Talk:Falcon 9 v1.1

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Clarification on height of Falcon 9 v1.1

Currently, it doesn't state what the height includes. Is the height the first+second stage combination, Falcon 9 v1.1 and Fairing combination, or Falcon 9 v1.1 and Dragon combination? Probably should add the different heights to the article, or at least say what the height refers to.

2601:8:B000:957:6502:7F95:BE93:7FB6 (talk) 17:50, 15 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Good point. SpaceX has not released (to my knowledge) the heights of all the various bits. There are folks on various internet forums who have calculated those based on trigonometry and observation, but that is not appropriate info for us to use in the encyclopedia. So, in general, we just go with whatever the source indicates.

I would recommend you take a look at the sources provided to support the statement, and see if sufficient info exists for you to make the statement more clear, and more explicit about what is represented. Cheers. N2e (talk) 20:51, 15 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The SpaceX website Falcon 9 page itself gives overall height of 68.4 m, Dragon and trunk height of 7.2 m, and fairing height of 13.1 m. A well-researched 1:100 model of Falcon 9 1.1 + Dragon came out to 63.3 cm, implying the Dragon configuration has an overall height of 63.3 m. This comes to exactly the difference between the Dragon and fairing heights, therefore the SpaceX figure is the height with the fairing. --IanOsgood (talk) 17:35, 16 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The CRS-3 NASA Presskit page 14 corroborates the overall length of 63.3 m. --IanOsgood (talk) 17:45, 16 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Characteristics

What is the empty weight of each stage? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.13.144.4 (talk) 13:13, 18 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think we're completely sure, but IIRC Reddit has calculated that the first stage is likely somewhere between 16 and 22 tonnes. That's just their rough estimate though. — Gopher65_talk 13:44, 18 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, in general, SpaceX has never released really solid spec data on that. Ditto on the exact lengths of the different stages, although many have calculated it using trigonometry, comparisons in photos, etc.

On the stage mass however, I've read that Hans Koenigsman, the SpaceX VP in many of the recent press conferences on the NASA-related flights, did answer a question with a range for the first stage in the most recent CRS-6 flight. But it is likely that that was not an empty mass, and more like what the stage masses at at the time it is flying at Mach 10 at high-altitude just before the boost-back burn, where of course propellant mass is still present to handle that burn, the reentry burn, and the landing burn. See Falcon 9 ocean booster landing tests for a graphic of where those burns fit into the total launch sequence for the first stage. N2e (talk) 14:34, 18 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Ran into Koenigsman's comment: it's here, in the CRS-6 NASA video for the post-launch news conferences. Look around 14 minutes in. He says 60,000-70,000 lbs. at the time it is landing. N2e (talk) 22:07, 18 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That's probably in the right range, since that isn't completely dry mass. There is still a bit of fuel and oxidizer left upon landing. — Gopher65_talk 23:37, 19 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]