The Economist (typically lukewarm on space) covers Antares launch:http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/04/private-spaceflight
What was the purpose of the slow roll that lasted for much of the 1st stage burn?
Whats the big object on the scissor lift in this photo:http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/8670672096/in/photostream
What you saw MIGHT be the "Baumgartner Maneuver" - an initial pitch AWAY from the TEL makes the TAIL of the rocket actually get CLOSER to the TEL ... but then the resulting (small) lateral acceleration carries the rocket AWAY from it ... this maneuver had to be very carefully designed, a trade between the initial tail movement towards the obstacle which is the inevitable result of the pitch, and the desired effect...I was told (by Paul B. himself) that the pitch-away and the resulting tail-towards-TEL motion would be so small that they would not be perceptible ... maybe he was not counting on telephoto lenses and HD video (and sharp NASASpaceflight subscribers...)
Slightly off topic. but Is a modified Antares going to be used for the the Stratolaunch rocket?
also, will the mass simulator ever deorbit? Or is it up there forever?
One question about the heat shield on the AJ-26 engines: previously we have seen photos of the heat shield being pink in color during the roll-out. Can anyone confirm if that is a layer removed before launch or not? If so, what color are the heat shields of during launch?