SpaceX Successfully Tests Nine-Engine Cluster

the_other_chewey writes "At their test facility in Texas, SpaceX, the privately funded space-flight company, have successfully tested their nine-engine cluster which is planned to provide the heavy lifting capability for their Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy rockets. The firing lasted three minutes (a full 'mission duty cycle,' i.e. a simulated launch) under full power, delivering 3.8MN (or 855,000 lbs.) of thrust. SpaceX have made a video of the test available. The Waco Tribune has a short report about it, with comments by locals."

Comments

"Need Another Seven Astronauts"

[Adolf Hitroll]

Well, at least somebody elese is working darüber...

Re:"Need Another Seven Astronauts"

[Kagura]

by Adolf Hitroll (562418) Alter Relationship on Monday November 24, @10:16AM (#25872855)

Wow, I think you lose the argument pretty quickly, there. ;)

FP

[Anonymous Coward]

So why didn't it go anywhere with all that thrust? Any physicists?

Re:FP

[ZeroExistenZ]

So why didn't it go anywhere with all that thrust? Any physicists?

As you can see, it's bolted to the launchpad, which is in return bolted to earth.

They actually tried to move earth into a higher orbit to cure global warming, to it makes sense the rocket didn't seem to be moving relative to earth, but earth did together with the rocket.

Why you ask? To avoid planet Nibiru ofcourse.

Re:FP

[AKAImBatman]

I'm not a physicist, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that it has something to do with those heavy steel/concrete ties seen in the video. If you can provide more than 35 meganewtons of restraint, the rocket isn't going to go anywhere.

(Not to say that such logic is bleeding obvious. /sarcasm)

Now for a real bit of discussion: Does anyone know how tall that test stand is. The thing appears to be HUGE! To the left of the stand you can see what appears to be power lines. An off-the-cuff approximation would suggest that the stand is 6 times taller than the lines. If we take a wild guess at the height of the lines (say, 15 feet?), we can guesstimate that the stand could easily be 90 feet or more in height!

That's impressive for a company who's only launch to date was an oversize firecracker in comparison to the rockets flown by their competitors. I honestly hope that what they learned with the Falcon 1 speeds development of the Falcon 9. A price war in the rocket industry would be awesome for long-term space access.

Re:FP

[v1]

Awesome, simply awesome. Glad to see they passed the test, or at least didn't blow up. Hope they got some good test data. Ideally they were giving it some control feedback to make sure the gimbals etc that aim the rocket were all responding correctly, performing their orbital roll etc. Getting the most bang for the buck (without the bang!) since I'm sure this test cost a not-so-small fortune considering the fuel used.

As for the "why didn't it take off" question, it was pretty firmly fitted to the ground. Despite it's size and total impulse capacity, that's over a 3 minute span. It's not designed to lift more than itself and its payload, at a marginal acceleration. The thrust output is variable also, and can't be allowed to crush the payload with G-forces. Despite its massive size, it wasn't going to be going anywhere.

I'd be interested to know the power curve on the rocket. Most of the fuel is actually spent lifting the FUEL. From one viewpoint, the engine could be constant-thrust, and would accelerate slowly at first, and increase its acceleration as it consumed fuel and became lighter with the same thrust. Or it could back off the thrust as it got lighter, to prevent the g-forces from acceleration from becoming too great for the vehicle or its payload. I'm sure the power-to-weight-ratio could get really high as it nears the end of its firing if it were left at maximum thrust. Anyone happen to know the power curve or acceleration curve on ascent? I thought I read somewhere they try to keep the g-forces under 8g, and not for too long of a period of time, at least for crew.

Re:FP

[hcdejong]

Does anyone know how tall that test stand is.

The Falcon 9 first stage on top of the stand is about 25 m high (I've assumed it's half the total height of the Falcon 9). The stand appears a bit over 2x as high as that first stage, so 60 m/180 ft would be my initial guess.

Re:FP

[AJNeufeld]

Glad to see they passed the test, or at least didn't blow up.

"No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. What? Look, somebody's got to have some damn perspective around here. Boom, sooner or later. BOOM!"

Re:FP

[CrimsonAvenger]

The Falcon 9 first stage on top of the stand is about 25 m high (I've assumed it's half the total height of the Falcon 9).

The Falcon 9 is 54.9 meters tall. The first stage is a bit more than half that height, so call it 30 meters.

Re:FP

[Nyeerrmm]

The website says the top of the BFTS ("Big Falcon Test Stand") is 235 feet high. Presumably this includes the blue "Stairway to Heaven" running up the side of the first stage, so I'd say the concrete stand is probably about 150 feet... having been up to the top I must say it's impressive, and a little scary. Fortunately theres an elevator up to the concrete platform, but only too steep stairs up to the top from there.

Also, while I love the company, I woudl say that they did just buy the site, including the test stand from another company that I can't remember the name of off the top of my head.

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

Awesome A B5 quote :)

Re:FP

[IchNiSan]

They were just nudging us fully into the path of the planet killer asteriod due to hit us in December 2012. These guys have a lot riding on their theories of the accuracy of the Mayan calendar.

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

If they wanted to do this, they bolted the rocket engine upside-down. It needs to point UP to make this work.

Duh.

Re:FP

[bazookazuz]

I work for the TX facility. The concrete tripod is 120' tall and the legs are 10' in diameter. The stage is 85' tall and 12' in diameter. You can see it 25 miles away when you are driving to work. It is pretty awesome (-;

Re:FP

[skeeto]

Moving the Earth might have move us out of the way of that intergalactic highway that is being planned.

Re:FP

[rabidkumquat]

850,000lbf (lbf = pounds force) is a relatively small load. It is easy to forget exactly how strong steel is in tension: using standard 50ksi steel (typical structural steel), only about 18 sq-in would be required to hold the rocket down (albeit with no factor of safety).

For comparison, the main cables in the George Washington suspension bridge in New York each carry ~260,000,000lbf, and are designed to resist almost 3 times that load. While the amount of thrust developed by the Falcon 9 is seriously impressive for a lift vehicle, it is trivial from a ground-based engineering standpoint.

There is a reason structural engineers work in kips not pounds (1 kip = 1000lb), and yes IAASE.

Re:FP

[evanbd]

There are nine engines in a cluster. Burn time for the cluster is 178 seconds. All engines run at full throttle. At t+160s, they shut down a pair of engines to reduce the g loading slightly, but otherwise it's constant thrust. Remember, though, that liftoff acceleration is very mild -- about 1.2g, iirc. For a given engine thrust, you usually improve payload mass by adding tankage until it can just barely leave the pad.

Re:FP

[trongey]

What makes you think it didn't go anywhere? The thrust was diverted 90deg, so for 3 minutes it was exerting roughly 36 trillion lb/ft of torque on the planet. I don't know which way the diverter is aligned, so I can't tell you whether the conspiracy is to accelerate the Earth's rotation, decelerate it, or cause it to rotate sideways (that one would really suck).

