Thank you - how does the barge communicate with the falcon? And what types of comminucations are they having. I assume the barge is stating its GPS location, but does it also communicate things like sea conditions - and its elevation (what is it called to describe the condition of the sea), as well as wind, north-south orientation, etc...
I am impressed - but I want to know how this works.
Rumor is (https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/3b0stk/falcon_9_wha...) that the barge does not communicate any information to the booster. Instead, it uses GPS and some ingenious motors to maintain position and orientation, and the Falcon booster uses a radar altimeter to judge accurate vertical distance.
Thats just fucking awesome if true. Its like "how can we maximize the use of some 'cheaper' technology and a shit-ton of math to accomplish this in the technologically simplest way?"
I am impressed - but I want to know how this works.