Engineering News Blog

Engineering News

Latest news of interest to engineers. Sourced from GlobalSpec's Engineering News
Previous in Blog: World's Largest Solar Park (166MW) Built on Former Mine   Next in Blog: The Air Force Special Ops Receives Its First C-130J Combat Shadow II
Close

Comments Format:






Change Mode
Close

Subscribe to Discussion:

CR4 allows you to "subscribe" to a discussion
so that you can be notified of new comments to
the discussion via email.

Close

Rating Vote:







Add Vote
14 comments
Rate Comments: Nested

SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

Posted September 30, 2011 7:57 AM

From Discovery News - Top Stories:

Elon Musk has announced his vision of a space launch system that will be fully-reusable. No parachutes required.

Read the whole article

Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.
Usbport
Guru
Engineering Fields - Optical Engineering - Member Engineering Fields - Engineering Physics - Member Engineering Fields - Systems Engineering - Member

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Trantor
Posts: 5363
Good Answers: 647
#1

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 8:53 AM

The spacecraft doesn't need a parachute since it lands using powered descent. This apparently blows the mind of the author of the article. He writes:

Although a powered landing may not be familiar to us, it doesn't mean it won't work.

Ummm, yeah... Unfamiliar to anyone who can't remember the Apollo lunar module landings on the moon. Which... you know... used powered descent.

__________________
 Whiskey, women -- and astrophysics. Because sometimes a problem can't be solved with just whiskey and women.
Reply
JohnDG
Guru
United Kingdom - Member - Not a New Member Hobbies - Musician - New Member Hobbies - Fishing - New Member

Join Date: May 2006
Location: Reading, Berkshire, UK. Going under cover.
Posts: 9684
Good Answers: 468
#2

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 9:24 AM

The animation seems to miss out a rather important bit, viz. how the 2nd stage gets from

this: to this: without being incinerated.

__________________
 "Love justice, you who rule the world" - Dante Alighieri
Reply
Anonymous Hero
Guru
Popular Science - Evolution - New Member Popular Science - Weaponology - New Member

Join Date: May 2006
Location: The 'Space Coast', USA
Posts: 11119
Good Answers: 918
#3
In reply to #2

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 9:38 AM

That's where the "miracle" happens.
Reply
Usbport
Guru
Engineering Fields - Optical Engineering - Member Engineering Fields - Engineering Physics - Member Engineering Fields - Systems Engineering - Member

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Trantor
Posts: 5363
Good Answers: 647
#4
In reply to #3

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 4:40 PM

Okay, you owe Sidney Harris royalties for that joke.

__________________
 Whiskey, women -- and astrophysics. Because sometimes a problem can't be solved with just whiskey and women.
Reply
Anonymous Hero
Guru
Popular Science - Evolution - New Member Popular Science - Weaponology - New Member

Join Date: May 2006
Location: The 'Space Coast', USA
Posts: 11119
Good Answers: 918
#5
In reply to #4

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 5:29 PM

Who is Sid and what is he doing with my material?
Reply
RVZ717
Guru
United States - Member - USA! Hobbies - Musician - Sound Man Engineering Fields - Mechanical Engineering - More than a Hobby Technical Fields - Technical Writing - New Member

Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: City of Roses.
Posts: 2056
Good Answers: 101
#6
In reply to #5

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 6:46 PM
__________________
 Don't believe everything you read on the Internet!
Reply
Anonymous Hero
Guru
Popular Science - Evolution - New Member Popular Science - Weaponology - New Member

Join Date: May 2006
Location: The 'Space Coast', USA
Posts: 11119
Good Answers: 918
#7
In reply to #6

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 6:58 PM

Cute!
Reply
Usbport
Guru
Engineering Fields - Optical Engineering - Member Engineering Fields - Engineering Physics - Member Engineering Fields - Systems Engineering - Member

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Trantor
Posts: 5363
Good Answers: 647
#8
In reply to #6

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 10:41 PM

Yep. That one.

__________________
 Whiskey, women -- and astrophysics. Because sometimes a problem can't be solved with just whiskey and women.
Reply
leveles
Guru

Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1753
Good Answers: 59
#9

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

09/30/2011 11:44 PM

The russians -landing on dry land - seems to have mastered powered descent some decades ago. The weight is different. Other than that...

Parachutes are not for visuals. They are energy efficient, weight saving way of shedding kinetic energy.
Reply
Chankley
Power-User
United Kingdom - Member - New Member Engineering Fields - Transportation Engineering - New Member Technical Fields - Marketing/Advertising - New Member Hobbies - Target Shooting - New Member

Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: South coast of England
Posts: 411
Good Answers: 36
#10
In reply to #9

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

10/01/2011 4:52 AM

I think the Russians use parachutes.
Reply
osborne83
Power-User

Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 141
Good Answers: 15
#12
In reply to #9

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

10/01/2011 6:40 PM

The Russians use a retro-rocket fire just before touchdown to cushion the impact of a spacecraft that otherwise behaves like a bowling ball with a parachute.
Reply
leveles
Guru

Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1753
Good Answers: 59
#11

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

10/01/2011 5:37 AM

Yes, sloppy writing. The russians - having to land on dry land - use airbraking, then parachutes. The last few 10 meters are done with retrorockets to avoid a hard hit on landing. Apollo capsules did not need that, as water landing cushioned the capsule.

Fully powered descent is the most expensive in terms of energy and weight. That is why parachutes are used.
Reply
Anonymous Poster #1
#13

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

10/05/2011 6:24 AM

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Apollo+lunar+lander&FORM=BIFD#x0y0
Reply
PWSlack
Guru
United Kingdom - Member - Indeterminate Engineering Fields - Control Engineering - New Member

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: In the bothy, 7 chains down the line from Dodman's Lane level crossing, in the nation formerly known as Great Britain. Kettle's on.
Posts: 32175
Good Answers: 839
#14

Re: SpaceX's Future Spaceship Forgets Parachute

10/05/2011 6:27 AM

Would that be a giant leap for a man and a small step for mankind?

__________________
 "Did you get my e-mail?" - "The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place" - George Bernard Shaw, 1856
Reply
Reply to Blog Entry
Have a Different Question?
14 comments
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

Anonymous Hero (3); Anonymous Poster (1); Chankley (1); JohnDG (1); leveles (2); osborne83 (1); PWSlack (1); RVZ717 (1); Usbport (3)

Previous in Blog: World's Largest Solar Park (166MW) Built on Former Mine   Next in Blog: The Air Force Special Ops Receives Its First C-130J Combat Shadow II

Advertisement

Got Something to Say?
Ask a Question
Start a Discussion

Search this Section
General Discussion:
Go

Search this Blog
Engineering News:
Go

Recent Blog Entries

CR4 Sections
Aerospace
BioMech & BioMed
Chemical & Material Science
Civil Engineering
Communications & Electronics
Education and Engineering Careers
Electrical Engineering
General Discussion
Instrumentation
Manufacturing
Mechanical Engineering
New Technologies & Research
Software & Programming
Sustainable Engineering
Transportation

Site Directories
Forum Directory
Blog Directory
User Group Directory
RSS Feeds

CR4 Rules of Conduct
CR4 FAQ
Site Glossary

Who's Online (65 right now)
Show Members
Advertisement