Why does this boat have a landing pad? (SpaceX's GO Searcher) Any plans for propulsive capsule landings?
$begingroup$
The BBC News article SpaceX Dragon demo capsule set to return to Earth talks about the return of the first Crew Dragon capsule to Earth:
Four parachutes should bring it into soft contact with water about 450km from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Splashdown is expected at about 08:45 EST (13:45 GMT). A boat, called GO Searcher, will be waiting to recover the capsule.
Question: Splashdown sounds like it lands in the water, but the "boat" has a big SpaceX landing pad on top. Why? And why does it say "17" in three orientations?
The GO Searcher vessel is tasked with picking Dragon crew capsules out of the water. NASA
Are there any plans for this to be used for propulsively-guided capsule landings in the future?
spacex landing recovery
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The BBC News article SpaceX Dragon demo capsule set to return to Earth talks about the return of the first Crew Dragon capsule to Earth:
Four parachutes should bring it into soft contact with water about 450km from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Splashdown is expected at about 08:45 EST (13:45 GMT). A boat, called GO Searcher, will be waiting to recover the capsule.
Question: Splashdown sounds like it lands in the water, but the "boat" has a big SpaceX landing pad on top. Why? And why does it say "17" in three orientations?
The GO Searcher vessel is tasked with picking Dragon crew capsules out of the water. NASA
Are there any plans for this to be used for propulsively-guided capsule landings in the future?
spacex landing recovery
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
$endgroup$
11
$begingroup$
Has the look of a helicopter landing pad. Perhaps to fly future astronauts back to land or for medivac operations. See here for more info...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 4:58
1
$begingroup$
@BobT I've modified the question a bit just now, thank you
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 5:12
13
$begingroup$
The numeral '17' may be the load limit in thousands of pounds. According to Wikipedia, "Rooftop helipads sometimes display a large two-digit number, representing the weight limit (in thousands of pounds) of the pad. In addition, a second number may be present, representing the maximum rotor diameter in feet". It's not a rooftop, but it's plausible that the numerals indicate the same limits...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 5:21
2
$begingroup$
FAA document with that info. Specified in 309 g. faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5390-2b/…
$endgroup$
– BowlOfRed
Mar 8 at 23:25
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The BBC News article SpaceX Dragon demo capsule set to return to Earth talks about the return of the first Crew Dragon capsule to Earth:
Four parachutes should bring it into soft contact with water about 450km from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Splashdown is expected at about 08:45 EST (13:45 GMT). A boat, called GO Searcher, will be waiting to recover the capsule.
Question: Splashdown sounds like it lands in the water, but the "boat" has a big SpaceX landing pad on top. Why? And why does it say "17" in three orientations?
The GO Searcher vessel is tasked with picking Dragon crew capsules out of the water. NASA
Are there any plans for this to be used for propulsively-guided capsule landings in the future?
spacex landing recovery
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
$endgroup$
The BBC News article SpaceX Dragon demo capsule set to return to Earth talks about the return of the first Crew Dragon capsule to Earth:
Four parachutes should bring it into soft contact with water about 450km from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Splashdown is expected at about 08:45 EST (13:45 GMT). A boat, called GO Searcher, will be waiting to recover the capsule.
Question: Splashdown sounds like it lands in the water, but the "boat" has a big SpaceX landing pad on top. Why? And why does it say "17" in three orientations?
The GO Searcher vessel is tasked with picking Dragon crew capsules out of the water. NASA
Are there any plans for this to be used for propulsively-guided capsule landings in the future?
