Discussion SpaceX CRS-3 (Spx-3) post-mission launch vehicle testing video

[ISProgram]

As we all have been hoping for, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California have posted two videos of the landing attempt of the SpaceX CRS-3 F9 v1.1 first stage on April 18 2014.

Unfortunately, it's kind of degraded...

Having spent quite a lot of time "lurking" around NSF forums and reading a lot of detailed analysis and theories, I feel this video is useful, if just for the vaguely familiar frames. It's not a lot of video, so there's not a lot of good frames either.

Point being, discuss the video, any (relevant) grandiose theories are valid. This also refers to the SpaceX RTLS concept in general.

 

[Donamy]

Even with the repair, I only get this shot, that looks like anything.

 

[ISProgram]

Even with the repair, I only get this shot, that looks like anything.

I know. The raw video has more time on it, despite being worse. One HORRIBLE shot looks like this:

Now, it's at the very end (28s), but I noticed that the bright area in the upper right hand corner is the horizon. Thus, this is a shot taken as the stage was going horizontal after splashdown. It is equally likely that the full video from the stage, however long it is (if this is a snippet), ends just after this frame, since Musk himself said it stopped transmitting when it went horizontal.

Discussion like this, and so on. :thumbup:

 

[Urwumpe]

I can't even tell from the video, how the attitude rates have been before engine ignition. The waves only become visible after the engines already ignited.

 

[kerlix]

Even though the team was receiving accurate telemetry data from the stage (assumption, as I haven't done any research into the subject), I find it hard to believe that this is the "best" video evidence they were able to capture for team technical review. Installing this video equipment takes up weight that could be put towards cargo ($$$ money $$$). I'd think that they would do anything and everything possible to make sure that the equipment provided data of the highest quality.

But as I'm no scientist of any sort (at all), I'm probably wrong.

As for the RTLS concept......

I hope beyond hope that SpX can indeed make this a reality. It would be a great leap forward in terms of technology, cost, access, etc. Unfortunately, as much as I cheer for them, I won't be a true believer until I see a stage set back down at the pad, undamaged and ready for a quick refurbishing.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Well, Mr. Musk himself asked the public to try to "fix" the video SpaceX received, and it seems that the video has more to reveal than what it seems. Here's a discussion on the efforts to try restoring data out of it. :hmm:

 

[MaverickSawyer]

There's also a whole internet project spooling up to tackle this.

I wish the folks working on this the best of luck.

EDIT: Looks like this is one of the best restored frames...

General consensus is that it is a frame of the first stage intact and floating upright a few moments after splashdown.

 

[Urwumpe]

General consensus is that it is a frame of the first stage intact and floating upright a few moments after splashdown.

Sorry, but with equal probability, it could be a frame from the last Star Trek movie accidentially received by SpaceX.

I don't think it is really anyway better than the raw data.