SpaceX restricted airspace

[aviatoreb]

Cool graphics in this article.

who here will be first to purchase a ride and an astronaut pin?

it would be me if I were filthy rich.  Only money stands in the way...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/business/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-faa-air-traffic/?utm_term=.c1b41a1b5fb9

Edited December 12, 2018 by aviatoreb

[DualRatedFlyer]

12 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

Cool graphics in this article.

who here will be first to purchase a ride and an astronaut pin?

it would be me if I were filthy rich.  Only money stands in the way...

going to tease us and not copy pasta the article?

[aviatoreb]

1 minute ago, DualRatedFlyer said:

going to tease us and not copy pasta the article?

Ooops sorry!  I just fixed that above.

[kortopates]

Yep, pretty cool. And boy what a pain when I have to detour around a Falcon heavy launch over one of my many Mooney Atlantic crossings! 

[aviatoreb]

8 minutes ago, kortopates said:

Yep, pretty cool. And boy what a pain when I have to detour around a Falcon heavy launch over one of my many Mooney Atlantic crossings! 

Well if it’s any help I bet the restricted “air” space is only for surface to 100 miles so if you have a turbo... and some rocket propulsion stc (vs the Mooney rocket that has no rockets) then you can over fly the zone.

notice “air” in quotes since there’s no air up there in that air space - emphasis on space.

[DualRatedFlyer]

Sounds like they just need to slap some ADSB on those tanks and call it a day. 

[steingar]

At the speeds jets go my guess is this is a non issue for them as well.  Probably just another number leading to the bottom line for their owners.  They probably spend more on toilet paper.

[thinwing]

Mean while back on the left coast ,we have virgin spacelines launches..

[thinwing]

This is a bad one cause it connects two restricted areas ,Edwards and China lake....detour to Palm Springs anyone..

[aviatoreb]

15 hours ago, DualRatedFlyer said:

Sounds like they just need to slap some ADSB on those tanks and call it a day. 

My guess is because these rockets are really experimental aircraft/spacecraft its not the same as a standard flight.  I think they may be keeping the whole area clear in case of a worst case scenario accident of a thousand little space ship pieces falling back from near space into the ocean at warp speed.  You don't want an airliner anywhere near such uncontrolled dangerous debris or even the possibility of that.

Edited December 13, 2018 by aviatoreb

[Oldguy]

38 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

My guess is because these rockets are really experimental aircraft/spacecraft its not the same as a standard flight.  I think they may be keeping the whole area clear in case of a worst case scenario accident of a thousand little space ship pieces falling back from near space into he ocean and warp speed.  You don't want an airliner anywhere near such uncontrolled dangerous debris or even the possibility of that.

And if you recall the Challenger disaster, the SRBs continued flight for a short time after the external tank exploded before the self-destruct occurred. If you have a failure far enough into the flight, the airspace contaminated with debris could cover a significant area and continue to fall for a while.

[aviatoreb]

4 minutes ago, Oldguy said:

And if you recall the Challenger disaster, the SRBs continued flight for a short time after the external tank exploded before the self-destruct occurred. If you have a failure far enough into the flight, the airspace contaminated with debris could cover a significant area and continue to fall for a while.

Yes of course I remember and was thinking of just that.

These are experimental vehicles as much as we may be used to space flight at this point.

[EricJ]

I spent a short part of my career working on range safety for a rocket integration company, specifically the radio links used by the Range Safety Officer to hit the "disassemble" button if things went pear-shaped.    The area of the expected debris field is sorted out for various conditions and stages of flight ahead of time, and covers a very large area.   This is why most launches have an initial trajectory over water.   Anything (with two legs that pays taxes) within the expected hazard area gets cleared out prior to the launch.

I don't think it matters if it's an experimental (aren't they all?) or regularly scheduled flight, if there is such a thing.   They all have the same hazards so they all have the same prep requirements.

FWIW, my impression of the rocket industry after that career stint was not great.   A number of total mission failures happened while I was there that were all due to easily preventable stuff that was known to be an issue area prior to the launch, or just really, seriously inadequate processes.   This was a few decades ago, but it was for one of the more active and well-known (at the time) launch companies.   I have many stories about that place, none of which I will share publicly. 

[carusoam]

It seems that a huge chunk of space is closed based on risk analysis and the expectation of an uncontrolled event.

 

As long as this uncontrolled event is still at the bottom of the flight plan... I can wait a little longer...

For a good simulation of weightlessness... go Scuba!  

Best regards,

-a-

[FloridaMan]

We all know that it's the Big Fuckin' Rocket and not the Big Falcon Rocket. 

I think Bezos takes it one step further. He might as well have painted it pink while he was at it. 

[Yetti]

The City of Houston is thinking to spend money on a spaceport at Ellington.   It's interesting because downwind/downrange is a bunch of refineries.    I mean I think they call it down range for a reason.