At some point in the future I would expect that any boats in breach of the Notice to Mariners would simply be ignored, and their risks would have no effect on launches, only on their own insurance.
Really, if it doesn't endanger the launch and proper notice has been given, it's up to the boat owners to decide whether they want to take the risk of having some metal land on their boat from a great height.
It seems to me that they could still meet the safety numbers with a sailboat in the range. The limit for commercial launches appears to be less than 0.00003 expected deaths per launch.
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/list/AC%20431.35-1/$FILE/AC431.35-1.pdf
Unless the sailboat is directly under the expected booster impact point, (or very close to the shore) that should be easy to meet. (back of the envelope - booster would need to go off course (10%), then RSO blows it up, possible area for debris to land at least 10km by 10km, sailboat is 10m by 10m, sailboat has a max of 10 people).
Of course, doing this calculation to the satisfaction of the FAA in real time is not practical. But if they did it ex post facto, I bet the safety requirement would have been met.
At some point in the future I would expect that any boats in breach of the Notice to Mariners would simply be ignored, and their risks would have no effect on launches, only on their own insurance.
Really, if it doesn't endanger the launch and proper notice has been given, it's up to the boat owners to decide whether they want to take the risk of having some metal land on their boat from a great height.
It seems to me that they could still meet the safety numbers with a sailboat in the range. The limit for commercial launches appears to be less than 0.00003 expected deaths per launch.
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/list/AC%20431.35-1/$FILE/AC431.35-1.pdf
Unless the sailboat is directly under the expected booster impact point, (or very close to the shore) that should be easy to meet. (back of the envelope - booster would need to go off course (10%), then RSO blows it up, possible area for debris to land at least 10km by 10km, sailboat is 10m by 10m, sailboat has a max of 10 people).
Of course, doing this calculation to the satisfaction of the FAA in real time is not practical. But if they did it ex post facto, I bet the safety requirement would have been met.
They could also just drop the stage on the sailboat and launch an additional 300,000 rockets to balance it out.
We just had a bright ISS pass over NYC. Too bad it was alone.
That was the consolation prize for those of us who all gathered in a vineyard in Southern NJ. I pointed out ISS and at least that made some of the kids ooh and ahh. I explained that bright dot was where the spacecraft was supposed to go. Of course I didn't think to slew my camera to record the pass... Doh!
The upside is that in a very economically depressed and sparsely populated area, there were three families on the side of the road waiting to watch a rocket launch a couple hundred miles away. Average Joes enjoying spaceflight... Made me feel like there is still a little hope.
95% chance of GO for weather tomorrow.
95% chance of GO for weather tomorrow.
Yeah, but the important number I want to know is: what's the chance of boats in the area tomorrow?
I went out to see them launch it in Hampton. I did see the ISS pass. It's the brighter blob in this picture I took with a potato:
I wonder at what point it becomes economically advantageous to forcibly evacuate and then sink the offending vessel. The operation could probably be carried out with a single helicopter. The cost of conducting the operation and replacing the vessel might be less than the cost of the scrub....
Just evacuate, don't need to sink it. Anyway, this is just one more reason we need to go toward high-launch-rate reusable rockets that don't have pieces falling off into the ocean or onto the steppe.
Just evacuate, don't need to sink it. Anyway, this is just one more reason we need to go toward high-launch-rate reusable rockets that don't have pieces falling off into the ocean or onto the steppe.
That doesn't still mean there won't be a cleared area for launches.
October 27, 2014
Launch of Third Orbital Sciences Mission to Space Station Rescheduled; NASA TV Coverage Reset
The third Orbital Sciences cargo mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch at 6:22 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 28, from Pad 0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
NASA Television coverage of Tuesday's launch will begin at 5:30 p.m. A post-launch news conference will follow at approximately 8 p.m.
A Monday launch attempt was scrubbed because of a boat down range in the trajectory Orbital’s Antares rocket would have flown had it lifted off.
A Tuesday launch will result in the Cygnus spacecraft arriving at the space station early Sunday, Nov. 2. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and berthing will begin at 3:30 a.m. with grapple at approximately 4:58 a.m.
For the latest information on news conferences and coverage times, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntvnewsFor more information about Orbital’s mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalFor more information about the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
Concerning the cubesats on this launch:
i know currently of 29 cubesats carried inside Orb-3:
26 x
Flock-1d (3U)
Arkyd-3 (3U)
RACE (3U)
GOMX-2 (2U)
Has anyone info, if there are more?
Gunter
I like how everyone picked up ISS last night, but missed Tiangong 1. Shortly after the scrub I enjoyed watching both stations at the same time sail through the evening sky.
It was a beautiful night.
Now I get to drive 7 hours again!
Last image is the ISS passing over the scrubbed rocket.
It was a beautiful night.
Now I get to drive 7 hours again!
Last image is the ISS passing over the scrubbed rocket.
Great pictures! Especially the ISS one. Where were you set up to watch from?
