nasa, cnes warn spacex of challenges in flying reusable falcon 9 rocket _ on space

3/8/2015 NASA,CNESWarnSpaceXofChallengesinFlyingReusableFalcon9Rocket|OnSpace

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ON SPACENASA,CNESWarnSpaceXofChallengesinFlyingReusableFalcon9RocketbyAmySvitakinOnSpace

Intheory,theSpaceXFalcon9v1.1boostercanbereusedmorethanthreedozentimes.

That'sbecausetherocket'sLOX/KeroseneMerlin1Denginenineofwhichpoweritsfirststagehasacycleof40,accordingtoStellaGuillen,SpaceXdirectorofbusinessdevelopment.

"It'snotobviouslytheentiresystemortheentirestage,"shesaidduringaspaceconferenceinParislastmonth.Wedon'tknowhowmanytimeswecanflythefirststage.Buttheengineshaveacycleof40.

Aspartofthecompany'sgoaltodramaticallylowerthecostofspacelaunch,Hawthorne,Calif.basedSpaceXisslowlymovingoutonastrategytotestthereusableFalcon9corestagewiththegoalofeventuallyrecoveringandreflyingtheentirerocket,Guillensays.

Butevenwithoutfirststageflyback,theFalcon9isalreadythelowestcostrocketonthecommercialmarkettoday.Abletothrow4,850kgofpayloadtosupersynchronoustransferorbitatroughly$60millionperlaunch,itbestseventheChineseLongMarch3Bat$70millionapop.

Notingthatthecostoffuel,oxygenandotherexpendableliquidsintherocketamountstojust0.3%ofthecostofaFalcon9mission,SpaceXCEOandfounderElonMusksaysthereispotentialtofurtherlowerthecostbyafactorofmorethan100,assumingahighlaunchrateandtheabilitytofullyandrapidlyreusetheentirerocket,includingitsfirstandsecondstages.

Thisisadifficultthingtoachieve,hetoldanannualU.S.ExportImportBankconferenceinWashingtonApril25.Alotofpeopleintheaerospaceindustrythinkit'snotpossible,andmostinindustryhavegivenuponit.Butwethinkit'spossible.

AmongthedoubtersisNASADeputyAssociateAdministratorDanDumbacher,aformerSpaceShuttleengineerwholeadstheagency'sexplorationsystemsdevelopment.Dumbachersaystheagencylearnedalotfromitsexperiencewiththeorbiter'sreusableSpaceShuttleMainEngines(SSMEs).

Wetriedtomaketheenginesreusablefor55flights,hesaidinParislastmonth.Lookhowlongandhowmuchmoneyittookforustodothat,andwestillweren'tsuccessfulforallparts.

WhileNASAisusingSSMEstopoweritsnewheavyliftSpaceLaunchSystem(SLS),Dumbachersaysthecostofrefurbishingtheenginesmeanstheagencyhasnoplansto

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reusethem.

Allwe'regoingtobedoingisworkingonthemanufacturabilityandgettingthecostdown,Dumbachersaid.We'regoingtoretainthereusabilitythat'sinthere,butI'mactuallygoingtothrowthemaway.

Dumbachersaidunlikecommercialairliners,rocketshavelimitedflightopportunities,presentingachallengetoengineersintermsofmeasuringandunderstandingtheenvironmentsinwhichlaunchvehiclesoperate.

Intheairlineindustry,youhavelotsofflights,lotsofrepetition,lotsofopportunitytogolearn,figureoutwhatbroke,andfixit,hesays.Withlaunchvehicles,we'velaunchedalot,butnottotheorderofmagnitudewehavewithairplanes.

DumbachersaidtheSpaceShuttlesolidrocketboosterswerelikewiseproblematic,requiringtoomuchoverhaultojustifythecostofreusingthem.

We'dpickthemoutoftheocean,butwespentalotoftimecleaningthosethingsupwhenwegotthemback,inspectingthehardwaretomakesurethatitwasstillgoodtogo,hesaid.

