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That "landing" (is it still considered a landing if it's chopsticked a few meters before it touches the ground?) is so unnatural it almost looks fake. So big an

That "landing" (is it still considered a landing if it's chopsticked a few meters before it touches the ground?) is so unnatural it almost looks fake. So big and unimaginable that it feels like watching fx on a movie! The close-up camera right after was interesting, I thought it captured on the grid fins, but it looks like there are two small purpose-built knobs for that. The times we live in!

ortusdux 2y ago
IIRC, the grid fins are not strong enough to support the rocket, and reinforcing them would add too much weight to the vehicle. The plan is to catch the second stage the same way, and the starship in flight now is the first to have mockup pins to test the aerodynamics and see if they cause issues during reentry.
- charles_f 2y ago
  I was surprised they were landing them on those fins, makes more sense now.
- sfblah 2y ago
  It seems like they'll need a lot of different vehicles to catch the second stage given the number of pieces I saw in the video.
gazchop 2y ago
I heard someone say it's like trying to land the Statue of Liberty. Turns out the statue is actually shorter.
levocardia 2y ago
The clearance is amazing -- probably bigger IRL than it looked on the camera, but it looked like only a foot or two between the chopsticks arm and the top of the rocket! The control algorithms on the gimballed engines must be insanely precise.
yreg 2y ago
You have perfectly described the feeling I had regarding the first belly flop demo (at least I think it was the first one?) https://youtu.be/gA6ppby3JC8?si=wY7TQsbR_wxoud75&t=70 https://youtu.be/gA6ppby3JC8?si=wY7TQsbR_wxoud75&t=70 (ten seconds from the timestamp)
- sneak 2y ago
  Yeah, that shot is so clean and smooth it feels like a render. Absolutely iconic even after a dozen rewatchings. The iris flares and the framerate… gotta hand it to whoever planned that shot and placed that camera. A+ videography.
  - dzhiurgis 2y ago
    It the high dynamic range (HDR) that makes it look "unnatural" because we are so used to seeing over-compressed photos and videos. Plus maybe something they do with stability and frame-rate.
  - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
    As another commenter pointed out, it's down to better cameras; higher resolution and framerates than "traditional" cameras used in this kind of recording. But it could be better still, the camera setup in the clip still gets a lot of shaking from the blasts. IIRC they use regular off the shelf gopro cameras to mount on the ones going into space. Granted, the mount is ruggedized metal else the cameras wouldn't survive, lol [0]. I'm also reminded of NASA's cameras which were mounted on the mechanisms of an anti-air gun, great for slow and precise movements. I'm sure they still use that today but I couldn't find a good source. I did find an article about NASA's ruggedized cameras for use on spacecraft and the like though [1]. [0] https://www.quora.com/Was-the-GoPro-camera-modified-for-the-recent-SpaceX-Falcon-9-launch https://www.quora.com/Was-the-GoPro-camera-modified-for-the-... [1] https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Redefining_the_Rugged_Video_Camera https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Redefining_the_Rugged_Video_Camera
    - diggan 2y ago
      > it's down to better cameras; higher resolution and framerates than "traditional" cameras used in this kind of recording It looks cool because of the angle and framing though, someone knew exactly what they were doing. Without the angle/framing, you can have all the resolution and framerates in the world, it still wouldn't look as cool. It's a cinematographic choice that made that shot. > But it could be better still, the camera setup in the clip still gets a lot of shaking from the blasts. I'd love to hear ideas how you'd prevent the shaking. Forget gimbals or similar semi-pro setups as they wouldn't be nearly enough. What are you attaching it to, in your better setup? A drone would be blown away, and anything attached to the ground would likely start to shake regardless of your setup.
0_____0 2y ago
You can hear some sounds in the stream that I think are one of the presenters weeping during the launch and landing sequences. I think I would be similarly awe struck to witness such a thing
adolph 2y ago
Since I’ve never seen an f9 landing, watching ift5 land was kinda mind blowing. Even 6k away you can tell it’s really big but moved with a grace and smoothness like a hippo in water only with crackling flame.
noneeeed 2y ago
I found the same when the first Falcon Heavy executed the simultaneous booster landing. Watching them both come down, within moments of each other at neighbouring pads was incredibly cool. Its sad that Gerry Anderson never got to see this. It's like something from a Thunderbirds episode.

