The Falcon Landing: How Did They Do It?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges and techniques involved in the successful landing of the Falcon rocket, focusing on the mechanics of the landing process, the technology used, and the experiences from previous attempts. It includes both technical explanations and personal observations related to the landing events.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express amazement at the difficulty of the landing process, noting the importance of practice and previous attempts.
  • There is discussion about the specific altitude and speed at which the Falcon rocket turned around for landing, with references to the launch video for details.
  • One participant mentions the challenge of managing heat during reentry and the potential for exhaust burns.
  • Another participant points out that the landing discussed refers to a specific successful attempt on a droneship, clarifying confusion about different landings.
  • Technical aspects such as gimbal thrust, steering fins, and telemetry channels are mentioned as critical components of the landing process.
  • Links to external resources, including a user guide and articles, are shared for further exploration of the topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the complexity of the landing process and the significance of practice, but there are multiple competing views regarding the specifics of the landing techniques and the details of different landing attempts.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific metrics from the launch video, but there may be limitations in the accuracy of these observations due to varying interpretations of the footage.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those following advancements in rocket technology, space exploration enthusiasts, and individuals curious about the engineering challenges of rocket landings.

wolram
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How did they do it, it must have been incredibly difficult.

 
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It obviously takes a lot of practice - fifth time lucky!

But they were close on each of the previous attempts (especially the third one, which landed successfully but the leg didn't latch so it fell over).

It's pretty amazing anyway. This one appeared to bounce slightly and shift towards the edge as it settled, which was a bit scary.
 
How high were they when they turned around for landing? and how did they stop the exhausts from burning, out there must have been an incredible amount of heat reflected back at them.
 
If you play the full launch video, you can see the figures on speed and height in the corner of the screen. The first stage booster is well short of orbital speed when it separates from the second stage. It is effectively in space when it turns round (using thrusters) then slows down a lot before reentry using a subset of its main engines. There are some diagrams easily found by Googling for images with keywords such as: SpaceX booster return profile
 
I just had another look at the launch video:

Main Engine Cut-Off was at +2:34 into the flight (about 29:43 in the video), at a speed of about 6654 km/h and altitude of about 67.0 km.
 
These are two different landings, btw.
 
nikkkom said:
These are two different landings, btw.
Yes, the video link in the first post is to the earlier successful landing on land, but I assume the intention was to discuss last night's first successful landing on the droneship.
 
wolram said:
How did they do it, it must have been incredibly difficult.
Gimbal thrust and steering fins and a lot telemetry channels.

Here is your user guide if you would like your own. :smile:
http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/falcon_9_users_guide_rev_2.0.pdf
 
Last edited:
  • #10
We have another thread about the same topic already, please continue discussion there.
 

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