Launch News Orion EFT-1 Update thread

[MaverickSawyer]

Is NASA really going to do a 18 month mission?

A Mars mission is at least 2 orders of magnitude harder to pull off than the moon mission.
w/o a mission directive from congress & white house I have
doubts it can be done via slow drip method.

At the risk of treading into Basement territory...

No, NASA is not going to do a manned Mars mission. Not with SLS, at any rate. Probably not with Orion, either. Remember, there's a change of Presidents between this launch and the next.

Honestly, Orion's not a bad design. Yeah, it's without a man-rated launcher right now, but that's fixable if we just get Congress to realize that we NEED to invest in space exploration, not just for national pride and for science, but for our very SURVIVAL. Orion could help us pave the path to being able to deflect asteroids and colonize Mars... If there's an imperative to do so. Which, right ow, it seems is FAR from the agenda of Congress.

 

[Codz]

It'd be interesting to see Orion actively paired up with EELV's.

 

[Evil_Onyx]

---------- Post added at 22:05 ---------- Previous post was at 22:01 ----------

Double post silly connection

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All posted on NASA's Youtube channel in the last hour or so.

 

[ISProgram]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-5YUQTD9ag"]Delta IV EFT-1 Mission Profile - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Kyle]

Countdown has officially started!

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Launch weather has improved to 70% chance of favorable conditions.

There's a slight chance of showers, but overall it's pretty good weather....though I wonder if fog could be an issue.

Weather Forecast for Titusville, Florida on December 4, 2014 (7 a.m.)

Partly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 25C. Winds NE at 15 to 30 km/h.

Time|Temps|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Cloud cover|Pressure|Wind|Weather
7 AM|19°C|18°C|96%|2%|0%|60%|1022 hPa|10 km/h E|

Mostly cloudy

 

[Donamy]

Fog isn't good. Would be nice to it launch.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

 

[Codz]

Live views of Orion on NASA TV.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Rocket fueling should be underway right now.

 

[Astro SG Wise]

Hey, reporting from Florida, can't wait for a great launch today! Hoping to put good video on here later.

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Also, I say that your fairings are a little too inclined into the center. I believe that is because it is for F9? I know gattispilot has a SLS ICPS with an Orion adapter that you could put in place of that second stage instead. Good work!

 

[Interceptor]

I am too sick with a cold to go down to NASA causeway to watch,so I think I will go across the street to the beach to watch instead,bummer

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It is real foggy down here about an hour away from Cape Canaveral,so I hope she goes up.

 

[N_Molson]

That Delta-4H ready on the pad in a 'potentially crewed' configuration is definitively an interesting sight.

It has something of the Proton K/D rocket used to launch the Zond series of spacecraft.

 

[Notebook]

BBC article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30234625

N.

 

[Codz]

I was thinking the same thing. It's definitely cool to see a rocket with an LES on a US launch pad again though.

 

[N_Molson]

I was thinking the same thing. It's definitely cool to see a rocket with an LES on a US launch pad again though.

Just strap Delta 4 SRM boosters to those CBCs and make it circumlunar

 

[Codz]

Just strap Delta 4 SRM boosters to those CBCs and make it circumlunar

Heh, with all of the problems going on in the US, and world in general this year, it would be great to have an "Apollo 8 Saved 1968" type headline come out of this. We need it.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

It'd be a nice way to close out the year, but never underestimate the ability for a group of morons to grab the news at the last minute by doing something really dumb.

Does anyone know if they've mentioned how many Orions are in the build queue? SpaceX has a picture of their factory floor with 6 Dragons in various stages of completion, I was wondering how far along the Orion ass'y line is. Or are they waiting for more data for this flight before they start rolling?

 

[N_Molson]

SpiceX likes to show stuff. Maybe half of the Dragons on the line are mockups, Soviet Union way ^^

Anyway remind its not a competition, and that both spacecraft are designed for very different uses.

T-20 minutes.

 

[Codz]

This is kind of surreal. It feels like we're finally taking real, tangible steps toward Mars.