[SpaceX] New Falcon Heavy rocket preparing for launch

That is baaaaadaaaaasss.

 

This has been done before somewhere...

 

Musk is killing it, he is a true genius.

DD

 

Watching the launch in person was beautiful. It was a long day and a long delay to be stuck out in the sun but well worth it. Having very limited cell service was no fun.

We got in early enough to watch it from Playalinda beach, which is the closest you can watch launches from Pad 39 and 40. For this particular launch, they reduced the parameter viewing from 3.6 miles to 4 miles. It was odd to see a USAF gunship monitoring the parameter every so often.

A couple notes watching it up close in person;
The initial launch was not that loud. I was expecting it to be pretty deafening.
Watching the cherry with the naked eye is blinding. Cameras and videos do it no justice.
Watching the boosters return was very cool and the best part. Hearing the sonic boom from the initial return was neat. The boosters had already landed before hearing the boom, which was a good 1 minute later.

 

That's what @Jontro said.

 

They lost the center core rocket. Sounds like it got pretty hairy at the end. Description below:

The center core was only able to relight one of the three engines necessary to land, and so it hit the water at 300 miles per hour about 300 feet from the drone ship. As a result, two engines on the drone ship were taken out when it crashed, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a press call after the rocket launch. “[It] was enough to take out two thrusters and shower the deck with shrapnel,” he said.

www.theverge.com/2018/2/6/16980954/spacex-falcon-heavy-rocket-middle-core-failed-landing

 

@Space Ghost A guy told me he thought the sonic boom at landing was an explosion and was worried. He was on the phone with his father at that moment who told him all was well.

 

I smh at the cultish devotion his fans exhibit (the hat and flamethrower), but I feel where they're coming from every time he pulls off something like this. Takes drive and insane execution for any company to pull this off.

 

Definitive drive. As I understand it he was insanely bullied as a teenager.

Obviously execution, but there's lots of companies that execute well, and as far as I can tell his aren't light years ahead of any other successful companies in this regards.

His biggest gift is really his ability to navigate his own personal brand and relationships with shareholders, which yes includes the US government, to finance his big, ambitious ideas.

 

They aren't light years ahead, but they've been able to capture the hearts and attention of typically jaded customers. Definitely Jobs-ian in that regard. He knows what milestones to pursue and what achievements to follow through on.

 

But can he see the moon lander from his back yard?

 

How has the boosters landed accurately? By remote control? Or the program inside the boosters?