SpaceX's Falcon Heavy test flight

[Astir]

For the rocket science enthusiasts amongst us: tomorrow is the first launch (attempt) of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. It is the most powerful rocket launch since the Atlas V used in the moon missions. The payload will be a Tesla car, and all 3 cores will return to and land on Earth.

Check out SpaceX's animation of the launch here:

And the static fire test here:

The launch window opens at 18:30 19:20 UCT, and will be broadcasted on SpaceX's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/spacexchannel/

 

[Maddo]

If this makes it to orbit I'll be surprised, 27 engines is a lot to coordinate at once, but if anyone can do it musk can.
He is already working on his next rocket which will have 31 initial launch engines, he calls it the 'BFR'.
BTW, the Delta IV heavy is the most powerful launch to date, the falcon 9 is the rocket that superseded the Atlas V. The Falcon heavy produces just over twice the power of the Delta IV and over 3 times as much as the Atlas V.

 

[shoooooooooooooooo]

i follow spacex on twitter so needless to say i am pumped

 

[Astir]

BTW, the Delta IV heavy is the most powerful launch to date, the Falcon 9 is the rocket that superseded the Atlas V. The Falcon heavy produces just over twice the power of the Delta IV and over 3 times as much as the Atlas V.

I'm gonna correct you on this, the Saturn V is still the most powerful rocket to date, with 35 MN of lift-off thrust. The Falcon Heavy surpassed the Delta IV heavy with a factor of 2.4 in terms of lift-off thrust, at 23 MN.
My bad, missed my own typo and was too late to edit it out!

 

[JayDee]

since the Atlas V used in the moon missions.

?????????

 

[Astir]

Update on OP (since I can't seem to edit it):
Launch webcast (YouTube): full - T-15s - Tesla in space! - Double booster landing

 

[Astir]

?????????

*Saturn V, messed up in OP and can't edit

 

[JayDee]

sry all ur credibility is immediatly gone

 

[Toxik]

That dual landing gave me chills.
In case anyone missed it:

edit: go to -3.40.40 for that fucking sweet ass shot

 

[Reedgreat]

They lost one of the boosters unfortunately (the central core). It might still be recoverable, although it didn’t land on the drone ship like it was supposed to.

 

[Toxik]

They lost one of the boosters unfortunately (the central core). It might still be recoverable, although it didn’t land on the drone ship like it was supposed to.

Damn, I was wondering about that one. The broadcast ended before they talked about it, so I was wondering if anything went wrong. If it just landed in the water rather than on the platform, it's still a "good enough" in my mind, but it must still be a disappointment to the team.
Overall, I think that the launch furthered us as a race at least 10 years into the future. So cool to see what we are able to do in terms of space, and can't wait to see what Space X has in store for us next!

 

[Reedgreat]

Damn, I was wondering about that one. The broadcast ended before they talked about it, so I was wondering if anything went wrong. If it just landed in the water rather than on the platform, it's still a "good enough" in my mind, but it must still be a disappointment to the team.
Overall, I think that the launch furthered us as a race at least 10 years into the future. So cool to see what we are able to do in terms of space, and can't wait to see what Space X has in store for us next!

Actually, it hit the water at 300 kph or so. Not exactly a smooth landing :)

Although it was made to be pretty strong so there is a slim chance they can reuse it again.

 

[Toxik]

"SpaceX pulled off quite the feat today when it launched the Falcon Heavy rocket. What's more, it landed the two flanking boosters in perfect synchronized formation. But the fate of the core booster was unclear; now it appears that the center booster, which was supposed to land on a drone ship, was lost."
Well shiet

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/06/spacex-falcon-heavy-center-core-lost/

 

[Maddo]

That dual landing gave me chills.
In case anyone missed it:

edit: go to -3.40.40 for that fucking sweet ass shot

I call bullshit on this video until I can understand the following.
Why don't the tyres explode in the vacuum of space?
Why doesn't the windscreen crack going through such extremes of hot and cold?
Why is the car not spinning like a top without stabilizing boosters?
Why is the earth shown as a perfect sphere when it really isn't.

 

[JayDee]

stfu maddo

 

[Luke]

Why don't the tyres explode in the vacuum of space?

They've probably adjusted the pressure in the tires so they don't explode.
I would imagine the same has also been done for the airbag, etc.

Why doesn't the windscreen crack going through such extremes of hot and cold?

It will, just not until further out into space - most likely.
During launch it was protected from the temperature changes/pressure.
When they revealed the Tesla, the temperature would've been stable enough.