Re:FP

[gregbot9000]

So why didn't it go anywhere with all that thrust? Any physicists?

Well you see Jimmy, scientists have big brains, so all they had to do was have a really smart one stand on it and weigh it down. This is also why they need such big rockets, to get scientists big brains up to space.

I'm sure you've never had that problem and could reach orbit in a light breeze.

Re:FP

[Ecuador]

Why don't you go the the planning dept at Alpha Centauri to make sure? Don't forget to take a flashlight with you.

Re:FP

[Ecuador]

So, these are FEET right? I mean, we wouldn't want another stonehenge miss communication ;)

I wish you guys stuck to metric at least on slashdot...

Re:FP

[J_Omega]

Unfortunately, they had an 855,001 lb. payload.

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

And a towel, never forget your towel.

Re:FP

[Kartoffel]

Don't be so elitist. Engineers can operate with both systems of measurement. Can't you?

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

I work for the TX facility. The concrete tripod is 120' tall and the legs are 10' in diameter. The stage is 85' tall and 12' in diameter. You can see it 25 miles away when you are driving to work. It is pretty awesome (-;

For those of us who don't live in backward countries like Myanmar and Liberia...

I work for the TX facility. The concrete tripod is 36.6m tall and the legs are 3m in diameter. The stage is 26m tall and 3.6m in diameter. You can see it 45km away when you are driving to work. It is pretty awesome (-;

Re:FP

[iamlucky13]

I work for the TX facility.

If I may ask a tangential question, how do you like working for SpaceX out at the test facility? I've been considering applying for one of the test engineer positions out there. Really, the main thing keeping me from doing so is the fact that it's way out in Texas (not because of the usual Texas cliches, but just because I like the Pacific NW too much). Anyway, how are the hours? Any major gripes? What sort of work do you do and what kind of background did you come from?

Thanks and good luck with the testing!

Re:FP

[Ecuador]

My post was more of an attempt to entertainment (I love the linked clip from Spinal Tap), but if you want to analyze it...
So, I am a physicist and possibly an engineer (I put "possibly" since some people don't accept the term "software engineers") and I never had a problem dealing with different systems of measurement. However, I think it is blatantly obvious that all systems of measurements were not created equal. Or, if they were created equal, the decimal ones are more equal than the others ;)
I have lived in the US for the last 5 years. I find it very amusing (and disturbing at the same time) how people say they can't use the metric system, yet they don't realize the can't REALLY use the english system either, due to its non-decimal nature. Yes, they do know what a foot, inch, yard, pound, ounce etc is, so they will get what "6 feet" means when they can't figure out "2m", however try to have them compare pounds with ounces, feet with yards or even worse start mixing things like how many pounds of water in a gallon etc. These come up in everyday life and I can actually manage them way better than the average American, since I can do calculations fast. But you are not supposed to have to do hard calculations when buying groceries!
And let's not go into scientific applications.
Oh, after all these years, the only thing I cannot get used to are temperatures in the Fahrenheit scale. Celsius is defined as : 0=water freezes, 100=water evaporates. Humans live closer to water freezes, end of story.
Fahrenheit is defined as: 0=mixture of ice, water, and ammonium chloride (?!?) 32=freezing water (nice round number), 96=human blood (later adjusted to 98 point sth). Great f*ing scale.

Re:FP

[Tombstone-f]

They should have known that the only object with the thrust capable of such a feat is the Annihilatrix. Which was absolutely NOT made to push the Earth into the Sun.

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

The structural engineers i know work in N, kN or MN.

Re:FP

[camperdave]

Don't forget that a pound of feathers weighs more than a pound of gold, and that if you were to take your ruler and measure from one mile marker to another, you wouldn't get exactly 63360 inches. Precious metals and gems are measured in troy ounces and pounds, whereas common objects like featers are measured in avoirdupois ounces and pounds. Mile markers are established using survey feet and inches which are longer than the customary units of the same name.

Also, everything seems to require two units, not just one. Length is in feet and inches. Weight is in pounds and ounces.

Re:FP

[Forrest Kyle]

The test stand is 250 ft. high. I took a tour of the facility and got to ride an elevator up to the top.

It is an amazingly cool place. The Mission Control room is nerd heaven. Sprawling high-def monitors, scrolling reams of data, glowing diagrams and the comforting sound of a thousand different electronic devices humming beeping. [sigh]

Re:FP

[bazookazuz]

I started working for SpaceX straight out of college 1.5 years ago with a bachelors in electrical engineering (that is metric years, not US years). I am the principal programmer for the TX test software. Since the company is still small, you typically get very important projects from the day you start (F9 was my first project). The hours can be very long (50 hour week min), but the satisfaction you get from success makes it all worth it. Living in central TX is great! Houses are cheap, there is no traffic, and you are really close to Austin and Dallas. If you think this is the job for you, the send in your resume ASAP. You can't help make history if you don't apply, and the open positions are filling up fast. Cheers and good luck!

Re:FP

[v1]

I'm ashamed to say I didn't identify that quote right off the bat. Y'vonna wasn't it?

Even without remembering the ep, you could almost identify it just by the attitude. That had to be a fun role to act. That line wouldn't have worked for any other character on the show.

Re:FP

[v1]

The things that worried me though are (1) the lightening of the load as the fuel is consumed, and (2) the thinning of the atmosphere as the rocket ascends. Both of these things are going to increase acceleration if thrust remains constant.

Although it starts at 1.2g, (with 1.0g being standard eath gravity pull) it has to be rising constantly except where those two engines cut out. I just have no idea how fast it rises.

I wouldn't be even a little surprised if acceleration goes over 5g just before throttle-down.

The Merlins run on LOX too - otherwise thinning of the atmosphere would lower thrust and act as a counter-force.

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

Its only a bypass that is being planned afaik.

Re:FP

[FleaPlus]

The website says the top of the BFTS ("Big Falcon Test Stand") is 235 feet high. ... Also, while I love the company, I woudl say that they did just buy the site, including the test stand from another company that I can't remember the name of off the top of my head.

The test stand originally belonged to Beal Aerospace a private spaceflight startup which went defunct back in the dot-com days.

One thing that's pretty cool is that SpaceX is also developing a rocket (the "BFR") that will be too big for the BFTS. Also, I think one can assume from the names that Elon Musk is probably a Doom fan.

