Dragons for everyone! It's another SpaceX Party Thread (CRS-1)

[rickl]

Well, the party thread certainly got buried by the discussion thread this time.

Maybe the discussion thread should be split into "discussion" and "heated discussion".   

[cleonard]

Well, the party thread certainly got buried by the discussion thread this time.

Maybe the discussion thread should be split into "discussion" and "heated discussion".   

Heated discussion?  How about "heated unsubstantiated wild speculation."

[JBF]

Well, the party thread certainly got buried by the discussion thread this time.

Maybe the discussion thread should be split into "discussion" and "heated discussion".   

Heated discussion?  How about "heated unsubstantiated wild speculation."

with a side dish of doom and gloom! 

[StephenB]

Well, the party thread certainly got buried by the discussion thread this time.

Maybe the discussion thread should be split into "discussion" and "heated discussion".   

Heated discussion?  How about "heated unsubstantiated wild speculation."

With a suspicious number of negative posts coming from members with very few posts. I wonder what that's all about ...

[sdsds]

I don't think it's a good fit for the discussion thread but I'm curious what people think about the question, "Should SpaceX have tried to carry the Orbcomm secondary payload on this flight, or was that (with hindsight) biting off more than they could chew?"

[Robotbeat]

I don't think it's a good fit for the discussion thread but I'm curious what people think about the question, "Should SpaceX have tried to carry the Orbcomm secondary payload on this flight, or was that (with hindsight) biting off more than they could chew?"

I think it was appropriate.

It didn't delay the launch, and it did get launched into a somewhat-useful orbit, though the useful life of the satellite will be much, much shorter (good thing it's mostly for testing). They just had an engine failure on an engine they had previously flown 30 times. It sucks, but it can and does happen.

They'll surely identify the root cause of the failure and fly the next with more scrutinized engines.

[rklaehn]

I don't think it's a good fit for the discussion thread but I'm curious what people think about the question, "Should SpaceX have tried to carry the Orbcomm secondary payload on this flight, or was that (with hindsight) biting off more than they could chew?"

It was the right decision. The mission to ISS is much more important, since NASA is basically the anchor customer for spacex. And they probably had to make the decision quickly without knowing all the facts about the anomaly. Possibly it was fully automated, and the stage just detected that something is not nominal and aborted the burn.

[Antares]

I know nothing about Orbcomm programmatics, but my hypothesis is that Orbcomm needed to get up soon or else they would lose a license spot or SpaceX would lose the contract.  Not sure where this result is on the spectrum.  If the TLEs are accurate, it's almost like Orbcomm is not spending any prop to keep it up longer.

[sdsds]

I am assuming that Orbcomm, which had goals which were essentially risk reduction, will not be able to retire all the risks they had hoped, given the satellite is in a completely non-representative orbit. (I based that on a single comment about their need to attenuate the signal received from the satellite.)

it's almost like Orbcomm is not spending any prop to keep it up longer.

They had a controlled de-orbit plan from a higher altitude. Won't it take more delta-v to do a controlled de-orbit from the lower (faster) orbit in which they find themselves?

[Robotbeat]

... (I based that on a single comment about their need to attenuate the signal received from the satellite.)...

You mis-interpreted that comment, then.

[cleonard]

They had a controlled de-orbit plan from a higher altitude. Won't it take more delta-v to do a controlled de-orbit from the lower (faster) orbit in which they find themselves?

De-orbiting is only a concern when you are in a long lifetime orbit.  The plan was to get into something like a 700km circular orbit.  At that altitude the orbit lasts a long time.  Hence the need to de-orbit.  The current orbit will decay in days or perhaps weeks.  No need to do anything to prevent it from becoming space junk.  It's coming in on it's own.

[MP99]

I don't think it's a good fit for the discussion thread but I'm curious what people think about the question, "Should SpaceX have tried to carry the Orbcomm secondary payload on this flight, or was that (with hindsight) biting off more than they could chew?"

