SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS8 Launch & Landing Attempt 4:43PM ET

[PottedMeat]

SpaceX CRS8 Dragon Launch from Cape Canaveral @ 4:43ET

ISS resupply + BEAM expandable module

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigelow_Expandable_Activity_Module

http://www.spacex.com/webcast

Weather is 90% GO

Barge landing attempt

 

[Brovane]

Technical web-cast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh8V0COrrzE

Hosted web-cast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pUAydjne5M


Mission Overview

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spacex_crs-8_mission_overview.pdf

 

[Brovane]

Dragon is vertical at the pad.

One of the advantages of the Dragon Capsule over the Orbital Cygnus is that it can accommodate what is called late-load cargo. With the Falcon-9 horizontal they can load cargo up to just 24-hours before launch.

 

[uhohs]

waiting for a nice landing(lol)

 

[uhohs]

wow, success!
good footage

 

[uhohs]

USA USA USA chant, ahahaha

 

[Elixer]

That seemed to be going too fast, but, they did it.
Nice job guys!

 

[Brovane]

The Falcon has landed.

 

[mnewsham]

Congrats to spaceX, huge moment for them.

 

[PottedMeat]

Booyah!

 

[mnewsham]

https://a.pomf.cat/goiqzb.mp4

 

[Ns1]

oooooooooooooooooooooh shit

BUSINESS
SpaceX achieves first-ever sea landing of reusable rocket


It is the Hawthorne company's sixth attempt at a sea landing and first successful one. The landing capped SpaceX's launch of a cargo delivery for NASA to the International Space Station.

 

[balloonshark]

https://a.pomf.cat/goiqzb.mp4

They finally stuck the landing :thumbsup:

Sadly the Russian judge gave them a 7.5

 

[PricklyPete]

 

[Brovane]

 

[Ns1]

I love this image.

 

[Blitzvogel]

Awesome!

 

[PlanetJosh]

Ok this is like WOWsers.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

NASA = Need Another Spacex Agency

 

[Darwin333]

Stuck the landing on a barge!!!! Awesome achievement, they just keep getting better and better.

 

[Sabrewings]

That seemed to be going too fast, but, they did it.
Nice job guys!

That's by intention. It's a hover-slam landing. The rocket is so light that even one engine at minimum thrust will make it go back up again. So, they come in quick so it is using above the minimum to allow corrections both ways. It's time such that the acceleration cancels vertical velocity right at the moment the legs are touching down.

It's a gutsy maneuver, but pretty manageable by computers. It's similar to a suicide burn which is the most efficient way to land propulsively.

 

[Brovane]

NASA = Need Another Spacex Agency

NASA currently has two rovers on Mars, a probe orbiting Saturn, another probe on it's way Jupiter, and a NASA probe flew by Pluto last year. NASA is the only space agency in the world to send any probes to the outer planets.

 

[Humpy]

Fake.

 

[K1052]

Reaction at ULA headquarters:

 

[William Gaatjes]

Amazing. I would love to see how it delivers its payload to ISS and then while in space descends back to earth. That vertical landing of the first stage is some feature. :thumbsup:

I found this youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN3CSgNbf8Y