Slashdot Mirror
SpaceX's Falcon 9 Appears As UFO In Australia
RobHart writes "ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Commission) has reported extensively on a bright spiraling light that was seen in Eastern Australia just before dawn. It has just broadcast a report from an Australian astronomer who has suggested that the light was probably the successful Falcon 9 launch, which would have been over Australia at that time on its launch trajectory."
Update: 06/05 22:20 GMT by T : Setting aside the literal exhaust fumes, reader FleaPlus says, It's "interesting to look at the reactions from those in Congress who control the purse-strings for NASA (one of SpaceX's biggest customers). The successful launch was congratulated by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL and former astronaut) and Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL), both praised and criticized by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) due to the successful launch being a year later than previously predicted, and blasted by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) for merely replicating what 'NASA accomplished in 1964,' who added that the company's success 'must not be confused with progress for our nation's human spaceflight program.'"
FWIW, I have a substantial blog post with details, including a rant against the ABC story. :) This was definitely the Falcon 9 second stage, despite the UFO guy's protestations: the timing, position, and appearance all match.
*** Phil Plait, aka The Bad Astronomer http://www.badastronomy.com
Everyone who watched knows the Falcon 9 was launched in the upwards direction, not the downwards direction needed to reach Australia.
Also, Australian UFOs spiral in the opposite direction to The Vistors who arrive in the northern hemisphere.
A doubter quoted in the article says "Firstly, the time of the launch was 18.45 GMT, which translates to 4.45am EST, the duration of the flight was 9 minutes 38 seconds - this is a full hour before the reported sightings."
Did he forget that we're on DST right now? He should have looked up the EDT time, not EST.
You keep using these words. I don't think they mean what you think they mean.
from UFO Research NSW Oh. That explains it...
I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
Congress Reacts To Successful Falcon 9 Launch
In Norway I believe Russia recognized it was a failed missile test.
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
SpaceX has been kinda quiet about it... But the second stage did try to do another burn over Australia to make escape velocity. The burn didn't go as planned, probably due to the fact of the uncontrolled spiraling of the first burn. They were targeting escape velocity, but it only burned for about 8 seconds. After scrambling to keep a couple of ground stations up to track it, they found it tumbling still in about the same orbit as the first burn. As usual Elon put a good spin on it saying they just wanted to do a quick burn to slightly change the orbit. When you don't release what your targeting to the public before hand its easy to call that a success, but in actuality, that's not what they had planned. Still a great day for SpaceX for a first launch of this rocket.
and nobody outside Australia knows about it, and we all think it is just some UFO flyover when they launch a rocket in to space.
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Some perspective: I used to live in Huntsville, AL, and I currently live in Austin, TX.
Shelby's just trying to protect the funding of of the Marshall SFC NASA group in Huntsville, AL. In their defense, the HSV group kicks a lot of ass, and is a welcome outpost of science and engineering in Alabama.
KBHutchinson is just an ignorant asshole.
...over the key word "Probably"....
Amazing how we can get to space but don't know how...
Oz has every right to be worried when pieces of spacecraft come flying over them.
Eventually we will put all the pieces together and have our own space program.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
SpaceX is trying to make rocket launchs come off an "assembly-line". This alone would be an impressive feat. Comparing this to a 1964 launch would be like comparing the 8086 cpu to modern quad core. My amature opinion on the launch: I don't think spacex has been totally successful as mentioned by quite a few other posts. They keep spiraling out of control, they need better rocket/jet rudders or something to improve their out of atmosphere control.
May his gulf shores be tainted with oil for years to come!
You did not miss much from what I saw. I'm in Newcastle and was out for an early ride and say it at 5.50 EST. To me it looked more like a unusual cloud formation near the moon. It was interesting enough for me to mention it to my friends when I met them at 6 but they did not even notice it. I did not think about it again until I saw it on the evening news with a few ufo nuts.
The smarter home exchange, http://switchhomes.net
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) for merely replicating what 'NASA accomplished in 1964,' who added that the company's success 'must not be confused with progress for our nation's human spaceflight program.'"
The bit he left out was the fact that America as a "nation" has lost the space race altogether. Unless of course you count buying seats on Soyuz spacecraft as part of the "American manned space program"... Yes America put a man on the moon - but what have they done SINCE then, Shelby - while YOU were in office? In fact, while Elon Musk was busy building a billion dollar company (PayPal) that many people use every day, all you did was suck up taxpayer dollars feeding off of society and pretending to be important. Then Mr. Musk goes on to found another visionary company while you just whine and bitch and believe that you actually contribute to society. Truth is that Shelby can be replaced instantly by someone just as mediocre.
SpaceX has demonstrated it can now lift useful, heavy payloads into orbit. This is the beginning of a business model - one that never worked for NASA. Instead of whining about how America did this a long time ago he should realize that this is not costing the taxpayer anything at all AND is the beginning of regular self funding, sustainable space flight. A boon to ALL of humanity.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Cat: I hate to go all technical on you, but: All hands on deck, Swirly Thing Alert!
