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SpaceX had a successful launch, orbit insertion, and recovery of all 3 rocket boosters last Thursday. Unfortunately, they were unable to fasten down the central core on the ASDS (Autonomous spaceport drone ship) "Of Course I Still Love You:
Shifting seas and high winds brought it down.
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SpaceX Loses the Center Core of its Falcon Heavy Rocket due to Choppy Seas
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 16 2019, @08:21AM (4 children)
View the problem of reaching the rocket as similar to locating the head of a CNC or 3D printer. You need XY positioning. Put the gripper on a bridge that spans the ship. The gripper moves along that bridge for movement in one direction. The bridge itself moves along tracks in the sides of the ship, providing the other dimension of movement. The mechanism can be doubled up to grab from both sides simultaneously, possibly eliminating the need for an active gripper.
Another way is an arm. An ordinary heavy-equipment arm, as used for digging up roads, could reach out and pin down a leg of the rocket. It need not be automatic; a human could remotely operate it. The vertical dimension isn't really needed, so sliding the arm is also an option.
Another way is to flood the deck with adhesive, possibly something like molten solder or polyurethane foam.
Another way is to pre-place grippers all over the deck. Make a deck of grippers. They just grip; they do not need to move around on the deck. It can be mechanical, electromagnetic, or vacuum.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 16 2019, @08:54AM
But the robot design had issues with the modifications for the heavy mating booster's stubs and couldn't clamp it efficiently in the same way it had clamped the normal falcon boosters in the past. I imagine they will do some revisions now that this issue has become apparent, but given that the heavy is an interim solution and the BFR is looking to be able to launch at the same or lower cost once in production, I don't know how much engineering effort and money will go into fixing the octopus before it is rendered obsolete.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday April 16 2019, @12:57PM
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-booster-overboard/ [teslarati.com]
The next center core to be landed should have it.
Like another AC said, Falcon Heavy is an interim solution for SpaceX. Although that could change if they get a bunch of LOP-G and lunar missions.
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday April 16 2019, @02:11PM (1 child)
How about equipment on the deck of the drone ship that can lower the booster back into a horizontal position where it can be better secured, and give the entire ship a lower center of gravity?
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(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday April 16 2019, @04:13PM
Both you and GP need to remember that a rocket lands on that deck.
Recently, it has landed pretty centered, but there have been ... subnominal outcomes.
The Roomba is a trade-off. Keep the ship simple and the shockwaves will do less expensive damage.
The center of gravity of the empty booster is really low. It's a giant sail, but it should only need decent moorings to avoid toppling over.
Not sure why they didn't get on board with ropes and chains to secure the thing manually, but if the seas got bad before they got close (what's the safety distance during the landing?), I can't blame them for staying away from the tall oscillating thingy.