Falcon 1 Flight 5

[Artlav]

Could have been worse.
At least they found the problem before the launch.

 

[Andy44]

Could have been worse.
At least they found the problem before the launch.

True that. The "bang-check" method of troubleshooting gets expensive.

 

[Zatnikitelman]

Lol, at least they're taking a more cautious road now. Here's hoping F1F5 (Falcon 1 flight 5) goes without a hitch whenever they decide to launch!

 

[mbartley]

The missed step is likely because of the new engine type being used on this flight. It appears that payload was designed for the original type, but was never re-rated for the new type.

I thought this payload was intended to fly on flight 4, before they switched that to a dummy payload. I thought the older 1st stage engines were only used in flight attempts 1 and 2.

 

[simonpro]

I thought this payload was intended to fly on flight 4, before they switched that to a dummy payload. I thought the older 1st stage engines were only used in flight attempts 1 and 2.

That has been the plan for the last couple of years, but when the payload was constructed it was based around the vibration profile for the -1A, as that was the only engine SpaceX had at the time.

 

[RisingFury]

New launch date! July 14th!

http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=20090601

 

[Zatnikitelman]

Ok, according to various and unofficial sources, the launch is No Earlier Than 21:00 EDT or 01:00 UTC. Webcast has yet to begin, when it does it will be here: http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php

[EDIT]WOOT! Just realized, this is my 1000th post! WOOT!

---------- Post added at 07:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 PM ----------

Current T-0 is reported to be 19:30 PDT or 02:30 UTC

 

[Andy44]

Oh no, I will be out and busy at this time...maybe I can find a way to watch it.

 

[silent_protagonist]

T-30 min and still no news; I think Musk must be a poker player.

How long did they wait last time, wasn't it something like T-15 or T-20?

---------- Post added at 22:11 ---------- Previous post was at 22:01 ----------

Just noticed that RazakSAT has their own countdown timer that completely disagrees with Spacex.

http://www.atsb.my/index.php/project/space-systems/razaksatr.html

Spacex launches are so much more entertaining than NASA, you never know what's going to happen next

 

[Andy44]

T-30 min and still no news

I think the launch is tomorrow?

 

[silent_protagonist]

I think the launch is tomorrow?

Not sure, SpaceX just says 7:30pm PDT without specifying a date, but the webcast is running (a standby screen) so I'm assuming they mean today. But I've heard tomorrow from other sources as well.

---------- Post added at 22:24 ---------- Previous post was at 22:19 ----------

Spaceflight Now seems to be confused too:
http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon/005/status.html

 

[tblaxland]

Lol. I think the RazakSAT clock does not detect the local time offset correctly. I just checked the link above and got "RazakSAT has Successfully Launched".

 

[silent_protagonist]

Lol. So is the inability to figure out time changes worse or better than failing to convert from imperial to metric?

 

[Zatnikitelman]

Webcast Just Started! GOO SPACEX! HAIL PROBE!

 

[zerofay32]

Webcast is up.

 

[silent_protagonist]

Webcast is running for real now, T-30 minutes.

 

[tblaxland]

Lol.

The splash screen just disappeared faded away off the webcast. EDIT: VLC fail.

 

[silent_protagonist]

LOL! They have thunderstorms...

 

[Andy44]

Up on the webcast...Andy44 is go.

 

[Zatnikitelman]

The Falcon 1 has achieved SECO placing the satellite into a nice parking orbit before another burn in about 38 minutes to place the stage and satellite into the satellite's working orbit! CONGRATS! SPACEX! HAIL PROBE!