Editing 1788: Barge

This is another comic in the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]]. This one is depicted with three drawings illustrating the core concept and explained in detail in the caption. The launch company {{w|SpaceX}} has developed a reusable rocket system, where the {{w|multi-stage rocket|first rocket stage}} is capable of landing back on either the launch pad or an {{w|autonomous spaceport drone ship}} after launch (See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEr9cPpuAx8 this video] displaying both types of landing, from when the sea landing was successful the first time). The landing pads and ships are decorated with a "X" symbol from the SpaceX logo, with the center of the X being the desired landing spot.{{Citation needed}}

Randall imagines creating a similar-looking barge and placing it near the intended landing site, except his barge's platform would be hollow in the middle with only a sheet of paper supporting the part where the rocket would land. Since the paper is painted to look just like the real landing platform, the goal of this setup is presumably to trick a returning first stage rocket into falling into the sea. This is the same concept as the old {{w|trapping pit}}. If a rocket attempts to land on Randall's barge, it will quickly burn through the paper and fall through the hole.

There are several reasons why this setup would not work in real life. First, the rocket actually navigates to the landing site using GPS coordinates shared with the real barge.  It does not use cameras to identify its landing site and will not recognize another barge based solely on a painted logo.  Also, a wide area around the rocket's flight path would be restricted around the launch window due to safety concerns. Vessels that are not part of the official launch plan would not be allowed in the area. Even if the fake barge manages to enter the area and does not get removed by authorities, at most it will cause the launch to be cancelled for the day. From a practical perspective, Randall would need to sabotage the actual barge without anyone at SpaceX noticing.

This "my hobby" is probably the most destructive one so far, as it would result in the total loss of the first stage containing nine space rocket engines. The costs associated with buying and remodeling a barge would also likely make this the most expensive hobby, even disregarding the costs to others, though it could potentially be reused if it did not get destroyed by the falling rocket. This hobby seems more appropriate for [[Black Hat]], considering that he is a real [[classhole]], and goes to show that Black Hat is as much part of Randall's personality as [[Cueball]].

 

 

This comic was published on the week following SpaceX's {{w|List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches#2017|Iridium 1 mission}}, where the first stage of the rocket which delivered 10 satellites into orbit successfully landed on a barge near California. This was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLz-M7pki7U filmed from the returning stage 1] and also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78AxtAyW4Vo from further away]. More details of the launch are available [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8wy5sQ2JDE here]. It marked the seventh time SpaceX successfully landed and recovered its booster on a commercial mission.

:[There is one panel in this comic with the main drawing at the bottom. Two smaller drawings are inserted above this drawing to explain the idea.]

:[The main drawing at the bottom shows a cross-section of the barge in water, showing there is only water below the paper. Above the paper the large first stage, without the top part with the payload, of a reusable rocket is attempting to land on the paper on the SpaceX logo (not visible in this view). It is still so high above the fake barge that the exhaust fire below the rocket is nowhere near the paper.]