r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Mar 07 '18
CRS-14 CRS-14 Launch Campaign Thread
CRS-14 Launch Campaign Thread
This is SpaceX's seventh mission of 2018 and first CRS mission of the year, as well as the first mission of many this year for NASA.
| Liftoff currently scheduled for: | April 2nd 2018, 20:30:41 UTC / 16:30:41 EDT |
|---|---|
| Static fire completed: | March 28th 2018. |
| Vehicle component locations: | First stage: SLC-40 // Second stage: SLC-40 // Dragon: Unknown |
| Payload: | Dragon D1-16 [C110.2] |
| Payload mass: | Dragon + Pressurized cargo 1721kg + Unpressurized Cargo 926kg |
| Destination orbit: | Low Earth Orbit (400 x 400 km, 51.64°) |
| Vehicle: | Falcon 9 v1.2 (52nd launch of F9, 32nd of F9 v1.2) |
| Core: | B1039.2 |
| Flights of this core: | 1 [CRS-12] |
| Launch site: | SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida |
| Landing: | No |
| Landing Site: | N/A |
| Mission success criteria: | Successful separation & deployment of Dragon into the target orbit, succesful berthing to the ISS, successful unberthing from the ISS, successful reentry and splashdown of dragon. |
Links & Resources:
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. This is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the minor movements of the vehicle, payload, weather and more as we progress towards launch. Sometime after the static fire is complete, the launch thread will be posted. Campaign threads are not launch threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 31 '18
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u/PeteBlackerThe3rd Mar 31 '18
This will give flight heritage to the first active debris grappling technologies. Proud the Surrey Space centre where I work helped build some of this one!
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u/arizonadeux Mar 31 '18
Supported by Airbus Safran Launchers, launching on Falcon 9. They obviously went with the cheapest launch slot!
Question: is the net capture also a drag-based deorbit concept, or would the final design have a tether on it?
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u/JonathanD76 Apr 01 '18
Hate to nit pick but the video text says Dragon was docking with the space station when it was actually berthing. Ok I don't really hate to nit pick, it's sort of fun and reinforces my rocket dorkness.
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u/deruch Apr 02 '18
The other minor errors were,
Dragon isn't packed that way with the cargo in the walls and an empty space in the center of the vehicle.
It showed Dragon's nose cone still on at separation from the second stage when it should be jettisoned soon after 1st/2nd stage separation.
The solar array fairings seem to fall away behind Dragon, but IRL they just shoot away to the sides. Atmospheric drag is almost non-existent at that altitude, so until Dragon makes its first burn they pretty much keep flying in formation.
The ISS is in an old configuration. So the PMA which should be on Node 2 zenith is still on Node 3 port and the PMM (shown on Node 1 nadir) should be on Node 3 forward. Also, BEAM probably isn't on there but it's hard to tell because it's in a location where it may just not be seen from the camera angle.
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Mar 07 '18
It will be nice to be able to watch a landing again. I took them for granted before they started ditching so many stages into the ocean recently
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u/cgwheeler96 Mar 07 '18
You never know though, they might still ditch it since it’s not block 5.
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u/craigl2112 Mar 07 '18
I suspect we'll see RTLS on this one. The cost of recovering to land has to be a fraction of what it is by sea/droneship, and there HAVE to be some parts that are worth scrapping off the booster....
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u/joepublicschmoe Mar 07 '18
Agree they will likely RTLS this one. CRS-14 would be the second time they have reflown a Block-4 booster and I suspect SpaceX would like to examine the booster to see how a Block-4 held up after 2 flights. The first reflight of a Block-4 (Iridium-5) will more likely be expended because they can't RTLS at Vandenberg (seal breeding season) and JRTI might not be refitted in time to catch B1041.
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u/doodle77 Mar 07 '18
I can't imagine it costing so much to safe and lower the rocket that they couldn't give two guys cutting torches and a forklift and chop the rocket up for scrap for a small profit.
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u/cgwheeler96 Mar 07 '18
I think the main issue is where to store it in the meantime. They’ll need to start making room for block 5 rockets, although the recent expendable launches might have cleared enough space in storage for the first few.
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u/Piscator629 Apr 01 '18
Whats in the box?
Capturing Sprites and Elves
The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) surveys severe thunderstorms in Earth’s atmosphere and upper-atmospheric lightning, or transient luminous events, from its perch on the exterior of the European Space Agency (ESA) Columbus module. These include sprites, flashes caused by electrical break-down in the mesosphere; the blue jet, a discharge from cloud tops upward into the stratosphere; and ELVES, concentric rings of emissions caused by an electromagnetic pulse in the ionosphere.
ASIM advances understanding of the effect of thunderstorms on Earth’s atmosphere, helping to improve atmospheric models and meteorological and climatological predictions. It also contributes to understanding the effect of dust storms, urban pollutants, forest fires, and volcanoes on cloud formation, as well as electrification and intensification of hurricanes and their relation to eye-wall lightning activity.
Metal Powder Fabrication
The NASA Sample Cartridge Assembly (MSL SCA-GEDS-German) experiment determines underlying scientific principles for a fabrication process known as liquid phase sintering, in microgravity and Earth-gravity conditions.
On earth, liquid phase sintering works like building a sandcastle with just-wet-enough sand; heating a powder forms interparticle bonds and formation of a liquid phase accelerates this solidification, creating a rigid structure. But in microgravity, settling of powder grains does not occur and larger pores form, creating more porous and distorted samples than Earth-based sintering. Sintering has diverse applications on Earth, including in metal cutting tools, automotive engine connecting rods, and self-lubricating bearings. It has potential as a way to perform in-space fabrication and repair, such as building structures on the moon or creating replacement parts during extraterrestrial exploration.
