SpaceX Falcon Heavy

[sferrin]

In the images attached to Sferrin's post there are two Nova configurations that look like they borrowed an N-1 first stage ;D

Yes, anything conical clearly ripped off the N-1s design. :

 

[GeorgeA]

After the selection of LOR as the moon-landing mode, MSFC re-oriented the Nova project to larger launchers of about a million pounds payload to LEO, for Mars missions and lunar base development, and renamed the effort Post-Saturn. MM and General Dynamics were the contractors for the main effort, with Douglas and Boeing having a secondary role.

Class I types were extrapolations of Saturn -- two stages with F-1A and M-1 propulsion, or solid first stages with M-1 upper stages.

Class II introduced recoverable stages and an greater variety of propulsion options, such as plug nozzles and high-pressure hydrogen engines.

Class III was primarily comprised of single-stage designs, fully recoverable, with more advanced propulsion such as air augmentation (as showin in the Renova/R10R-2 option in the "MM Advanced Designs" pic). The conical Martin jobs were the S10 single stage versions, S10E (expendable) and S10R (recoverable).

Class IV was very advanced, often with integrated chemical and nuclear propulsion (such as GD's Nexus).

Boeing continued to develop the solid-boosted Nova concept after the end of the post-Saturn project, first showing a single-stage hydrogen vehicle with massive solid boosters in 1965, and refining that concept into AMLLV in 1967-68, with a range of solid and liquid boosters coupled to a hydrogen core.

Douglas developed OOST and ROOST single stage boosters, which eventually led to ROMBUS and ICARUS.

The basic elements of the Class I post-Saturn systems briefly re-appeared in the SEI era, with Lockheed's review of the "Case 4" in-line tandem-staged launchers with re-born F-1A or M-1 propulsion.

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://science.slashdot.org/story/16/04/18/005259/two-year-delay-for-spacexs-private-spaceport
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/premium/article_13a2eabe-044b-11e6-8eba-67a7f3fe80ee.html

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/spacex-planning-first-private-company-7847260

Presumably an unmanned Dragon capsule fitted out as a survey lander.

EDIT:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/16/04/27/1657236/spacex-intends-to-send-a-red-dragon-to-mars-as-early-as-2018
http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/27/11514844/spacex-mars-mission-date-red-dragon-rocket-elon-musk
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/spacex-plans-to-send-its-dragon-spacecraft-to-mars/

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/29/11526886/spacex-red-dragon-spacecraft-mars-propulsive-landing


On another note:

ORIGINAL CAPTION: Falcon Heavy concept art

Battle Over Space Launch Heating Up (UPDATED) [National Defense magazine]

 

[blackstar]

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/29/11526886/spacex-red-dragon-spacecraft-mars-propulsive-landing


On another note:

ORIGINAL CAPTION: Falcon Heavy concept art

Battle Over Space Launch Heating Up (UPDATED) [National Defense magazine]

A decent article on the subject. Except that I'd like to see a little more discussion about terminal guidance. RD is going to need a downward looking radar and maybe a lidar for precision landing. How do you point that out of the vehicle? (Maybe that sticks out of a hatch in the heat shield?) And I don't fully trust John Rummel's comment about planetary protection. Rummel should know, but one of the issues with sterilizing the vehicle is KNOWING that you have sterilized it, and his comment seems to imply that they would launch it dirty and assume that space would sterilize it. I doubt that is what he meant and I suspect that they left out a lot of context.

 

[bobbymike]

http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/spacex-falcon-9-launch-payload.html

 

[Dragon029]

A decent article on the subject. Except that I'd like to see a little more discussion about terminal guidance. RD is going to need a downward looking radar and maybe a lidar for precision landing. How do you point that out of the vehicle? (Maybe that sticks out of a hatch in the heat shield?)

I wonder if it would be possible to ditch the heatshield entirely? Make the propulsive landing require less fuel / last longer and allow for a sensor payload to be located on the bottom of the capsule without having to potentially compromise the heatshield. Or of course, considering that this is just a test and the capsule isn't carrying a 'real' payload, you could probably easily fit millimeter radar / LIDAR sensors that pop out of the sides after having decelerated.

 

[fredymac]

Spacex still targeting first flight of Falcon Heavy before year end.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2016/05/03/spacex-undecided-on-payload-for-first-falcon-heavy-flight/
"The long-awaited Falcon Heavy rocket could blast off on its first flight as soon as November from launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, returning the storied Apollo- and shuttle-era launch complex to service for the first time since the last space shuttle mission took off in 2011."

 

[bobbymike]

http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/06/spacex-will-use-falcon-heavy-for-2018.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fadvancednano+%28nextbigfuture%29&utm_content=FaceBook

 

[blackstar]

Spacex still targeting first flight of Falcon Heavy before year end.

