Re:SpaceX Soft Lands Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage
by ChuckMcM on Tuesday July 22, 2014 @04:45PM
(#8071465)
I was wondering that as well. Three possibilities come to mind;
1) Atmospheric conditions are right for it (flying a subzero steel device through clouds with moisture in them, same problem that airplanes have)
2) The burning of the cryo-propellants lead to additional ice formation (as they burn they expand from liquid to gas and pull heat out of the tanks/body)
3) "snow" which is a variation on #2 which is that ice crystals that are forming on the rocket as it burns propellant in ascent the camera is accelerating away from them, but in descent the crystals are coming towards the camera.
Either way its an 'easy' fix, whether you heat the cover, add a wiper (ala nascar) or change the position.
1) Atmospheric conditions are right for it (flying a subzero steel device through clouds with moisture in them, same problem that airplanes have)
2) The burning of the cryo-propellants lead to additional ice formation (as they burn they expand from liquid to gas and pull heat out of the tanks/body)
3) "snow" which is a variation on #2 which is that ice crystals that are forming on the rocket as it burns propellant in ascent the camera is accelerating away from them, but in descent the crystals are coming towards the camera.
Either way its an 'easy' fix, whether you heat the cover, add a wiper (ala nascar) or change the position.