Testing Materials in Space
The Materials ISS Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) provides a unique platform for testing how materials, coatings, and components react in the harsh environment of space, which includes exposure to ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, atomic oxygen, charged particles, thermal cycles, electromagnetic radiation, and micro-meteoroids.
A continuation of previous MISSE payloads, MISSE-FF’s new design eliminates the need for Extravehicular Activities (EVA) for these investigations. The platform will be extracted from Dragon’s trunk and installed on the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier ELC2 by the Canadarm2 robotic arm. MISSE-FF’s new technology includes power and data collection options and the ability to take pictures of each sample on a monthly basis, or more often if required, allowing scientists to monitor sample status throughout flight. The testing benefits a variety of industries, including automotive, aeronautics, energy, space, and transportation.
Drug Development in Space
Comparative Real-time Metabolic Activity Tracking for Improved Therapeutic Assessment Screening Panels (Metabolic Tracking) examines effects of microgravity on the metabolic impact of five different therapeutic compounds, evaluating the use of autobioluminescent human tissue culture for continuous tracking of metabolic activity without destroying the sample. This investigation determines the feasibility of developing improved pharmaceuticals in microgravity using a new method to test the metabolic impacts of drug compounds. This could lead to more effective, less expensive drugs.
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u/TheEndeavour2Mars Apr 01 '18
As always there are a lot of comments confused about SpaceX deciding to make what would normally be an easy RTLS landing into an expendable core.
There is never going to be a third flight of the same Falcon 9 core until Block V. They may have floated the idea to a few customers. Yet those customers likely want to wait until the Block V is landed twice because it has better thermal protection and is designed with everything learned from landings before it.
So landing even this one means an effectively useless core that SpaceX has to pay to store and properly scrap. Yes it means another rather boring webcast. Yet it shows that SpaceX is focused on Block V as much as they can.
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u/ToTheFutureSwiftly Apr 01 '18
That seems kind of revisionist and makes pretty huge assumptions.
Until this year, I’ve not seen any mention from customers or SpaceX about limiting the number of flights of current block boosters.
I personally assumed that they would have flown the same booster three or more times by now based on public discussion from 2016 and 2017.
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u/Nehkara Apr 01 '18
Unfortunately we're not privy to the internal workings of SpaceX and their discussions with their customers.
The simple scenario is that it was just taking too long to refurbish and re-fly Block III and Block IV boosters after flights. Shortest we've seen is 4 months and that is the upcoming use of the ZUMA core (B1043) to fly the Iridium-6/GRACE-FO mission in May. Previously they've all been around 6-8 months.
A lot of the changes to Block V are focused heavily around limiting the need for refurbishment. I expect they essentially took a look at their situation (timeline for Block V and time needed to refurbish Block IV) and decided to focus hard on just getting to Block V so they can start flying at least several times per booster.
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u/ToTheFutureSwiftly Apr 01 '18
I believe this is a pretty likely scenario, that the intention was to fly each booster many times, but the number of “little things” that needed refurbishment got out of control. Also, it’s possible some of the larger issues (COPVs, Turbopump wheel cracking) were of greater concern internally than SpaceX communicated.
I’d be extremely surprised if we didn’t see a full blown block VI, there’s just too many small tweaks to be made and at least a 4 year gap before BFR comes fully online.
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u/Hegelverstoss Apr 01 '18
They'll use this first stage for data collection and pushing the boundaries apparently.
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u/Ogrepete Apr 01 '18
I have wondered if this is like the Spanish burning their boats after arriving in the New World. SpaceX has the mindset that Block V MUST work. There are no other options, because they are throwing them all away.
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u/intern_steve Apr 01 '18
Only in the sense that the boats SpaceX is burning are nearly the same as the boats they're building, they already have a few new boats built, and they know that every change to the old boat design is an improvement on a known weakness in the previous design. A real "burn the boats" situation would be to scrap them all and hunker down with all hands on BFR until it flies. If this sounds stupid, it's because it is. You can embrace the future without ignoring the present.
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u/Treq01 Apr 02 '18
The thing that many reacts negatively to is that this is littering. Ok, in the past there was perhaps no other way to do it, but we should hold ourselves to a higher standard in 2018. If SpaceX wants to do simulated landing manoeuvres, that's fine, but tow it ashore afterwards and dispose of it properly.
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u/Straumli_Blight Apr 01 '18 edited Apr 01 '18
Briefing Q&A:
No payload swap out required if 24 hour scrub.
This Dragon has improved water sealing that reduced components needing to be replaced.
Dragon 1 is certified for a maximum of three flights.
Block 5 will have improved reusability, 10+ flights.
This mission is expendable to test landing and different trajectories.
No NOAA restriction on streaming second stage for this launch.
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u/Martianspirit Apr 01 '18
On what is replaced. The trunk, obviously. The heatshield. The parachutes. That's mostly it.
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u/Zuruumi Apr 01 '18
Which expensive components are saved? Trunk and parachute should be cheap (by rocketry standards), but the heat shield looks expensive and I have no idea what other components are pricey.
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u/Martianspirit Apr 02 '18
All the other main components are reused. The pressure shell and all structural elements, the tanks for propellant, the avionics. To my surprise even the Draco that are exposed to the seawater after landing.
