SpaceX T- One Hour

[eclipsenow]

Sorry - in the years since I my memory of it changed what actually happened.

There was ONE guy dancing around, and then a very crude (but funny) comment from a workmate as I geeked out watching this on my lunchbreak. His comment stuck with me and had them all dancing around in my memory.

Anyway - it's not that funny now - but my memory of it was probably distorted by the sheer excitement of that day.
LOTS of dopamine floating around that day!

Here it is - make sure you wait till you can get home and turn it up loud or put on some GOOD speakers.
Because this is the sound crew on the tower - and it's all about the sound.

 

[AlexB23]

Sorry - in the years since I my memory of it changed what actually happened.

There was ONE guy dancing around, and then a very crude (but funny) comment from a workmate as I geeked out watching this on my lunchbreak. His comment stuck with me and had them all dancing around in my memory.

Anyway - it's not that funny now - but my memory of it was probably distorted by the sheer excitement of that day.
LOTS of dopamine floating around that day!

Here it is - make sure you wait till you can get home and turn it up loud or put on some GOOD speakers.
Because this is the sound crew on the tower - and it's all about the sound.

I am cranking this on my 43 inch LG monitor.

 

[eclipsenow]

I am cranking this on my 43 inch LG monitor.

Cool! But this one is footage from far away - but just about how crazy the sound would be if we were standing with these guys

 

[rockytopva]

Being there for the sonic booms would be cool as well.

 

[AlexB23]

Cool! But this one is footage from far away - but just about how crazy the sound would be if we were standing with these guys

The sonic booms arrived after the boosters landed, which is kinda funny.

 

[AlexB23]

Being there for the sonic booms would be cool as well.

Man, I would love to be there. Six booms in total.

 

[eclipsenow]

Man, I would love to be there. Six booms in total.

But Falcon Heavy would be dwarfed by the sheer enormity of a Starship launch!
(However - anyone got a link to any external shots of the Starship splashing down? I don't know if they got any. I haven't seen any.)

This is my favourite 5 minute compilation of the Starship 4 launch.​

In this 5 minute clip there are multiple launch shots and then a few shots of the splashdowns. NOTE:-
BIGNESS! Some of the distance shots give a feeling of how BIG this thing is. It's 121 meters which is about 36 stories tall. Imagine a block of apartments that big that suddenly roars and jumps into the air!

HOT STAGE! That's when Starship ignites and SHOOTS off the top of the booster.

HOT STAGE SHIELD floats away after separation - that's the big white plate protecting the Booster from the awesome flames from Starship.

PLASMA AWESOMENESS! You know all those re-entry moments in movies when special effects show the front of the craft starting to get hot? This isn't effects!

THE BURNING FIN! The Booster splashes down, and then it's Starship's turn. But as it comes down one of the fins cannot cope and catches fire - chunks of it are blasting off in the intense heat and pressure of re-entry. A chunk then smashes the camera - so the landing is all blurred.
People were worried a chunk might damage and destroy the ship! But it splashed down and Space X go nuts.

HOW ELON THOUGHT OF HOT-STAGING?​

I love this story. One of my favourite youtubers from back in the day is Tim Dodd aka "Everyday Astronaut". He has interviewed Elon many times. In one interview, Tim asked about their staging processes and basically checked they only used cold staging as Starship separates from the Booster. Tim knows his rocket history from the Space Race - and was politely asking why Elon did not use hot staging?
What did Elon think? (Short)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WY73exaVpyw

Here is Tim Dodd explaining Hot Staging in 60 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIe8e_LCN64

Now - did Tim get anything in return for his suggestion?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/miivuRIvxzY

I LOVE THIS STORY!​

 

[AlexB23]

But Falcon Heavy would be dwarfed by the sheer enormity of a Starship launch!
(However - anyone got a link to any external shots of the Starship splashing down? I don't know if they got any. I haven't seen any.)

This is my favourite 5 minute compilation of the Starship 4 launch.​

In this 5 minute clip there are multiple launch shots and then a few shots of the splashdowns. NOTE:-
BIGNESS! Some of the distance shots give a feeling of how BIG this thing is. It's 121 meters which is about 36 stories tall. Imagine a block of apartments that big that suddenly roars and jumps into the air!

HOT STAGE! That's when Starship ignites and SHOOTS off the top of the booster.

HOT STAGE SHIELD floats away after separation - that's the big white plate protecting the Booster from the awesome flames from Starship.

PLASMA AWESOMENESS! You know all those re-entry moments in movies when special effects show the front of the craft starting to get hot? This isn't effects!

THE BURNING FIN! The Booster splashes down, and then it's Starship's turn. But as it comes down one of the fins cannot cope and catches fire - chunks of it are blasting off in the intense heat and pressure of re-entry. A chunk then smashes the camera - so the landing is all blurred.
People were worried a chunk might damage and destroy the ship! But it splashed down and Space X go nuts.

HOW ELON THOUGHT OF HOT-STAGING?​

I love this story. One of my favourite youtubers from back in the day is Tim Dodd aka "Everyday Astronaut". He has interviewed Elon many times. In one interview, Tim asked about their staging processes and basically checked they only used cold staging as Starship separates from the Booster. Tim knows his rocket history from the Space Race - and was politely asking why Elon did not use hot staging?
What did Elon think? (Short)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WY73exaVpyw

Here is Tim Dodd explaining Hot Staging in 60 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIe8e_LCN64

Now - did Tim get anything in return for his suggestion?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/miivuRIvxzY

I LOVE THIS STORY!​

I like Everyday Astronaut, as well as Real Engineering. The burning fin, I might have seen, and it reminds me of the plasma from a sci-fi spaceship entering the atmosphere. I have to work on a daily devotional now, but will watch the hot staging video soon.

