shock dampener explained
[youtube]LDpGCfZAraU[/youtube]


those were also used in the moon landing
[url]http://heroicrelics.org/info/lm/landing-gear-strut-honeycomb.html[/url]

BEAM

I can't decide if it looks more like a wart or a mushroom.
[url]http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv[/url]
Update: one minute and nines seconds total inflation added so far. The last and longest increment was eight seconds. I have now decided that it looks and sounds like one of those stovetop Jiffy Pop popcorn snacks except for being cloth instead of shiny aluminum.

Does it come with wallpaper and can tenants use their own choice of paint? Hope no one eats everyone else's takeout food in the fridge.

xxxxxxxxx

A slower first stage landing video with a graphical overlay to show the position of the drone ship during the rocket descent.
[URL="https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/4lfr64/video_analysis_of_the_spacex_thaicom8_landing/"]VIDEO: Analysis of the SpaceX Thaicom-8 landing video shows new, interesting details about how SpaceX lands first stages[/URL] (reddit thread) Thread comments suggest that this stage doesn't look as overcooked as the last shrimp on the barbie.
[YOUTUBE]b-yWTH7SJDA[/YOUTUBE]

h/t [URL="https://plus.google.com/+JohnHigginbotham70/posts/AyhBZz91EcC"]John Higginbotham[/URL]: Flat Earther debunks Space X landing

This latest beautiful landing video clip has now also received Flat Earther scrutiny. They really don't like seeing a curved horizon.
[url]https://youtu.be/WLE-ocDoXrs[/url]
[YOUTUBE]WLE-ocDoXrs[/YOUTUBE]

[QUOTE=only_human;435076]This latest beautiful landing video clip has now also received Flat Earther scrutiny. They really don't like seeing a curved horizon.[/QUOTE]

LOL... Actually, this is one of the reasons I'm currently modelling Trump with a 20% possibility of becoming PoTUS.

[QUOTE=chalsall;435080]LOL... Actually, this is one of the reasons I'm currently modelling Trump with a 20% possibility of becoming PoTUS.[/QUOTE]
I devoutly hope that you are correct, even if the alternative is HRC.
Danger! Will Robinson! :max:

[URL="https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/4lz2y6/thaicom8_recovery_thread/"]Thaicom-8 Recovery Thread[/URL]
Stage one is four hours away from port but not traveling any more until tomorrow, it seems.
[QUOTE]Current status: (as of Wed June 1 at 4:30 PM EDT)
Update 5 PM EDT: Good photo of leaning stage
Update 3:30 PM EDT: UK submarine enters port, possibly explaining the NOTAM. (transfer of missiles)
OCISLY is floating approximately 35 km (22 miles) from Port Canaveral with its support vessels. It is unknown when they will continue into port. Their average speed of movement back from the landing area had been 8.8 km/h (5.5 mi/h), suggesting an approx 4 hour journey once they get back underway.[/QUOTE]
Once this recycling stuff really starts happening we'll be into crack inspection and clearing out coke.

[URL="http://spacenews.com/french-space-minister-calls-for-european-rocket-rd-effort-says-spacex-victory-still-tbd/"]French space minister calls for European rocket R&D effort, says SpaceX victory still TBD[/URL]

[URL="https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/4m0gfg/russian_space_minister_rogozin_program_will_never/"]Russian Space Minister Rogozin: Program Will “Never Catch Up” to SpaceX Innovation[/URL]
I don't know enough to judge this kind of thing but think this problem is endemic most places here and there.

As for the fairly new RD-181s, two pairs were bought last year and I think there is some contract for upwards of 50 or 60.

That is what Orbital ATK switched to after a previous rocket explosion. It has more power and they may be able to meet a cargo commitment with four launches instead of five if NASA's cargo can be apportioned thusly. They just did a hot fire test firing yesterday. They've had some rough times; they bought a couple of rides for their Centaur on ULA's Atlas 5 to meet contract commitments after the explosion -- and one Atlas 5 launch had its own fuel anomaly leaving the versatile upper stage Centaur with a rough situation and barely enough fuel to complete the mission.

----

[URL="http://www.space.com/33020-pluto-best-images-new-horizons-video.html"]Amazing Pluto Shines in Best Close-Up Views Yet (Photo, Video)[/URL]
[QUOTE]You need to zoom in on the newly released Pluto mosaic to fully appreciate the rich level of detail it provides. You can do that by checking out the full-resolution image here: [url]http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nh-fullresolutionnoodle.jpg[/url]

New Horizons captured the images from a distance of about 9,850 miles (15,850 kilometers) on July 14, 23 minutes before the probe's closest approach to Pluto (which brought it to within 7,800 miles, or 12,550 km, of the dwarf planet's surface).

Though the encounter took place more than 10 months ago, New Horizons is still beaming flyby data home, and likely won't be done doing so until this coming fall, mission team members have said.

