SpaceX has just announced an attempt at 9:03 EST tomorrow.
34 thoughts on “On For Tomorrow”
It would be interesting to see the press releases (for success and failure scenarios) that the Shelbies of the world are preparing.
I read they chopped several feet off the nozzle. I’m reminded of Bob-1’s joke about the priest and the rabbi…
Pretty ballsy decision. I certainly hope this flight is successful.
What a great week this could be. First a blowout of the NY Jets, then a F9-Dragon launch 2 days later?
Be still my heart!
I’m hoping for the best, but I’m worried. I don’t like this nozzle chopping one bit.
“Don’t like this nozzle chopping one bit”
Yea seems pretty crazy but they are saying it could run with the cracks in place. I could see how the cracks could continue to fracture and rip down the nozzle if left as is. Metals are crystalline structures and one small defect can provide a seam to quickly widen and grow from. Getting rid of it if you don’t need seems a good bet.
Must note, it is just the nozzle extension, not the rocket motor nozzle. This is a flimsy thing, and it’s not needed for this launch, and even if it peeled away during the second stage burn it wouldn’t effect the orbital insertion.
So chill, it’s not that big of a deal, but I’m sure SpaceX is looking into why it became an issue…
I know from experience that expanding personnel too quickly is the road to ruin (but they need more people). So they do the right thing regardless. Makes sense.
This is a flimsy thing, and it’s not needed for this launch, and even if it peeled away during the second stage burn it wouldn’t effect the orbital insertion.
That’s more or less how it was explained by the rabbi.
Great news! Thanx for the tip.
Go SpaceX!
That’s more or less how it was explained by the rabbi.
Ah yes, that famous one that never charged for his services. (*)
(*) He only took tips.
A cymbal is a thin piece of medal. Cutting off this metal has been made a symbol. Rockets are of course considered a phallic symbol. All we need is some rock band to get a hold of the trimmings and create the first…
Transterrestrial phallic symbol cymbal… [snare drum ta da…]
I would have said rim shot but that would be too kinky.
Does anyone know why Dragon has eighteen Draco thrusters rather than sixteen and what’s the configuration?
Any bets on the secret payload? I’m guessing a stuffed toy monkey.
NASA TV finally covers at T-5 min.
abort abort abort
Cycling about to T-13 minutes (because they can!).
Come back about 10:30 EST.
Is there really a payload? Looking forward to a Lunar Dragon, I would launch stuffed turtles, in honor of the Zond program. Good luck SpaceX!
I suggest a cardboard Ares I. The only one that will ever make it into space.
Anybody else carrrying the video? I can’t get much bandwidth from spacex or nasatv.
I thought I read somewhere that the payload is mission patches, which I presume they’ll offer for sale. I might buy one, depending on the price.
“honor of the Zond program”
I would never have thought of honoring a Soviet program that we were in direct competition with. I guess that’s just me.
Congratulations SpaceX!
Gotta love the MSM…. Here’s the current headline on Foxnews.com:
Live Coverage: NASA Launches Privately Developed Falcon 9 Dragon Rocket
Because, of course, only NASA (and, presumably, the Air Force) can launch things….
CNN.com has a better headline:
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifts off
The first commercial space craft built to orbit Earth and re-enter the atmosphere has lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. DEVELOPING STORY
Maybe we should just be happy the MSM is covering it at all…
Flawless Falcon 9 Launch. No induced rolls.
Congratulations to the SpaceX team! Congratulations to the NASA COTS Office!
I love the smell of LOX-RP in the morning!
Wonderful looking launch. They made it look easy, but I know it is everything but easy. Now onto a successful few orbits and splashdown off the coast of California.
Fantastic! And the bandwidth problem went away for the entire sequence. NASA TV was lame.
I wish they would follow on with the booster recovery and Dragon manouvering processes, rather than shutting down the webcast.
Congratulations SpaceX! Can I please buy some shares?
On to splashdown. The video for me was just frozen and buffering. The earth seemed to stay in the same spot, but hard to tell. Did they get the roll under control from the last flight? It looked rock steady, but that could just be me and my lousy connection.
Awesome. This is such an exciting time.
On to splashdown.
And first stage recovery!
Looked great! Hope all continues to go well.
(Cecil, no Yuri’s night for you, I guess. The first vertebrates to visit the moon went in a stripped down capsule — like the lunar Dragon Trent described recently. Anyway, when the turtles returned safely to the Earth, they were reportedly hungry but decidedly non-political.)
