SpaceX Has Another Used Rocket
First stage landing confirmed on the droneship. Second stage & JCSAT-16 continuing to orbit https://t.co/tdni5406Hi pic.twitter.com/h6llIXSVu7
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 14, 2016
SpaceX Launches Japanese Satellite JCSAT-16 and Returns Falcon 9 First Stage [With video]
Only major thing left to be done is land a first stage that had already been launched once before. When is this scheduled to be tried?
SpaceX says they plan on 2 relaunches this year. The CRS-8 and CRS-9 cores are obvious candidates since they were low ‘n slow LEO launches, and they’ve reported 2 bidders for rides. SES is on record as being interested.
On the core storage side, July 29 SpaceX tweeted an aerial image of McGregor showing a VERY large new hangar under construction. Just left of center,
https://www.twitter.com/Spa…
unless that hangar is for storage and will be finished asap, they may have to re-launch twice this year to make room
I believe that pic is at least a month old.
The hanger may be for integration of complete Falcon Heavy core trios to combine engine and connector tests in one.
NSF info is that FH cores will be tested individually at McGregor, then integrated at the launch site.
https://www.nasaspaceflight…
My bets are on SES – 10 around october
Looking at pics of some of the boosters I would guess that some parts of the skin will have to be more heat resistant (e.g. titanium) to be reusable without a lot of refurbishment.
The toasted look on the return Falcon 9 cores exterior is just soot according to Gwynne Shotwell at the SmallSat conference last week.
Yes, the same thing was seen on the old DC-X after a landing. Painting is cheap to making it look nice again.
The stains are probably just soot, or burnt-off paint.
Couldn’t the discoloration simply be soot– from in-complete combustion I suppose, during some part of the cycle?
It looks like wherever the LOX was stored there was icing that prevented soot sticking
LOX would be towards the pointy end of the rocket anyway.
That is correct.
an unofficial cross-section of an F9 followed by a pre-driven whip sitting on the barge.
CLICK IMAGE TO EXPAND
http://i.imgur.com/ap8CTFE.png
http://www.zerognews.com/wp…
On their way to making it look routine. Congrats!!
And the conclave of used cores adds another member…
Remember when Posey and Proffessor Griff poo pood depots and reusablity in 2012? I do.
Certified pre-owned is the term
With a 21-Point Safety Check.
It is a fact that someone somewhere in SpaceX is doing the job of a used rocket salesmen about now.
Not sure which is more impressive: that this worked again or that it’s so mundane now that I didn’t even bother to watch the launch. 🙂
Congratulations! Now landings are working the next step is too launch it again until the whole cycle of reusability is routine. Then work on building the experience curve to force the costs lower.
At the moment everything is being negotiated and nothing is written in stone. However, the word is that SES-10 may be the first spacecraft launched on a refurbished SpaceX booster stage in October. All is dependent on SpaceX’s assessment of the two stages currently in refurbishment and if SES’s people are satisfied with the numbers.