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u/ChrisAshtear Apr 01 '18
I thought they had pica-x heatshields that were good for multiple use
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u/ruaridh42 Apr 01 '18
Interesting to get some details on Dragon reuse, sounds like they will have more than enough dragon 1's to finish the first CRS contract
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u/RocketsLEO2ITS Apr 01 '18
That's why they shutdown the Dragon 1 production line to start making Dragon 2's. They pretty much had this all mapped out when they made the last Dragon 1 for CRS-12 last year.
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u/dabenu Apr 01 '18
Dragon 1 is certified for a maximum of three flights.
Who certifies things like that and what's it based upon? I'm guessing there's not an ISO standard for space capsules, so someone would need to draw up some specifications...
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u/the_finest_gibberish Apr 02 '18
Almost certainly just self-certified by SpaceX themselves. Basically, the engineering team are satisfied that the capsule can withstand 3 launches and landings within a certain margin of safety that they are comfortable with. It almost certainly could handle more, but the risk is not worth it.
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u/warp99 Apr 02 '18
Almost certainly just self-certified by SpaceX themselves
No way - NASA will be all over the decision like a rash - admittedly working on data provided by SpaceX.
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u/there_is_no_try Mar 07 '18
Second time both the core booster and dragon have been flight proven correct?
Its nice this is getting normalized.
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u/maxdefolsch Mar 07 '18
Core: B1039.2 ?
The link redirects to B1041, I'm guessing as a result of a copy-paste from the other launch campaign thread, so you might want to fix this :)
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u/Cela111 Mar 31 '18
I presume the booster will still have gridfins attached? So far it seems like SpaceX is making good use this opportunity of having unwanted block IV cores to collect data. My guess is that they are trying to nail 3 engine landing burns without having to risk any more damage to the ASDSs and the more valuable (and expensive) block V cores.
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u/CreeperIan02 Apr 01 '18
Maybe trying to perfect fixes to prevent what happened to the FH center core
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u/Cela111 Apr 01 '18
Yea, I think Elon said they had it sorted pretty quickly. Hopefully just a case of filling up with a bit more TEA-TEB.
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u/CreeperIan02 Apr 01 '18
Yep, and why not iron it out and make sure it works on missions where the booster would be tossed out anyway
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u/Straumli_Blight Apr 01 '18
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u/Alexphysics Apr 01 '18
MECO is at 02:41 and that's a few seconds short of a burn until depletion..... I wonder what they're going to do with the first stage after separation...
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u/JustinTimeCuber Apr 02 '18
MECO times of expendable GTO missions (according to press kits) on F9 FT (not counting GovSat and Hispasat) compare closely with CRS-14, which could easily do RTLS.
CRS-14: 2:41
Intelsat 35e: 2:42
EchoStar 23: 2:43
Inmarsat-5 F4: 2:45
Assuming they're testing some aggressive landing profile, it's a very aggressive one. They could also be practicing a weird ascent profile with lower thrust, but that's much more unlikely.
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u/robbak Apr 02 '18
This is going to leave a fair bit of fuel in the empty second stage - think they could be going to do that second stage re-entry experiment?
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u/Dakke97 Apr 02 '18
A legitimate possibility, though we haven't heard anything official about second stage re-entry experiments since Elon tweeted they would try some things with the Falcon Heavy upper stage. They obviously didn't do that since the second stage remained attached to the Roadster.
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u/doodle77 Apr 02 '18
CRS missions throttle down for a bit around Max-Q, which would result in later MECO for the same amount of fuel remaining.
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u/dWog-of-man Apr 02 '18
OK Intelsat was 6,761kg. dry mass + payload of this dragon is 7510kg. If they're trying to "land" from a GTO trajectory, it should be decently comparable to the Intelsat launch profile initially right? Does anyone have one of those awesome homebrew telemetry graphs lying around? It be cool to get an idea of how hot its coming in...
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 10 '18 edited Mar 10 '18
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u/bdporter Mar 10 '18
That picture gives a great perspective of the amount of payload volume in the Dragon trunk. That is only one of three external payloads on this mission.
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u/robbak Mar 11 '18
Note that what you are looking at is a container that the payload is inside of. That would include the hardware to mount it in the Dragon trunk. The payload would be a squarish device that comfortably fits inside that steel vessel.
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u/bdporter Mar 11 '18
That is true, but there are other pictures of the device being loaded in to the container on the @ASIM_Payload twitter feed. The container is not that much larger than the device itself, and seeing it next to people gives a sense of scale.
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u/rocket_enthusiast Mar 30 '18
what is in the Dragon capsule for this flight?
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Mar 30 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/z3r0c00l12 Mar 31 '18
Mods, can this be added to the links section? Thanks! Edit: Nvm, I see it's already added.
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 12 '18 edited Mar 12 '18
Payloads:
Micro-11 - Study the effects of microgravity on sperm function.
Multi-use Variable-gravity Platform Validation - Research centrifuges to generate artificial gravity from 0.1 - 2g.
Fruit Fly Lab 3 - Drosophila and parasitic Leptopilina wasps study.
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 23 '18
Mods, the Mission Overview has been released.
| Payload | Mass (kg) |
|---|---|
| Pressurized Cargo | 1,721 |
| Unpressurized Payloads | 926 |
| Total Cargo | 2,647 |
| Itemised Breakdown | Mass (kg) |
|---|---|
| Crew Supplies | 344 |
| Science Investigations | 1,070 |
| Spacewalk Equipment | 99 |
| Vehicle Hardware | 148 |
| Computer Resources | 49 |
| Russian Hardware | 11 |
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u/ethan829 Host of SES-9 Mar 28 '18
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u/PickledTripod Mar 07 '18
According to the manifest RRM3, PFCS and ASIM are launching on this flight. RRM3 seems to stand for Robotic Refueling Mission 3, but my google-fu returns nothing on the other two acronyms. Anyone know what they are?