Why is the car not spinning like a top without stabilizing boosters?

It is spinning, all of the footage shows that.
Doesn't look very fast simply due to the reference point and distance from Earth.

Why is the earth shown as a perfect sphere when it really isn't.

From the distance that the camera was, it is near enough a perfect sphere.
You have to go a lot further out to see any major differences.
It's important to note that the video you've linked isn't the shape of the Earth.

 

[Maddo]

They've probably adjusted the pressure in the tires so they don't explode.
I would imagine the same has also been done for the airbag, etc.

Thinking again about it the tyres could be replaced with solid tyres rather than pneumatic?

It will, just not until further out into space - most likely.
During launch it was protected from the temperature changes/pressure.
When they revealed the Tesla, the temperature would've been stable enough.

I was thinking more going from the dark side of the earth ~ -155 C to the light side ~ +130 C
It's a massive change, put a glass into the freezer ~-18-20C and take it out and fill with boiling water it will shatter. even putting hot water on your frozen windscreen will crack it.

It is spinning, all of the footage shows that.
Doesn't look very fast simply due to the reference point and distance from Earth.

Not sure about this one, I'm going to look into it further though, satellites might not spin at all. This car is definitely spinning very slow though (you can tell by how fast the earth appears, every rotation looks around a minute or so) I would have thought it would be like a spinning top.

It's important to note that the video you've linked isn't the shape of the Earth.

What is the shape of the earth then?

stfu maddo

Lick my balls gaydee.

 

[JayDee]

the shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid

 

[Astir]

Thinking again about it the tyres could be replaced with solid tyres rather than pneumatic?

A car tire generally has around 3 bar of internal pressure. On Earth, this would give a pressure difference of 2 bar, whereas in the vacuum of space 3 bar. True, this would increase the pressure stress in the tire by 50%, but considering that car tires can easily hold up to 13 bar (to compensate for potholes and other sharp obstacles), it should be able to survive a vacuum without any problem. The car will likely fail due to cosmic radiation, which will cause the rubber to degrade.

I was thinking more going from the dark side of the earth ~ -155 C to the light side ~ +130 C
It's a massive change, put a glass into the freezer ~-18-20C and take it out and fill with boiling water it will shatter. even putting hot water on your frozen windscreen will crack it.

I'm not an expert on thermodynamics, but what I can say for sure is that those temperatures are rather irrelevant. Since space is a vacuum, there is no ambient pressure. This means no convection of heat is possible, only radiation. So it will undergo thermal cycles due to (amongst other) solar thermal radiation, however, it will not go from an extremely cold to a hot environment as you pictured.

Not sure about this one, I'm going to look into it further though, satellites might not spin at all. This car is definitely spinning very slow though (you can tell by how fast the earth appears, every rotation looks around a minute or so) I would have thought it would be like a spinning top.

Satellites are stabilized using various ADCS actuators, amongst which momentum wheels and thrusters. Since the 2nd stage was coasting (waiting for the next burn), the rotation could have been induced on purpose by the ADCS system of the 2nd stage to provide a beautiful live stream view.

What is the shape of the earth then?

The video you linked is not the shape of the planet, but a map of the gravitational field. Explanation here.

 

[Maddo]

A car tire generally has around 3 bar of internal pressure. On Earth, this would give a pressure difference of 2 bar, whereas in the vacuum of space 3 bar. True, this would increase the pressure stress in the tire by 50%, but considering that car tires can easily hold up to 13 bar (to compensate for potholes and other sharp obstacles), it should be able to survive a vacuum without any problem. The car will likely fail due to cosmic radiation, which will cause the rubber to degrade.



I'm not an expert on thermodynamics, but what I can say for sure is that those temperatures are rather irrelevant. Since space is a vacuum, there is no ambient pressure. This means no convection of heat is possible, only radiation. So it will undergo thermal cycles due to (amongst other) solar thermal radiation, however, it will not go from an extremely cold to a hot environment as you pictured.



Satellites are stabilized using various ADCS actuators, amongst which momentum wheels and thrusters. Since the 2nd stage was coasting (waiting for the next burn), the rotation could have been induced on purpose by the ADCS system of the 2nd stage to provide a beautiful live stream view.



The video you linked is not the shape of the planet, but a map of the gravitational field. Explanation here.

NIce explanation. thx, you have redeemed yourself from earlier errors and have shown sound critical thinking. Looks like I've been gleening facts on too many hollywood movies and conspiracy theories.