 

[AlexB23]

Alright, I just watched the hot staging explanation, where the second stage starts the rocket engine before the 2nd stage separates from the first stage. I am surprised how the first stage components do not just melt under the heat of the second stage's rocket engine. But hey, advanced engineering makes this possible.

 

[Ophiolite]

Alright, I just watched the hot staging explanation, where the second stage starts the rocket engine before the 2nd stage separates from the first stage. I am surprised how the first stage components do not just melt under the heat of the second stage's rocket engine. But hey, advanced engineering makes this possible.

What is the composition and thermal characteristics of the first stage components, including melting point and thermal conductivity? What is the maxiumum temperature of the exhaust gases of the second stage? What is the temperature profile across the exhaust plume? How long are the the first stage components exposed to these temperatures?
I suspect that a back-of-the-envelope calculation would reveal there is not much a problem. Material properities are the key.

 

[AlexB23]

What is the composition and thermal characteristics of the first stage components, including melting point and thermal conductivity? What is the maxiumum temperature of the exhaust gases of the second stage? What is the temperature profile across the exhaust plume? How long are the the first stage components exposed to these temperatures?
I suspect that a back-of-the-envelope calculation would reveal there is not much a problem. Material properities are the key.

Agreed. Complex material science, certain thermal properties, short enough duration, and low enough exhaust temperatures make this possible. It is too early in the morning for my science brain to activate, but it would be fun to see what the exhaust temperature is.

 

[rockytopva]

Another successful SpaceX launch this morning...

 

[AlexB23]

Another successful SpaceX launch this morning...

Awesome. I am gonna watch this one. SpaceX is launching stuff left and right nowadays, it is hard to keep up.

 

[AlexB23]

Notice how most of these launches take 8-9 minutes? 9 minutes into orbit is pretty amazing.

 

[Ophiolite]

Notice how most of these launches take 8-9 minutes? 9 minutes into orbit is pretty amazing.

My intent is not to be disagreeable - though I am (somewhat) disagreeing with you - but to be informative.

For comparison, John Glenn's flight in Mercury 7 saw him reach orbit in five minutes:
"At 14:47 UTC, after two hours and 17 minutes of holds and three hours and 44 minutes after Glenn entered Friendship 7, engineer T. J. O'Malley pressed the button in the blockhouse launching the spacecraft. <snip> At 14:52 UTC, Friendship 7 was in orbit."
From wikipedia

"February 20, 1962. 9:47:39 am EST. Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 14. Powered flight lasted 5 minutes 1 second and was completed normally."
From NASA Mercury-Atlas 6

Around nine minutes appear to be (based on a cursory check) around the time for Shuttle and Soyuz launches to orbit. g-forces on these peak at between 3g-4g. This seems to be limited out of concern for equipment loads, not astronaut comfort. John Glenn, in contrast, experienced a max load of 7.7g, Similar accelerations were in place for all the Mercury (orbital) and Gemini flights. This article goes into more detail and contains some intresting graphs.

Thank you for prompting me to look into this.

 

[AlexB23]

My intent is not to be disagreeable - though I am (somewhat) disagreeing with you - but to be informative.

For comparison, John Glenn's flight in Mercury 7 saw him reach orbit in five minutes:
"At 14:47 UTC, after two hours and 17 minutes of holds and three hours and 44 minutes after Glenn entered Friendship 7, engineer T. J. O'Malley pressed the button in the blockhouse launching the spacecraft. <snip> At 14:52 UTC, Friendship 7 was in orbit."
From wikipedia

"February 20, 1962. 9:47:39 am EST. Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 14. Powered flight lasted 5 minutes 1 second and was completed normally."
From NASA Mercury-Atlas 6

Around nine minutes appear to be (based on a cursory check) around the time for Shuttle and Soyuz launches to orbit. g-forces on these peak at between 3g-4g. This seems to be limited out of concern for equipment loads, not astronaut comfort. John Glenn, in contrast, experienced a max load of 7.7g, Similar accelerations were in place for all the Mercury (orbital) and Gemini flights. This article goes into more detail and contains some intresting graphs.

Thank you for prompting me to look into this.

So, some launch to orbital altitude take 5 minutes at higher accelerations, while others take 8-9 minutes at lower accelerations? Yeah, 5 minutes seems more impressive compared to 8-9 minutes. It is good that the g-forces are lowered nowadays compared to 50+ years ago.

 

[rockytopva]

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-186 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from California's Vandenberg Space Force earlier in the day...

 

[AlexB23]

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-186 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from California's Vandenberg Space Force earlier in the day...

Ooh, a spy satellite?

 

[AlexB23]

Also, the narrator did a great job on this launch. When the radio call-outs were made, he managed not to interrupt or trip over the call-outs. This guy is a pro.

 

[eclipsenow]

That just looked so effortless! Man that's impressive.

To think that if the Russians had not tried to rip him off and then spit on his shoes - Elon would not have thought of starting Space X! The quirks of history.