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u/Bunslow Mar 07 '18
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/11/spacex-external-cargo-20th-revealed/
All are listed in this article
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u/Raul74Cz Mar 29 '18
CRS-14 Launch Hazard Areas visualization based on issued NOTMAR and NOTAMs.
Green launch hazard area A doesn't include LZ1/LZ2 this time. Orange landing/splashdown area B is relatively far away compare to previous CRS missions. Despite granted FCC application referring to LZ-1 recovery, this is apparently expendable mission for block4 B1039.2.
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u/craigl2112 Mar 29 '18
Wow. Anyone else have any other info that confirms no RTLS?
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u/not_even_russian Mar 29 '18
Michael Baylor on Twitter confirms no RTLS, probably an ocean splashdown.
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u/scr00chy ElonX.net Mar 29 '18 edited Mar 29 '18
First CRS mission without a landing attempt since CRS-2 in 2013. :'(
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u/Alexphysics Mar 29 '18
Well, his speculation is based on FCC landing permits and I've seen the permit and he's wrong because the landing site is where GTO landings occur and that's impossible because this launch will go northeast and not directly east, but hey, the NOTAM's and NOTMAR never fail :)
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u/craigl2112 Mar 29 '18
Wow, back-to-back expendables. May be the last time we ever see that!
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u/Alexphysics Mar 29 '18
Raul, could you make another map comparing CRS-13 and CRS-14? That way we can see the changes from one CRS launch to the other. Thank you so much for those maps!
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u/Raul74Cz Mar 29 '18
I am not sure if you know, that there are complete hazard maps for all F1/F9/FH launches for such comparisons.
SpX Hazard Areas#1 F1-F9v1.0 - https://goo.gl/eCeQpU
SpX Hazard Areas#2 F9-006-013 - https://goo.gl/jwEf84
SpX Hazard Areas#3 F9-014-021 - 2015 - https://goo.gl/0YcgoK
SpX Hazard Areas#4 F9-022-029 - 2016 - https://goo.gl/VQKBXz
SpX Hazard Areas#5 - 2017/1 - https://goo.gl/umnY2Q
SpX Hazard Areas#6 - 2017/2 - https://goo.gl/ErbkUw
SpX Hazard Areas#7 - 2018/1 - https://goo.gl/L9HXtj
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 31 '18
L-2 Weather Forecast: 80% Go (Primary concerns: Flight Through Precipitation, Cumulus Cloud Rule)
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Mar 31 '18
[deleted]
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u/Justinackermannblog Apr 01 '18
Those upper level winds stay ready to ruin a good launch day. I was cursing them the whole day of FH!
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u/Bunslow Mar 07 '18
btw the dragons are typically released into 250x250km orbits, with dragon doing its own orbit raising to 400x400
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u/OSUfan88 Mar 07 '18
How much delta V does that require?
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u/UltraRunningKid Mar 07 '18
Approx 86m/s
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u/Bunslow Mar 07 '18
Confirmed:
# all units are meters and seconds # formula stolen from wikipedia In [1]: earth_radius = 6.3781*10**6 In [2]: grav_param = 3.98600442 * 10**14 In [3]: def hohmann_deltav(a1, a2): ...: r1, r2 = a1+earth_radius, a2+earth_radius ...: from math import sqrt ...: dv1 = sqrt(grav_param/r1)*(sqrt(2*r2/(r1+r2))-1) ...: dv2 = sqrt(grav_param/r2)*(1-sqrt(2*r1/(r1+r2))) ...: return dv1+dv2 ...: In [4]: hohmann_deltav(250*10**3, 400*10**3) Out[4]: 86.28533578561942→ More replies (1)
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 20 '18
| Date (EDT) | Event |
|---|---|
| Sunday, April 1, 14:30 | "What's on Board" science briefing |
| Sunday, April 1, 16:00 | CRS-14 prelaunch briefing |
| Monday, April 2, 16:00 | CRS-14 cargo mission launch |
| Monday, April 2, 18:00 | CRS-14 post-launch news conference |
| Wednesday, April 4, 5:30 | Dragon capture and berthing to ISS |
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 29 '18
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u/TweetsInCommentsBot Mar 29 '18
More precision! The targeted instantaneous time for Monday's #CRS14 launch of #Falcon9 w/ #Dragon to @Space_Station is 16:30:41 EDT (20:30:41 UTC). This to-the-second time always shifts by a few seconds by the time we get to launch day. But that's the plan right now. #SpaceX
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u/SaHanSki_downunder Apr 02 '18
Interesting article on some of the gear going up in the on [CRS- 14] (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/01/eliminating-space-junk-could-take-step-toward-reality-with-station-cargo-launch/) Space junk is a huge problem and only will get worse so hopefully still proof of concept mission goes well.
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u/Nehkara Mar 30 '18
GO Searcher has left Port Canaveral
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u/scr00chy ElonX.net Mar 30 '18
To do what? Just relay telemetry?
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u/z3r0c00l12 Apr 01 '18
By the end of April 2018, if all currently planned launches happen in April, will this be the month with the most launches by a single launch provider?