ISTM it was fine, assuming Orbcomm paid a price commensurate with the risk (perhaps contingent on delivery to target orbit), and NASA was OK with the decreased margins.

cheers, Martin

[rickl]

Well, the party thread certainly got buried by the discussion thread this time.

Maybe the discussion thread should be split into "discussion" and "heated discussion".   

Heated discussion?  How about "heated unsubstantiated wild speculation."

With a suspicious number of negative posts coming from members with very few posts. I wonder what that's all about ...

OK, how about separate "discussion" and "speculation" threads:

"You're off topic.  You can't discuss the actual CRS-1 mission here.  This is the thread for speculation about Elon's first words on Mars in 2025."

[mduncan36]

Well, the party thread certainly got buried by the discussion thread this time.

Maybe the discussion thread should be split into "discussion" and "heated discussion".   

Heated discussion?  How about "heated unsubstantiated wild speculation."

With a suspicious number of negative posts coming from members with very few posts. I wonder what that's all about ...

OK, how about separate "discussion" and "speculation" threads:

"You're off topic.  You can't discuss the actual CRS-1 mission here.  This is the thread for speculation about Elon's first words on Mars in 2025."

"Where's the Chinese embassy?"

"That's one small step for...aw hell, I'm much taller and richer than Neil was."

"Put my house on Phobos."

[rickl]

I don't know anybody in "meatspace" who has the slightest interest in any of this.  It's frustrating.

I'll tell people in advance when a launch is scheduled, and how to watch it on the internet, but they never do.  They always have some excuse for why they didn't.  They were too busy, or they forgot, or something.

Usually when I mention spaceflight, they'll say that they were upset that the Shuttle got cancelled.  But when I mention SpaceX, Sierra Nevada, Bigelow, or Orbital Sciences, they don't seem to comprehend what I'm talking about.  It's like it's not quite real to them.

I don't watch TV news, but it seems like the mass media hasn't said much about the Falcon 9's engine failure.  For the last couple of days I've been expecting people to say, "I hear SpaceX had an engine blow up" but I haven't even heard that much.

Like I said, it's frustrating.  It's nice to be able to hang out here and talk to people who really do get it.

[joek]

I don't think it's a good fit for the discussion thread but I'm curious what people think about the question, "Should SpaceX have tried to carry the Orbcomm secondary payload on this flight, or was that (with hindsight) biting off more than they could chew?"

Might reverse the question and ask if Orbcomm bit off more than they could chew.  Judging by previous events and actions as publicly reported, this (OG2) appears to be fairly important to Orbcomm and lack of it due to premature and rapid failure of the previous "Quick Launch" constellation put a significant dent in their revenue and strategic plans.  Not sure this will get them where they need to be before launching the OG2 constellation.  Stay tuned for their next SEC filing.

[upjin]

I don't think it's a good fit for the discussion thread but I'm curious what people think about the question, "Should SpaceX have tried to carry the Orbcomm secondary payload on this flight, or was that (with hindsight) biting off more than they could chew?"

Might reverse the question and ask if Orbcomm bit off more than they could chew.  Judging by previous events and actions as publicly reported, this (OG2) appears to be fairly important to Orbcomm and lack of it due to premature and rapid failure of the previous "Quick Launch" constellation put a significant dent in their revenue and strategic plans.  Not sure this will get them where they need to be before launching the OG2 constellation.  Stay tuned for their next SEC filing.

Well, the fact that the operational OG2 satellites will be the primary cargo on the future Falcon 9 flights should be helpful.

Hopefully, from the prototype OG2, they get some useful data and test done. 

[rickl]

Good morning!  I managed to drag myself out of bed 20 minutes ago to watch the grapple.  Any other partiers here?

[woods170]

Good morning!  I managed to drag myself out of bed 20 minutes ago to watch the grapple.  Any other partiers here?

I dragged myself out of bed over five (5) hours ago. But then again, I live on the right (hand) side of the Atlantic Ocean. 

[jtrame]

Just got to the office (6:30 AM here) and set up a split screen with NASA TV & NSF.  Dragon approach...