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/497/1

The development of Merlin 2 begs the question: what is SpaceX planning that requires such a powerful engine? In past talks Musk has hinted at the development of something called the "BFR" (where B stands for "big" and R for "rocket"), a heavy-lift vehicle far larger than the Falcon family of vehicles. At SpaceVision2005 Musk disclosed that the BFR, in its current iteration, would use "multiple" Merlin 2 engines. The BFR would be able to place 100 tons in low Earth orbit, putting it in competition with NASA's planned shuttle-derived heavy-lift launcher. The BFR is so big, Musk said, that it's too large for the BFTS at their Texas test site: even if they beefed up the stand, he said, the overpressure from the engine tests would break windows in a nearby town. Musk said they would have to test the vehicle either at the launch site or, perhaps, at NASAâ(TM)s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

Re:FP

[evanbd]

The data sheet says max axial load at MECO is 5g, and at SECO 3-5g depending on mission. They specify a design load factor of 6g.

If you want the slopes of the curves, you can work out estimates from published data. Takeoff mass is 333,400kg. Vacuum thrust is 5.56MN; multiplying by the Isp ratio, that suggests a liftoff thrust of 5.03MN, or about 1.5g at liftoff (seems I misremembered).

Liftoff Isp of 275s equates to 2700m/s, so to produce 5.03MN thrust it burns 1860 kg/s of propellant. That'll give you the start of the curve and total propellant mass; the Isp and thrust increase with altitude (rockets perform better in a vacuum), so the middle portion of the curve is a little hard to pin down without better data about the flight path.

Re:FP

[v1]

rockets perform better in a vacuum

That's another thing that's puzzled me a little with my inadequate knowledge of rocketry... (I am not a rocket scientist!) In space, yes you have no wind resistance or drag on the side of the vehicle, or underpressure vacuum on the bottom so by that I'd expect it to "perform better". (more acceleration for a given thrust) but there's no air behind you to "push off from". How do those two factors compare?

I'd expect that at low velocities, the push-off factor would be greater than the air resistance, but at higher speeds the air resistance would be the dominating factor?

Re:FP

[evanbd]

Rockets don't push off from the air at all. The exhaust of a rocket is locally supersonic (and therefore *much* faster than the speed of sound in air), so any back pressure has no impact on thrust. For a rocket operating in air, therefore, there is air pressure on the front of the rocket that isn't balanced on the back, and the imbalance is exactly equal to the nozzle exit area. (Thrust and drag are normally considered independently.)

The performance of a rocket is usually measured as specific impulse (Isp), or how much impulse is generated per unit of propellant burned. In English units, it's usually given as lb*s impulse per lb propellant, and cancelled to seconds (alternately, lb of thrust per lb/s of propellant consumption). This hides a unit of g (cancelling pounds force with pounds mass, which differ by g). Merlin gets a vacuum Isp of 304s. Converting to metric units, that's 2982 m/s (or 2982 N * s / kg), which is the average axial speed of the exhaust. That exhaust speed is independent of atmospheric pressure or lack thereof. However, in an atmosphere, the thrust is reduced by ambient pressure * nozzle exit area, resulting in a reduction in Isp and *effective* exhaust velocity to 275s or 2700 m/s.

(In an attempt to clean up the units, most US rocket engineers and engineering texts now distinguish pounds force and pounds mass, as lbf and lbm respectively. Isp in seconds has hung on, though, even though it's a bastardized mix of units.)

Working backward from those numbers, the difference in thrust from vacuum to atmospheric pressure of 13400 lbf inplies a nozzle exit area of 13400 lbf / 14.7 psi (atmospheric pressure) = 911 in^2, for a nozzle exit diameter of 34 inches, which sounds about right (I don't see actual dimensions listed anywhere).

Hopefully that makes it a little clearer. The key to understanding rocket nozzles is that supersonic flows behave almost nothing like subsonic flows. That's why they have that convergent-divergent shape; they're a de Laval nozzle.

Re:FP

[SUB7IME]

You never push off of air with a rocket engine. You push off of your exhaust.

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

Monitor's are fucking high def.

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

There is a reason structural engineers work in kips not pounds...

Is there a reason that they work in kips not kN (kilonewtons)?

Re:FP

[Forrest Kyle]

I am very sleepy, so I erred. I meant to indicate that the monitors were very large... like big plasma TV screens. Thinking of TV's made me say "high def".

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

To clarify about the BFR, the F is for Falcon. Big Falcon Rocket. Not the other one.

Also, funny side note, Dragon used to be called Magic Dragon. No lie, early paperwork still has it dubbed as such. One of my buddies who interned there had some funny stories...

Re:FP

[gpronger]

And that way we get to keep the dolphins; great idea!

Re:FP

[AJNeufeld]

Yes, it was said by Susan Ivonova.

How long before the tree huggers complain

[Icegryphon]

About how much CO2 these rocket things put out? I mean who really needs a rocket to go to the grocery store?

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[ShadowBlasko]

Well, if you had read some of the comments, many of them already are complaining.

"What kind of toxins are we being exposed too!!!11!"

Yeah .. I much prefer this comment:
"By Jermiah November 23, 2008 12:24 AM | Link to this I quite enjoyed it. Nothing like a glass a scotch a lawn chair a cigar and 1.5 million foot pounds of pressure to make someone feel alive."

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Andr T.]

I quite enjoyed it. Nothing like a glass a scotch a lawn chair a cigar and 1.5 million foot pounds of pressure to make someone feel alive.

Man, gotta love the smell of burning proppelant in the morning. I love this one:

Wow..Just observing the numerous misspelled words in your posts makes me realize why you idiots thought that the aliens were coming!

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[AKAImBatman]

"What kind of toxins are we being exposed too!!!11!"

Burned kerosene. If that bothers our poor environmentalist friends, then they might want to start a protest against Kerosene Lamps, portable stoves, home heating (primarily Japan, UK, and Ireland), and jet engines.

Which reminds me. Greenpeace has released a commercial decrying the toxicity of game consoles. It "stars" Mario, Master Chief, and Kratos. Trademarks for which they obviously don't have the rights. (Evidenced by the awful voice acting.) Worse yet, their claims are entirely specious, making bizarre and untrue claims about toxicity and lack of recycling. Hilarious in how bad it is, though.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Andr T.]

Haha, look at this one:

I am so angry at SpaceX! My children and I were very scared. How dare them conduct this test without letting us know! We live across from the McGregor Airport and our entire house shook and trembled. The sky was on fire. My 11-year-old son said he âoethought the sun was exploding.â I grabbed a jug of apple juice and made my kids go into my closet fearing the worse.

So, when you fear for the worse, you go into your closet with a jug of apple juice? "One apple a day keeps the doomsday away."

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[MikeBabcock]

Circuit boards in general are made with toxic processes and often contain toxic chemicals in trace amounts.

I'm pretty sure the recycling of game console boards is just as bad as computers, meaning that it is a problem, but nowhere near as many game console boards are sold as PC motherboards making the issue barely worth discussing (about 70 million PCs were sold in the US in 2007, not including servers and laptops whereas just a few million game consoles were sold).