spacex landing recovery
spacex landing recovery
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
edited Mar 8 at 5:11
uhoh
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
asked Mar 8 at 4:47
uhohuhoh
38.4k18140489
38.4k18140489
11
$begingroup$
Has the look of a helicopter landing pad. Perhaps to fly future astronauts back to land or for medivac operations. See here for more info...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 4:58
1
$begingroup$
@BobT I've modified the question a bit just now, thank you
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 5:12
13
$begingroup$
The numeral '17' may be the load limit in thousands of pounds. According to Wikipedia, "Rooftop helipads sometimes display a large two-digit number, representing the weight limit (in thousands of pounds) of the pad. In addition, a second number may be present, representing the maximum rotor diameter in feet". It's not a rooftop, but it's plausible that the numerals indicate the same limits...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 5:21
2
$begingroup$
FAA document with that info. Specified in 309 g. faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5390-2b/…
$endgroup$
– BowlOfRed
Mar 8 at 23:25
add a comment |
11
$begingroup$
Has the look of a helicopter landing pad. Perhaps to fly future astronauts back to land or for medivac operations. See here for more info...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 4:58
1
$begingroup$
@BobT I've modified the question a bit just now, thank you
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 5:12
13
$begingroup$
The numeral '17' may be the load limit in thousands of pounds. According to Wikipedia, "Rooftop helipads sometimes display a large two-digit number, representing the weight limit (in thousands of pounds) of the pad. In addition, a second number may be present, representing the maximum rotor diameter in feet". It's not a rooftop, but it's plausible that the numerals indicate the same limits...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 5:21
2
$begingroup$
FAA document with that info. Specified in 309 g. faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5390-2b/…
$endgroup$
– BowlOfRed
Mar 8 at 23:25
11
11
$begingroup$
Has the look of a helicopter landing pad. Perhaps to fly future astronauts back to land or for medivac operations. See here for more info...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 4:58
$begingroup$
Has the look of a helicopter landing pad. Perhaps to fly future astronauts back to land or for medivac operations. See here for more info...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 4:58
1
1
$begingroup$
@BobT I've modified the question a bit just now, thank you
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 5:12
$begingroup$
@BobT I've modified the question a bit just now, thank you
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 5:12
13
13
$begingroup$
The numeral '17' may be the load limit in thousands of pounds. According to Wikipedia, "Rooftop helipads sometimes display a large two-digit number, representing the weight limit (in thousands of pounds) of the pad. In addition, a second number may be present, representing the maximum rotor diameter in feet". It's not a rooftop, but it's plausible that the numerals indicate the same limits...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 5:21
$begingroup$
The numeral '17' may be the load limit in thousands of pounds. According to Wikipedia, "Rooftop helipads sometimes display a large two-digit number, representing the weight limit (in thousands of pounds) of the pad. In addition, a second number may be present, representing the maximum rotor diameter in feet". It's not a rooftop, but it's plausible that the numerals indicate the same limits...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 5:21
2
2
$begingroup$
FAA document with that info. Specified in 309 g. faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5390-2b/…
$endgroup$
– BowlOfRed
Mar 8 at 23:25
$begingroup$
FAA document with that info. Specified in 309 g. faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5390-2b/…
$endgroup$
– BowlOfRed
Mar 8 at 23:25
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
No, the pad will not be used for propulsive capsule landings. As requested by NASA, SpaceX have stopped pursuing propulsive capsule landing. The landing legs have been removed from the design, for instance.
The pad is for a helicopter:
Most notably, GO Searcher is being fitted with a helipad that will be used to rapidly transfer astronauts from Crew Dragon to Cape Canaveral, where they will go through a number of medical evaluations and debriefings after a six-month stay in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
$endgroup$
3
$begingroup$
Definitely a chopper pad, it's too close to the crew for a propulsive landing.
$endgroup$
– GdD
Mar 8 at 10:22
3
$begingroup$
So maybe a folded helicopter propellor will pop out the top of the Crew Dragon bring them in for a landing on the heliport?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 15:26
2
$begingroup$
Of course not. Not enough room in the Dragon to fit a rotor large enough to bring it in for a soft landing.
$endgroup$
– Hobbes
Mar 8 at 16:30
2
$begingroup$
@Hobbes I've once heard that some users don't use StackExchange's explicit sarcasm indicator as often as they should. Something to keep in mind.
$endgroup$
– leftaroundabout
Mar 8 at 18:32
2
$begingroup$
@reirab I'm looking for an image of musk in one of these: 1, 2, 3; (propeller beanie) There's a resemblance (particularly relevant space canon).
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 23:53
|
show 2 more comments
$begingroup$
For Cargo Dragon flights, NASA has a requirement to late load certain experiments, and upon landing, quickly retrieve them. As you can imagine some experiments are very time sensitive to get the best results.
The landing zones are not usually all that close to shore, so by ship it can take many hours to days to bring the capsule back and get into it.
The helicopter pad shown allows for flying the samples back. In this case the samples happen to be people who landed in the Crew Dragon.
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
$endgroup$
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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active
oldest
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2 Answers
2
active
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active
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active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
No, the pad will not be used for propulsive capsule landings. As requested by NASA, SpaceX have stopped pursuing propulsive capsule landing. The landing legs have been removed from the design, for instance.
The pad is for a helicopter:
Most notably, GO Searcher is being fitted with a helipad that will be used to rapidly transfer astronauts from Crew Dragon to Cape Canaveral, where they will go through a number of medical evaluations and debriefings after a six-month stay in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
$endgroup$
3
$begingroup$
Definitely a chopper pad, it's too close to the crew for a propulsive landing.
