Space........The Final Frontier.

[lwien]

Just watched the Space-X launch of what was billed as the worlds most powerful rocket. CNN aired it from 30 seconds before launch until it reached orbit along with all of the audio from the Space-X development and launch teams cheering it on.

I never thought that watching something like this would bring tears to my eyes but the loud enthusiastic cheers from the engineers and launch team from countdown to orbit came right though my TV into my living room.

It was definitely a moment.

 

[al bundy]

Theres a Tesla automobile on that rocket

https://www.space.com/39606-spacex-falcon-heavy-fourth-car-space.html

 

[hd_rider]

 

[Poostuff]

I’m just glad it was for something important. I wonder if they removed the batteries from the Tesla & took them as carry-on.

 

[Delta3DStudios]

Drove over to the River's edge for one of my favorite vantage points to view the rockets, it's a side street off the main road so we don't usually get many launch viewers on that road. Yesterday however our tiny town was packed with over 100,000+ visitors from everywhere to watch the launch. Playalinda Beach (one of the best places for the public to watch a launch) had miles long lines entering the park before sunrise (5+ hours before planned launch).

We waited so long for the launch I actually ordered delivery pizza and snacks to the side of the road (literally), but it was totally freaking worth it!!!!

We had an epic spot to watch the launch right across the river, even better we had a great view of the two side boosters coming back for a landing which we couldn't see until they fired up their engines to slow the descent. My wife goes "Where's the sonic booms?", I said "just give them a minute", 20 seconds later ::clap CLAP clap CLAP:: as the sonic booms from both rockets roared past. So freaking cool, I love living this close to not only witness, but experience history being made first hand.

Even cooler is going to the local bars and talking to the everyday people who make this magic happen, the engineers, the janitors, the security, so many stories most never get to hear in the news.

 

[ghostofcyberx13]

Final Frontier? Who the fuck knows? String Theory, Parallel Universe, Chaos Theory, and Anti-Matter just to name a few of the things that may or may not be happening. We barely know our own solar system, we are just "Babes in the woods", or as Seargent Shultz said, " I know nothing"!

 

[szai]

Drove over to the River's edge for one of my favorite vantage points to view the rockets, it's a side street off the main road so we don't usually get many launch viewers on that road. Yesterday however our tiny town was packed with over 100,000+ visitors from everywhere to watch the launch. Playalinda Beach (one of the best places for the public to watch a launch) had miles long lines entering the park before sunrise (5+ hours before planned launch).

We waited so long for the launch I actually ordered delivery pizza and snacks to the side of the road (literally), but it was totally freaking worth it!!!!

We had an epic spot to watch the launch right across the river, even better we had a great view of the two side boosters coming back for a landing which we couldn't see until they fired up their engines to slow the descent. My wife goes "Where's the sonic booms?", I said "just give them a minute", 20 seconds later ::clap CLAP clap CLAP:: as the sonic booms from both rockets roared past. So freaking cool, I love living this close to not only witness, but experience history being made first hand.

Even cooler is going to the local bars and talking to the everyday people who make this magic happen, the engineers, the janitors, the security, so many stories most never get to hear in the news.

I had no idea you were a fellow Floridian. Though I'm from the gulf coast.

 

[Delta3DStudios]

I had no idea you were a fellow Floridian. Though I'm from the gold coast.

Transplant, snowy Northeast refuge! Moved to enjoy this tropical climate and enjoy the lower cost of living. Living so close to the Kennedy Space Center is simply an added bonus to watch rockets lift off from my office window.

This is my third winter down here and I still don't miss the damn snow! I'll take Palm trees and hurricanes over the nasty snow/dirt/brine covered roads all winter long

 

[MinnBobber]

Sweet. I can see a rocket parachuting aimlessly down to anywhere but it blows my mind that they could land these boosters.

How are they configured/ how can they control such a landing, how'd they get "back" to the pads??

 

[szai]

Sweet. I can see a rocket parachuting aimlessly down to anywhere but it blows my mind that they could land these boosters.

How are they configured/ how can they control such a landing, how'd they get "back" to the pads??

With a lot of effort and failures and near successes they finally achieved it!

 

[Delta3DStudios]

How are they configured/ how can they control such a landing, how'd they get "back" to the pads??

They can't land every rocket yet, it depends on the payload. A fully loaded maxed out Falcon9 won't have enough fuel for landing, there needs to be like 5 to 10% of fuel remaining in the tanks for the engines to have enough thrust to slow the rocket for a controlled descent.

However the most exciting thing is the ocean landings they've been perfecting (not on a droneship, landing on water itself) - roaring through the atmosphere towards the ocean, and at the very last second, one massive retro-thrust to slow a 13 story tall rocket to a gentle enough landing where the rocket can be salvaged and reused. They've tried it a few times recently with terrible results, but they successfully completed an ocean-landing recently. This requires substantially less fuel for landing the rocket this way, but it puts way more stress on the rocket and requires way more precision timing to prevent the rocket from slowing down too fast and breaking apart when it tips over in the ocean.