SpaceX News

[ladajo]

If I recall you use seawater because you have a lot of it. But the flow isn't between vessel and the sea, but between chambers in the vessel. The final control elements are the air valves, with the ability to shut off flow between vessels when not active.

Yes, I got that. The nearest thing in practice to this idea that I know of for maritime application is the system employed on Ice-breakers to roll them on the beam when they hang up. This system moves a lot of water fast between port & stbd ballast tanks to create the rolling. However, this takes a lot of horsepower and system infrastructure (and maintenance).

It would seem to be over-complicated where easier solutions are available. Such as deployable cones or box-kite.

[Tom Ligon]

One can induce rolling by running a crew from side to side. There's Jack Sparrow's inspiration for getting the Pearl back from Davy Jone's locker, for grins, and the recent capsizing of a ship full of refugees for a grim thought.

On this particular barge, though, if a rocket were landing on the barge with a crew present, they'd be going over the side as fast as possible.

The control problems inherent in attempting to move seawater rapidly between ballast tanks say to me that it would probably be too slow and involve too much sloshing in the tanks to serve as a rate of roll control mechanism. As pointed out, the pumping power would be extreme. Apply that same pumping power and resulting acceleration of mass to thrusters and you'd have a more predictable and authoritative stabilization system.

Pop quiz: when was the jet boat propulsion system invented?

Answer: about 1787 by James Rumsey. A propeller had been tried on the Turtle, but the early steamboat inventors were clueless about how to convert a steam engine into a water propulsion system. Steam engines at that time were almost entirely used for pumping water. So Rumsey realized he could use a water jet from a pump as a propulsion system. Everyone was amazed to see the thing actually move under its own power.

[rjaypeters]

Better to use the massive dampers currently employed at the top of skyscrapers. Much higher density than sea water (concrete or metals if you like) and no messy plumbing other than the hydraulics.

[paperburn1]

We are all silly gooses here. This is a prototype system.
Ok , space X proves it can land on a barge. Now we ramp up to a more permanent facility.
a retired oil platform or the likes, then crane the ship down to the barge or whatever support craft you have available. (Hmm where can you get a retired oil platform cheap) More stable in various sea conditions. you could do some of the work out at sea away from people and prying eyes (venting extra propellant, safekeeping the rocket, packing for shipment at your leisure) and with a fast support craft you could take it back to Texas to ground ship it to the factory, the McGregor facility is used for post-flight disassembly and defueling of the Dragon spacecraft. In the mean time...

The new planned facility are approved for construction. August 4, 2014 Texas Governor Rick Perry and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced SpaceX selected a location near Brownsville, Texas for a new commercial-only launch facility. The infrastructure to move the rocket and supplies already exists. All the other sites right now are temporary. New Mexico site and the nasa site in Florida are just rented.
Brownsville weather is more optimal than Florida and at the right position for launch to the space station and recovery on the gulf of mexico should be easy compared to the coast of Florida. Plenty of oil platforms for refit. Heavy industrial base just up the road. Responsibility for the booster and spacecraft remains with the LCC until the booster has cleared the launch tower, when responsibility is handed over to the NASA's Mission Control Center (MCC-H), at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, in Houston. The MCC also manages the U.S. portions of the International Space Station (ISS).The ISS training facility are in at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. The list goes on.
We should have figured this out long ago.

[TDPerk]

Hi paperburn1,

The thing is that the FAA (if I recall correctly) has mandated that SpaceX successfully land at sea (more than once?) before they are permitted to attempt to land on land.

I don't think anyone ever asserted the barge was their only plan long term.

[paperburn1]

With a Brownsville launch facility can they reach the Florida landing pad?

[Skipjack]

With a Brownsville launch facility can they reach the Florida landing pad?

From what I understand, they can't

[paperburn1]

There are 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf Of Mexico that will be decommissioned in the next few decades. But what if we convert them into landing pads?

[kunkmiester]

Make them launch pads too?

[hanelyp]

There are 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf Of Mexico that will be decommissioned in the next few decades. But what if we convert them into landing pads?

What do used oil rigs go for?

Landing on a former oil platform would make for more stable ground than a barge, but needs some other means to return a rocket to the launch facility.

[Skipjack]

There are 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf Of Mexico that will be decommissioned in the next few decades. But what if we convert them into landing pads?

What do used oil rigs go for?

Landing on a former oil platform would make for more stable ground than a barge, but needs some other means to return a rocket to the launch facility.

Has been discussed on NSF before and been deemed impractical. If it is a floating platform, it wont be much more stable than the barge (and needs anchored and all that, which makes operations much more complicated).
If it is a fixed platform, the problem is that it wont be downrange from the launch and thus in the wrong place.

[Maui]

Sounds like the Russians have lost a Progress vehicle (failed to initiate navigation after being placed in orbit). So now two of the four ISS suppliers have lost a shipment in the past 6 months. Sounds like they are still okay on consumables for some time yet, but I have to imagine people are starting to get a little nervous...

[Skipjack]

Sounds like the Russians have lost a Progress vehicle (failed to initiate navigation after being placed in orbit). So now two of the four ISS suppliers have lost a shipment in the past 6 months. Sounds like they are still okay on consumables for some time yet, but I have to imagine people are starting to get a little nervous...

Meh, they have supplies for 7 months and SpaceX has another CRS mission coming up in June. They will be fine.

[krenshala]

Pad Abort Test of the Dragon V2 is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Launch 'window' opens at 0700 eastern/1200 UTC, but is scheduled for all day, to cover any delays I presume. NASA TV should start coverage at about 0640 or so.

[GIThruster]

http://www.space.com/29328-new-spacex-c ... video.html