$endgroup$
– GdD
Mar 8 at 10:22
3
$begingroup$
So maybe a folded helicopter propellor will pop out the top of the Crew Dragon bring them in for a landing on the heliport?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 15:26
2
$begingroup$
Of course not. Not enough room in the Dragon to fit a rotor large enough to bring it in for a soft landing.
$endgroup$
– Hobbes
Mar 8 at 16:30
2
$begingroup$
@Hobbes I've once heard that some users don't use StackExchange's explicit sarcasm indicator as often as they should. Something to keep in mind.
$endgroup$
– leftaroundabout
Mar 8 at 18:32
2
$begingroup$
@reirab I'm looking for an image of musk in one of these: 1, 2, 3; (propeller beanie) There's a resemblance (particularly relevant space canon).
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 23:53
|
show 2 more comments
$begingroup$
No, the pad will not be used for propulsive capsule landings. As requested by NASA, SpaceX have stopped pursuing propulsive capsule landing. The landing legs have been removed from the design, for instance.
The pad is for a helicopter:
Most notably, GO Searcher is being fitted with a helipad that will be used to rapidly transfer astronauts from Crew Dragon to Cape Canaveral, where they will go through a number of medical evaluations and debriefings after a six-month stay in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
$endgroup$
3
$begingroup$
Definitely a chopper pad, it's too close to the crew for a propulsive landing.
$endgroup$
– GdD
Mar 8 at 10:22
3
$begingroup$
So maybe a folded helicopter propellor will pop out the top of the Crew Dragon bring them in for a landing on the heliport?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 15:26
2
$begingroup$
Of course not. Not enough room in the Dragon to fit a rotor large enough to bring it in for a soft landing.
$endgroup$
– Hobbes
Mar 8 at 16:30
2
$begingroup$
@Hobbes I've once heard that some users don't use StackExchange's explicit sarcasm indicator as often as they should. Something to keep in mind.
$endgroup$
– leftaroundabout
Mar 8 at 18:32
2
$begingroup$
@reirab I'm looking for an image of musk in one of these: 1, 2, 3; (propeller beanie) There's a resemblance (particularly relevant space canon).
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 23:53
|
show 2 more comments
$begingroup$
No, the pad will not be used for propulsive capsule landings. As requested by NASA, SpaceX have stopped pursuing propulsive capsule landing. The landing legs have been removed from the design, for instance.
The pad is for a helicopter:
Most notably, GO Searcher is being fitted with a helipad that will be used to rapidly transfer astronauts from Crew Dragon to Cape Canaveral, where they will go through a number of medical evaluations and debriefings after a six-month stay in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
$endgroup$
No, the pad will not be used for propulsive capsule landings. As requested by NASA, SpaceX have stopped pursuing propulsive capsule landing. The landing legs have been removed from the design, for instance.
The pad is for a helicopter:
Most notably, GO Searcher is being fitted with a helipad that will be used to rapidly transfer astronauts from Crew Dragon to Cape Canaveral, where they will go through a number of medical evaluations and debriefings after a six-month stay in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
edited Mar 8 at 7:48
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
answered Mar 8 at 7:31
HobbesHobbes
93.8k2261416
93.8k2261416
3
$begingroup$
Definitely a chopper pad, it's too close to the crew for a propulsive landing.
$endgroup$
– GdD
Mar 8 at 10:22
3
$begingroup$
So maybe a folded helicopter propellor will pop out the top of the Crew Dragon bring them in for a landing on the heliport?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 15:26
2
$begingroup$
Of course not. Not enough room in the Dragon to fit a rotor large enough to bring it in for a soft landing.
$endgroup$
– Hobbes
Mar 8 at 16:30
2
$begingroup$
@Hobbes I've once heard that some users don't use StackExchange's explicit sarcasm indicator as often as they should. Something to keep in mind.
$endgroup$
– leftaroundabout
Mar 8 at 18:32
2
$begingroup$
@reirab I'm looking for an image of musk in one of these: 1, 2, 3; (propeller beanie) There's a resemblance (particularly relevant space canon).
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 23:53
|
show 2 more comments
3
$begingroup$
Definitely a chopper pad, it's too close to the crew for a propulsive landing.
$endgroup$
– GdD
Mar 8 at 10:22
3
$begingroup$
So maybe a folded helicopter propellor will pop out the top of the Crew Dragon bring them in for a landing on the heliport?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 15:26
2
$begingroup$
Of course not. Not enough room in the Dragon to fit a rotor large enough to bring it in for a soft landing.
$endgroup$
– Hobbes
Mar 8 at 16:30
2
$begingroup$
@Hobbes I've once heard that some users don't use StackExchange's explicit sarcasm indicator as often as they should. Something to keep in mind.
