3 ms·
From the video, it looked good. Great takeoff, boost, coast and landing. Really well done! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bhW2h08zhY https://www.youtube.com/
by JanSolo 11y ago
From the video, it looked good. Great takeoff, boost, coast and landing. Really well done!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bhW2h08zhY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bhW2h08zhY
Couple of points of interest:
There were a couple of puffs of smoke from the engines that might be a sign of premature shutdown. Having one engine out would cause uneven thrust which will cause the vehicle to rotate or tumble. The test continued successfully, so if an engine did indeed die, we can assume that another was also intentionally shutdown to balance the thrust. The remaining engines would have fired for a little longer to make up for the lost ones.
The engine chambers are the first entirely 3d printed production rocket motors in the world. They're printed in inconel using Direct Metal Laser Sintering. This is the first time that so many of them have been fired in an actual mission scenario. The tech is so new and untested that special shields were built round the motors to isolate the rest of the vehicle in case of an explosion. I'm very interested to see how they held up.
There was some pretty severe tumbling during the drogue and main chute deploys. While easily survivable, this would have been quite uncomfortable for any passengers inside. I wouldn't be surprised if SpaceX tweaked the deployment sequence a little to help reduce this.
Good job, SpaceX... I can't wait for the In-Flight abort test later this year!
- cartoonfoxes 11y ago> they're printed in inconel using Direct Metal Laser Sintering. As someone who works with people who occasionally have to machine this stuff, that's seriously impressive.
- sounds 11y agoWhat are the comparative advantages of Direct Metal Laser Sintering vs the more traditional CNC Milling? CNC Milling - Broader base of manufacturers who can meet specs - Lower cost? - Higher strength? - Faster essential steps (prototyping can be done more rapidly) 3D Printing - More optimal alloy distribution since the part is built up instead of milled down - Less raw materials used / lower waste fixermark suggests: - Can machine shapes that are impossible to machine via reductive process.
- fixermark 11y agoI don't know for certain if it mattered in this specific case, but the 3D Printing list should include - Can machine shapes that are impossible to machine via reductive process. ... (sort of, if you turn your head and squint. "Without seams" ;) ).
- mjn 11y agoCNC milling does have more metal waste up front, but it's usually recovered, separated from any contaminants, and remelted into new metal, so it's not really "waste" in the long-term sense. The recovery isn't free, of course, but then that's just another part of the economics calculation.
- justifier 11y agoi thought i remembered, and so confirmed(i), that the super dracos were positioned in pairs and run at half thrust each a precaution against a possible failure in the event of a failure the others will increase thrust to compensate: if your analysis is correct, i'd speculate further at a possible intentional shutdown to test the super draco's buddy system (i) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLdhhPGLntk#t=10m17s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLdhhPGLntk#t=10m17s