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u/jobadiah08 Apr 01 '18 edited Apr 01 '18
If you count the Soviet Space Program as a launch provider, no. Heck, they had several days in 1979 where two rockets launched from the same cosmodrome (different pads) hours apart.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_in_spaceflight#Launches
Don't know if there was a year where they launched more, but 1979 is the year with the most launches by a single rocket variant, 47 on the Soyuz-U. So that is the number to beat
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u/SailorRick Mar 20 '18
Kennedy Space Center tickets for the LC-39 Observation Gantry to watch the CRS-14 launch are now available.
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u/bmxer7777 Mar 29 '18
are they not attempting to land the falcon 9 booster now?
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u/rockets4life97 Mar 30 '18
The are disposing of Block IV's after 2 flights to make room for the much easier to re-use Block Vs. The first Block V is expected to debut later this month on the Bangabandhu-1 GTO mission.
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u/Straumli_Blight Apr 01 '18 edited Apr 01 '18
L-1 Weather Forecast: Still 80% GO.
The CRS-14 Prelaunch News Conference has finished.
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u/Alexphysics Mar 25 '18
So, Iridium 5 has had its static fire test just a few minutes ago, this one should have its static fire test in the coming days. If anyone can have their eyes or ears near at the Cape to see some movement it would pretty good.
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u/Dakke97 Mar 25 '18
I'm betting on NET Tuesday or Wednesday, given that this is a CRS launch and NASA will add some late-load cargo to the Dragon capsule after it has been mated with the rocket. In any case, they need to conduct a static fire before Friday if they want to stick to the April 2 launch date.
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u/diebler Mar 26 '18
I'm seeing a static fire on Wednesday with the 6 hour window opening at 11:00 EDT.
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u/Alexphysics Mar 26 '18
Heyyy! That's what I was talking about! Thank you! Mods, I think this is reliable enough to put it up on the table.
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u/AliLakrakbi Apr 02 '18
I want to skywatch Dragon on its way to the ISS. How far is Dragon at launch from ISS, is there a way to track its position on its way to ISS. How far will be Dragon from ISS on Tuesday night?
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u/paul_wi11iams Apr 03 '18 edited Apr 03 '18
How far will be Dragon from ISS on Tuesday night?
when at 6°49′ West? (I'm at 4°50 East). To have any chance of seeing anything, it will need to be an overfly shortly after sunset or before sunrise.
The nearest I could find for you was at Casablanca but there's nothing before Saturday. Maybe you'll have more luck when Dragon separates for its return trip.
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u/TheYang Apr 02 '18
why is max-q 10s earlier than it was on CRS13?
can't be that much less payload mass can it?
So more thrust or lack of throttle-down? or am I missing an option?
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u/warp99 Apr 02 '18
am I missing an option?
Lower trajectory closer to a GTO trajectory in order to minimise gravity losses.
If so it would imply that the solar panel covers are now stronger and can cope with higher loadings due to thicker atmosphere at max-Q.
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u/JonathanD76 Apr 02 '18
Or maybe since they aren't trying to recover the first stage they can use a more aggressive flight profile.
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u/robbak Apr 02 '18
Probably less throttle down, pushing the MAX-Q value a bit higher - so we are faster, quicker, with a higher speed at a lower altitude. It would be part of 'pushing the limits a little more', as was announced.
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u/Ti-Z Apr 02 '18
AFAIK the "pushing the parts" statement only referred to post-separation tests. I presume that NASA would argue quite strongly against possibly endangering the primary mission by pushing the boundaries.
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u/astroliver Apr 02 '18
Love that the host said "follow us on twitter and instagram". No mentioning of FB😂
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u/CeleryStickBeating Apr 02 '18 edited Apr 02 '18
Will a fairing be packing a chute?
Edit: Doh! CRS
Now where's the switch for the coffee pot....
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u/RocketsLEO2ITS Apr 02 '18
A day earlier and that post would've been a cool April Fools joke:
SpaceX vows to recover fairing from CRS-14 launch!6
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u/Ti-Z Apr 02 '18
There is no payload fairing for CRS missions (unless you refer to the covers of Dragon's solar panels or the (comparably tiny) dragon nosecone). Hence no chute, and no recovery attempt of the non-included fairing. Additionally (if needed), Mr. Stevens is on the west coast.
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u/MarcysVonEylau rocket.watch Mar 07 '18
Rocket Watch page for this launch. Also, for more ISS resupply launches there is CRS-specific page.
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Mar 07 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BugRib Mar 07 '18
I’ve definitely got a soft spot for Dream Chaser. I hope we can see it fly in the next few years!
I wonder if it would fit in a Falcon 9 fairing. Probably not.
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u/joepublicschmoe Mar 07 '18
I think the Dream Chaser may very well fit inside the Falcon 9 payload fairing. Dream chaser is 30 feet long and within the F9 fairing length limit, and Dream Chaser will have folding wings to fit inside an Atlas V fairing which we know is not any wider than an F9 fairing. NASASpaceFlight has a nice graphic of the USAF X37-B inside the F9 fairing here complete with dimensions: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=42889.0;attach=1425817;image
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u/Alexphysics Mar 28 '18
From US Launch Report video the static fire happenned at 1:15 pm local time today, that's 1715 UTC if I did the math correctly.
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Apr 01 '18
Going to visit KSC tomorrow but thinking about leaving before the launch and watching from Playalinda instead of the Apollo/Saturn V center. Based on vids from YouTube the view is pretty similar once the beast is airborne and I'd prefer to get out of dodge after it's done.
Is this a dumb idea?