Inadditiontophysicschallenges,Dumbachersaidtheeconomicsoflaunchingreusablerocketsisakeyfactortoconsiderinjustifyingthecost.Youhavetounderstandtheeconomicsofthesituationandhowthattranslatesintoflightrateandproductionratetomaketheoveralleconomiccalculationsforthesystemworthwhile,Dumbachersays.

ChristopheBonnalofthelauncherdirectorateatFrenchspaceagencyCNES,agrees.

Ifyoureuse,youstopproducing,dependingonthelevelofreusability,hesays.Soyouendupwithapermanentprototype,andtokeepcostsdownyouneedtohaveahighrateofproduction.

BarryMatsumori,SpaceXvicepresidentofcommercialsalesandbusinessdevelopment,saysFalcon9's10Merlin1Dengines,includingnineonthecorestageandavacuumversionflyingonthesecond,meanSpaceXisalreadymanufacturingalotofmotors.

Itdoesn'ttakeverymanyflightsforustohitrateproduction,MatsumorisaidinApril.Wearepoppingoutenginesataprettyhighrate.

BonnalsaidCNEShaslookedatoptimisticflightratesofaround50peryear,assumingasinglepayload,butthat,Underthebestconditionswecouldsave10%ofthelaunchcosts,plusorminus15%,hequipped.

Oneofthemostchallengingaspectsofreusability,hesaid,istheweightpenaltyaddedbyhardwareandpropellant.Hesaysthelattermeansreserving30%offirststagefuelinordertoreturnaboostertothelaunchsite.

Youendupdesigningmuchlargervehicles,withlandinggear,withlegsorwings,soit'sheavierandyouneedmorepropulsion,atleast2530%morepropulsiononthestage,Bonnalsaid,addingthatapreviousstudybyCNESandRussianspaceagencyRoscosmoslookedatthefeasibilityofmakingtheAriane5solidrocketboostersliquidfueledandreusable,butscrappedtheideaafterthehardwaregrewtoolarge.

Thethingthatshockedmewasthatatthebeginning,thisreusableflybackboosterwasjustacylinderwithenginesandlittlewings,justaturbofanintheback,hesaid.AndthreeyearslaterthesewerecompleteAirbusesintermsofsizewithfourenginesineachofthem.

SpaceXPresidentGwynneShotwellsaysFalcon9'sreusabilityisalreadydesignedintotherocket'sfirststage,includingtheweightofthelandinglegsthatwouldotherwisedetractfromtherocket'sperformance.ShealsosaidFalcon9retains30%performancemarginoverthecompany'sadvertisedmasstoorbitcapabilityof4,850kgtoGTOmarginSpaceXisusingtoconductoperationaltrialsofareusableFalcon9firststage.



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Themassoftherecoveryhardwareisnotadramaticimpactonpayloadperformance,ShotwellsaidinaFebruaryinterview.Conservatively,ifIput1,000lbsonthefirststage,I'monlylosing100poundsofpayloadorsotoorbit.Whatimpactsisthefuelweneedtoreservetoexecutethereentryandthelandingburns.

However,MusksaysheseesaFalcon9withareusablecorestagetargetingthesmalltomediumsizeweightcategoryformissionstoGTO,withthelargerFalconHeavynowindevelopmentexpectedtodotheheavylifting.

"WhereIbasicallyseethisnettingoutisFalcon9willdosatellitestoroughlyupto3.5tonneswithfullreusabilityofthebooststage,andFalconHeavywilldosatellitesupto7tonneswithfullreusabilityofallthreebooststages,"MusktoldAviationWeekinFebruary."NowFalconHeavycoulddoubleitspayload,almost;if,forexample,wewentexpendableonthecentercore,wecoulddo14tonnestoGTO."

Butbeyondperformance,saysBonnalistheimpactofrocketreusabilityongroundinstallations.Asanexample,hesaidCNEShasfoundthatsafetyrequirementswouldmakereturnofabooststageproblematicatEurope'sSouthAmericanspaceportinKourou,FrenchGuiana.

IwillbeveryinterestedinseeingthethreeFalconHeavyboosterscomingbacktoVandenbergwithpropellantsloshing,hesaid,referringtoSpaceXplanstostartflyingaheavyversionoftheFalcon9fromtheU.S.AirForce'sCalifornialaunchinstallationnextyear.Intermsofsafety,itmustbequitechallenging.

