Livestream is up, T-15 minutes was quoted back at 10:57 MST, so we should be about 9 minutes from launch right now, but there are still one or two techs near the rocket (as well as the truck). Don't know if they'll bug out and then say go or what.EDIT: Now at T-5, looking at 11:10 MST (18:10 UTC) for T-0.
Perhaps Sounding Rockets as a Service?
They've just uploaded a pair of high-quality videos from (opposite sides of) the rocket - another benefit of recovering it!Definitely got some roll going on late in the burn, though nothing a payload couldn't handle.Great audio!<snipped video embeds>
This was an excellent Pathfinder test flight that achieved approximately 100,000 feet. The recovery system worked properly on the way down, although we did experience a bit of a hard landing due to a system component failure. Nonetheless, anytime you can reuse a Suborbital Reusable launch Vehicle with spending only a few thousand dollars to have it flight ready again, you have had an amazing day! A few adjustments need to be made for the next flight to dial in all the parameters, but Exos is very pleased with a nominal flight with a new vehicle and, more notably, our first flight with modified NASA Morpheus software.
On this Pathfinder flight, we decided to “light load” Liquid Oxygen by about 200#. In order to do this We decided to put the launch stand on scales to weigh the LOX as we filled the tank. Placing the scales under the launch stool prevented us from bolting the launch stool down to the concrete Launchpad. We expected the launch stool to be "rapidly displaced" on ignition. What we did not expect was for the stool to impact the launch rail with enough force to sever the lower launch lug from the vehicle. The severing of the launch lug induced a torque on the body of the vehicle that was corrected by the vehicle guidance system within 1 second after liftoff. In the future: if scales are used for a test such as this, the launch stand will be mounted on standoffs that will allow scale use as well as to secure the launch stool from moving! The vehicle reached an angle of approximately 13 degrees and corrected exactly as simulated in the case of a launch anomaly.
QuoteOn this Pathfinder flight, we decided to “light load” Liquid Oxygen by about 200#. In order to do this We decided to put the launch stand on scales to weigh the LOX as we filled the tank. Placing the scales under the launch stool prevented us from bolting the launch stool down to the concrete Launchpad. We expected the launch stool to be "rapidly displaced" on ignition. What we did not expect was for the stool to impact the launch rail with enough force to sever the lower launch lug from the vehicle. The severing of the launch lug induced a torque on the body of the vehicle that was corrected by the vehicle guidance system within 1 second after liftoff. In the future: if scales are used for a test such as this, the launch stand will be mounted on standoffs that will allow scale use as well as to secure the launch stool from moving! The vehicle reached an angle of approximately 13 degrees and corrected exactly as simulated in the case of a launch anomaly.
Heard that Exos Aerospace, whose sounding rocket launch from New Mexico has already been delayed once because of the partial government shutdown, is delaying it again, to early March, because of shutdown-related problems.
Exos Aerospace says they’re targeting March 2 for the next launch of their SARGE reusable suborbital vehicle. (The launch was planned for early January but slipped because of the partial government shutdown.).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuRlEjPFUCA/Looks like EXOS is looking at developing VTVL? It's most likely just developing of a small upperstage as they don't seem to have test stands for static fires.
Quote from: Davidthefat on 02/24/2019 06:18 pmhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BuRlEjPFUCA/Looks like EXOS is looking at developing VTVL? It's most likely just developing of a small upperstage as they don't seem to have test stands for static fires.It's an old picture of Pixel.