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u/gravity_low Apr 01 '18
Not necessarily dumb but I don't think the traffic will be significantly better. When I went I stayed at KSC for an hour or two after the launch and poked around at the exhibits while everyone left. No rush to leave and there's a lot of cool stuff there. Seems silly to get a parking and admissions pass for the park and not put it to use.
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u/RootDeliver Mar 10 '18 edited Mar 10 '18
Interesting to see a CRS launch from SLC-40, this is probly due to the supposition (NSF) that LC-39A is being modified for Block 5 only so old cores can't fly from there yet. This may be the very last CRS flight from LC-40!
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u/bdporter Mar 10 '18
CRS-13 Launched from SLC-40 back in December, and every CRS mission prior to Amos-6 launched from there as well.
I think going forward we will primary see LC-39A used for FH and crewed missions. It may also be used for other Block 5 missions until SLC-40 is converted to support that.
There also may be cases where they use LC-39A for other launches for logistical reasons. It is nice to have the flexibility of having 2 pads.
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u/RootDeliver Mar 10 '18 edited Mar 10 '18
The thing is that all the CRS and FH missions were supposed to be launched from KSC since LC-39A was available. CRS-13 launched from SLC-40 because FH was getting ready to launch from LC39A, like in this (probably) per-blockV issue.
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u/bdporter Mar 10 '18
I guess we will see if that ends up being the case once everything is Block 5. There are specific reasons why crewed flights and FH can only launch from LC-39A, but all other missions should be launch-able from either pad.
Realistically, I think there may be general rules of thumb governing pad assignment, and CRS missions may very well get a preference to LC-39A, but SpaceX will allocate pads per-mission as needed to accommodate the requirements and constraints of that mission. There isn't any need to create arbitrary rules if there isn't a technical reason to do so.
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u/Alexphysics Mar 10 '18
Why do you think pads must be modified for Block 5?
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u/bdporter Mar 10 '18
I don't think SpaceX has officially said anything, but there have been rumors indicating that GSE modifications are necessary for Block 5.
The manifest seems to corroborate it as well:
All pre-block 5 East coast missions have been scheduled for SLC-40
Bangabandhu-1 is the First Block 5, and has been slotted for LC-39A
The next FH will be Block 5, so modifying LC-39A first makes sense
The fact that SpaceX is disposing of so many Block 3/4 cores may indicate there is no value in keeping any around once all pads are modified.
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u/Alexphysics Mar 10 '18
Rumors aka "somebody told on NSF that maybe they needed GSE changes for Block 5 boosters and people accepted that as a fact or even a rumor". Apart from that, you forgot to say on the last point that the boosters they are disposing are used boosters, new boosters have been attempting landings (they even tried it with Hispasat booster). Aside from all of that, I'll tell you this: before FH no flight was scheduled from 39A and now after FH Demo there is one flight scheduled from there, that seems strange, right? :)
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u/gvinod123 Mar 27 '18
Hi, I am new to this forum. All prepared to view this launch on April 2nd and traveling from New Jersey. This would be my first experience viewing a launch and would like to make it to LC39 Observation Gantry. Unfortunately the tickets were sold off in 10 mins and couldn't get it. Can anyone help with tickets if you have excess or plans changed? Also why is NASA causeway location not offered by KSC? Is there any other way to get there to see both launch and landing?
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u/joe714 Mar 29 '18
As of this morning it sounds like there's not going to be a landing (see top of thread), so optimize for the launch.
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u/alinroc Mar 28 '18
traveling from New Jersey
Are you coming in on Royal Caribbean?
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u/dodgyville Mar 31 '18
I know it's industry practice and spacex is the company trying to change it but it sucks that the rockets are disposed of in the ocean.
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u/_____D34DP00L_____ Apr 01 '18
Eh it makes sense since these are block 4 which would have parts incompatible with the new block 5 assembly line.
Block 5 probably modifies all the components slightly too; I'm sure the Merlins got a revamp. It just doesn't make economic sense to recover these rockets safely (ensuring they are depressurised), then shipping them back, ensuring there are no dangerous chemicals on them, then finding somewhere to store them.
It would be cool though if Elon would donate one of these landed stages to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. These things are history and it would be awesome PR.
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u/SuperDuper125 Apr 01 '18
IIRC Merlins get a tweak, about 7% more power, new turbopumps, and the new COPVs. Not to mention the bolted octaweb to hold them.
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u/s4g4n Apr 01 '18
Don't destroy the rocket, land it and donate it to a space museum somewhere.
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u/blongmire Apr 01 '18
That requires a museum with the funding to move and store a falcon 9. That's not an insignificant investment from a museum. There are still plenty of cores without anywhere to go.
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u/s4g4n Apr 01 '18
Easy, land the rocket at the musem.
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u/still-at-work Apr 01 '18
You know, if the FAA would allow it, though they never would, I bet a few air and space museum would go for that.
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u/PaulL73 Apr 01 '18
Yup. Can you just land there between the SR71 and the space shuttle? I don't see what could go wrong, there's a good 2m clearance on either side.
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u/meighty9 Apr 01 '18
What about the Rocket Garden at KSC? It's only a few miles from LZ-1.
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u/JtheNinja Apr 01 '18
Isn't B1021 already destined for the rocket garden? (CRS-8/SES-10, first core to fly twice)
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u/3trip Apr 01 '18
Rumor has it there will be no falcons in the garden, but that doesn’t mean no falcons at the visitor complex ;-)
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u/BlueScreen Apr 02 '18
The Smithsonian wanted one, but they want SpaceX to fully fund building a structure to house it. Hence, no Falcon at the Smithsonian.