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[ShadowBlasko]

Circuit boards in general are made with toxic processes and often contain toxic chemicals in trace amounts.

I'm pretty sure the recycling of game console boards is just as bad as computers, meaning that it is a problem, but nowhere near as many game console boards are sold as PC motherboards making the issue barely worth discussing (about 70 million PCs were sold in the US in 2007, not including servers and laptops whereas just a few million game consoles were sold).

Actually, its 1000 times worse, due to the concentration of burning parts around "recycling" centers.

Check out this 60 minutes segment from two weeks ago. It's hard to watch in places, watching 4 year old kids playing in old capacitors and lead solder.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Jason Levine]

What? Your closets aren't built to withstand the force of an exploding sun? Sheesh. Such shoddy construction work on houses these days.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Andr T.]

No. I follow Indiana Jone's way of hiding into nuclear-proof refrigerators.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[IchNiSan]

Don't drink the apple juice right away, wait a while. If the world doesn't end, then you will have something to drown your misery and loneliness.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Zerth]

So, when you fear for the worse, you go into your closet with a jug of apple juice?

Considering the area, you have to mentally s/apple juice/hard cider

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Anonymous Coward]

don't we all? man I have jars of concentrated apple juice and jugs of water in my closet just in case.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Your Anus]

Which reminds me. Greenpeace has released a commercial decrying the toxicity of game consoles. It "stars" Mario, Master Chief, and Kratos. Trademarks for which they obviously don't have the rights. (Evidenced by the awful voice acting.) Worse yet, their claims are entirely specious, making bizarre and untrue claims about toxicity and lack of recycling. Hilarious in how bad it is, though.

The Greenpeace commercial is protected by that 'fair use' thingy that the EFF is always going on about. Specifically, they are using the characters for parody.

Somebody already covered the 60 Minutes segment on Executive Recycling destroying the town in China.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Jason Levine]

My wife and I saw the new Indiana Jones movie on DVD this past weekend. We both rolled our eyes at that part (as well as other parts). You kind of expect fantastic feats with Indiana Jones, but that stretches the boundaries even for the series.

Is it wrong that part of me saw that scene and thought "The Mythbusters should do a Movie Myths episode featuring surviving a nuclear blast in a lead lined refrigerator." (Searching the Discovery.com forums and seeing the countless other posts on the subject.... I guess not.)

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[rhsanborn]

For the kids of course.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Anonymous Coward]

Get off my fission-proof lawn.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[hierophanta]

Greenpeace has released a commercial decrying the toxicity of game consoles.

for anyone who didnt realize - the video is a joke /parody

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[osu-neko]

You realize most of the Hiroshima survivors weren't even inside refrigerators, right? Just curious why that scene seems so unbelievable to so many people. There are people around today who were close enough to the blast that it destroyed the building they were in. They had to be dug out of the rubble of the building that collapsed around them. But they're still alive and kicking in 2008. Unless you're literally at ground zero, surviving a nuclear blast, particular the old A-bombs, really was pretty much as simple as ducking and finding cover. There are over 50,000 alive today who didn't even do that in Hiroshima and are still around...

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Anonymous Coward]

Some quick math yields ~363 gallons of burned kerosene. That's less than I expected (someone check me?), but if I even have the right order of magnitude, then the morning rush hour in Waco produces more CO2.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[nasor]

Nuclear weapons are not nearly as "unsurvivable" as many people apparently believe. You might be interested to know that about 7% of the people at Hiroshima who were within 1000 feet of the blast site survived. I'm sure Indy has beaten worse odds before :)

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[MrBlue VT]

The reason is not the fact that he might have survived the radiation and heat effects, but rather that the movie depicted him being hurled half a mile through the air and landing on the ground unhurt.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[SBrach]

By diagem November 22, 2008 11:42 PM | Link to this "well shucks. I live over her in Teague on the Due hiway and my barn rattled so hard it knocked a couple bales of hay down from the top loft and scared my cows and they went hitailing thru the fence and out on the due hiway and pulled two big old pecan trees down and blocled the darn hiway. I don't reckon it's anyone's fault though."

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Jason Levine]

Perhaps, but he climbed into a fridge which got blown high into the sky by a nuclear blast and landed far away (far enough to be outside of town). He then climbed out of the fridge with no visible radiation burns and no broken bones. He didn't even have any apparent bruising at all from the waist up (as evidenced by the next scene in the "radiation wash down room"). The whole thing just seemed a little extreme, even for Indiana Jones.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Anonymous Coward]

The comment is totally legitmate. They should have had more sensitivity to the local community in their test schedule, and should have informed them beforehand.

The volume of comments points to the fact that there was legitimate fear in the community, and your own scorn is kind of stupid. SpaceX is not stupid, and I'm sure that they will engage in better or more proper notifications in the future, since they need to have their neighbors on their side in the long run.

By the way, what's wrong with saying "rounding up the family" rather than "gathered together the family"?

   

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[d3ac0n]

Umm.. No.

It's not that anyone expects natural disasters to warn the media, (duh) it's that SpaceX SHOULD HAVE warned the media, AND the local police department, AND the local fire departments. A rocket engine test is not something that the average person has much experience with. Not knowing what it was, can you blame them for suspecting that there MIGHT be a natural disaster in progress?

Oh, and the "round them up" thing? Uh.. how do you go about getting your family members all together? To "round up" is to collect in a single spot, or to gather together. It's a colloquial expression that, for some reason, I don't find out of place when coming from someone living in TEXAS, a state with a long tradition of cattle and sheep ranching. It doesn't make them all "nutters".

But thinking they are crazy for having perfectly natural reactions to an event such as this does make YOU a bigoted ass.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[Cassius Corodes]

Not to mention that despite the lack of care shown to them by space-x, most finished their complaints by cheering them on.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[JeremiahMercer]

Im glad you found my comment funny. I had a great time watching the test only problem was I was so clse the rattling knocked over my drink......It was good Scotch.

Re:How long before the tree huggers complain

[lysergic.acid]

what are their entirely specious or bizarre and untrue claims? sounds like you're just exhibiting a typical knee-jerk reaction to being told that something you use/enjoy is not perfect.

despite the inflammatory title on Gametrailers.com the Greenpeace commercial isn't railing against video games. in fact, they seem to be primarily trying to reach out to gamers and raise awareness about the environmental hazards involved in manufacturing electronics. the PTFE (teflon) and epoxy resin used in PCB manufacturing, and various dopants and other chemicals used in IC fabrication are in fact toxic and can be bad for the environment.

that doesn't mean you have to give up video games or throw away your computer, but disseminating such information encourages consumers to make more environmentally conscious decisions. and it's not just Greenpeace that's pushing for more sustainable development in the electronics industry. green computing is increasingly attracting the attention of more and more computer manufacturers.

thanks to Greenpeace, a lot of companies like Apple are starting to clean up their act and even taking the initiative to encourage more corporate responsibility regarding sustainable development.

but in the end, it's the consumers who have the most influence on manufacturers. it's only because consumers are demanding greener computers now that manufacturers are starting to pay attention to their environmental impact. so what's wrong with Greenpeace trying to encourage gamers to do the same? modern consoles are just very specialized gaming/media PCs. and pushing console manufacturers to be a little more environmentally conscious can only be a good thing.

