SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 - CASSIOPE - September, 2013 - GENERAL DISCUSSION THREAD

[Garrett]

NASA has posted the new CASSIOPE launch date of the 14th
http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

According to the webpage above, the launch forecasts "reflect dates published elsewhere". So there must be another public publication of the 14th Sept somewhere, right? The question is: where?

[mlindner]

NASA has posted the new CASSIOPE launch date of the 14th
http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

According to the webpage above, the launch forecasts "reflect dates published elsewhere". So there must be another public publication of the 14th Sept somewhere, right? The question is: where?

L2? It's technically public, in the government sense.

[AnalogMan]

NASA has posted the new CASSIOPE launch date of the 14th
http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

According to the webpage above, the launch forecasts "reflect dates published elsewhere". So there must be another public publication of the 14th Sept somewhere, right? The question is: where?

One of GSFC's regular sources is spaceflightnow.com - they updated their launch schedule a couple of days ago to the present launch date & window times.

(NasaSpaceflight.com is also used as a source for launch updates occasionally - but only from published news articles though, not the forum.)

The GFSC update is not shown in their "change log" yet - this normally gives the source used (see http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/change_log.php).

[Jim]

NASA has posted the new CASSIOPE launch date of the 14th

http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

That is not "NASA".  That is a group who supports the NASA TDRSS and Ground network.  They use all available sources to update their schedule and hence it should not be used as a source document.

[mr. mark]

Based on the 14th launch date, do we have a potential hotfire date yet?

[Robotbeat]

Based on the 14th launch date, do we have a potential hotfire date yet?

yes, in L2. Nothing else public, though.

[AJW]

NASA has posted the new CASSIOPE launch date of the 14th

http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

That is not "NASA".  That is a group who supports the NASA TDRSS and Ground network.  They use all available sources to update their schedule and hence it should not be used as a source document.

Thanks for the clarification, Jim. Looks like there are sources, and there are "sources".

The 14th date is now appearing on other sites such as Cornell University (CUSat), University of Calgary, & the Waco Tribune, but nothing official so far.

[Salo]

http://mertensiana.phys.ucalgary.ca/

Sept 4, 2013: The Cassiope launch date has been moved to September 14, 2013 aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch will take place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, making it the first spacecraft to launch from this new SpaceX facility. Watch for continued updates as this milestone approaches!

[Salo]

The 14th date is now appearing on other sites such as Cornell University (CUSat), University of Calgary, & the Waco Tribune, but nothing official so far.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/09/cusat-set-launch-sept-14-making-gps-precise

[Chris Bergin]

I posted the 14th on the update thread back on the 3rd after holding in L2 at source requests since the 1st.
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32685.0

Stop only reading this thread. This is only the discussion thread.

Sorry if that sounds a bit p--sy, but when you get five people sending you messages - today - saying "OMG. Chris! It's now the 14th according to blah.blah.com!" It gets a bit much for my tired head

[Salo]

http://spacegrant.colorado.edu/dande-news

[Salo]

USU Get Away Special Team Set to Monitor Solar Effects on Satellites
 

[Jim]

Let's play fill-in-the-blank:

A- Upper stage "combo" umbilical
B- 1st stage/interstage umbilical
C- 1st stage GOX vent
D- 1st stage He vent
E- 2nd stage cold gas thrusters? Antennas?
F- 1st stage-2nd stage separation system fairings (3)
G- 1st stage cold gas thrusters?

Those are my guesses, feel free to make your own.

Radar?

[Silmfeanor]

http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/37094musk-says-spacex-being-%E2%80%9Cextremely-paranoid%E2%80%9D-as-it-readies-for-falcon-9%E2%80%99s

relevant for this - some quotes:

“Cassiope paid a tiny fraction of the price for the right to be on the demonstration flight. This is essentially a development flight for the rocket. It’s not an operational flight,” Musk said.

“Cassiope is a very small satellite. It takes up just a tiny fraction of the volume of the fairing. They paid, I think, maybe 20 percent of the normal price of the mission,” he added.

“Just before we hit the ocean, we’re going to relight the engine and see if we can mitigate the landing velocity to the point where the stage could potentially be recovered, but I give this maybe a 10 percent chance of success,” Musk said.

So, what was suspected about CASSIOPE not paying full price is validated. Also, rightfully downplaying the chance of total relight-grasshopper like touchdown.

[bioelectromechanic]

What's the launch window for Cassiope? Hopefully it's not an instantaneous one like for CRS flights.

[docmordrid]

What's the launch window for Cassiope? Hopefully it's not an instantaneous one like for CRS flights.

SpaceFlightNow has 1600-1800 GMT (12-2 p.m. EDT; 9-11 a.m. PDT)

[Ben the Space Brit]

Let's play fill-in-the-blank:

A- Upper stage "combo" umbilical
B- 1st stage/interstage umbilical
C- 1st stage GOX vent
D- 1st stage He vent
E- 2nd stage cold gas thrusters? Antennas?
F- 1st stage-2nd stage separation system fairings (3)
G- 1st stage cold gas thrusters?

Those are my guesses, feel free to make your own.

Radar?

I still say it's the landing sensors for the turn-around, braking and descent.  There's likely some weight-distribution issue that means they have to be at the top of the stage rather than the bottom.

[Norm38]

Per that Facebook post on the update thread, does passing the FRR mean that the hotfire date set for Tuesday won't slip further?  We should expect an attempt will happen Tues?

[Lars_J]

The facebook update mentions that the fairing has been integrated to the launch vehicle - So will the hot-fire occur withe the payload inside the fairing? Or will the fairing be empty for the hot-fire, or the fairing taken off temporarily?

[douglas100]

I still say it's the landing sensors for the turn-around, braking and descent.  There's likely some weight-distribution issue that means they have to be at the top of the stage rather than the bottom.

The stage would use inertial and GPS guidance for the pre-entry maneuvers and braking burn. That doesn't require any external sensors (unless you count a GPS antenna as a sensor). For landing, that probably only needs radar as already discussed.

I doubt weight distribution has much to do with the siting of the radar antenna. I think it's more likely that it would be kept away from the propulsion bay to avoid excessive heating on ascent and entry.