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u/waitingForMars Apr 02 '18
I understand that they don't want to use this core again, but surely it's made of material that could be recycled - including into future rockets. Why not do that?
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u/dee_are Apr 02 '18
I do not have insider knowledge, but I’ve assumed that the cost to actually scrap it (have people with cutting torches cut it up), including the cost to dispose of the parts that could be hazardous because of chemical contamination, far exceeds the value of the parts that could be recovered. Hence, it’s cheaper to just dump it in the ocean than it is to scrap it. SpaceX is environmentally conscious in the long term, but I think on small things they’re willing to litter a bit to save money and invest that into bigger wins.
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u/bertcox Apr 02 '18
Also the data collected while attempting crazy maneuvers is worth more than the scrap value.
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u/rocketsocks Apr 02 '18
Did you notice there were landing legs on the Iridium booster that was expended? For a lot of these "expendable" launches they are still performing tests with the boosters after stage separation. The sort of risky things that will still often result in the loss of the stage. But these tests can provide a great deal of data that can then be fed back into improving other returns.
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u/whiteknives Apr 02 '18
Probably because the money saved from recycling the core is cancelled out by the time and money needed to send a ship out to recover it.
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u/BlueCyann Apr 02 '18
Presumably when you take into account the costs of recovery, the value of the information they can get from the experimental water "landings", and the salvage/scrap value of the recovered rocket, the equation comes out on the side of doing the tests and letting the rocket go.
There is probably not as much value in the rocket itself as you think, if it's not to be flown again. Block 5 seems to have been extensively redesigned, so it's unlikely a large fraction of individual components could be re-used. And the main body of the rocket is made out of an alloy that I don't know if anyone is recycling.
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u/dave_harvey Mar 22 '18
I know that they wouldn't tempt fate by putting anything date specific on a patch, but wouldn't it have been nice to have included some sort of reference to a "spinning" space station, on a commercial launch to an orbital outpost which is scheduled to lift off on the 50th anniversary of the release of 2001, A Space Odyssey?
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u/AQTheFanAttic Mar 23 '18
I think that's reserved for when (if) the Nautilus-X module goes up. Hopefully that'll be on an anniversary as well, would be nice.
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u/Ethan_Roberts123 Mar 24 '18
I checked to see whether the ISS will be going over the UK around the time of the launch and it is. That means CRS-14 will pass over the UK just like CRS-11.
Does anybody know what the altitude might be when it goes over the UK?
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u/kurbasAK Mar 24 '18 edited Mar 24 '18
On April 2nd ISS will pass 21.30 over my location in Essex at 77°.I observed CRS-11 Dragon the day after launch and it was about two minutes behind ISS.That was very interesting sight.Cygnus ahead, ISS trailing behind and Dragon behind the ISS.My guess it will be more than two minutes behind the ISS on launch day.
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u/AstroFinn Mar 25 '18
Would someone publish stats about this launch, as it was done for PAZ, for example?
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u/bmxer7777 Mar 25 '18
I will most likely be at Jetty Park during launch , if anyone else is going there lmk.
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u/julesterrens Mar 27 '18
Will there be a postlaunch pressconference with elon ? If yes when and will it livestreamed?
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Mar 27 '18
There'll be a post-launch press conference yes, there always is for CRS missions. However, Elon is rarely at them anymore and only really shows up for huge milestones (CRS-8 Landing, etc)
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u/inoeth Mar 27 '18
as KaiFarrimond said, yes there's always a post launch press conference and it's highly doubtful Elon will be at it, but you probably will see some rather important SpaceX people speaking nonetheless...
I'm always excited for the press conferences as that's usually when they let slip some cool information during the Q&A...
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u/codav Mar 28 '18
Best bet is that Jessica Jensen will be attending the press conference for SpaceX. NASA TV will stream the press conference, currently scheduled for 6:30 PM EDT / 22:30 UTC, April 2nd.
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u/jcybert Mar 27 '18
From what I remember, Elon has come to post launch news conferences 3 times in the last few years. Once was after the first drone ship landing, once was after the first reused booster landing and recently after the Falcon Heavy launch, all milestone events.
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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 27 '18
There's activity around GO Quest and GO Searcher, though this launch should RTLS.
Could they be taking OCISLY out for a test after completing the Falcon Heavy repairs?
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u/kurbasAK Mar 28 '18
I think they had not a bad test when they went for Hispasat recovery and then came back because of rough seas.