I must be tired...

[thesymbolicfrog]

I read, "The Waco Tribune has short report about it, with comments by lolcats."

I need either more sleep or less internet.

Re:I must be tired...

[Andr T.]

I always read this company's name as "Spa-sex".

"Im in ur spaceship... freein' ur spidrs"

Re:I must be tired...

[FlyingBishop]

Or both.

Re:I must be tired...

[Chris Mattern]

I can has orbital trajectory?

Re:I must be tired...

[Anonymous Coward]

ceiling cat sez apostrofez are for dogs

Re:I must be tired...

[meadowsoft]

I read, "The Waco Tribune has short report about it, with comments by lolcats."

I need either moar sleep or less internets.

Fixed that for you.

Re:I must be tired...

[Thrakamazog]

I made you some LOx, but I ated it.

Mighty Putty

[MaxwellEdison]

Billy Mays embedded the thrusters in Mighty Putty. They won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Re:Mighty Putty

[Sfing_ter]

and cleaned up after with ShamWOW!

Originally it had ten engines.

[GargamelSpaceman]

But gollum bit one off and fell into a volcano.

Re:Originally it had ten engines.

[FourthLaw]

I'm not interested until they make one that goes to eleven.

Re:Originally it had ten engines.

[BobSixtyFour]

I'm not interested until they make one that has over NINE THOUSAND engines.

Re:Originally it had ten engines.

[FourthLaw]

Yeah...but...this one goes to eleven.

Nine engine cluster?

[nacturation]

I'm surprised they didn't name the rocket the Beowulf 9.

Re:Nine engine cluster?

[Anonymous Coward]

but does it run linux?

Uninformative video

[hcdejong]

The great big plume of fire and smoke is impressive, but I would have preferred a pre-ignition closeup of the engine cluster.

Re:Uninformative video

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd like schematics and blueprints but I don't think that's gonna happen either...

Re:Uninformative video

[mogul]

And a closeup after tge fire has died away too.

Re:Uninformative video

[Anonymous Coward]

This is just a single engine test, but at least it shows the full duration: http://spacex.com/multimedia/videos.php?id=15

Congrats SpaceX

[Diagoras]

I'm looking forward to the launch. Anyone know when that is? I've heard everything from January to March from several people. Anywho,let's hope that SpaceX succeeds. Otherwise we'll end up depending on Russia from 2010 to 2015 for our man-capable launch systems with all the political consequences that entails.

Re:Congrats SpaceX

[ComputerInsultant]

Unless NASA releases money for COTS-D very soon, we will still have a manned launch gap. The Falcon 9 and Dragon are man rated, but to launch people into using the Falcon 9 and Dragon, you need much more. You need a Launch Escape System and a Emergency Egress System. Neither of these is currently in development at SpaceX and both have a long lead time to develop.

Without the additional COTS-D money to start development on these systems, SpaceX will not carry people until they find the money from other sources to fund these development efforts.

Re:Congrats SpaceX

[Nyeerrmm]

This test was the last major step before shipping it to the cape, so it seems the schedule on the website with delivery scheduled by Q408 is accurate. As far as when it launches... my WAG is by summer. From what I can tell getting it to the cape is largely a move to show the new administration "hey, remember us and COTS", so there may be a bit more work that has to be done on it.

Here's hoping the lessons from F1 carry over and there aren't new issues to discover.

Re:Congrats SpaceX

[x1n933k]

I'm confused, does SpaceX own Slashdot or something. Aren't there a few Private companies pushing Rockets into Space for Corporate and Private venture? How come these guys get coverage?

[J]

Re:Congrats SpaceX

[bazookazuz]

They get the coverage because they are relying on the COTS money. If the public is on your side, then congress is as well. The other companies (orbital & blue origin) have a bit more cash at their disposal so they don't release anything to the public.

Re:Congrats SpaceX

[J05H]

SpaceX pwns Slashdot - there is cultural convergence involved since Elon founded PayPal and is young and geeky. On top of that he is the furthest along in fielding crew-capable private orbital spacelift. Much further than Virgin/Scaled, BlueOrigin or others. In some ways, SpaceX is further toward native crew-launch than Lockheed, Boeing or United Space Alliance (Post-Shuttle) - mostly because Dragon and Falcon 9 are coming along much faster than Orion/Constellation on much, much less money.

There is a certain amount of cred Elon gets from putting his money where his mouth is. He is on-record as saying he wants to make it possible for ordinary people to be able to go to Mars.

another J

Saved on gas

[bossanovalithium]

The price of gas must've made the test irresistible..

And...

[owlnation]

The headline in today's Arachnid Advertiser states:

Biped Puppets Successfully Complete Engine Test. The Grand Plan Still On Schedule.

Re:And...

[TimSSG]

Arachnid's are not stopping with an World Wide Web, they are going for the System Wide Web. Tim S.

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, there is someone there saying 'this is what happens when you elect Obama.'

Very cool.

[holmstar]

Wow, wonder what the concrete/ceramic pad that is under that thing looks like after three minutes of exposure to that.

Kind of gives me that "want to put a penny on the tracks" feeling. But I suppose the penny would need to be welded down, and there wouldn't really be anything left afterward...

Re:Very cool.

[jbeaupre]

I wondered that too. Aren't most engines tested sideways or upside down? If nothing else, you don't have to worry as much about your test stand holding up.

Re:Very cool.

[jbeaupre]

Nevermind. a minute's worth of research would have shown me that vertical is common and upside down is rare.

Re:Very cool.

[camperdave]

Aren't most engines tested sideways or upside down? If nothing else, you don't have to worry as much about your test stand holding up.

You don't have to worry about your test stand holding up. You have to worry about your test stand holding down.

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[4D6963]

Yeah, let's all blame it on George Bush and act like it wasn't there before or like no cultural factor (of old origin) has to do anything with that.

O.o

[4D6963]

the privately funded space-flight company, have successfully tested their nine-engine cluster

But can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of these? If only global _cooling_ was our problem..

Cool! Go Science!

[crescente]

With all the cries for help in the finance world, it warms my heart to see a science/research based company giving me some good news. Cheers!

Re:Cool! Go Science!

