Launch News SpaceX Falcon 9 F3 COTS2+ Updates

[Der Zeitgeist]

By the way: I wonder why the speaker said "zero and... lllliiii...ift... off" :lol:

I would not say so until I see the vehicle lifting off. I think it was somehow abvious from what we saw that it is not going to lift off on time for some reason.

I thought it was going to blow up any second at that point. Especially when there were these bursts of vapor coming out...

 

[N_Molson]

By the way: I wonder why the speaker said "zero and... lllliiii...ift... off"

The habit ? I'm glad he aborted his liftoff announcement sequence, else he would have said "liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..." and died of air starvation. :lol:

 

[xlns]

SpaceX certainly has the world's fastest MECO time!:rofl:

That's just mean :tiphat:

 

[N_Molson]

That's just mean

That's true, but after a 7-months wait being mean sometimes makes good

 

[NovaSilisko]

"We're in an orbit with an apogee of 180 feet and an eccentricity of 0.999986..."

 

[MattBaker]

"And Dragon is berthed using the umbilical tower, oh this is a great moment for spaceflight, see this awesome connection between the tower and the spacecraft, unbelievable!"

 

[jgrillo2002]

what a waste of time and money especially to my tax money

 

[MattBaker]

what a waste of time and money especially to my tax money

SpaceX got $400-500 million from NASA, so from "your" taxes. Total taxes in the United States are around $2.469 trillion. Not involved is that the money to SpaceX is out of several fiscal years. $500 million from $2.469 trillion is 0,02%. That means if you pay $20,000 per year in taxes you spend $4,05 to SpaceX, as above mentioned even this is to high. Statiscally you should lose more money than you spend to SpaceX.:tiphat:

 

[Codz]

For those that missed the "launch".

 

[asbjos]

"...engine shut-down, and we have a perfect rendezvous with the launch tower!"

 

[MattBaker]

I hope this makes Mr Musk think about the Falcon 9 Heavy. 27 engines, if one combustion chamber explodes everything explodes.

 

[Kyle]

Well, that was interesting to see from a 1st person point of view..

I'd thought they would be higher at MECO.

 

[IronRain]

My gf was pretty impressed let's hope it goes better next time

 

[C3PO]

launchis interruptus

 

[N_Molson]

:rofl:

 

[Ripley]

I thought it was going to blow up any second at that point. Especially when there were these bursts of vapor coming out...

Yes, me too...

 

[N_Molson]

More Spaceflight Now updates

1057 GMT (6:57 a.m. EDT)

The plan is for technicians to visually inspect the exterior of Engine No. 5, which is in the center position in the tic-tac-toe pattern of engines on the Falcon 9 first stage.

The team may also conduct boroscope inspections of the thrust chamber, but Shotwell said SpaceX is hopeful the engine will not need disassembly or replacement. Removing the engine adding a fresh unit would take several days.

The plan is for today's inspections to be conducted while the 15-story booster remains in a vertical position atop the launch pad. The Falcon 9 may be lowered and moved back into the hangar later to protect the rocket and Dragon spacecraft from weather conditions until another launch opportunity nears.

1040 GMT (6:40 a.m. EDT)

Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, says technicians will inspect Engine No. 5 on the Falcon 9's first stage beginning at around 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT). Further data analysis of readings from the engine during the ignition prompted SpaceX to order hands-on inspections before clearing the rocket for liftoff.

The next launch opportunity is still Tuesday at 3:44 a.m. EDT (0744 GMT), but that is pending the outcome of today's inspection.

Shotwell said the abort was triggered one-half second before liftoff after all nine engines were ignited.

Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's commercial crew and cargo manager, said there should be another launch opportunity May 23 at 3:22 a.m. EDT (0722 GMT).

 

[Yoda]

And they want this thing approaching the ISS while they can't even get it off the groud safely ???? Not a smart decision.................

 

[C3PO]

And they want this thing approaching the ISS while they can't even get it off the groud safely ????

No. The Falcon 9 will hopefully never get anywhere close to the ISS.

 

[Artlav]

Well, it's in one piece.
That means their engineering is quite good, with only a few bugs left.

There is no political pressure for them to push it off the pad and make a big fireworks display, better take their time and make it reliable.