SpaceX's Fourth Launch Attempt RSN

jcgam69 writes "SpaceX's Falcon 1 is on the pad in the South Pacific Kwajalein Atoll ready for its fourth launch attempt, according to a blog post over the weekend from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The countdown is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 23, between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. PDT, though the launch window will extend through Thursday if need be."

Comments

Not Today...

[crymeph0]

From an email I received this morning from the SpaceX news mailing list:

The static fire took place on Saturday [20 Sep 2008, CA time], as expected, and no major issues came up. However, after a detailed analysis of data, we decided to replace a component in the 2nd stage engine LOX supply line. There is a good chance we would be ok flying as is, but we are being extremely cautious.

This adds a few extra days to the schedule, so the updated launch window estimate is now Sept 28th through Oct 1st [CA time].

Re:Not Today...

[CraftyJack]

On the one hand, their whole approach to this endeavor screams failure. They have insisted on relearning the lessons of the past 60 years the hard way. Predictably, they've paid for it. I simply don't think a private corporation can afford the learning curve.
However, I truly hope they pull it off. I fear that failure by SpaceX would dry up entrepreneurial space efforts in a big way.

Re:Not Today...

[lysergic.acid]

well, first off, all of NASA's research and technology should be freely available in the public domain. that would make it much easier for commercial space travel to take off. i mean, why are we funding public research if it's not going to be public?

i wonder if the patents NASA is auctioning, or has auctioned, off would make SpaceX's task easier. i mean, i don't care if private corporations start taking over space exploration or if space travel is commercialized. it doesn't even matter if private corporations profit from tax-funded research--so long as _everyone_ has access to that research and is allowed to do the same.

but now it's like if we'd taken all the money used to fund NASA over the past few decades and instead just given it to a handful of private corporations. they alone get to profit from research paid for by the American public and then charge everyone else for access to the technology that our tax dollars already paid for. it's almost like the situation with the telecoms where the infrastructure we paid for is being privately controlled and we're charged extortionate rates to use.

Re:Not Today...

[GooberToo]

To be fair, this is not their failing. That type of experience simply doesn't exist much any more. This is a fact which has constantly repeated it self over time.

Lacking experience is the constant component which simply disappears. This can be observed in many technical areas.

o Military contractors are constantly relearning lessons well known since WWII and Korea.

o It now takes 20%-40% longer to build aircraft which have changed little since the 60s. This is believed to be directly attributable to both the change in accepted work practises but also the lacking expertise which was commonly available from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam era workers.

o Contrary to popular myth, rocket scientists with actual developmental experience are exceedingly rare. For the most part, all of these guys have retired. Ignoring the current rocket engineering resurgence, for the most part, there hasn't been any new rocket engine engineering taking place since the space shuttle. Don't forget, most of that took place in the 60s. With some simple math, it's easy to figure out most of these guys have moved on, retired, or dead.

To make matters worse, Corporate America no longer values experience. This fact is underlined, bolded, and well documented. The outsourcing of America is in it self validation of this fact. Ignoring outsourcing, and it's still well documented. These days experience is equated to mean, expensive and having no value.

Castle in a Swamp!

[onkelonkel]

Listen, lad. I built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other kings said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... stayed up! And that's what you're gonna get, lad: the strongest castle in these islands.

it is delayed a week

[Danny Rathjens]

The static fire took place on Saturday [20 Sep 2008, CA time], as expected, and no major issues came up. However, after a detailed analysis of data, we decided to replace a component in the 2nd stage engine LOX supply line. There is a good chance we would be ok flying as is, but we are being extremely cautious. This adds a few extra days to the schedule, so the updated launch window estimate is now Sept 28th through Oct 1st

http://www.spacex.com/updates.php

Re:it is delayed a week

[Danny Rathjens]

launch window=oct 1 - sep 28= 4 days
oct 1 - sep 23 = 9 days
28 - 23 = 5 days
(9+5)/2 = 7 days. :)

Just messing around, though. Obviously if I meant exactly 7 days I would have said 7 days rather than a week. There is an implied margin of error when you use larger units. :)

Re:it is delayed a week

[dullnev]

week=7
28-23=5
5=7
???

week=7
28-23=5
5=7
Profit!!!

(fixed it for ya)

Those trees look mighty close...

[Anonymous Coward]

So do all those very combustible looking trees fold over at launch like those ones in Thunderbirds?

Re:Let me know when they get one up

[Free the Cowards]

I couldn't disagree more. I'm interested enough that I might watch it live, but would never hear about it anywhere else. Please post to Slashdot a few hours before they launch!

Saturday, with luck

[Geoffrey.landis]

Space.com says launch on Saturday at the earliest ( Sept. 28 )

Good luck to them! Space-X has already won the stick-to-it award for persistence-- now let's hope they win the "great-success-after-hard-work" award.

Somewhat

[WindBourne]

They did pay for the first 2. The last one and this one are on Spacex's dime. As to the # of failures, EVERY group that has started with rockets has a number of failures up front. Once they have their first couple of successes, then it tends to be with new versions (though the shuttle says otherwise).

We Look For People To Make It Go

[DynaSoar]

Not relevant to TFA, but to the /. crowd:

Unix/Linux admin and software engineer positions open at the L.A. facility. https://spacex.com/careers.php

The subject line is a ripoff of a ST:TNG episode. I'm not with SpaceX. I'm still trying.

Re:Let me know when they get one up

[michaelmuffin]

Seriously, while I appreciate their tenacity, these attempts weren't news the last time either. Please skip the "here they go again" post and just let us know how it went, ok?

in other news, ailing former dictator fidel castro is still alive

Re:RSN?

[Chris Burke]

If it's "Real Soon Now" as acronymfinder suggests, then the summary writer and editor both suck.

Naw, it actually stands for "Retarded Spinning Narwhal", a complicated and beautiful acrobatic maneuver that some rocket ships can perform just as they leave the atmosphere. "Narwhal" as a comparison to the long and pointy nature of the ship and a reference to the animal's aquatic dexterity, "Spinning" which describes what the move consists of, and "Retarded" for both the crazy-looking pattern of multi-axis rotation and a jibe at the people who'd risk their lives and a multi-million space craft doing such a dangerous trick just to show off.

I have to say I'm pretty surprised that SpaceX would attempt a RSN on what they hope to be their first successful launch. Most firms and more so pilots would like to make sure the ship will make it to space and back safely a few times before trying it. On the other hand, a well-executed RSN is one hell of a way to announce their success, a giant space-born banner reading "We're here, we're in space, get used to it!"

The more you know!

Re:Learning from your mistakes

[FleaPlus]

I'm all for learning from my mistakes, but how much do these things cost to build and launch

SpaceX charges $6.7 million for them. They apparently make a profit at that price, so the actual costs are presumably somewhat less than that.

It should be noted though that in general the per-launch costs (fuel, materials, etc.) tend to be quite low compared to the costs of paying the salaries of people in the company. One of the reasons SpaceX's prices are so low compared to the competition is because they designed from the get-go to minimize the number of people required to build and launch their rockets.

Re:Add an accelermeter to the stage seperation log

[Profane MuthaFucka]

The second stage fires relatively soon after the first stage is done burning, so there's little time for propellants to move forward in the tanks. The Saturn had a relatively longer gap between first and second stage burnouts so ullage motors were included. The later Saturns actually removed the ullage motors from the second stage, since that one lit off just under 5 seconds after the first stage burned out.