History making rocket flight

[TopNotch]

Last night, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 11 satellites for the OrbComm company into orbit. And then the first stage of the rocket returned to Cape Canaveral and landed.
What is the significance of that? Well, imagine having to pay 1.5 million dollars to fly from Atlanta to LA. That's what it would be if planes were like rockets -- used only once for each flight. If rockets were re-usable, space fight costs would come WAY down. Last night's flight was the first step in in making that possible.
Here's a video of the first stage landing, as shot from a helicopter...

Here's the full launch, recovery, and satellite deployment, as webcast by SpaceX last night...

[Fierofool]

I saw a time lapse, double exposure of the launch and landing, taken from the same stationary location.  The rocket landed back at almost the exact spot from where it was launched.  It showed the flame trail going up and coming back down. 

Eleven satellites at one launch?  One used to be the payload, but I guess solid state technology has made it possible to make them so much smaller.  It's getting so crowded up there they need to be miniaturized. 

[TopNotch]

Eleven satellites at one launch?  One used to be the payload, but I guess solid state technology has made it possible to make them so much smaller.  It's getting so crowded up there they need to be miniaturized.

Satellites vary in size from "CubeSats", which are as small as 4" (10cm) on a side, to major communication satellites, like what a DirecTV dish is pointed at, which are as big as a small school bus. The OrbComm satellites are 1 by 1 by 1/2 meter (yard). When they extend their solar panels, they are 13 meters wide. The longer video has an explanation of what they are used for.
And yes, it is getting crowded up there. There are international discussions going on about that.

[TopNotch]

The next commercial satellite that SpaceX launches will be a monster communication satellite, which weighs 5,300kg (11,660 pounds), much heavier than all 11 OrbComm satellites. And it will have to be sent much higher, since it is a geo-stationary satellite. So there will be less fuel left over for returning the 1st stage to the cape, but I understand they will try it.

[TopNotch]

The landed stage being grabbed by a large crane...

...and being moved to the SpaceX hanger (the tire salesman made a bundle on that job).

Edited with a bigger copy of the 2nd picture.

[Raydar]

... So there will be less fuel left over for returning the 1st stage to the cape, but I understand they will try it.

Which makes me wonder how they recover all the remaining fuel. I'm sure they have a plan, but some of that stuff is nasty. I remember all the cautions that were broadcast, regarding Hydrazine exposure, when the shuttle broke up (mostly) over Texas.

[TopNotch]

The fuel used by the main engines on a Falcon 9 is liquid oxygen (LOX) and Rocket Propellant 1 (RP-1), which is a highly refined kerosene, similar to JP-5 and JP-8 jet fuel. The attitude thrusters, used to turn the stage around for the boost-back burn, are described in SpaceX literature as "cold gas thrusters", and are much like a CO2 fire extinguisher.
The Dragon capsule, which is sometimes the cargo on a Falcon 9, does use hydrazine.
Elon Musk is somewhat of an environmental nut (hence the electric car company), and the next rocket they are working on will use liquid natural gas instead of kerosene as the fuel. It's not only cleaner burning, but is easier on the engines, which are intended to be re-usable. The kerosene leaves some soot on the engines, which must be cleaned off before re-use.
The Russian Proton rocket and the Chinese Long March 2F are the only major launch vehicles that use hjydrazine (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) as the main fuel, and nitrogen tetroxide as the oxydizer. They make a real mess if they crash. The Russians are phasing out the Proton, replacing it with the Angara rocket, which will burn kerosene. Of course, nobody knows what the Chinese are doing.
The two large Russian modules of the International Space Station were launched on Proton rockets.

[Raydar]

Interesting! Thanks for that info.

[TopNotch]

Russia responds to the successful landing.

[Raydar]

I like it!

“The main goal today is to make space cheap,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who’s in charge of defense, told Rossiya 24 TV in an interview on Wednesday in Moscow. “Competitors are stepping on our toes. Look at what billionaire Musk is doing with his projects. This is very interesting, well done, and we treat this work with respect.”

[TopNotch]

Comment from Marc Eisenberg, the CEO of OrbComm, whose satellites were launched by the Falcon 9 that returned and landed...
Question on Twitter: Would you be willing to launch your satellites on a reused Falcon 9? Would you want to be first?
Marc Eisenberg: If our engineers see the stats are the same or better, absolutely. I don't require a new 747 every time I fly. It's inevitable.
Note: The Falcon 9 that landed December 21 will not fly again. It will be tested, and then become a museum exhibit, because it was the first to land successfully.
Edit: The latest report is that the rocket passed all tests, including a full duration hold-down burn.

[TopNotch]

Here's the landed stage in the hangar. When it went up, it was all painted white. Why is some of it still white? The middle white section is where the liquid oxygen tank is. It's cold temperature protected the paint during hypersonic re-entry. The V-shaped sections are where the landing legs were folded up until just before touchdown. The legs were removed before the stage was transported.


This pictures shows a good view of the stage with it's legs still attached. The two men near one of them gives you an idea of the size of the stage.


These engines could use some Gunk Engine Bright. Using 9 smaller engines instead of 1 or 2 bigger ones is what enables the stage to land. A single large engine could not throttle down enough to fly an almost empty stage. When it landed, only the center engine was firing.