OMG it's the SpaceX Party Thread!

[Idiomatic]

Another advantage about 9 engines is that is gives more flexibility for things like fly-back/powered landing. Throttling that deeply on one engine would be a bitch. (Here is hoping that pays off)

That said, 27 engines going at once is a loooot of things that can go wrong. I think we might end up seeing the FHeavy get significantly reworked before it is stable.

Jim's pessimism is normally great but ... in a party thread it seems a bit ... well... party pooper.

[Lars_J]

Can we all please drop the 'fan-boi' and 'hater' arguments? There is no requirement that we all have to have the same level of enthusiasm. Someone not as excited as you? Welcome to the internet.

Let's just keep the party going!

[mr. mark]

On day three (thursday) Dragon should be about 2.5 miles from the station. Is there a chance, the station can get a long range picture of Dragon?

[Comga]

Can we all please drop the 'fan-boi' and 'hater' arguments? There is no requirement that we all have to have the same level of enthusiasm. Someone not as excited as you? Welcome to the internet.

Let's just keep the party going!

Amen!
We don't want this to be one of those parties without a doorman where someone walks in looking to pick a fight.  Here and now is not the time to discuss reliability, engine configuration, risks, business plans, etc.

Back to the drinking game.  And it's not all about the fireworks.
(Solar array deployment particularly impressed me.)

[Robotbeat]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

F9 partied last night... And, tonight actually.  Dragon parties in a few weeks.  We're now in the awkward next morning period of this thread.

This launch was less special than the second Falcon 9 which was less special than the first Falcon 9.  The special part is what's going on overhead right now and in the next few days.

Whose signature says that launch is just a glorified fireworks show?  I'm in fast agreement with it today.

I believe that is mine.

Edit:in case I change it later on:
"Sorry to say it, but if your interest in space is only the launch piece then you aren't interested in space, just big fireworks." --Michael Mealling

[QuantumG]

To answer my own question:

NASA TV Daily Schedule (All Programs Eastern Time Zone)

May 24, Thursday
2:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Fly-Under of the ISS Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
10 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing - JSC (All Channels)

May 25, Friday
2 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon ISS Grapple and Berthing Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
1 p.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing (Time subject to change) - JSC (All Channels)

May 26, Saturday
5:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
11:25 a.m. - ISS Expedition 31 Post-SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Crew News Conference - JSC (All Channels)

[Cinder]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

F9 partied last night... And, tonight actually.  Dragon parties in a few weeks.  We're now in the awkward next morning period of this thread.

This launch was less special than the second Falcon 9 which was less special than the first Falcon 9.  The special part is what's going on overhead right now and in the next few days.

Whose signature says that launch is just a glorified fireworks show?  I'm in fast agreement with it today.

Agree with this wholeheartedly. The launch was great, but this mission only becomes truly historic if Dragon can successfully berth with the station, cargo can get transferred, and they can get it back safely to the ground. I'm actually pretty optimistic about that happening, but this mission isn't over until the Dragon capsule is on a ship's deck with ISS supplies being unloaded.

That said, I was up to watch the launch, cheering things on, literally keeping my fingers and toes crossed for 12min straight (flying rockets makes one superstitious, what can I say?) and getting choked up at the reaction when the solar panels deployed just like a bona fide SpaceX person. :-)

~Jon

So is it only that this upcoming part of the mission is what's yet to ever be done by SpaceX, or is it also more ... difficult (to put it simply) than getting to orbit? 

[Bubbinski]

Well at least I'll get a full night of sleep tonight.  I need it, I'm pretty bleary eyed after 4 hours of sleep followed by a full and aggravating workday.

I need a new career.  I wish I could be working for a space company, being one of those cheering people at SpaceX, ATK, JPL, NASA, ULA, etc. but my grasp of calculus and advanced math was/is just too weak and I'm not sure I want to be a network admin.  Oh well.  I'll cheer along here.  And get some much needed sleep before I start seeing Falcon Heavies in the launch replays

[sanman]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

Hah, are you speaking figuratively - or are you really that guy?

(If so, then my apologies about the "alien saboteur" crack)   

[savuporo]

To honor the best traditions of the company, I will .. delay my cheering for about two weeks.

[WulfTheSaxon]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

F9 partied last night... And, tonight actually.  Dragon parties in a few weeks.  We're now in the awkward next morning period of this thread.

This launch was less special than the second Falcon 9 which was less special than the first Falcon 9.  The special part is what's going on overhead right now and in the next few days.

Whose signature says that launch is just a glorified fireworks show?  I'm in fast agreement with it today.

I believe that is mine.

Edit:in case I change it later on:
"Sorry to say it, but if your interest in space is only the launch piece then you aren't interested in space, just big fireworks." --Michael Mealling

Whereas I think Jason1701 was thinking about john smith 19’s:

" Solids are a branch of fireworks, not rocketry. :-) :-) ", Henry
Spencer 1/28/2011

[WulfTheSaxon]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

Hah, are you speaking figuratively - or are you really that guy?

