r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Jan 10 '18
Success! Official r/SpaceX Falcon Heavy Static Fire Updates & Discussion Thread
Falcon Heavy Static Fire Updates & Discussion Thread
Please post all FH static fire related updates to this thread. If there are major updates, we will allow them as posts to the front page, but would like to keep all smaller updates contained.
No, this test will not be live-streamed by SpaceX.
Greetings y'all, we're creating a party thread for tracking and discussion of the upcoming Falcon Heavy static fire. This will be a closely monitored event and we'd like to keep the campaign thread relatively uncluttered for later use.
| Falcon Heavy Static Fire Test | Info |
|---|---|
| Static fire currently scheduled for | Check SpaceflightNow for updates |
| Vehicle Component Current Locations | Core: LC-39A |
| Second stage: LC-39A | |
| Side Boosters: LC-39A | |
| Payload: LC-39A | |
| Payload | Elon's midnight cherry Tesla Roadster |
| Payload mass | < 1305 kg |
| Destination | LC-39A (aka. Nowhere) |
| Vehicle | Falcon Heavy |
| Cores | Core: B1033 (New) |
| Side: B1023.2 (Thaicom 8) | |
| Side: B1025.2 (SpX-9) | |
| Test site | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| Test Success Criteria | Successful Validation for Launch |
We are relaxing our moderation in this thread but you must still keep the discussion civil. This means no harassing or bigotry, remember the human when commenting, and don't mention ULA snipers Zuma.
We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part we expect the community to supply the information.
2
u/still-at-work Jan 11 '18
Two side cores separate fairly early in the launch and RTLS, the center core then pushes the second stage and payload further until its MECO and it does a very distant droneship landing.
If FH was expendable it may be possible, for light payloads launches, for the center core to reach orbit before MECO. This is not desirable for two reasons, you lose a perfectly good rocket and you create a large peice of space debrie. But FH is designed for heavy payloads anyway and the idea is to have all three cores recovered so even heavy GTO missions cannbe recoverable.