-
Antares A-One General Discussion Thread (2)
by
Chris Bergin
on 17 Apr, 2013 02:56
-
-
#1
by
spacedog71
on 17 Apr, 2013 03:38
-
hello chris,
are the official odds for tomorrow still 30%, or was the stated 45% later this afternoon (that i now can't even find) the new official word?
...and given that i'm about four hours away, do you think there will be another recalculation before noon tomorrow?
-
#2
by
Chris Bergin
on 17 Apr, 2013 03:42
-
Now that would be a really good post in the new discussion thread....so let's move that there.
I believe the 30 percent was factoring in the potential for a scrub due to vehicle/GSE issue.
-
#3
by
spacedog71
on 17 Apr, 2013 04:44
-
-
#4
by
jcm
on 17 Apr, 2013 12:48
-
A-ONE is the mission name, but is the rocket's tail number 1, or 2? (following the pathfinder vehicle).
-
#5
by
FinalFrontier
on 17 Apr, 2013 12:54
-
Quick question will orbital be doing any sort of webcast or will the only coverage be NASA TV?
-
#6
by
Kabloona
on 17 Apr, 2013 13:11
-
Quick question will orbital be doing any sort of webcast or will the only coverage be NASA TV?
No Orbital webcast. NASA TV will webcast.
Edit: Chris, sorry, didn't realize reference to (unnamed) website was verboten...
-
#7
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 17 Apr, 2013 13:13
-
Will there be cameras on the rocket's first and second stages? Will there be live views from the rocket during the launch?
-
#8
by
collectSPACE
on 17 Apr, 2013 13:19
-
Will there be cameras on the rocket's first and second stages? Will there be live views from the rocket during the launch?
According to Orbital, there are cameras on the first stage (looking down), and on the second stage (for stage and fairing separation). The first stage view will be available live but as the second stage events will be after Antares flies past the horizon, they will downlink those feeds later, after the second stage is in space.
-
#9
by
edkyle99
on 17 Apr, 2013 13:26
-
Will there be cameras on the rocket's first and second stages? Will there be live views from the rocket during the launch?
According to Orbital, there are cameras on the first stage (looking down), and on the second stage (for stage and fairing separation). The first stage view will be available live but as the second stage events will be after Antares flies past the horizon, they will downlink those feeds later, after the second stage is in space.
A good time to remind ourselves not to be surprised when the second stage doesn't ignite after first stage separation. It will coast first, for 1 minute 24 seconds after separation, which itself comes five seconds after first stage shut down.
- Ed Kyle
-
#10
by
deltaV
on 17 Apr, 2013 13:58
-
From the update thread:
Orbital Sciences @OrbitalSciences
Launch prep at #NASA_Wallops continues. The #Antares vehicle team completed final arming and close out activities last night at 9 PM EDT.
@OrbitalSciences: The launch team will arrive on console at approximately 8:45 AM. The count will pick up at 9 AM with an anticipated T-0 of 5 PM EDT.
Does the completion of close out activities mean that the remaining activities are all of the button-pushing type rather than the wrench-turning type? What's left to do today before launch?
-
#11
by
block51
on 17 Apr, 2013 14:09
-
Does the completion of close out activities mean that the remaining activities are all of the button-pushing type rather than the wrench-turning type? What's left to do today before launch?
I can't speak to every activity that is involved, but I know there was some physical turning of wrenches that needed to go on. We had some close out personnel come by our building yesterday morning (The contract I'm on at WFF is headed by Orbital, though a different division) needing to borrow several taps to clean out some threaded holes on the pad. Further, a ground safety friend of mine made a comment on facebook last night talking about being OSS for arming operations. More than just button pushing and paperwork (though I'm sure there is plenty of that as well!).
-
#12
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 17 Apr, 2013 15:08
-
Hmm, strange......
Ben Cooper @LaunchPhoto
For the record, once O2 tanking were to begin, launch window reduced to 15 minutes. #Antares
A bug (feature?) inherited from Zenit? (which almost always launches without scrubs)
-
#13
by
antonioe
on 17 Apr, 2013 15:10
-
No - a feature of the AJ26 (sub-cooled LOX)
-
#14
by
Lar
on 17 Apr, 2013 15:13
-
Will there be cameras on the rocket's first and second stages? Will there be live views from the rocket during the launch?
According to Orbital, there are cameras on the first stage (looking down), and on the second stage (for stage and fairing separation). The first stage view will be available live but as the second stage events will be after Antares flies past the horizon, they will downlink those feeds later, after the second stage is in space.
IIRC it was said that some of the cameras are pointing at internal things that are "only of interest to engineers" rather than external views.
PS: Good luck, Orbital...
-
#15
by
Prober
on 17 Apr, 2013 15:17
-
Will there be cameras on the rocket's first and second stages? Will there be live views from the rocket during the launch?
According to Orbital, there are cameras on the first stage (looking down), and on the second stage (for stage and fairing separation). The first stage view will be available live but as the second stage events will be after Antares flies past the horizon, they will downlink those feeds later, after the second stage is in space.
A good time to remind ourselves not to be surprised when the second stage doesn't ignite after first stage separation. It will coast first, for 1 minute 24 seconds after separation, which itself comes five seconds after first stage shut down.
- Ed Kyle
thanks for the heads up on that Ed, should be a very interesting launch.
-
#16
by
Ben the Space Brit
on 17 Apr, 2013 15:35
-
Will there be cameras on the rocket's first and second stages? Will there be live views from the rocket during the launch?
According to Orbital, there are cameras on the first stage (looking down), and on the second stage (for stage and fairing separation). The first stage view will be available live but as the second stage events will be after Antares flies past the horizon, they will downlink those feeds later, after the second stage is in space.
A good time to remind ourselves not to be surprised when the second stage doesn't ignite after first stage separation. It will coast first, for 1 minute 24 seconds after separation, which itself comes five seconds after first stage shut down.
- Ed Kyle
thanks for the heads up on that Ed, should be a very interesting launch.
It's obviously a very different machine from the ULA launchers or Falcon-9. Would I be right in saying that the core will get almost all the way to orbit and the U/S is little more than a kick stage to get the perigee up?
-
#17
by
Space Pete
on 17 Apr, 2013 15:50
-
-
#18
by
edkyle99
on 17 Apr, 2013 15:55
-
It's obviously a very different machine from the ULA launchers or Falcon-9. Would I be right in saying that the core will get almost all the way to orbit and the U/S is little more than a kick stage to get the perigee up?
I wouldn't call it just a "kick stage". It is a bonafide stage powered by a sizable solid motor. This 14 tonne motor (twice as heavy as a Delta 2 second stage) burns for 155 seconds, one of the longest-burning solid motors I can recall. It works at better than 301 seconds ISP. It has a composite case and a big nozzle, so it is very mass and fuel efficient.
- Ed Kyle
-
#19
by
hrissan
on 17 Apr, 2013 16:48
-
It's obviously a very different machine from the ULA launchers or Falcon-9. Would I be right in saying that the core will get almost all the way to orbit and the U/S is little more than a kick stage to get the perigee up?
I wouldn't call it just a "kick stage". It is a bonafide stage powered by a sizable solid motor. This 14 tonne motor (twice as heavy as a Delta 2 second stage) burns for 155 seconds, one of the longest-burning solid motors I can recall. It works at better than 301 seconds ISP. It has a composite case and a big nozzle, so it is very mass and fuel efficient.
- Ed Kyle
I understand that the total energy is conserved during coasting, but does the long coast phase means there would be excess vertical velocity after S1 MECO? Then why the trajectory is not lowered during the first stage flight?
Can someone explain why coasting for so long?
