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Elon confirms 1st stage did not get a good landing https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/705917924972736512 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/70591792497273651

by generj 11y ago

Elon confirms 1st stage did not get a good landing https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/705917924972736512 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/705917924972736512 Edit - text of tweet: "Rocket landed hard on the droneship. Didn't expect this one to work (v hot reentry), but next flight has a good chance." Very impressive nonetheless. I am wondering if they had a loss of the drone ship?

mikeash 11y ago
It's unlikely the drone ship would be lost. The rocket is coming in nearly empty. The explosions we've seen in the past are really just the remnants of fuel briefly burning, it's not all that powerful. The rocket itself is light compared to the ship. It's a little bit like someone throwing a soda can at your head. It'll hurt, but it won't break your skull. Some of the support equipment on the deck might take damage (there are fun pictures of the ship after previous attempts with various items dented and scorched) but the ship itself should be fine.
- generj 11y ago
  Ah, OK. For some reason I had the mental image of a bunch of inexpensive ships which would surely sink if they got hit at high velocity. It's pretty incredible, given how large the rockets are, that the ship dwarfs them, but recalling earlier landing videos you are correct.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    Just to put some numbers on it, this barge is the MARMAC 304, modified by SpaceX. According to this page: http://www.mcdonoughmarine.com/recent-news.html http://www.mcdonoughmarine.com/recent-news.html That ship has a cargo capacity of over 13,000 tons. I believe an empty Falcon 9 first stage is around 20 tons. Totally different scales.
    - ape4 11y ago
      I read that entire barge blog. Its interesting.
- agumonkey 11y ago
  Do they 'refurbish' the barge ? It's the .. 4th time ?
- oska 11y ago
  > The explosions we've seen in the past are really just the remnants of fuel briefly burning And rapid de-pressurisation.
- rbanffy 11y ago
  > It's a little bit like someone throwing a soda can at your head. A mostly empty can. And it should be moving slowly when it hits.
InclinedPlane 11y ago
Hah, no, the drone ship will be ok, it's pretty strong.

by generj 11y ago

mikeash 11y ago

It's unlikely the drone ship would be lost. The rocket is coming in nearly empty. The explosions we've seen in the past are really just the remnants of fuel briefly burning, it's not all that powerful. The rocket itself is light compared to the ship. It's a little bit like someone throwing a soda can at your head. It'll hurt, but it won't break your skull. Some of the support equipment on the deck might take damage (there are fun pictures of the ship after previous attempts with various items dented and scorched) but the ship itself should be fine.

generj 11y ago
Ah, OK. For some reason I had the mental image of a bunch of inexpensive ships which would surely sink if they got hit at high velocity. It's pretty incredible, given how large the rockets are, that the ship dwarfs them, but recalling earlier landing videos you are correct.
- mikeash 11y ago
  Just to put some numbers on it, this barge is the MARMAC 304, modified by SpaceX. According to this page: http://www.mcdonoughmarine.com/recent-news.html http://www.mcdonoughmarine.com/recent-news.html That ship has a cargo capacity of over 13,000 tons. I believe an empty Falcon 9 first stage is around 20 tons. Totally different scales.
  - ape4 11y ago
    I read that entire barge blog. Its interesting.
agumonkey 11y ago
Do they 'refurbish' the barge ? It's the .. 4th time ?
oska 11y ago
> The explosions we've seen in the past are really just the remnants of fuel briefly burning And rapid de-pressurisation.
rbanffy 11y ago
> It's a little bit like someone throwing a soda can at your head. A mostly empty can. And it should be moving slowly when it hits.

InclinedPlane 11y ago

Hah, no, the drone ship will be ok, it's pretty strong.