So what has taken them so long? This should be a pretty straightforward upgrade--or at least the fanboys have been saying so for years. It's just strapping three Falcon 9s together (they gave up on crossfeed years ago).

My guess is that it is several things:

-they keep changing the Falcon 9 design, which then forces the people working on Falcon Heavy to reconfigure
-they don't have enough people to work on Falcon 9 and FH at 100%, so FH lags
-Falcon Heavy does not have as many customers, no pressing requirement
-bigger rockets are harder to develop

Add up all those things and it may explain the delay.

 

[fredymac]

Spacex still targeting first flight of Falcon Heavy before year end.

So what has taken them so long? This should be a pretty straightforward upgrade--or at least the fanboys have been saying so for years. It's just strapping three Falcon 9s together (they gave up on crossfeed years ago).

I am a fan of people spending their own money and working towards a long term objective of making space more affordable. To the extent that ULA is self-financing development of a new, lower cost rocket, I applaud that as well. I am agnostic on who as long as the process doesn't involve the usual political-tax based funding. As for how long they are taking, I don't care since it doesn't cost me anything. Companies that expose themselves to risk and failure will show greater motivation than those living off the public dole. I know they are ultimately chasing government launch contracts (initially) but they are developing the means on their own. I am perplexed that people can be disturbed by this.

 

[sferrin]

Spacex still targeting first flight of Falcon Heavy before year end.

So what has taken them so long? This should be a pretty straightforward upgrade--or at least the fanboys have been saying so for years. It's just strapping three Falcon 9s together (they gave up on crossfeed years ago).

I am a fan of people spending their own money and working towards a long term objective of making space more affordable. To the extent that ULA is self-financing development of a new, lower cost rocket, I applaud that as well. I am agnostic on who as long as the process doesn't involve the usual political-tax based funding. As for how long they are taking, I don't care since it doesn't cost me anything. Companies that expose themselves to risk and failure will show greater motivation than those living off the public dole. I know they are ultimately chasing government launch contracts (initially) but they are developing the means on their own. I am perplexed that people can be disturbed by this.

I suspect some have nightmares about SpaceX 's success. This will go into overdrive once they launch the Heavy and land the capsule on Mars.

 

[blackstar]

Spacex still targeting first flight of Falcon Heavy before year end.

So what has taken them so long? This should be a pretty straightforward upgrade--or at least the fanboys have been saying so for years. It's just strapping three Falcon 9s together (they gave up on crossfeed years ago).

I am a fan of people spending their own money and working towards a long term objective of making space more affordable. To the extent that ULA is self-financing development of a new, lower cost rocket, I applaud that as well. I am agnostic on who as long as the process doesn't involve the usual political-tax based funding. As for how long they are taking, I don't care since it doesn't cost me anything. Companies that expose themselves to risk and failure will show greater motivation than those living off the public dole. I know they are ultimately chasing government launch contracts (initially) but they are developing the means on their own. I am perplexed that people can be disturbed by this.

I asked a question. You wrote an opinion.

 

[sferrin]

Spacex still targeting first flight of Falcon Heavy before year end.

So what has taken them so long? This should be a pretty straightforward upgrade--or at least the fanboys have been saying so for years. It's just strapping three Falcon 9s together (they gave up on crossfeed years ago).

I am a fan of people spending their own money and working towards a long term objective of making space more affordable. To the extent that ULA is self-financing development of a new, lower cost rocket, I applaud that as well. I am agnostic on who as long as the process doesn't involve the usual political-tax based funding. As for how long they are taking, I don't care since it doesn't cost me anything. Companies that expose themselves to risk and failure will show greater motivation than those living off the public dole. I know they are ultimately chasing government launch contracts (initially) but they are developing the means on their own. I am perplexed that people can be disturbed by this.

I asked a question. You wrote an opinion.

You answered your own question.

 

[Hobbes]

Spacex still targeting first flight of Falcon Heavy before year end.

So what has taken them so long? This should be a pretty straightforward upgrade--or at least the fanboys have been saying so for years. It's just strapping three Falcon 9s together (they gave up on crossfeed years ago).

My guess is that it is several things:

1. they keep changing the Falcon 9 design, which then forces the people working on Falcon Heavy to reconfigure
2. they don't have enough people to work on Falcon 9 and FH at 100%, so FH lags
3. Falcon Heavy does not have as many customers, no pressing requirement
4. bigger rockets are harder to develop

Add up all those things and it may explain the delay.

I'd say at least 2 and 3. Item 1 makes the F9 more capable, shrinking the market for FH. The F9 launch failure also accounts for some of the delay.
Then there's lack of production capacity - they need every rocket they can produce to work through the backlog in their launch contracts.
And there's one more factor. Elon Musk likes to give very optimistic (or downright impossible) deadlines, the idea being everyone will feel the pressure to meet the deadline.

