SCRUB: SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon COTS Demo (C2+) LAUNCH ATTEMPT 1 UPDATES

[FinalFrontier]

I really wonder why they can't set these limits straight during test firings. I mean, isn't this what you usually do on the test stand and it's not like they were not testing things.

A bit confusing to me, I mean, you don't WANT these limits to get into your way if in reality things are still OK.

You actually do. Its better than having a failure that much I can assure you of.

[ChrisC]

Wonderful coverage! Thanks. Back to sleep. If I can get my heart-rate down.

Copy THAT ...

Now that both feeds (NASA and SpaceX) have stopped,we're back to this being the only place we can monitor progress!

Chris B., I'd love to hear about what the traffic peaks looked like.

[clongton]

Back to bed for an hour before getting up again to go to work.
Thanks for the awesome coverage Chris.
The embedded feed was spectacular!
I hope you make that a standard feature.

[Kabloona]

I really wonder why they can't set these limits straight during test firings. I mean, isn't this what you usually do on the test stand and it's not like they were not testing things.

A bit confusing to me, I mean, you don't WANT these limits to get into your way if in reality things are still OK.

You actually do. Its better than having a failure that much I can assure you of.

False negative (abort a good vehicle) much preferable to false positive (fail to abort a bad vehicle).

[bish48]

Ditto on the praise for NSF Chris.

Interesting that the window was just 1 second, why so small compared to shuttle launches?

[Rocket Science]

Live to fly another day so all is well!

[Chris Bergin]

Live to fly another day so all is well!

Quoted for truth

This thread will continue through to the second attempt - and that will be a new thread like this one around the same time ahead of launch.

[spacetraveler]

Ditto on the praise for NSF Chris.

Interesting that the window was just 1 second, why so small compared to shuttle launches?

Extra propellant margin needed on orbit for all the demo maneuvers.

[rtphokie]

Ditto on the praise for NSF Chris.

Interesting that the window was just 1 second, why so small compared to shuttle launches?

My understanding is that the vehicle is capable of a much wider window but for this demo flight, it was more desirable for propellant to be saved for achieving the goals of the mission on orbit rather than getting back into plane due to a launch delay.

Basically they only want to use enough gas to get there and not overcoming detours.

[psloss]

Interesting that the window was just 1 second, why so small compared to shuttle launches?

Vehicle doesn't have the performance margin Shuttle did.

(Shuttle is a natural to think of, but more the exception than the rule.)

[krytek]

This is actually my first time ever watching a live launch (attempt )
haven't been this excited for years. THANK YOU CHRIS!

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Interesting that the window was just 1 second, why so small compared to shuttle launches?

Vehicle doesn't have the performance margin Shuttle did.

(Shuttle is a natural to think of, but more the exception than the rule.)

IIRC, Soyuz/Progress/ATV/HTV all have 1 second launch windows (and so will Cygnus).

[Chris Bergin]

This is actually my first time ever watching a live launch (attempt )
haven't been this excited for years. THANK YOU CHRIS!

When you get time, head to one of Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour sections and hit a LIVE Launch and FD1 thread. The tension for those events....it was incredible! (Crewed launch, big moody vehicle )

[Chris Bergin]

This was fast - and timely:

(link: http://www.commercialspaceflight.org/?p=2413)


May 19 Launch Aborted; SpaceX Launch Sequence Works as Designed

Washington D.C. - The May 19 launch of Falcon 9 has been aborted this morning, however the SpaceX launch sequence worked as designed. The Falcon 9 computer examined all the data from the rocket at ignition, and when one engine returned data indicating it was out of line with expectations, the computer automatically aborted the launch.

CSF President Michael Lopez-Alegria said, "I have watched and participated in more scrubs of the shuttle than I would have liked, but it's just part of the launch business. I was extremely impressed with professionalism displayed by the SpaceX launch team in the moments after the scrub to safe the vehicle.  We will have to wait for the team to perform the technical analysis of what caused the apparent high pressure in one of the engine's combustion chambers and for SpaceX and NASA to decide when the next attempt will occur. This is not the outcome we were hoping for, but far better to detect and react to the problem while still in the pad than to have to deal with it in flight."

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director Alex Saltman at [email protected] or at 202.349.1121.

[pippin]

It takes more than testing; it takes flying before all these potential anomalies can be identified and nailed down. It just takes time. I've been watching launches for many years, and trust me; for a new vehicle, Falcon 9 is doing spectacularly well.

Well, they didn't fly THIS time and yet still after 30 minutes they are already confident that all they need to do is change the limit.

So either they KNEW the limit was overly conservative - then why did they set it as they did - or they feel they don't have enough confidence in their criteria yet and need more testing so they play it safe and then look at other data, too, to be sure?

[Chris Bergin]

45 mins to the post scrub presser on NTV. I'll cover it.

[JimO]

Ditto on the praise for NSF Chris.

Interesting that the window was just 1 second, why so small compared to shuttle launches?

The shuttle had the ability to 'side-slip' during ascent to move its target orbital path 'over' to where the target path had wandered. This cost some ascent performance, but was able to accommodate several minutes worth of earth rotation moving the launch site into, and then out of, the target orbital plane.

[Chris Bergin]

Realinged William Graham's amazing 4,000 word overview article, post scrub:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/05/spacex-falcon-9-send-dragon-to-iss/

Another rev after the post scrub presser.

[psloss]

Looks like the satellite is back at KSC with a live feed...briefing scheduled for bottom of the hour.

[douglas100]

Also want to add to praise of Chris and the coverage. I especially liked the HD closeups of the vehicle. And then there was that moment, just after the engines had fired up and the vehicle hadn't moved, even before you could frame the words, that you knew it was going to cut off.

Exciting stuff. On to the next attempt!