Two or three orbits and then recovery the same day. I’m a little too young to remember Project Mercury, so this will have to do.
It would be interesting to see the press releases (for success and failure scenarios) that the Shelbies of the world are preparing.
I read they chopped several feet off the nozzle. I’m reminded of Bob-1’s joke about the priest and the rabbi…
Pretty ballsy decision. I certainly hope this flight is successful.
What a great week this could be. First a blowout of the NY Jets, then a F9-Dragon launch 2 days later?
Be still my heart!
I’m hoping for the best, but I’m worried. I don’t like this nozzle chopping one bit.
“Don’t like this nozzle chopping one bit”
Yea seems pretty crazy but they are saying it could run with the cracks in place. I could see how the cracks could continue to fracture and rip down the nozzle if left as is. Metals are crystalline structures and one small defect can provide a seam to quickly widen and grow from. Getting rid of it if you don’t need seems a good bet.
Must note, it is just the nozzle extension, not the rocket motor nozzle. This is a flimsy thing, and it’s not needed for this launch, and even if it peeled away during the second stage burn it wouldn’t effect the orbital insertion.
So chill, it’s not that big of a deal, but I’m sure SpaceX is looking into why it became an issue…
I know from experience that expanding personnel too quickly is the road to ruin (but they need more people). So they do the right thing regardless. Makes sense.
This is a flimsy thing, and it’s not needed for this launch, and even if it peeled away during the second stage burn it wouldn’t effect the orbital insertion.
That’s more or less how it was explained by the rabbi.
Great news! Thanx for the tip.
Go SpaceX!
That’s more or less how it was explained by the rabbi.
Ah yes, that famous one that never charged for his services. (*)
(*) He only took tips.
A cymbal is a thin piece of medal. Cutting off this metal has been made a symbol. Rockets are of course considered a phallic symbol. All we need is some rock band to get a hold of the trimmings and create the first…
Transterrestrial phallic symbol cymbal… [snare drum ta da…]
I would have said rim shot but that would be too kinky.
Does anyone know why Dragon has eighteen Draco thrusters rather than sixteen and what’s the configuration?
Any bets on the secret payload? I’m guessing a stuffed toy monkey.
NASA TV finally covers at T-5 min.
abort abort abort
Cycling about to T-13 minutes (because they can!).
Come back about 10:30 EST.
Is there really a payload? Looking forward to a Lunar Dragon, I would launch stuffed turtles, in honor of the Zond program. Good luck SpaceX!
I suggest a cardboard Ares I. The only one that will ever make it into space.
Anybody else carrrying the video? I can’t get much bandwidth from spacex or nasatv.
I thought I read somewhere that the payload is mission patches, which I presume they’ll offer for sale. I might buy one, depending on the price.
“honor of the Zond program”
I would never have thought of honoring a Soviet program that we were in direct competition with. I guess that’s just me.
Congratulations SpaceX!
Gotta love the MSM…. Here’s the current headline on Foxnews.com:
Live Coverage: NASA Launches Privately Developed Falcon 9 Dragon Rocket
Because, of course, only NASA (and, presumably, the Air Force) can launch things….
CNN.com has a better headline:
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifts off
The first commercial space craft built to orbit Earth and re-enter the atmosphere has lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. DEVELOPING STORY
Maybe we should just be happy the MSM is covering it at all…
Flawless Falcon 9 Launch. No induced rolls.
Congratulations to the SpaceX team! Congratulations to the NASA COTS Office!
I love the smell of LOX-RP in the morning!
Wonderful looking launch. They made it look easy, but I know it is everything but easy. Now onto a successful few orbits and splashdown off the coast of California.
Fantastic! And the bandwidth problem went away for the entire sequence. NASA TV was lame.
I wish they would follow on with the booster recovery and Dragon manouvering processes, rather than shutting down the webcast.
Congratulations SpaceX! Can I please buy some shares?
On to splashdown. The video for me was just frozen and buffering. The earth seemed to stay in the same spot, but hard to tell. Did they get the roll under control from the last flight? It looked rock steady, but that could just be me and my lousy connection.
Awesome. This is such an exciting time.
On to splashdown.
And first stage recovery!
Looked great! Hope all continues to go well.
(Cecil, no Yuri’s night for you, I guess. The first vertebrates to visit the moon went in a stripped down capsule — like the lunar Dragon Trent described recently. Anyway, when the turtles returned safely to the Earth, they were reportedly hungry but decidedly non-political.)
Two or three orbits and then recovery the same day. I’m a little too young to remember Project Mercury, so this will have to do.