PaulEckert,managerofbudget,policy,andinternationalaffairsattheFAAOfficeofCommercialSpaceTransportationsaysregulatorsarepreparedtoworkwithSpaceXtoensurethecompanycanproceedwithitsreusabilityinitiative.

Therearealwaysriskfactors,therearecertaincriteria,andthecompanyandthegovernmentarebothwellaware,sowedon'tanticipateanyproblem,hesaidinParislastmonth.I'msurewecanworkitout.

WithtelemetrygleanedfromasimulatedsoftlandingofaFalcon9firststageintheAtlanticOceanlastmonth,SpaceXsaysitischippingawayatitsgoal.ButasMuskhasemphasized,theeconomicsofreflyinglaunchvehiclesaremostpromisingiftheentirerocketisreusable.

Themostfundamentalbreakthroughisarapidlyandfullyreusablerocket,MusksaidinFebruary.Itdoesn'thelpifit'spartiallyreusable.

Shotwellconcedesthatsecondstagerecoverpresentsadifferentsetofchallenges,notablytheperformanceoffsetrequiredforadditionalpropellant.

Thesecondstagemasstradeispoundforpound,Shotwellsays.WhateverincrementalmassIadd,thesamehastocomeoffthepayload.

WhenaskedifSpaceXhasthetechnologyinhandtoachievesecondstageflyback,Guillendeclinedtocomment,thoughshesaiditisinourplanstorecovertheentirerocket.

MatsumoriagreedthatrecoveringaFalcon9upperstageismoredifficultthanreturningacorebooster.

Thethinggoestotheothersideoftheworld;bringingitbackisanotherchallenge,hesaid.

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Thelackofanexistenceproofisn'tproofofnonexistence.Ifthiswaseasy,someonewouldhavedoneitalready.

photojournalist... onMay5,2014


IwishElonallthebestinhisendevor,butIthinkheneedstodoitfirstbeforeheshakesuptheindustrywhichislongoverdue.Itwouldalsobeagoodideatostartdesigningaspacetugtoremoveallthedeadstuffinorbit,becausewhenReusabledoescomearoundeverybodywilljumponboardandspacejunkwilltakeonawholenewmeaning.

jimbo0117 onMay5,2014


Ifreturningandlandingtheboosteratthelaunchpadistoorisky,thensimplyuseabargeoutintheoceanandtowitback.Thisisn'trocketscience...

SteveD onMay6,2014


Itdoesn'ttakearocketscientisttoknowthatlandingaboosterinsaltwaterisabadideaifyouwantquickturnarounds.Thehavocthatstuffcanplayonprecisionenginepartsandothercomponentsisharshtosaytheleast.Onecouldneversealthingswellenoughtohave100%confidenceintherebeingnoleakage.

IimaginethatthefolkswhorestoretheShuttle'sboostersknowtheissuesfullwell.Refurbishmentdutieswillbehighifhecannotlanditonsolid(dry)ground.Justthepossibilityofsaltwatergettingintothewiringortheelectronicsviaanunseenpinholeleakputsupbarrierstofastreuse.ThisiswhyonlythecasingsoftheShuttle'sboosterswerereused.

Andthoseenginesofhiswillrequireamajor(costlyandtimeconsuming)inspectionafterusebeforeNASAlet'sanyofit'speopleflyonthemagain.Likewisewiththerestofthebird.

Mannedrocketswillneverreachairlineschedulelikeflightsinourlifetimebecausespaceflight(andspaceitself)isamuchmoresevereandunforgivingenvironmentthantheoneairlinersflyin,andorbitboundpassengerscanstillonlygetuptherebyridingontopofhugefueltanksthathaveoneendonfire.

BoydNelson onNov15,2014


"Andthoseenginesofhiswillrequireamajor(costlyandtimeconsuming)inspectionafterusebeforeNASAlet'sanyofit'speopleflyonthemagain.Likewisewiththerestofthebird."

NASAwouldprobablyrequireSpaceXtousenewneverusedrocketsandmotorswhenlaunchingNASA'sastronauts.Atleastinitially.Theserecoveredrocketstagesandmotorscouldthenbereusedrepeatedlyforlaunchesofcargoorsatellites.

