LIVE: SpaceX Falcon 9 Static Fire - April 30, 2012

[Chris Bergin]

LIVE COVERAGE Thread specific to the Static Fire on April 30.

All posts should be specific to this event, webcasted at SpaceX here:
http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php

NSF Resources:
SpaceX Forum Section:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=45.0 - please use this for general questions, non updates.

SpaceX News Articles from 2006 (Including numerous exclusive Elon interviews):
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=21862.0

SpaceX News Articles (Recent):
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/spacex/

Recent COTS2/3 Specific articles:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/Dragon/

Specific Article for the Static Fire:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/05/falcon-9s-merlin-engines-for-may-7-target/

--------------
L2 Members:

L2 SpaceX Section:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=tags&tags=SpaceX

L2 SpaceX Dragon C2/C3 Mission Special (NEW - Exclusively acquired pre-launch and Mission Coverage, Presentations, Graphics, Videos, Updates, NASA/Space industry member comments):
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=54.0

To Join L2: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/

[corrodedNut]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28586.msg891730#msg891730

Cross-post: Roll-out confirmed, the stack is vertical.

[Jester]

7 hours 40 minutes remain until start of the webcast

[MP99]

7 hours 40 minutes remain until start of the webcast

Webcast is 14:30 ET (19:30 BST, 20:30 your local time).

I believe it's 03:04 ET as I type this, so 11 hours and 26 mins to start of webcast.

cheers, Martin

[Jester]

Martin, Webcast is at 11:30 EDT
so 2 hours 49 minutes remaining...
http://new.livestream.com/accounts/142499/events/849384

[ugordan]

Jester, that livestream page info is completely wrong. It's supposed to read 11:30 PT.

[ChefPat]

The forecast has been changed, the thunderstorm predicted for the Cape Canaveral area has been changed to Mostly Cloudy with the sky clearing around 10am local time.

[Jester]

Jester, that livestream page info is completely wrong. It's supposed to read 11:30 PT.

How nice....thanks for the update....

[Garrett]

6 hours to static fire

[Norm38]

Do they fully fill the tanks for the static fire, or just put in the minimum to chill down everything and run the test?

[Jim]

Do they fully fill the tanks for the static fire, or just put in the minimum to chill down everything and run the test?

Full tanks, because that is the lift off conditions.  Even the second stage will be tanked and it doesn't fire.

[Garrett]

Do they fully fill the tanks for the static fire, or just put in the minimum to chill down everything and run the test?

Full tanks, because that is the lift off conditions.  Even the second stage will be tanked and it doesn't fire.

so probably the more appropriate question would be what are the differences, if any, between the static fire conditions and launch conditions, apart from the obvious (e.g. hold down mechanisms not set for release and engines set to cut-off after 2 seconds)?

[Chris Bergin]

Falcon 9′s Merlin engines hoping to spell success for May 7 target - includes content from William Graham:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/falcon-9s-merlin-engines-for-may-7-target/

[corrodedNut]

Falcon 9′s Merlin engines hoping to spell success for May 7 target - includes content from William Graham:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/falcon-9s-merlin-engines-for-may-7-target/

"Attitude control for both stages will be provided by thrust vectoring; with four Draco thrusters augmenting this after the first stage has separated."

Wow, that's news to me, I thought this feature was a future upgrade. Is this the first flight with this capability?

[kevin-rf]

Is that the US DeltaV pack in the planners guide?

Then it is not the same upper stage on flight three