Quote from: general on 01/18/2009 02:09 amWouldn't it be cool to see an Orion launch on a Delta IV Heavy!!!Atlas V-H has my vote (because then we could add back in all of the Orion systems left in the parking lot, not to mention all but one box is redundant and a Cosmonaut-rated booster engine), as long as the culture doesn't become Titan-ic between now and then.
Wouldn't it be cool to see an Orion launch on a Delta IV Heavy!!!
Quote from: GW_Simulations on 01/18/2009 02:27 amQuote from: edkyle99 on 01/18/2009 02:25 amThis one lifted off only two hours 14 minutes late. That's better than a lot of my airline passenger flights! Plus at least three years of pushing back the launch date...I wouldn't fly with that airline...Again, it's not reasonable to expect your flight to take off when the other airplanes on the taxiway in front of you haven't taken off either... I know the "three year delay" thing is a nice convenient way of bashing D-IV but it's really not accurate. I won't dispute they have a few kinks to work out though, as illustrated by tonight's launch...
Quote from: edkyle99 on 01/18/2009 02:25 amThis one lifted off only two hours 14 minutes late. That's better than a lot of my airline passenger flights! Plus at least three years of pushing back the launch date...I wouldn't fly with that airline...
This one lifted off only two hours 14 minutes late. That's better than a lot of my airline passenger flights!
Darn it... I live in NC and I checked a few minutes before the launch was supposed to happen (the first time tonight) and everything seemed to be a go. I went out to the beach to see if I could see it from here as I can with many shuttle launches, but didn't see anything. I didn't know that it was because of a delay. I've never looked for spy satellite launches from here, so I was going to use this as a sort of test to see if they were visible from the beach here. I guess next time I'm going to have to have a little crew for me... someone on the computer calling me on my cell phone and updating me Really wish I had known. It was still a nice night, though.
It seemed to take forever for the D IV-heavy to clear the tower this time... Are there any examples of rockets which clear the tower any slower? The Shuttle seems to jump off the pad in comparison...
It sure was cold waiting out there at the cruise terminals waiting for them to light the fuze. Beautiful launch, though.
Damn! By Pat Corkery, ULA.Click it to enlarge, sit back, and nod in approval.