SpaceX launch 19 May

[1969912 0]

04:55 EDT. Hope it goes well. http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/cargo/spacex_update_staticfiring.html

NASA TV schedule: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/cargo/cots_tv_schedule.html

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[quade 3]

Yep. Should be interesting. I plan on staying up for it, but my recorders are set just in case.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[skydiver30960 0]

Any night jumps planned to get freefall shots with the vehicle in the background?

Elvisio "Falcon, Dragon, and a flying Chili Pepper all in one shot" Rodriguez

[quade 3]

As I write this, we're about one hour away from the Falcon 9 launch of the Dragon spacecraft.

http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv

It's not the most important launch in the history of space flight. It doesn't carry anything particularly important on it, neither men nor important and vital cargo, but it does represent an important shift in how space travel might be able to happen from this point forward.

Forget the hype surrounding Virgin Galactic and "tourist" astronauts. This is real, honest to goodness commercial space flight by a private company that build their own space craft from the ground up.

Right now they're running videos of the craft during its final assembly. What strikes me is how industrial it all seems compared to what were used to in NASA prep.

This ought to be fun.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[SethInMI 146]

Doh!

Time to look at the log files. (Story of my work life...).

It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

[quade 3]

Shortly after the abort somebody said it had something to do with a high pressure indication in engine five. Was a pretty dramatic abort.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[strife 0]

an abort chamber pressure high

[1969912 0]

Yeah, that was pretty much at the last second. They'll get it sorted out.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[Zep 0]

Yeah right, maybe they'll get it sorted out or NASA and the CIA just don't want private enterprise
in space.

Gone fishing

[faulknerwn 37]

We have several jumpers at my dz who work for spacex in tx. I've been up to their location and watched several testf fires. It's very cool being able to watch from a couple hundred feet away. Can't wait to find out the scoop on what went wrong

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

Yeah right, maybe they'll get it sorted out or NASA and the CIA just don't want private enterprise
in space.

Pad aborts are nothing new. Gemini 6 had a pad abort with Schirra and Stafford. STS-41D had a pad abort (immediately after which Steve Hawley said, "I thought we'd be a lot higher at MECO.") - Discovery's first scheduled launch.

SpaceX said the problem was a valve. The next attempt is at 3:44 a.m. Eastern Time tomorrow.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[wmw999 2,150]

Given that they're blasting stuff off into space (think about really, really big explosions and fires), there are an amazing number of things that have to happen. Computers make it possible to check and see if they're right.

sometimes things go wrong adn the launch would have been OK on that day, given all the conditions -- but if the computer says it's out of spec, then the launch is aborted anyway. If you think htat's a pity, and that if the launch might have gone right the computers should be ignored or reset, consider that what if htat's the day that the conditions weren't perfect for the launch to be OK even with the "minor" malfunction.

Then everyone reads about the explosion on teh pad in teh newspaper, or they read about the launch that ended up in teh drink (that's why they launch from FLorida -- problems end up in teh ocean, and not in Utah or something).

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[lawrocket 3]

Oh, absolutely. This rocket stuff is tough business. Just thinking of engineering materials that can withstand the cryogenic temps of LOX, as well as the thousands of degrees once it ignites. Just mind blowing!

Better to have the small failure than the spectacular one, I think.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[piisfish 135]

it flies

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM