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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday July 20 2017, @06:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the it-IS-rocket-science dept.

Speaking at the International Space Station Research and Development conference, Elon Musk said that a successful maiden flight for Falcon Heavy was unlikely:

SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk has downplayed the chances of a successful inaugural flight for his Falcon Heavy space launch vehicle, admitting there is a "good chance it would not make it to orbit in its first launch."

Development of the booster rocket, which is powered by 27 engines, has proven to be "way harder than the team initially thought," he told the International Space Station Research and Development conference on Wednesday.

Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful rocket booster in the world, capable of delivering a 54 ton payload into orbit.

Musk said that combining three Falcon 9 rockets together had multiplied vibrations throughout the vehicle making it difficult to test without a launch.

The maiden test flight is due to take place toward the end of the year.

As if watching the inaugural launch of the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V were not tempting enough, how many more people will watch in hopes of seeing it go BOOM!?


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  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday July 20 2017, @09:04PM (4 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Thursday July 20 2017, @09:04PM (#542062) Journal

    landings using a single engine that can't be throttled down enough for something more graceful, and by all accounts the Heavy is going to require even faster and more delicate fine-tuning.

    With 27 engines and a first stage weight and size 3 times larger, the landing probably gets easier. Because you don't have to throttle your engine down into their crappy operational range so much. Much below 59% these engines run rough and produce inconsistent thrust.

    He can maybe use two engines at 75% thrust, or three engines at lower than 59% and betting they will balance each other's variations.

    Musk is not talking about the landing anyway. He's talking about the launch and reaching orbit. He's not positive the machine will hold together long enough.

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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday July 20 2017, @09:40PM (3 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Thursday July 20 2017, @09:40PM (#542075)

    The falcon heavy is supposed to land as three separate falcon 9 first stages. Typically two near the launchpad, one at sea, I believe.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 20 2017, @11:23PM (2 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 20 2017, @11:23PM (#542100) Journal
      That is correct. The idea behind the cross-feed scheme is that the fuel on the two external boosters is used first to power all 27 rocket engines. Then when the two external boosters empty, they are jettisoned, and it becomes a fully fueled Falcon 9 for the remainder of the ride.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 21 2017, @12:51PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 21 2017, @12:51PM (#542334)

        I think I read somewhere that they gave up on (or maybe postponed) propellant crossfeed, and the first FHs were just going to use differential throttling to conserve fuel in the center core.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday July 21 2017, @03:29PM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 21 2017, @03:29PM (#542408) Journal
          Interesting. I see Elon Musk tweeted [twitter.com] in April, 2016:

          @lukealization No cross feed. It would help performance, but is not needed for these numbers.

          It sounds like the additional plumbing was causing more trouble than it was worth.