SpaceXmightchargeapremiumlaunchpriceforcustomerswhoinsistthata"virginlaunchvehicle"beused.



[email protected] onMay6,2014


SpaceXisreallypushingtheenvelopebutit'stimeforsomeoneotherthanNASA(ortheircronies)todosomepurerocketscienceandmovetheindustryforward.WhenMuskreusesthefirstbooster,everyotherrocketmanufacturerisgoingtotryaswell.

It'sonlyimpossibletosomeonemakesitpossible.

GreenShrike onMay7,2014

I'msurprisedMr.DumbacherwouldconflatethecomplexityoftheRS25withtheMerlinengine,thoughtobefairtohimnothinginarticleshowsMr.DumbachertohavebeenspecificallyaddressingSpaceXortheMerlin,withthearticlepossibly"repurposing"hisstatement'soriginalcontext.

Nevertheless,theRS25SSMEisadualpreburner,stagedcombustion,liquidhydrogenenginemeantformassiveperformance.Itwasdesignedinthe'70sontheabsolutebleedingedgeofthedecade'stechnology,andsoit'snorealsurpriseitwasn'tquiteascheaplyreusableasintended.TheMerlin,incontrast,isanextremelybasicgasgenerator,designedformodernmanufacturabilityandlowcostberalles,incorporatingsimplepintleinjectortechnologystraightoutofthe60'sApolloeralunarlander.Cuttingedgedesign,itisnot.

HistoricalexperiencewithRS25did,however,providevaluablelessonstoSpaceX,evenifitseemsprimarilyinwhattoavoid.

ItseemstobelikewisewithCNES'experience.IgnoringtheunmentionedfactthatCNESisintimatelyrelatedtoSpaceXrivalArianespace,andthatafewgrainsofsaltarethusrequiredbeforeswallowingtheymightsayabouteachother,itseemsquiteobviousthataddingwingsandjetenginestoarocketwillmarkedlyincreaseitsmass,complexityandexpense.

Fortunately,itappearsthatSpaceXtookthis"lesson"toheart,however,througheitherlearningfromCNES'experimentsorthroughsimplecommonsense,anditsFalcon9sportsneitherwingsnorjetengines.Infact,simplicityseemstobeSpaceX'swatchwordasitsreusableconfigurationdiffersfromanexpendableconfigurationonlybyabeefedupcoldgasRCSsystem,lightweightandfairlycheapcarbonfibreandaluminumhoneycomblandinglegs,andadditionallandingcontrolsoftwareinitsavionicscore.

Thelatter,ofcourse,wastestedextensivelynotjustinsimulation,butonSpaceX'srealworldGrasshopperandnewF9RDev1vehicles,allowingasmanycheap"flightopportunities"asSpaceX'sengineerswouldlikefor"measuringandunderstandingtheenvironmentsinwhichlaunchvehiclesoperate."

IfMr.Bonnal'splanforreusabilitynettedhisorganizationnoreductionincosts,thenthere'syetanotherroadmapthatSpaceXcanlearnfromandnotfollow.Fuelisneededforboostbackandlanding,ofcourse,butfuelischeap.Rocketcores,ontheotherhand,areexpensive.Asisrefurbishingseawaterdrenchedequipment,soSpaceXaimstoreturntherocketcorestotheirlaunchsite,touchingdownonwaterbeingonlyatemporarytestregimeuntiltheycanprovesufficientcontroloverthereturningstagestolandsafely.

IsuspectMr.Bonnal'sorganizationwouldhavehadmoreluckwithAriane5reusabilityifithadbeendesignedinfromthestart.IfinditsurprisingthatreusabilityisnotagoalforAriane6nowwouldbethetimetobakeinthecapability.IfSpaceXissuccessfulinitsreusabilitygoals,whentheA6debutsit'llbeinanevenworsecompetitivespotthatA5isintodaywithF9andbettingthatthecompetitionwillfailisnotwisebusinessstrategy.