 

[fredymac]

I asked a question. You wrote an opinion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The question was framed with "fanboy" which I assume connotes a juvenile boosterism absent of intellectual merit. As for a guess as to why the delays, I would say low priority is the most likely. The manned Dragon capsule development should be receiving the highest support given the contractual schedules and financial obligations.

 

[blackstar]

http://www.americaspace.com/?p=93456

That's an exhaustive look at their manifest over the years and how lots of things have slipped. (One amusing aspect is that if they were to hold to their original manifest, they would have to launch 33 rockets in the next five and a half months.)

What we only see there, however, is the public information. Missing is all the financial behind-the-scenes stuff. For instance, a few years ago I heard a NASA official explain why NASA pays a lot more for Falcon 9 launches than the website price. There are a bunch of things that go into it, but part of what NASA is paying is for no major slips in the launch date.

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://science.slashdot.org/story/17/01/11/2251231/spacex-details-its-plans-for-landing-three-falcon-heavy-boosters-at-once

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/17/14652026/spacex-red-dragon-spacecraft-mars-mission-2020

 

[ZacYates]

Two people have paid "significant" deposits to make a weeklong circumlunar flight aboard an automated Dragon, launched by Falcon Heavy, next year: http://www.spacex.com/news/2017/02/27/spacex-send-privately-crewed-dragon-spacecraft-beyond-moon-next-year

 

[fredymac]

Falcon Heavy first flight scheduled for late summer. Side boosters will be pre-flown. All 3 boosters will be recovered. Side boosters return to Kennedy while core booster lands on drone ship. Musk says flight will be high risk and will not carry a customer payload. There is a possibility that an attempt will be made to also bring back the 2nd stage although it would be considered a low probability of success.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/04/04/musk-previews-busy-year-ahead-for-spacex/

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_Russian_Medium_Class_Carrier_Rocket_Could_Compete_With_SpaceXs_Falcon_999.html

Salt may be required.

 

[fredymac]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_Russian_Medium_Class_Carrier_Rocket_Could_Compete_With_SpaceXs_Falcon_999.html

Salt may be required.

Whatever happened to Angara? It was supposed to be a modular concept allowing coverage of small to heavy payload classes. It has been almost 2 years since the last flight.

 

[Michel Van]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_Russian_Medium_Class_Carrier_Rocket_Could_Compete_With_SpaceXs_Falcon_999.html

Salt may be required.

Whatever happened to Angara? It was supposed to be a modular concept allowing coverage of small to heavy payload classes. It has been almost 2 years since the last flight.

On that new russian rocket, there for Moment zillion rocket proposals By russian companies,
But no money by the government to Build them.

Angara next launch is sceduld for "middle 2017" if that happen is unclear.
For moment they Work on second Angara-5 to get it launch ready
But problems at subcontractors, Budget cuts and Design changes delay the program
Like use of old Block-D stage for Angara, instead the Briz or Fregat stages, do use of Toxic propellants.
Next to that the manufactor has move the Production into new Factory.
By the beginning of the 2020s, this factory in the city of Omsk should take over the entire manufacturing process for the Angara

more here
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara.html

 

[blackstar]

Whatever happened to Angara? It was supposed to be a modular concept allowing coverage of small to heavy payload classes. It has been almost 2 years since the last flight.

Go look at russianspaceweb.com for more on Angara. The program was started (I think) back in the 1980s. It took forever to get ready. The Russians have had big plans for it, but have not progressed very far. It is not just money, but also construction problems and corruption. There have been lots and lots of problems. Plus, the Russian economy is not doing well because of low oil prices and the Russian economy and Russian government depend heavily upon oil sales. (The reason that oil prices have stayed low is a rather fascinating one. Saudi Arabia tried to drive American oil fracking companies out of business. They only managed to drive less efficient ones out of business and drove others to become more efficient, thus keeping prices down. Just goes to show how unpredictable economics can be, huh?)

 

[Michel Van]

big news
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02d6EgUPAAM

The Falcon Heavy core just completed it's first static firing at there Texas Test side

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/05/spacex-releases-video-of-falcon-heavy-core-test-firing/

http://www.space.com/36782-spacex-test-fires-falcon-heavy-core-video.html

 

[bobbymike]

http://www.space.com/36852-spacex-launches-inmarsat-5-f4-satellite.html

 

[Hobbes]

yes, but they didn't use an FH to do it.

 

[Flyaway]

SpaceX’s final Falcon 9 design coming this year, two Falcon Heavy launches next year

http://spacenews.com/spacexs-final-falcon-9-design-coming-this-year-two-falcon-heavy-launches-next-year/

 

[sferrin]

SpaceX’s final Falcon 9 design coming this year, two Falcon Heavy launches next year

http://spacenews.com/spacexs-final-falcon-9-design-coming-this-year-two-falcon-heavy-launches-next-year/

That's what they said last year.