New Horizons may have another flyby in its future. Stern and his colleagues have submitted a proposal to send the spacecraft — which launched in January 2006 — zooming past a small object about 1 billion miles (1.6 billion km) beyond Pluto, called 2014 MU69. If NASA approves and funds this mission extension, the encounter with 2014 MU69 would take place Jan. 1, 2019.
[/QUOTE]
[URL="http://nasawatch.com/archives/2016/06/and-todays-too.html"]And Today's 'Too Lazy To Call NASA And Ask' Award Goes To ...[/URL]
[QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Why did they wait until NOW to release these? pics taken in 2015 and we pay their salaries in tax dollars [url]https://t.co/hhXxrfsWEr[/url]
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) June 1, 2016[/QUOTE]

NASA releases sharpest images of Pluto ever taken; captured via spacecraft's flyby in 2015. [url]https://t.co/pcooJYhuhY[/url] [url]pic.twitter.com/tGljue37U9[/url]
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) June 1, 2016

Why It'll Take New Horizons 16 Months to Send Us This Week's Data, Gizmodo (2015)
[QUOTE]"4,000 bits per second may be double our current downlink speed, but downloading planetary science data over 3 billion miles is still quite a bit slower than loading your email on a 56K connection. Hence the reason it's going to take us an estimated 16 months to send home all the data we collect in the next several days."[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

So, I was interested in finding out if SpaceX successfully brought back the first stage for thaicom8 (edit: to port).

Unfortunately, I had to rely on a Periscope feed from a woman (Alicia Murphy) and her son who were demonstrably dumber than bricks. All other web camera feeds demanded payment.

The good news is the first stage returned to port successfully. The bad news is I had to listen to their stupid commentary (although on extremely low volume).

I had never viewed Periscope before. I will never again.

[URL="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=balG1nQ_bEE"]SpaceX Rocket coming into Port Canaveral 6/2/16 Full Video[/URL] 52:41 YouTube via SurfGuru
[YOUTUBE]balG1nQ_bEE[/YOUTUBE]

1st viewer!
52:41 video. About ten minutes in a few vessels decrease the monotony. 43 minutes in - near some docks. 45 minutes - traveling through some channel. doesn't seem to capture final berthing

Actually these 4 minutes are the better parts:
SpaceX Rocket Returns to Port Surfguru.com cam feed 6/2/16 via SurfGuru
[url]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb8tqvMGGhI[/url]
[YouTube]Wb8tqvMGGhI[/YouTube]

spacex: Rocket back at port after careful ocean transit (Instagram)
[url]https://www.instagram.com/p/BGKRcY3F8XC/[/url]

[QUOTE=chalsall;435384]All other web camera feeds demanded payment.[/QUOTE]Start up a private browser session, turn off ad-block, and use[URL="http://www.portcanaveralwebcam.com/"]Port Canaveral Web cam.[/URL] They have been delivering hi-res video during the move in and transfer to shore. A lot of the reddit folks have been clicking ads as thanks for the great quality that they have been delivering.

[URL="https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/06/williams-beam-expandable-module-milestone/"]Williams enters BEAM for expandable module milestone[/URL]
[QUOTE]NASA astronaut Jeff Williams has [B]ingressed[/B] the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) on Monday, the first time an American has entered an inflatable module in space. The milestone came after teams on the ground helped with a scavenger hunt on the Station to replace a missing part that was required for Monday’s historic event.[/QUOTE]
I do not know what the missing part was nor do I know Williams' [URL="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingress_(video_game)"]Ingress[/URL] portal faction.

I read somewhere that they had to move power lines to accommodate the latest recovered Falcon booster's trip to the hanger. That may get old fast. [URL="http://www.universetoday.com/129310/recovered-spacex-falcon-9-lifts-off-2nd-time-after-baby-made-it-home-gallery/"]RECOVERED SPACEX FALCON 9 ‘LIFTS OFF’ 2ND TIME AFTER ‘BABY MADE IT HOME!” – GALLERY[/URL]
[URL="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-moon-express-20160606-snap-story.html"]
U.S. government close to approving private moon mission, reports say[/URL]
[QUOTE]The MX-1 lander, which Moon Express said is capable of carrying scientific and commercial payloads, is set to blast off in 2017 on Los Angeles-based Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. The rocket is awaiting its first flight.

In a video posted on its website, Moon Express said it would start by launching robotic landers with payloads to the surface of the moon and progress to exploring for resources, learning how to process the materials, and transporting them back to Earth.

Moon Express has said it is looking for platinum group metals, rare earth elements and Helium-3, which some believe could be a safer nuclear fuel and is present in larger quantities on the moon, according to the European Space Agency.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]SpaceX ‏@SpaceX
Fantastic four
[url]https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/739984652136374273[/url]

Room for one more then somebody has to get kicked out of the nest.[/QUOTE]
Four boosters sitting in a hanger.