8 ms·

What's notable about this attempt (as opposed to the last) is that the first stage rocket was traveling twice as fast (4x the energy to overcome on landing), an

What's notable about this attempt (as opposed to the last) is that the first stage rocket was traveling twice as fast (4x the energy to overcome on landing), and didn't have enough propellant to do a 'boostback' burn. Instead, coming in very hot, the rocket had to use three engines (instead of one) to slow for landing. The last time this was attempted, the first stage put a nice hole in the deck of the drone ship. Seeing the rocket dead-center on the barge was quite a sight!

mabbo 11y ago
I suppose this is why people say "it's not rocket science".
- throwaway2016a 11y ago
  Slightly off topic but I was watching a television show the other day and someone said they worked at NASA. The host then said "So you're literally a rocket scientist?" And the guy said emphatically "Rocket engineer, there is a big difference" I'm sure this particular task probably was a little bit of both. After all, they had to run several real world experiments to prove their calculations.
  - taneq 11y ago
    It's important to know the difference: https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 The most interesting work is right in the intersection of the two disciplines, though. :)
    - ck2 11y ago
      xkcd needs to make one for that too https://xkcd.com/435/ https://xkcd.com/435/ I guess "purity" is just another word for "lack of immediately applied practicality"
      - LanguageGamer 11y ago
        Coincidentally, today's smbc is on the distinction http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102
  - larrydag 11y ago
    Here's a reason why that guy answered it that way. Note these are my definitions but I've heard it before. Scientist: Studies and uncovers mysteries of the universe and natural world Engineer: Applies what scientists discovers
    - _dark_matter_ 11y ago
      Eh, I think it's simpler than that: Scientist: Unknown outcome (e.g. hypothesis -> experimentation) Engineer: Known (or should be) outcome
      - forgotpwagain 11y ago
        There's also experimentation to generate hypotheses. I.e., let's sequence the genomes of healthy people and the genomes of people with some disease and see if there is a difference. It's possible to argue that the implicit hypothesis there is that there is some sort of difference, but that is a particularly weak hypothesis compared to the specificity of hypotheses that can be formed once we have this pile of data -- i.e maybe X, Y, Z differences are important in this disease.
      - jsrjenkins 11y ago
        Aristotle put it this way: Science is the knowing of things by their causes. Science is the putting into knowledge what is in reality. Engineering [which he would call techne, from which we get the word 'technology'] is the art of putting ideas into reality. It is putting what is in our knowledge into the real world. Thus they are perfectly complementary things, one bringing the world into ideas, the other ideas into the world.
      - a-priori 11y ago
        "In science if you know what you are doing you should not be doing it. In engineering if you do not know what you are doing you should not be doing it. Of course, you seldom, if ever, see the pure state." - Richard Hamming
    - ithkuil 11y ago
      if the devil is in the details isn't the devil an engineer?
  - stcredzero 11y ago
    A friend of mine in Houston Texas had a bumper sticker that said, "Yes, I'm literally a Rocket Scientist!" He had a degree in physics and maintained the software that tracked the Space Shuttle's trajectory.
prplhaz4 11y ago
One of my favorite facts is that merely relighting the engine provides enough thrust to lift the rocket (at its minimum throttle of 60%). This means that it must slow to a standstill, cut the engines and hit the platform at exactly the same time or it will either start going up again or be dropped onto the platform from a less than ideal height.
- 542458 11y ago
  This maneuver (powered descent with high deceleration right before impact) is called a "suicide burn"!
- tajen 11y ago
  Slow to a standstill and cut the engines at the exact point where it pushes enough on the platform that when the engine stops thursting, the platform bumps back exactly to the bottom of the rocket.
- d_theorist 11y ago
  Mind boggling.

mabbo 11y ago

I suppose this is why people say "it's not rocket science".

throwaway2016a 11y ago
Slightly off topic but I was watching a television show the other day and someone said they worked at NASA. The host then said "So you're literally a rocket scientist?" And the guy said emphatically "Rocket engineer, there is a big difference" I'm sure this particular task probably was a little bit of both. After all, they had to run several real world experiments to prove their calculations.
- taneq 11y ago
  It's important to know the difference: https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 The most interesting work is right in the intersection of the two disciplines, though. :)
  - ck2 11y ago
    xkcd needs to make one for that too https://xkcd.com/435/ https://xkcd.com/435/ I guess "purity" is just another word for "lack of immediately applied practicality"
    - LanguageGamer 11y ago
      Coincidentally, today's smbc is on the distinction http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102
- larrydag 11y ago
  Here's a reason why that guy answered it that way. Note these are my definitions but I've heard it before. Scientist: Studies and uncovers mysteries of the universe and natural world Engineer: Applies what scientists discovers
  - _dark_matter_ 11y ago
    Eh, I think it's simpler than that: Scientist: Unknown outcome (e.g. hypothesis -> experimentation) Engineer: Known (or should be) outcome
    - forgotpwagain 11y ago
      There's also experimentation to generate hypotheses. I.e., let's sequence the genomes of healthy people and the genomes of people with some disease and see if there is a difference. It's possible to argue that the implicit hypothesis there is that there is some sort of difference, but that is a particularly weak hypothesis compared to the specificity of hypotheses that can be formed once we have this pile of data -- i.e maybe X, Y, Z differences are important in this disease.
    - jsrjenkins 11y ago
      Aristotle put it this way: Science is the knowing of things by their causes. Science is the putting into knowledge what is in reality. Engineering [which he would call techne, from which we get the word 'technology'] is the art of putting ideas into reality. It is putting what is in our knowledge into the real world. Thus they are perfectly complementary things, one bringing the world into ideas, the other ideas into the world.
    - a-priori 11y ago
      "In science if you know what you are doing you should not be doing it. In engineering if you do not know what you are doing you should not be doing it. Of course, you seldom, if ever, see the pure state." - Richard Hamming
  - ithkuil 11y ago
    if the devil is in the details isn't the devil an engineer?
- stcredzero 11y ago
  A friend of mine in Houston Texas had a bumper sticker that said, "Yes, I'm literally a Rocket Scientist!" He had a degree in physics and maintained the software that tracked the Space Shuttle's trajectory.

prplhaz4 11y ago

One of my favorite facts is that merely relighting the engine provides enough thrust to lift the rocket (at its minimum throttle of 60%). This means that it must slow to a standstill, cut the engines and hit the platform at exactly the same time or it will either start going up again or be dropped onto the platform from a less than ideal height.

542458 11y ago
This maneuver (powered descent with high deceleration right before impact) is called a "suicide burn"!
tajen 11y ago
Slow to a standstill and cut the engines at the exact point where it pushes enough on the platform that when the engine stops thursting, the platform bumps back exactly to the bottom of the rocket.
d_theorist 11y ago
Mind boggling.