(If so, then my apologies about the "alien saboteur" crack)   

Emphasis added.

[sanman]

Oh, so Antares is the bearded guy holding the cam? What do you guys do at SpaceX anyway?

[Rex Chan]

QuantumG: I just had a look at that NASA TV schedule, and noticed unberthing on the 31st May (next week). I thought Dragon was going to stay at the ISS for a longer than that? ANd is this new news?

Oh, and hi! I'm in Australia too (Melbourne).

[MP99]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

F9 partied last night... And, tonight actually.  Dragon parties in a few weeks.  We're now in the awkward next morning period of this thread.

This launch was less special than the second Falcon 9 which was less special than the first Falcon 9.  The special part is what's going on overhead right now and in the next few days.

ISTM if Dragon can get through to unberthing and a safe retreat from ISS, that would be the big prize - green-light for CRS (subject to review of the data).

cheers, Martin

[beancounter]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

F9 partied last night... And, tonight actually.  Dragon parties in a few weeks.  We're now in the awkward next morning period of this thread.

This launch was less special than the second Falcon 9 which was less special than the first Falcon 9.  The special part is what's going on overhead right now and in the next few days.

ISTM if Dragon can get through to unberthing and a safe retreat from ISS, that would be the big prize - green-light for CRS (subject to review of the data).

cheers, Martin

What about EDL?

[manboy]

QuantumG: I just had a look at that NASA TV schedule, and noticed unberthing on the 31st May (next week).

It was originally going to stay for 18 days but then the launch got delayed. I believe the shortened mission has to do solar beta angle cutout from June 3 to June 13.

You may ask what is a solar beta angle cutout? Pete Harding can explain!

"Solar beta angle cutouts are periods of time where the beta angle of the Sun relative to the ISS (and any free-flying spacecraft in the ISS’ orbit) is high, meaning the Sun effectively shines on the ISS and other vehicles side-on.

This can cause issues for free-flying ISS Visiting Vehicles (VVs) related to solar array power generation, since, unlike the ISS, the solar arrays on VVs do not have beta rotation capability, meaning they cannot rotate to face the side-on Sun, and thus cannot receive enough sunlight to generate adequate power.

The free-flying spacecraft cannot orient themselves to face the Sun with their thrusters, since this would preclude them from being in the correct attitude to conduct rendezvous burns with the ISS, and could also cause thermal issues due to permanent shadowing of certain parts of the spacecraft.

Solar beta angles are not a concern for VVs that are docked or berthed to the ISS, since they can receive adequate power from the ISS via power jumpers connected through the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) vestibule or docking mechanism interface."

[MP99]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

F9 partied last night... And, tonight actually.  Dragon parties in a few weeks.  We're now in the awkward next morning period of this thread.

This launch was less special than the second Falcon 9 which was less special than the first Falcon 9.  The special part is what's going on overhead right now and in the next few days.

ISTM if Dragon can get through to unberthing and a safe retreat from ISS, that would be the big prize - green-light for CRS (subject to review of the data).

cheers, Martin

What about EDL?

AIUI, they will need to re-consider crew numbers on ISS if commercial doesn't start delivering upmass this year. (C3 will help if it manages to offload it's consumables.)

Downmass doesn't seem to be so critical, and CRS doesn't allow for Dragon reuse.

While EDL is a COTS 3 milestone, and SpaceX sure want it to go smoothly, ISTM NASA could green-light an upmass-only CRS-1 flight, perhaps with a price adjustment for not having a signed-off downmass capability. EDL could be demonstrated on CRS flights until NASA was happy to sign off on that, too.

cheers, Martin

[rickl]

There was a predicted overhead pass of the ISS early this morning with Dragon following a minute or two later.  Even though the weather didn't look promising, I set my alarm for 4:00 am.  I slept right through it.  I have no recollection of hearing it at all.  My body said, "no way".

Just as well; it's overcast.  But that would have been spectacular.

[beancounter]

I'm with the guy with the folded arms.  The mission ain't over until there's a splash.

F9 partied last night... And, tonight actually.  Dragon parties in a few weeks.  We're now in the awkward next morning period of this thread.

This launch was less special than the second Falcon 9 which was less special than the first Falcon 9.  The special part is what's going on overhead right now and in the next few days.

ISTM if Dragon can get through to unberthing and a safe retreat from ISS, that would be the big prize - green-light for CRS (subject to review of the data).

cheers, Martin

What about EDL?

AIUI, they will need to re-consider crew numbers on ISS if commercial doesn't start delivering upmass this year. (C3 will help if it manages to offload it's consumables.)

Downmass doesn't seem to be so critical, and CRS doesn't allow for Dragon reuse.

While EDL is a COTS 3 milestone, and SpaceX sure want it to go smoothly, ISTM NASA could green-light an upmass-only CRS-1 flight, perhaps with a price adjustment for not having a signed-off downmass capability. EDL could be demonstrated on CRS flights until NASA was happy to sign off on that, too.

cheers, Martin

Ya reckon!  Ok, guess they could simply load the early CRS flights with non-critical returns.