SinceSpaceXmostlyjustfollowedtheKISSprinciple,anygroupofbrightengineersshouldbeabletoreplicatetheirsuccess.However,fromcleansheetofpapertoboostingrocketsbacktotheirlaunchsitewillstilltakeseveralyears,yearsinwhichanynonreusableofferingisnoncompetitive.Isupposetheycouldmodifytheirexpendablerocketforreusability,butCNESalreadyfoundthatdidn'tworktoowell,sotheymightwishtotaketheirownlessontoheart.

Reusabilitydoesreducearocket'sperformance,but"[SpaceXPresidentGwynneShotwell]alsosaidFalcon9retains30%performancemarginoverthecompany'sadvertisedmasstoorbitcapabilityof4,850kgtoGTO."

Thoughthearticle'sauthorhasarguedotherwiserecently,unlessSpaceX'spresidentdoesn'tknowherowncompany'sproducts,thatstatementstronglyimpliesthatwithnoreservedperformancemargin,afullyexpendableF9canlift4.85t*1.3=~6.3ttoGTO.*

Usingallthelessthansuccessfuloroutrightfailedreusabilityplansasaguide,itseemsSpaceXhasdecidedthewaytomakeamediumclassreusablelauncheristobuildanextremelysimpleandlowcost6theavylauncher,designedfromthegroundupforreusability,andthenmarketitatareduced34tcapacity.And,asafollowup,theydecidedthewaytomakeaheavylauncheristotakea3050tsuperheavy,andmarketitasaheavylauncherwithacapacityof7treturningallthreeoftheboostcoresor14treturningonlytwoofthecores.



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TobadlyparaphraseEdison,itcouldbesaidthattheconceptofreusabilityhasn'tfailedit'sjustthat10,000waysthatwon'tworkhavebeenfound.Afterobservingthefatesofothers'efforts,inafewmonthsorayearweshallknowwhetherSpaceX'sownplanforreusabilitywill,infact,finallyworkandleadtothesuccessthathaseludedallothers.

*Thisfurtherimpliesthatthe5.3tSESsatellitestheF9hasbeencontractedtolaunchintosubsupersynchronousGTOarenot,infact,beyondthelimitofwhatF9canthrowintoGTO.Hencetheremustbeanotherreasonthatthey'rebeinglaunchedtolessthanfullSSGTO.

Perhaps5.3ttoSSGTOismerelybeyondthelimitoftheF9'scapabilities*with*firststagerecovery,andthesubSSGTOwasrequiredtoattemptrecoveryofthestage?It'llbeinterestingtoseeifthoseF9flightssportlegsornot.

[email protected] onMay8,2014


AsifweshouldrespecttheopinionofanengineerfromNasa,whopromiseda$7millionperflight'cheap,safe,reliableaccesstospace'shuttlethendelivereda$1.6billionperflightboondogglewhichkilled2crewsandhadchronicandmultiyearserviceoutages...Nasa'sshuttlewasthemostunaffordable,dangerous,unreliablespacevehicleinhistory....ThenwhileNasablew$20billiononit'smiserablyfailed/cancelledConstellation,SpaceXproducedfarsuperior/advancedboosters/capsulesforonly$300million....nowNasa'sshameless,unneeded,unsustainable,unaffordablemulti$billion/flightSLS...ThepaperpushingfoolsatNasaneedtojustshutupandgetoutoftheway.

saliendoCaliendo onMay10,2014


Untilveryrecently,allspacefaringactivitywasfundedandundertakenbygovernments.Thestatefundeddesignersandbuildersofflighthardwarehadnorealincentive(competition)toreducethecostofmasstoorbit.Mr.Musk,morethananyoneelse,threatenstodumptheworldslaunchparadigmsontheircollectiveheads.Understandably,thepriestsandacolytesatthecoreoftheworldsincumbentlaunchbeliefsopposetheradicalMr.Muskandfearthepossibilityofhissuccess.TherightcallistogiveMr.Musktheballlethimrunwithit.Win,loseordraw,everyonemustnowfollowhimdownthepathofrealreusabilityandreducedlaunchcostsorriskirrelevanceandextinction.



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nasa, cnes warn spacex of challenges in flying reusable falcon 9 rocket _ on space

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