 

[TomS]

SpaceX’s final Falcon 9 design coming this year, two Falcon Heavy launches next year

http://spacenews.com/spacexs-final-falcon-9-design-coming-this-year-two-falcon-heavy-launches-next-year/

That's what they said last year.

What they actually are saying now is that the Falcon Heavy demo will fly by the end of this year, with two commercial flights next year.

https://www.spaceintelreport.com/spacexs-shotwell-1-falcon-heavy-demo-year-satellite-broadband-remains-side/

 

[sferrin]

SpaceX’s final Falcon 9 design coming this year, two Falcon Heavy launches next year

http://spacenews.com/spacexs-final-falcon-9-design-coming-this-year-two-falcon-heavy-launches-next-year/

That's what they said last year.

What they actually are saying now is that the Falcon Heavy demo will fly by the end of this year, with two commercial flights next year.

https://www.spaceintelreport.com/spacexs-shotwell-1-falcon-heavy-demo-year-satellite-broadband-remains-side/

What about the USAF mission that is (currently) scheduled for this year after the demo flight?

 

[TomS]

Not mentioned but STP-2 is a secondary payload set, not aprimary. It could fly alo g with another Falcon Heavy, I think.

 

[Michel Van]

The second Falcon Heavy flight is for USAF Space Test Program the STP-2

STP-2 will carrying more than 30 satellites.

The payload should include ISAT (Innovative Space-based Radar Antenna Technology)
flight demonstrator satellite with a mass of over 5000 kg,
The ISAT program aims to deploy extremely large (up to 300 yards) electronically scanning radar antennas in orbit.

COSMIC-2, a cluster of six satellites, with a mass of 277.8 kg each.
The primary role of the COSMIC-2 satellite constellation is to provide radio occultation data with an average latency of 45 minutes.
The six satellites will be placed on an orbit with an inclination of 24 to 28.5 degrees with six separate orbital planes with 60 degree separation between them.
The integrated payload stack will be integrated using EELV Secondary Payload Adapter. Two ESPA Grande rings will be used to mount the six COSMIC-2 satellites beneath the ESPA ring hosting the DSX payload and avionics modules.

STP-2 will also host up to 8 CubeSat nanosatellites deployed with P-PODs (Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployers).
Other secondary payloads include LightSail, Prox-1 nanosatellite, Oculus-ASR nanosatellite, GPIM
and the Deep Space Atomic Clock.

source: Wikipedia

 

[TomS]

That's what I get for posting late at night.

Per Space Intel Report, STP-2 is now the second 2018 flight, which will actually be the third Falcon Heavy mission. I'd missed a couple of the payloads and thought it was just the COSMIC cluster and some nanosats, which could have been a ride-along on another launch. It's actually got a bunch more going on.

Edit: So here is the actual mission description: https://www.fbo.gov/utils/view?id=36de6af7670d2636c8c195173dd500e1

Very complex, it calls for deploying the six COSMIC-2 sats in a low circular orbit inclined at 24 degrees, along with a bunch of smaller satellites (up to six auxiliary payloads and a bunch of cubesats). Then the second stage burns again to put DSX in a highly elliptical MEO orbit with a 45-degree inclination (a major plane change from the initial orbit). That's a LOT of delta-v. Then it burns again for five seconds, just because. The second stage will get a serious workout on this flight.

And it does this carrying five tonnes of ballast in addition to all the payloads. If it was just a matter of launching the payloads, I think they could have flown it on a Falcon 9. But this is designed as a stressor mission to test the full capacity of FH, so it carries ballast. My understanding is that, assuming the first two FH flights go as planned, this should be the last of three flights needed to certify FH for national security missions?

 

[Byeman]

My understanding is that, assuming the first two FH flights go as planned, this should be the last of three flights needed to certify FH for national security missions?

They have to do more than just certification. They need a west coast capability, a longer fairing and vertical payload integration

 

[Michel Van]

My understanding is that, assuming the first two FH flights go as planned, this should be the last of three flights needed to certify FH for national security missions?

They have to do more than just certification. They need a west coast capability, a longer fairing and vertical payload integration

According Falcon 9 Launch manifesto on Wikipedia.
1. Demo-flight in September - October 2017
2. Arabsat 6A in 2018
3. USAF STP-2 in 2018
4. Private circumlunar trip with 2 person in Dragon2 on end of 2018.

Makes four flight, enough for NRO qualification for a Key Hole Satellite launch by Falcon Heavy from 2019 on.
source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches#2017_2

 

[bobbymike]

http://aviationweek.com/space/podcast-future-heavy-lift-space-launchers

 

[Byeman]

Makes four flight, enough for NRO qualification for a Key Hole Satellite launch by Falcon Heavy from 2019 on.
source

They are all booked on Delta IV Heavy until 2023.