The process of getting B 3175 from Hawthorne to Houston has been something of a long one, but the booster finally arrived at Space Center Houston on the evening of March 3.
B 2019 was used on two ISS commercial resupply missions; it first flew as CRS – in June and again as CRS – in December of the same year. The vehicle is streaked with authentic soot from its launches, and SCH Exhibits Director Paul Spana explained to Ars that the grime was purposefully left in place so that the public could get an accurate perception of the booster as it looked as an actual working piece of technology that went to space — twice.
B from the parking lot.
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B from from the exhibit fence. Fun fact: the sidewalk beneath the booster looks like the SpaceX “X” logo when seen from above.
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Looking at the interstage that sits between the F9 and its upper stage.
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View of the interstage from the left. Lee Hutchinson Interstage from the right. Note grid fins. Lee Hutchinson
Looking up at the business end of B , showing nine Merlin 1D engines.
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Abusing my post-processing software to pull out as many details as possible from this shot. Lee Hutchinson Peeking up inside of one of the Merlins (which have been stoppered to prevent water ingress).
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Side view of the thrust structure. Especially visible here are the gas-generator exhaust manifolds that wrap around the engines.
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Side view of the rear segment of the vehicle, showing landing leg pivots.
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Detail on the landing-leg pivot.
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On one side, this hold-down has “CRS – 90 “written on it, which is the first of the booster’s two flights into space.
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And on the other side, it’s got “CRS – “for the second flight.
Lee Hutchinson Lee Hutchinson Lee Hutchinson A cadre of SpaceX engineers prepared the rocket for external display. Evidence of the engineers’ meticulous touch labor is visible all over the vehicle’s exterior.
Lee Hutchinson Lee Hutchinson Detail on the fin. Grid fins are particularly effective at high Mach due to how they interact with shock waves —As speed increases, they produce much higher control effectiveness with considerably less drag than a conventional fin.
Lee Hutchinson Heavy-duty actuators for controlling the grid fin’s angle of attack.
Lee Hutchinson Another actuator detail shot. Lee Hutchinson Detail on a landing-leg fairing.
Lee Hutchinson The view from the press area.
Lee Hutchinson Space Center Houston CEO William Harris gave opening remarks on the exhibit.
Lee Hutchinson Johnson Space Center deputy director Vanessa Wyche spoke about the role of commercial space companies in human space flight.
Lee Hutchinson SpaceX director of Dragon mission management Jessica Jensen discussed the booster’s long journey from the factory to the museum. Lee Hutchinson Cutting the ribbon. Lee Hutchinson Jensen, Harris, and Wyche discuss the exhibit. Lee Hutchinson Jensen, Harris, and Wyche pose for photos in front of the launch vehicle. Lee Hutchinson
Prior to going on display, Spana explained that the booster was retrofitted by SpaceX’s engineers with stiffeners so that it could withstand decades of horizontal display (rockets tend to be very strong longitudinally but sag when supported sideways). SpaceX’s preparations also include sealing areas where water and humidity might seep into the structure, and the company also anchored the rocket so that the display can withstand wind gusts (and the occasional Gulf Coast hurricane).
B 2019 is a permanent exhibit, so if you happen to find yourself in the Houston area, it’s definitely worth stopping by to take a look — it’s the only place outside of Hawthorne where you can spy a Falcon 9.
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