[32771]

Lately some staff at SpaceX, formerly employed at NASA, were overheard saying "... who is complaining that rocket scientists are dealing with volatile stuff now". "Surely that 700 billion rescue package rips a hole large enough to fit 5 shuttle programs through, disasters included, and lets see whether the market has some engine restart capability" a colleague added.

Some soon to be space entrepreneur remarked in the past that "Derivatives are like Hydrazine, carrying dangers that, while latent when properly stored, are potentially lethal when coming into contact with a catalyst like house price decline"

Believe me or not but the future of space flight is energetic like the 10000K exhaust of an ion engine.

I have gone overboard but this surely sounds more positive than financial news.

Crappy website

[Anonymous Coward]

Their website is a mix from hell. Half-CSS, half-tables. Who the hell did that?

3... 2... 1... You're FIRED!

Texans...

[Jafafa Hots]

Shit... the comments are funny. I've heard sounds and explosions that had me thinking "WTF?!?!" before - from a massive propane tank explosion, to unexpected sonic booms, to an earthquake, to a tank surprisingly rumbling down the street... but worrying that it's an ATTACK, or a nuclear explosion???

No wonder they all voted for Bush... fearful idiots.

Re:Texans...

[Stiletto]

Not just Texans. A great portion of small-town "red state" America lives in constant self-induced fear that their oh-so-strategic water tower and corn silo are minutes away from being nuked by the rooskies or bombed by the Ay-rabs. Too much watching FOXnews if you ask me...

Re:Texans...

[DaFallus]

These people are just morons. No need to go making ridiculous generalizations about the rest of us...

Re:Texans...

[jacquesm]

with a name like DaFallus I hope you don't expect me to take that serious ;)

Re:Texans...

[Anonymous Coward]

Too much watching commercial news if you ask me...

There ... fixed that for ya.

Re:Texans...

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in waco, I didn't know about the rocket launch ahead of time and it was friggin scary. The sky turned orange and the ground was rumbling.

I'm educated and a democrat (not a fox news republican). When the sky turns orange at NIGHT and the ground rumbles, you don't know what to think but you gut says, "This isn't good"

After finding out it was a SpaceX test, I was like, "Cool! I wish I had known about it to take my kids out there to watch it".

Re:Texans...

[Anonymous Coward]

Papers will publish the most outrageous statements. They're not going to waste time quoting someone who has a clue, because that doesn't sell newspapers or drive traffic to their site.

Leno and Letterman do high-larry-ous 'person in the street' bits all the time in LA and NY, proving that idiocy is not limited to Texas. Of course, Texas doesn't really advertise as being witty and urbane like LA and NY, just nicer and cleaner.

Re:Texans...

[Ogive17]

I hate how shit like this gets modded "insightful," if anything it's flamebait. What happened, did you see the one idiot the local news crew always seems to find that says "I'm not voting for Obama because he's a Muslim" and decide that an entire state is worthless? That's what the local news in (Dayton,Ohio) would show. They'd air some toothless person from the OH/WV boarder saying they wouldn't vote for Obama.. trying to generalize everyone who voted for McCain.

It's annoying that on a site with so many smart people that moronic generalizations can be seen as insightful. You know, not everyone who voted for McCain is a racist, or is a bible thumper, or is a fear and/or war mongerer. Some places actually do better under Republican policies (small towns). I didn't vote for McCain, but I don't bash the people who do. They have the right to vote for whomever they want for whatever reason they want.

Re:Texans...

[Anonymous Coward]

Luckily, however, we still have the blue-staters, who still believe that something like 9/11 can never happen.

Re:Texans...

[jcnnghm]

A ground based rocket launch of that magnitude could easily be confused with a nuclear detonation given the sound, vibration, and light. I'm sure given your democrat proclivities, the same ones that drew you to San Fransisco, you're much more likely to believe something like that is just a civil rights riot. The rest of the world, however, isn't quite so naive. Be careful, otherwise your bigotry could begin to overshadow your incredible sense of self-satisfaction.

Re:Texans...

[lessthan]

No, we understand that the threat of another 9/11 isn't a good reason to avoid skyscrapers. How do you get out of your bunker every day?

Re:Texans...

[Anonymous Coward]

Just wait longer. You've made the same mistake in that you are judging all of us from a single person moderating it insightful. It looks even sillier as I read your comment because it is scored -1, flamebait, now.

Re:Texans...

[Jafafa Hots]

Nope, I didn't decide TX was worthless from this news report. I decided it from having lived there.

Amateur home video of launch

[Anonymous Coward]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i9n6rYoSGNQ

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[Jafafa Hots]

You are correct. Texans are not overwhelmingly fearful idiots because Bush was President...

Bush was President because Texans (and others like them) were overwhelmingly fearful idiots and voted for him.

Frightening the cattle

[wcrowe]

The old Rocketdyne engine test center was located a few miles outside my home town many, many years ago. The old timers said that the noise was ungodly when they tested their engines. Among the many things they would complain about in this rural area, was that the cows would become so upset, they wouldn't give milk.

When I was a college student back in the early 80's my friends and I used to love to take my jeep out to explore the "ruins" of the old test center. Most impressive were the deflectors (don't know what else to call them) that shunted the rocket blast 90 degrees to vertical. They were enormous. I have no doubt that the locals weren't exaggerating too much when they described the noise and vibration from the engine tests.

Re:Frightening the cattle

[Amazing Quantum Man]

Dude, you were in Chatsworth? I lived in Chatsworth for 12 years -- now in West Hills.

Re:Frightening the cattle

[flyingfsck]

The noise from a large missile motor is incredible. I have worked at a test site in a previous life and it is something you never forget. So, yes, I'm not surprised that the cows got upset - I am surprised that they didn't stampede and broke through the fences.

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[Guysmiley777]

Especially in the middle-of-nowhere-Texas.

Oggity boogity! Terrrrsts gunna git ya! Boogity boogity boo!

The best comment from TFA

[holmstar]

"I live in Valley Mills, just taking the last steak off the grill. Space-X shook the T-Bone off the grill hit my dog on the head, he thought I smacked him, he bit my ankle. My wife just getting into our water bed shook up a huge wave, threw her out of bed. She blamed it all on me. Milk in frig.is now butter-milk, the cats,will not leave the kitchen. My son couldnâ(TM)t hear his stereo, cranked it up, blew the windows out of the neighbors house. Guess Iâ(TM)ll be replacing them on Sunday. It was a great light show!"

To the MOON

[kieblerh]

Can we go to the moon now? I mean go BACK to the moon now?

Re:To the MOON

[damburger]

Sorry. Falcon 9 is just another member of a rather crowded ~20t launchers, so no lunar capability beyond what we have now. I can see it being a commercial flop myself, because it doesn't have tremendous price advantages over much more proven launchers such as Proton and Ariane 5.

