SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS/SpX-10 Dragon - Feb. 19, 2017 - Discussion

[Johnnyhinbos]

It's just color bars. With 197 viewers. Most watched color bars on the internet...

[Orbiter]

I don't think SFN is livestreaming the static firing. I think it's just set up a week early for the launch, unless someone knows better.

[Chris Bergin]

Yeah, I think that player is mainly just used to show NASA TV and such, as opposed to their own feed, but hey you never know. They have a media hut there so they technically could do it I guess.

[jpo234]

It's just color bars. With 197 viewers. Most watched color bars on the internet...

For even more entertainment there is "Watching Grass Grow" and the eternal classic "Watching Paint Dry".

P.S.: Completely off topic, so feel free to delete.

[SWGlassPit]

Dragon is not constrained by the high beta angle.  If it was, it wouldn't be launching on a 30-day docked mission until after the cutout.

It's not Dragon, it's the robotics ops associated with attaching Dragon to ISS.

Can they not do any robotics ops at all no matter the short duration of the beta exceedance?  I thought it had to do with heat build-up/concentration from the radiators.  Does that automatically occur once the beta angle is exceeded?  I thought it took time to build up (i.e., I remember NASA stating many times during Shuttle that the start and end of the cut outs weren't firm and could wiggle with analysis.)

It's not so much the radiators (they can turn those edge-on to the sun), it's thermal extremes all over station (structure, avionics, windows, mechanisms, etc.) from the fact that sun never sets during those periods.  There's also somewhat reduced power availability from the fact that neighboring solar arrays shadow each other unless you yaw the station.

That said, on a case by case basis, they may be able to pencil whip the analysis to show that certain operations may be okay, but in general, a lot of external operations are avoided during high beta periods for the reasons I mentioned.

[ChrisC]

There she is!  https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/830038750633791488

For those like me who struggled with the geometry of this (where's the camera shooting from?), note that this image is FLIPPED horizontally.  Perhaps because it was done with a telescope.  This is confirmed by the wider shot that Harwood also tweeted.

[Kansan52]

To me, it appears that each shot was on an opposite side of 39a.

[old_sellsword]

To me, it appears that each shot was on an opposite side of 39a.

But the RSS can't be on the left of the FSS at the same time F9 is behind them both. It has to be horizontally flipped.

[jpo234]

To me, it appears that each shot was on an opposite side of 39a.

But the RSS can't be on the left of the FSS at the same time F9 is behind them both. It has to be horizontally flipped.

It is. Look at the SpaceX letters or the US flag.

[vanoord]

There she is!  https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/830038750633791488

For those like me who struggled with the geometry of this (where's the camera shooting from?), note that this image is FLIPPED horizontally.  Perhaps because it was done with a telescope.  This is confirmed by the wider shot that Harwood also tweeted.

Flipped back to the correct way round:

[Comga]

You will notice in those last couple of shots of the Falcon rolled up to the top of 39A (but not yet standing), that the Dragon is not there for once.

Yes

There she is!

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/830038750633791488

Have we previously seen this sort of hemispherical cap on the second stage?

[cscott]

You will notice in those last couple of shots of the Falcon rolled up to the top of 39A (but not yet standing), that the Dragon is not there for once.

Yes

There she is!

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/830038750633791488

Have we previously seen this sort of hemispherical cap on the second stage?

Yes:

You will notice in those last couple of shots of the Falcon rolled up to the top of 39A (but not yet standing), that the Dragon is not there for once.

Is that a special cap just for the static fire test?

Yes, a similar thing was seen on the JASON-3 booster.

[mvpel]

Have we previously seen this sort of hemispherical cap on the second stage?

It can be found on page 15 Section 3.3 of the Falcon 9 Users' Guide - it's known as the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF).

[Brian45]

Does anyone know if the F9 made it to a vertical position today?

[envy887]

Have we previously seen this sort of hemispherical cap on the second stage?

It can be found on page 15 Section 3.3 of the Falcon 9 Users' Guide - it's known as the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF).

Not quite. The PAF goes in the same place and has the same shape, but is very different functionally. Also, Dragon doesn't use a PAF, so they wouldn't put one on a booster for a CRS flight.

[JMS]

A user on Facebook says it's going vertical right now.

[old_sellsword]

A user on Facebook says it's going vertical right now.

That Facebook user being Matthew Travis. Probably pad deck/launch pad fit checks.

[Helodriver]

Have we previously seen this sort of hemispherical cap on the second stage?

It can be found on page 15 Section 3.3 of the Falcon 9 Users' Guide - it's known as the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF).

Not quite. The PAF goes in the same place and has the same shape, but is very different functionally. Also, Dragon doesn't use a PAF, so they wouldn't put one on a booster for a CRS flight.

Here's a closeup of what it looks like, from Jason-3.

[Folgers25]

Any idea of how long it will be vertical? Might ride out to see if it stays vertical for a while.

[russianhalo117]

Any idea of how long it will be vertical? Might ride out to see if it stays vertical for a while.

will likely be vertical through NLT Sunday if everything is smooth over the next 48 hours.