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#20
by
Spirit
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:04
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I haven't seen a rocket launch in such a bad weather. Anybody knows what are the weather requirements for Minotaur launch?
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#21
by
Rocket Guy
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:08
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No vehicle can launch in precip in the US (all have a flight through precipitation rule). But Atlas 5 in Dec. 04 was pretty close :-) It was raining within a couple miles of the pad (on me!) and they found a hole in the clouds and went.
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#22
by
Spirit
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:15
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Why US rockets are prohibited to fly in the rain?
Is it a safety measure or they are not capable of flying in such conditions?
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#23
by
Rocket Guy
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:18
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Flight through precipitation is dangerous...a rain drop is like a marble when you are travelling hundreds of miles per hour. But if they find a hole moving towards the pad they will proceed. I've been through two launches like that. The other rules pertain to cloud cover and cloud types.
I don't know what the wx rules are elsewhere (esp. Russia).
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#24
by
DaveS
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:23
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I think it is primarly because that any flight through precipitation might trigger a lightning which an hit the vehicle and possibly ending the flight.
This is what happened to Apollo 12 which got hit by lightning twice and got the primary electrical system in the CSM knocked offline.
If it hadn't been for the backup electrical system, Apollo 12 would have been forced to abort the launch.
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#25
by
Rocket Guy
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:28
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Lightning rules are even more strict...but precip is its own issue (so even if there is no threat for lightning they still won't go). Lightning rules do not allow any chance for lightning to form within 15 miles of the pad on average. Weather reconaissance planes and field mills determine real time conditions during launch.
Throughout the years they have made the rules stricter, such as with Apollo 12, and more recently in 1987 when an Atlas Centaur was taken down by lightning. Apollo 12 launched into a thunderstorm so they decided not to launch when one was right overheard. But the mileage keeps increasing.
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#26
by
Spirit
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:31
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Can you see the clouds moving on the background? They are moving pretty fast. I think we may have a window in the sky but I don't know how fast are the winds blowing. That may become an issue.
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#27
by
Rocket Guy
on 14 Apr, 2006 23:48
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They routinely launch in the low marine layer at VAFB, which is thin but low, so it's hard to tell what's what just looking at the screen. Cloud violations are based mainly on thickness, plus cloud type second and debris and precip within as well.
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#28
by
Stardust9906
on 15 Apr, 2006 00:14
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#29
by
Jamie Young
on 15 Apr, 2006 00:25
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Abort.
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#30
by
Spirit
on 15 Apr, 2006 00:28
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Something with the first stage.
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#31
by
Damon Hill
on 15 Apr, 2006 00:30
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Is that a thermal blanket around the first stage? It appears to have partially separated,
but not cleanly.
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#32
by
Spirit
on 15 Apr, 2006 00:32
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A sensor of the first stage malfunctioned. The thermal blanket separated succesfuly.
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#33
by
Spirit
on 15 Apr, 2006 00:51
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Approx. 25 minutes needed to recharge the batteries of the space craft. After that they will make another launch attempt.
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#34
by
Stardust9906
on 15 Apr, 2006 01:39
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Count at T-14 minutes.
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#35
by
Stardust9906
on 15 Apr, 2006 01:52
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T-1 minute and counting.
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#36
by
Stardust9906
on 15 Apr, 2006 01:54
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#37
by
eeergo
on 16 Apr, 2006 18:03
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