Re:To the MOON

[Nyeerrmm]

If its similarly priced and has the advantage of being American made, I think it has a shot, both in the sense of buy-American-ism and practical avoidance of ITAR issues... plus presumably prices will go down in time once they get the kinks out and a full production process going. In theory.

Re:To the MOON

[damburger]

Why is being American made an advantage? Russian and European designs are proven and a similar price. Who would in their right minds go with an unproven launcher because it has an American flag on it?

Re:To the MOON

[Nyeerrmm]

Like I said, one reason is some people, particularly the government, prefer to buy domestic products when possible. The second thing is that ITAR restrictions make it easier to work with a US company without having to post armed guards and other nonsense (look up Bigelow's Aluminum Coffee Table). And while that may not be enough to make it a fantastic success at first, it should be enough to get it proven, at which point it will get more popular.

Re:To the MOON

[confused one]

Yes, but this is just one step in their plan. They hope to get the Falcon 9 and Dragon man-rated and there's a Falcon 9 Heavy in the works.

Re:To the MOON

[FleaPlus]

Unfortunately, due to some poor decisions by current NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, NASA's present lunar architecture is pretty much deliberately designed so that it can't take advantage of low-cost vehicles like SpaceX's. Instead, NASA has to use the Ares I and Ares V vehicles it's developing, which are continuously slipping in schedule and (in the case of the Ares I) have some fundamental design problems which may prevent them from flying at all.

WoW! A cluster out of those ?! WoW!

[Anonymous Coward]

WoW! A cluster out of those ?! WoW!

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Rail Gun...

[ahow628]

What if we just built a couple mile long rail gun up the side of a mountain and use that to shoot stuff and people into space?

Re:Rail Gun...

[holmstar]

You would need one HECK of a heat shield to withstand flying at escape velocity so deep in the atmosphere. I'm sure it could be done, but it would look like a meteor flying up instead of down.

Re:Rail Gun...

[nasor]

People probably wouldn't survive the acceleration. Maybe you could launch cargo though.

Re:Rail Gun...

[ComputerInsultant]

Are you talking about this Sky Ramp
or this Magnetic Launch System
There was a site that had done some work on a maglev track to launch directly to orbit. www.maglev2000.com (the site seems to be down now.) The maglev track for a manned launch to orbit (4g max acceleration) is over 500 miles long!

Re:Rail Gun...

[meringuoid]

Try to build a gun that big and you'll be shot by Mossad. Or possibly by the Iranians. Or the Iraqis. Or the CIA. Or MI6. Or the KGB. Nobody's quite certain. You don't make a lot of friends in that line of work.

Re:Rail Gun...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure it could be done, but it would look like a meteor flying up instead of down.

Ah, you must be talking about the oft referenced 'meteoric rise'.

Video from farther away

[the_other_chewey]

I came across an additional amateur video from farther away after submitting the story:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i9n6rYoSGNQ

SpaceX' video unfortunately lacks the proper amount of bass
to really give a sense of the sheer power shown.

SpaceX Responds to Frightened Texans

[Jafafa Hots]

Dear Greater Waco Area Residents, We appreciate your feedback regarding our recent test as it allows us to improve our notification process to the surrounding community. Since we began operations in 2003, SpaceX has conducted over 2000 tests, and nearly ten have been multiple engine tests at similar times of day. During these previous tests, we did not receive complaints from citizens in your area. The weather on November 22, with low clouds and cool temperatures, drastically affected the distance the sound and light travelled. We began test procedures for this particular test at 7:00am on Friday, Nov. 21 and executed it as quickly as possible, working through hundreds of pages of procedures designed to keep the community, staff, and hardware safe. While no further tests are planned for this stage in McGregor, in the future we will increase our notification to include local news media and law enforcement in McLennan, Coryell, Bell, and Falls counties. As a resident of Central Texas for over 25 years, with family in the area, it is extremely important to me, as well as all of SpaceX, who choose to raise their families in the area, that our testing is safe for local residents. The propellants used are non-toxic and environmentally friendly, In factâ"the Falcon 9 burns a higher grade of kerosene (more environmentally friendly) than a 747 and burns only about half of what a single 747 flight does. The smoke you may have seen was composed mostly of steam and dust. SpaceX strives to be a good corporate neighbor, bring high technology jobs to the area, and stimulate the local economy. We are proud to have operations in McGregor and make use of facilities which have historically played such an important role in American history. Engines which propelled American astronauts to the moon and back were developed and tested here, as well as the Sidewinder and Phoenix missiles. The launch vehicle engines tested last night will soon take cargo, and eventually crew, to the International Space Station. Falcon 9 represents the only medium to heavy lift rocket that is 100 percent Made in America and with this vehicleâ"SpaceX will bring leadership in launch back to the US. The leadership role is currently held by former Soviet Republics, France, and China. http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breakingnews/entries/2008/11/23/spacex_issues_statement_on_con.html

Re:SpaceX Responds to Frightened Texans

[megrims]

In factâ"the Falcon 9 burns a higher grade of kerosene (more environmentally friendly) than a 747 and burns only about half of what a single 747 flight does.

All at once?

Re:SpaceX Responds to Frightened Texans

[damburger]

I love how they shamelessly push the France/Russia/China buttons to shut up the public.

Seems the Waco locals...

[damburger]

...are concerned about this new 'fire' fad. On the heels of flying machines and horseless carriages its just too much culture shock for them.

Re:Seems the Waco locals...

[John Hasler]

Has it occurred to you that the reporter just might have gone out of her way to select comments that tend to make the locals look like hicks?

Re:Seems the Waco locals...

[damburger]

Why would the Waco tribune have an interest in making Waco residents seem backwards?

Other 747 comparisons

[Billy the Mountain]

The thrust of this test is appoximately equivalent to the gross weight of a 747. So you could use it to make a 747 hover like a Harrier!

Re:Other 747 comparisons

[e2d2]

And a 747 is like a football field long! Or 2 statue of liberties, depending on your measurement.

I love these comparisons when I hear them.

This comment is classic

[Anonymous Coward]

By VirtualBlair

November 23, 2008 7:27 AM | Link to this

I just figured it was the âoepossibleâ mini black holes, burrowing through to the center of earth, being created by the new european supercollider. At that point, I figured, it was too late to call friends and familyâ¦which is why you should always treat people with respect and thankfulness when you say goodbyeâ¦.we are not thankful however, that space X is so free to do whatever they want and dont have to let the general public know about it.

But how much is that in real units?

[fantomas]

Don't give me your new fangled lbs of force! Damned commie!

How much is that in real units, say the thrust value of unladen non-migratory African swallows?

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[Anonymous Coward]

Moderated: -1, Don't Mess with Texas!

Deja Vu

[arthurpaliden]

1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Almost 50 years to the date. Same reaction from the tough Texan crowd.

