years[/QUOTE] It's not from orbital velocity, at least not for the first stage. And the other 2 stages will have atmospheric drag to help.

[QUOTE=OvB;46323433][B]1930's scifi rockets are almost here.[/B][/QUOTE] This is so weird to think about, who knew the dumbest looking thing would actually be useful!

[QUOTE=Sableye;46323575]In all honesty landing on land is a very stupid idea since if anything goes wrong it crashes, landing on a presumable autonimus barge makes a lot of sense [editline]24th October 2014[/editline] Still landing a crew vehicle on land is a good step[/QUOTE] KSC is designed to deal with rockets exploding from time to time, it's a perfect place to land. Also, it's way less expensive than designing and building a barge.

[QUOTE=OvB;46323606]The final version will land at Kennedy Space Center. 99% of its return and descent will be over the ocean. The computers will automatically be able to check if the rocket is 100% safe/nominal before it comes close to the coast. If something goes wrong, it will have an abort, where the rocket will be automatically detonated in flight. Which was unintentionally tested here:[/QUOTE] I love how the sound of the explosion is just like a firecracker. Cracks me up every time.

Fuck rockets. We should've started making space ships already.

Next step, land the thing on the same barge in a Force 10 gale

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;46324669]Fuck rockets. We should've started making space ships already.[/QUOTE] Do you have any idea how expensive it would be to build a space ship worthy of staying in space for an indefinite amount of time? Just building the ISS was worth billions of dollars and a whole lot of time. We need to build rockets that can efficiently and inexpensively get to space before we can ever build space ships of any kind.

[QUOTE=andololol;46325276]Do you have any idea how expensive it would be to build a space ship worthy of staying in space for an indefinite amount of time? Just building the ISS was worth billions of dollars and a whole lot of time. We need to build rockets that can efficiently and inexpensively get to space before we can ever build space ships of any kind.[/QUOTE] Speaking of spaceships, has there been any more information on the Mars Colonial Transporter? I can't see how it wouldn't be a spacefaring vessel of some sort. The Dragon V2 is nice, but it would not work for a lengthy journey to Mars. Seven people crammed into a single capsule for six or seven months... I can't imagine a happy ending. Besides, if SpaceX fully develops the technology to rapidly reuse rockets, then something the size of the ISS could be done for millions rather than billions.

[QUOTE=Cheshire_cat;46325315]Speaking of spaceships, has there been any more information on the Mars Colonial Transporter? I can't see how it wouldn't be a spacefaring vessel of some sort. The Dragon V2 is nice, but it would not work for a lengthy journey to Mars. Seven people crammed into a single capsule for six or seven months... I can't imagine a happy ending. Besides, if SpaceX fully develops the technology to rapidly reuse rockets, then something the size of the ISS could be done for millions rather than billions.[/QUOTE] Elon says the MCT will be able to hold 100 people for a few months. (about longer than the time it takes to get to Mars) The rocket that will launch it will be their next generation 10-15 meter core rocket that runs off 9 giant Raptor Methane engines. The most powerful engine ever built. To power the biggest rocket ever built. [editline]25th October 2014[/editline] Also the rockets flames will be blue because Methane which will be cool as fuuuuck.

[QUOTE=KinderBueno;46323536]That third video reminds me of me in KSP when I take off then decide to come back because I forgot to grab some shit with me :v:[/QUOTE] I usually do this for testing purposes. I don't really want to make it all the way to the mun and find out the landing gear isn't long enough xD

I am looking forward to this.