$endgroup$
– leftaroundabout
Mar 8 at 18:32
2
$begingroup$
@reirab I'm looking for an image of musk in one of these: 1, 2, 3; (propeller beanie) There's a resemblance (particularly relevant space canon).
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 23:53
3
3
$begingroup$
Definitely a chopper pad, it's too close to the crew for a propulsive landing.
$endgroup$
– GdD
Mar 8 at 10:22
$begingroup$
Definitely a chopper pad, it's too close to the crew for a propulsive landing.
$endgroup$
– GdD
Mar 8 at 10:22
3
3
$begingroup$
So maybe a folded helicopter propellor will pop out the top of the Crew Dragon bring them in for a landing on the heliport?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 15:26
$begingroup$
So maybe a folded helicopter propellor will pop out the top of the Crew Dragon bring them in for a landing on the heliport?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 15:26
2
2
$begingroup$
Of course not. Not enough room in the Dragon to fit a rotor large enough to bring it in for a soft landing.
$endgroup$
– Hobbes
Mar 8 at 16:30
$begingroup$
Of course not. Not enough room in the Dragon to fit a rotor large enough to bring it in for a soft landing.
$endgroup$
– Hobbes
Mar 8 at 16:30
2
2
$begingroup$
@Hobbes I've once heard that some users don't use StackExchange's explicit sarcasm indicator as often as they should. Something to keep in mind.
$endgroup$
– leftaroundabout
Mar 8 at 18:32
$begingroup$
@Hobbes I've once heard that some users don't use StackExchange's explicit sarcasm indicator as often as they should. Something to keep in mind.
$endgroup$
– leftaroundabout
Mar 8 at 18:32
2
2
$begingroup$
@reirab I'm looking for an image of musk in one of these: 1, 2, 3; (propeller beanie) There's a resemblance (particularly relevant space canon).
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 23:53
$begingroup$
@reirab I'm looking for an image of musk in one of these: 1, 2, 3; (propeller beanie) There's a resemblance (particularly relevant space canon).
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 23:53
|
show 2 more comments
$begingroup$
For Cargo Dragon flights, NASA has a requirement to late load certain experiments, and upon landing, quickly retrieve them. As you can imagine some experiments are very time sensitive to get the best results.
The landing zones are not usually all that close to shore, so by ship it can take many hours to days to bring the capsule back and get into it.
The helicopter pad shown allows for flying the samples back. In this case the samples happen to be people who landed in the Crew Dragon.
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
For Cargo Dragon flights, NASA has a requirement to late load certain experiments, and upon landing, quickly retrieve them. As you can imagine some experiments are very time sensitive to get the best results.
The landing zones are not usually all that close to shore, so by ship it can take many hours to days to bring the capsule back and get into it.
The helicopter pad shown allows for flying the samples back. In this case the samples happen to be people who landed in the Crew Dragon.
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
For Cargo Dragon flights, NASA has a requirement to late load certain experiments, and upon landing, quickly retrieve them. As you can imagine some experiments are very time sensitive to get the best results.
The landing zones are not usually all that close to shore, so by ship it can take many hours to days to bring the capsule back and get into it.
The helicopter pad shown allows for flying the samples back. In this case the samples happen to be people who landed in the Crew Dragon.
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
$endgroup$
For Cargo Dragon flights, NASA has a requirement to late load certain experiments, and upon landing, quickly retrieve them. As you can imagine some experiments are very time sensitive to get the best results.
The landing zones are not usually all that close to shore, so by ship it can take many hours to days to bring the capsule back and get into it.
The helicopter pad shown allows for flying the samples back. In this case the samples happen to be people who landed in the Crew Dragon.
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
answered Mar 8 at 10:36
geoffcgeoffc
55.6k10162310
55.6k10162310
add a comment |
add a comment |
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11
$begingroup$
Has the look of a helicopter landing pad. Perhaps to fly future astronauts back to land or for medivac operations. See here for more info...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 4:58
1
$begingroup$
@BobT I've modified the question a bit just now, thank you
$endgroup$
– uhoh
Mar 8 at 5:12
13
$begingroup$
The numeral '17' may be the load limit in thousands of pounds. According to Wikipedia, "Rooftop helipads sometimes display a large two-digit number, representing the weight limit (in thousands of pounds) of the pad. In addition, a second number may be present, representing the maximum rotor diameter in feet". It's not a rooftop, but it's plausible that the numerals indicate the same limits...
$endgroup$
– BobT
Mar 8 at 5:21
2
$begingroup$
FAA document with that info. Specified in 309 g. faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5390-2b/…
$endgroup$
– BowlOfRed
Mar 8 at 23:25