Re:Deja Vu

[BarefootClown]

1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Almost 50 years to the date.

Yeah...give or take twenty years.

Let me guess: you're from NASA, right?

Yeah, whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

and the rest is deluded by the Messiah? The red states certainly didn't call him that but I do recall all the "intellectuals" spouting phrases like "The Chose One" and capitalizing Him and He when referring to the guy.

Now tell me which group is loonier. We just suffered the American Idol version of an election and people are acting all smug sipping their half caf decafs at Starbucks

Apple Juice

[Anonymous Coward]

[quote]"I am so angry at SpaceX! My children and I were very scared. How dare them conduct this test without letting us know! We live across from the McGregor Airport and our entire house shook and trembled. The sky was on fire. My 11-year-old son said he Ãoethought the sun was exploding.Ã I grabbed a jug of apple juice and made my kids go into my closet fearing the worse."[/quote] http://diy.despair.com/output/poster39292730.jpg

Better SpaceX retain some heavy lawyering

[spectro]

There must be hundredths of ambulance chasers roaming Waco right now figuring a way to squeeze some cash out of SpaceX because of this.

Emotional Distress Class Action Lawsuit anyone?

You insensitive clod...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm from Texas, and I resent that. We did NOT all vote for Bush, and we are NOT all "fearful idiots". Although I suppose you consider making sweeping generalizations about people because of their geographic location to be enlightened behavior. +5 Insightful... unbelievable.

Didn't Russia try this?

[p51d007]

Something similar back in the 60's with something like 48 engines? They never could get them to fire in sequence properly, and if one or so failed, it would throw the whole vehicle out of balance. I guess 9 would be easier than 48, but I think they should just restart (and update) the Saturn V. That baby NEVER failed. Even after getting hit by lightning on Apollo 12, and center engine cutout on the 2nd stage, they just flat worked. (Not to be confused with the Apollo CM which blew apart on Apollo 13).

Picking on Texans?

[iamlucky13]

It's fun to pick on Texans for things like cowboy hats, unnecessarily large barbeque pits, and their slow drawl, and it's easy to pick on people who didn't know what was going on when you're reading a news article after the fact that starts out by telling you exactly what went on, but "fearful idiots" is a remarkably stupid generalization.

How do you think residents would respond in your area? "The house is rattling, there's a tremendous roaring sound, I can feel reverberations through my body, and there's a bright glow on the horizon...meh, my WoW character is about to level up. I'll worry about it later." Somehow I'm guessing not.

Supposing they tested this near New York, or better yet Boston (The Mooninites are coming! The Mooninites are coming!)? There'd be hysteria in the streets. Heck, in some places you'd probably even get looting and throngs fleeing the city. The same goes for pretty much any place in the entire US, with the likely exception of Cape Canaveral, where rocket launches happen relatively frequently.

Things like this are genuinely bewildering when you don't know what's going on. About 10 years ago I saw a natural gas pipeline fire...from 50 miles away. The whole family was out on the back porch staring at the eerily pulsating glow of the reflection off the clouds trying to figure out what was going on. Until the local news reported on what was actually happening, our best guess was a forest fire, but a nuclear bombing of Portland was another speculation (we figured it unlikely, however, partially because there was no similar glow to the north, in the direction of Seattle). Coincidentally, they said the flames from that fire were as much as 200 feet high, so it was probably similar in brightness to the SpaceX test, but not nearly as loud.

A final more general comment: SpaceX has been conducting engine tests out there for several years now. In fact, their first Falcon 9 firing (1 engine at that time) on that test stand was almost a year ago, and their first nine-engine, short duration fire was three months ago. In view of this, SpaceX's statement that the sound carried much further than in the past due to the weather is probably quite accurate. It also probably didn't help that they did the test at 10:30 PM. Perhaps in the future they'll work safe stopping points into their procedure so they can delay to the next day if the test preparations take too long.

They probably also should consider putting up simple walls to reflect some of the sound upward and reduce the complaints long term. At the very least, have a facility-wide arbor day celebration and go plant lines of trees along the edge of the test site. I know our local racetrack was able to reduce neighborhood complaints (and make the treehuggers a little happier) by doing this.

Re:Picking on Texans?

[Jafafa Hots]

Oh sure, a "What the FUCK?!?!" reaction is totally warranted.

It's just the "I thought the Communist Islamo-Fascist Terrorists had launched a Nukaler Chemical Weapon at my barn!" shit that's pathetic and particularly Red State.

Just like here in FL, in a redder area of a red state, some guy did a base jump off a tower with a parachute, and bunches of people called 911 thinking it was a fucking invasion.

THAT kind of crazy doesn't happen in the North. Officials overreacting, sure - like the LEDS on the bridges shit. Officials are dipshits. But the general public in the north thinking Osama is targeting their Walmart? Nope.

Re:Picking on Texans?

[syousef]

How do you think residents would respond in your area? "The house is rattling, there's a tremendous roaring sound, I can feel reverberations through my body, and there's a bright glow on the horizon...meh, my WoW character is about to level up. I'll worry about it later." Somehow I'm guessing not.

How do you see a glow on the horizon from the basement? Webcam?

Probably longer than

[Anonymous Coward]

the neo-cons who make up garbage about others and try to make a todo out of nothing. Hey look. Jews. Lets go break their stores.

Kyoto anyone?

[meowsqueak]

Wow, imagine the carbon offset for that!

Re:Kyoto anyone?

[FleaPlus]

As noted elsewhere, the amount of fuel used is roughly equivalent to half that of a typical 747 flight.

Re:Kyoto anyone?

[meowsqueak]

Wow, depends where you're flying that 747 I guess, but I didn't realise it used THAT much fuel in such a short time. Astonishing.

Another story

[Woodshed]

Longer (print) report from the local rag (w/links) is here: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/11/24/11242008wacspacexfolo.html

So its really 70 years

[arthurpaliden]

What is being off by a few percent when dealing with space stuff. I mean what could possibly go wrong.

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, let's all blame it on George Bush and act like it wasn't there before or like no cultural factor (of old origin) has to do anything with that.

So, you're saying instead of Bush being responsible for Texas, Texas is responsible for Bush.

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[4D6963]

Replace Texas with America, and yes, absolutely, in a way. It's not bad luck that you had him as president, twice. That's what happens when an aspect of your culture/civilisation favours the personality of a politician and his religious beliefs relatively much compared to the rest. Our civilisation is our product just as we're the product of our civilisation.

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[4D6963]

That's a blunt and arguably exaggerated and inaccurate way to put it, but in a sense, yes.

Re:Fear in the comments sad

[Jafafa Hots]

Sorry, I call them like I see them.

I've lived in TX, it's a shithole. I'm not saying it's THE shithole, just one of them.