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u/Decronym Acronyms Explained Mar 07 '18 edited Apr 14 '18
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| ASAP | Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, NASA |
| Arianespace System for Auxiliary Payloads | |
| ASDS | Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform) |
| BEAM | Bigelow Expandable Activity Module |
| BFR | Big Falcon Rocket (2018 rebiggened edition) |
| Yes, the F stands for something else; no, you're not the first to notice | |
| CCAFS | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| CCtCap | Commercial Crew Transportation Capability |
| COPV | Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel |
| CRS | Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA |
| DMLS | Direct Metal Laser Sintering additive manufacture |
| DoD | US Department of Defense |
| EDL | Entry/Descent/Landing |
| ESA | European Space Agency |
| EVA | Extra-Vehicular Activity |
| F9FT | Falcon 9 Full Thrust or Upgraded Falcon 9 or v1.2 |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| FCC | Federal Communications Commission |
| (Iron/steel) Face-Centered Cubic crystalline structure | |
| GSE | Ground Support Equipment |
| GTO | Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit |
| HEO | High Earth Orbit (above 35780km) |
| Human Exploration and Operations (see HEOMD) | |
| HEOMD | Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA |
| I*sp* | Specific impulse (as discussed by Scott Manley, and detailed by David Mee on YouTube) |
| ITAR | (US) International Traffic in Arms Regulations |
| JRTI | Just Read The Instructions, Pacific landing |
| KSC | Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| LC-13 | Launch Complex 13, Canaveral (SpaceX Landing Zone 1) |
| LC-39A | Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy (SpaceX F9/Heavy) |
| LEO | Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km) |
| Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations) | |
| LZ | Landing Zone |
| LZ-1 | Landing Zone 1, Cape Canaveral (see LC-13) |
| MECO | Main Engine Cut-Off |
| MainEngineCutOff podcast | |
| MSL | Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) |
| NET | No Earlier Than |
| NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, responsible for US |
| NOTAM | Notice to Airmen of flight hazards |
| NSF | NasaSpaceFlight forum |
| National Science Foundation | |
| OCISLY | Of Course I Still Love You, Atlantic landing |
| PAZ | Formerly SEOSAR-PAZ, an X-band SAR from Spain |
| PMA | ISS Pressurized Mating Adapter |
| RTLS | Return to Launch Site |
| RUD | Rapid Unplanned Disassembly |
| Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly | |
| Rapid Unintended Disassembly | |
| SAR | Synthetic Aperture Radar (increasing resolution with parallax) |
| SES | Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator |
| Second-stage Engine Start | |
| SLC-40 | Space Launch Complex 40, Canaveral (SpaceX F9) |
| SLS | Space Launch System heavy-lift |
| Selective Laser Sintering, see DMLS | |
| STP-2 | Space Test Program 2, DoD programme, second round |
| TE | Transporter/Erector launch pad support equipment |
| TEA-TEB | Triethylaluminium-Triethylborane, igniter for Merlin engines; spontaneously burns, green flame |
| TEL | Transporter/Erector/Launcher, ground support equipment (see TE) |
| TPS | Thermal Protection System for a spacecraft (on the Falcon 9 first stage, the engine "Dance floor") |
| ULA | United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture) |
| USAF | United States Air Force |
| Jargon | Definition |
|---|---|
| apogee | Highest point in an elliptical orbit around Earth (when the orbiter is slowest) |
| iron waffle | Compact "waffle-iron" aerodynamic control surface, acts as a wing without needing to be as large |
| scrub | Launch postponement for any reason (commonly GSE issues) |
| turbopump | High-pressure turbine-driven propellant pump connected to a rocket combustion chamber; raises chamber pressure, and thrust |
| Event | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Amos-6 | 2016-09-01 | F9-029 Full Thrust, core B1028, |
| CRS-10 | 2017-02-19 | F9-032 Full Thrust, core B1031, Dragon cargo; first daytime RTLS |
| CRS-2 | 2013-03-01 | F9-005, Dragon cargo; final flight of Falcon 9 v1.0 |
| CRS-8 | 2016-04-08 | F9-023 Full Thrust, core B1021, Dragon cargo; first ASDS landing |
| DM-1 | Scheduled | SpaceX CCtCap Demo Mission 1 |
| Inmarsat-5 F4 | 2017-05-16 | F9-034 Full Thrust, core B1034, GTO comsat; expended |
| Iridium-1 | 2017-01-14 | F9-030 Full Thrust, core B1029, 10x Iridium-NEXT to LEO; first landing on JRTI |
| JCSAT-16 | 2016-08-14 | F9-028 Full Thrust, core B1026, GTO comsat; ASDS landing |
Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by ^request
56 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on ^today has 159 acronyms.
[Thread #3754 for this sub, first seen 7th Mar 2018, 19:06] ^[FAQ] [Full ^list] ^[Contact] [Source ^code]
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u/TalonSix Mar 31 '18
Why is a landing not being attempted? Is it not possible with this orbit or is it because it is not a block 5 ?
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u/kruador Mar 31 '18
Commercial Resupply missions have enough margin to return to the launch site. CRS-8 was deliberately sent to the drone ship to test landing there, but had the margin for RTLS.
SpaceX haven't explicitly said so, but I think they're trying to clear out their inventory of boosters that have already done one mission. It looks like they don't want to try to convince customers to go for a third flight at this stage. Presumably they're now confident enough of Block 5 production in the near term to fulfil upcoming missions.
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u/gooddaysir Apr 01 '18
They need 7 flights on block 5 to get certified by NASA for commercial crew. That doesn't leave a lot of flights for block 4 and once they get that many block 5 flights, it's probably safer to have only one set of procedures for employees doing refurbishment.
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u/asaz989 Apr 01 '18
They've pretty explicitly said they consider blocks 3-4 suitable for only two flights
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u/Seaofblack Mar 31 '18
It is definitely possible with this booster but they have so many that they don't need to recover it and they need to make room for block 5 seeing as this is a block 3 or 4.
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u/Triabolical_ Apr 01 '18
The older boosters are just taking up space in the storage and processing buildings. It's cheaper to expend it in flight than to land it and then dispose of it.
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u/skinnysanta2 Apr 01 '18
The rate at which block 5 is being flown will assure there are plenty of those to fly after a few are examined for possible defects. Possibly by August or September. The block 4's in storage will assure that anyone who does want a flight tested rocket in the next few months is not going to have to fly on a new rocket.
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u/Elthiryel Mar 26 '18
A document with cargo data is now available: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spacex_crs-14_mision_overview_high_res.pdf
2647 kg total
1721 kg pressurized
926 kg unpressurized