ortusdux 2y ago

IIRC, the grid fins are not strong enough to support the rocket, and reinforcing them would add too much weight to the vehicle. The plan is to catch the second stage the same way, and the starship in flight now is the first to have mockup pins to test the aerodynamics and see if they cause issues during reentry.

charles_f 2y ago
I was surprised they were landing them on those fins, makes more sense now.
sfblah 2y ago
It seems like they'll need a lot of different vehicles to catch the second stage given the number of pieces I saw in the video.

gazchop 2y ago

I heard someone say it's like trying to land the Statue of Liberty. Turns out the statue is actually shorter.

levocardia 2y ago

The clearance is amazing -- probably bigger IRL than it looked on the camera, but it looked like only a foot or two between the chopsticks arm and the top of the rocket! The control algorithms on the gimballed engines must be insanely precise.

yreg 2y ago

You have perfectly described the feeling I had regarding the first belly flop demo (at least I think it was the first one?) https://youtu.be/gA6ppby3JC8?si=wY7TQsbR_wxoud75&t=70 https://youtu.be/gA6ppby3JC8?si=wY7TQsbR_wxoud75&t=70 (ten seconds from the timestamp)

sneak 2y ago
Yeah, that shot is so clean and smooth it feels like a render. Absolutely iconic even after a dozen rewatchings. The iris flares and the framerate… gotta hand it to whoever planned that shot and placed that camera. A+ videography.
- dzhiurgis 2y ago
  It the high dynamic range (HDR) that makes it look "unnatural" because we are so used to seeing over-compressed photos and videos. Plus maybe something they do with stability and frame-rate.
- Cthulhu_ 2y ago
  As another commenter pointed out, it's down to better cameras; higher resolution and framerates than "traditional" cameras used in this kind of recording. But it could be better still, the camera setup in the clip still gets a lot of shaking from the blasts. IIRC they use regular off the shelf gopro cameras to mount on the ones going into space. Granted, the mount is ruggedized metal else the cameras wouldn't survive, lol [0]. I'm also reminded of NASA's cameras which were mounted on the mechanisms of an anti-air gun, great for slow and precise movements. I'm sure they still use that today but I couldn't find a good source. I did find an article about NASA's ruggedized cameras for use on spacecraft and the like though [1]. [0] https://www.quora.com/Was-the-GoPro-camera-modified-for-the-recent-SpaceX-Falcon-9-launch https://www.quora.com/Was-the-GoPro-camera-modified-for-the-... [1] https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Redefining_the_Rugged_Video_Camera https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Redefining_the_Rugged_Video_Camera
  - diggan 2y ago
    > it's down to better cameras; higher resolution and framerates than "traditional" cameras used in this kind of recording It looks cool because of the angle and framing though, someone knew exactly what they were doing. Without the angle/framing, you can have all the resolution and framerates in the world, it still wouldn't look as cool. It's a cinematographic choice that made that shot. > But it could be better still, the camera setup in the clip still gets a lot of shaking from the blasts. I'd love to hear ideas how you'd prevent the shaking. Forget gimbals or similar semi-pro setups as they wouldn't be nearly enough. What are you attaching it to, in your better setup? A drone would be blown away, and anything attached to the ground would likely start to shake regardless of your setup.

0_____0 2y ago

You can hear some sounds in the stream that I think are one of the presenters weeping during the launch and landing sequences. I think I would be similarly awe struck to witness such a thing

adolph 2y ago

Since I’ve never seen an f9 landing, watching ift5 land was kinda mind blowing. Even 6k away you can tell it’s really big but moved with a grace and smoothness like a hippo in water only with crackling flame.

noneeeed 2y ago

I found the same when the first Falcon Heavy executed the simultaneous booster landing. Watching them both come down, within moments of each other at neighbouring pads was incredibly cool. Its sad that Gerry Anderson never got to see this. It's like something from a Thunderbirds episode.