I'm still laughing at the people in the background of the news footage (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1064435/ufos-seen-zooming-over-eastern-australia).
"I don't think it's a supernova now that I look at it..."
Yep. Definitely makes you proud to be an Australian.
would be consistent with the increasing roll rate apparent in the onboard video as the second stage approached burnout. Haven't gone to YouTube yet to review, but it was clear that although the vehicle made it to orbit and may have made it through the intended insertion window, attitude (roll axis) control was not happy. I hope SpaceX will discuss what happened...purely as a matter of engineering curiosity, I wonder if it was a problem with roll G&C or whether a nozzle/bell burn asymmetry put a torque on the vehicle that was beyond G&C roll control authority, or ???
No, Falcon 9 was never intended, nor did it have the delta V needed, to achieve escape velocity. Orbital velocity (LEO) ~ 5 miles/sec. Escape velocity (Earth) ~ 7 miles/sec. Nowhere enough propellant on board to achieve the latter. If there was an engine restart after the ascent burn, it may have been an attempt to raise the perigee, a routine astrogation move to circularize the orbit.
As opposed to NASA who's Ares I-X rocket is where NASA was in 1957.
spacex for better or worse, has made slow but steady progress towards a manned orbital launch platform and will be ready
years ahead of Ares.
'...it looked like a row of lights, maybe four lights', he said.
Obama is trying to develop a viable space program that works and we can actually afford. The first part of that is a lowering
the cost to get stuff to orbit. Spacex will be part of that plan
so, the same spiral light is created by a russian failed missile test, falcon 9, and what was the one that created the one in canada ?
Read radical news here
and the one in canada ? what was that ? why they all looked the same ? all russians ?
Read radical news here
But since we know what it was, wouldn't that make it an _Identified_ Flying Object?
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
Is this the same sort of light that was seen above Norway not long ago?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8406633.stm
Not this shite again. Any object travelling in space, ejecting something not exactly from its centre of gravity will start to spiral. As space is a near-vacuum, the ejecta will continue, and create a spiral. Get a fucking grip - it's insanity like yours that makes the internet look retarded.
ooooooooooook.
so then, why these spirals started coming up recently despite we have been launching rockets, satellites, space shuttles, and even suborbital planes for around 58 years ?
Read radical news here
So vote Republican.
Blar.
Senator Shelby seems to have forgotten...that "precious" Constellation program that was cancelled was little more than an oversized version of what NASA did in the 60's anyway.
<voice type="Jean-Luc Picard">
There are FOUR LIGHTS!!!!
</voice>
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
Actually Australia would be a good place to put a space port. Many rockets were launched from Woomera a couple of decades ago. I also remember some corporation wanted to launch Russian rockets from Christmas Island. The problem is most of the places which actually manufacture launchers are very far away from Australia...
New types of propellant, new types of engines, new designs of rocket design, more frequent launches, sheer coincidence - you name it. Leaping to some retarded conclusion that it's some nefarious or secretive conspiracy is, well, retarded. Very retarded. It makes Carl Sagan cry, and makes you look like a nut job.
Actually Australia would be a good place to put a space port. Many rockets were launched from Woomera a couple of decades ago. I also remember some corporation wanted to launch Russian rockets from Christmas Island. The problem is most of the places which actually manufacture launchers are very far away from Australia...
Woomera is too far south for equatorial launches. There was a proposal for a spaceport on Cape York but in truth it is going to lose out to places right on the equator.
Also if you launch east from woomera you cross the east coast, where is where most of the population lives. Its a bad architecture from the word go.
If orbital commerce really takes off the ideal place would be the east side of Johor Bahru. Unless Singapore beats them to it of course.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
oooh yeaaah. new types of propellant. what ? nuclear fission ? or, gravity waves ? or, did they put fireworks material into the propellant to make a show ?
being a witless idiot by trying to rationalize things that are yet NOT known and yet not even researched, without getting off your armchair makes one look even more stupider than the one who propagates a conspiracy theory. not that i did propagate one. what i said was that we did NOT know what was that, and the shitty 'swamp gas' like cold war era sounding explanations did not fit into anything.
in another note, i'd rather be a nut job than a moron who believes any argument/explanation that people fire out without even leaving their chairs to do research, or being one of those who do fire them. research, is an integral part of knowledge, and where there is no research, there can be no knowledge. only assumptions, and uptightness.
Read radical news here
New types of propellant, new types of engines, new designs of rocket design, more frequent launches...
You left out the real reason - new procedures to prevent space junk from exploding boosters and fuel tanks - they now routinely dump the remaining fuel overboard after the boost phase is complete, making the spirals.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
new procedures ? russian rocket uses the same procedures too ? despite being an older design ? despite russians never needing to stick to any 'procedure' that the west or east brings up, neither in international rules nor technology ? so they suddenly felt the need to be environmentalists in regard to space junk, just because some people need to use it as an argument to explain a recent phenomenon without having to leave their armchairs ...
Read radical news here
Ass.
Perhaps you'll believe Elon Musk himself:
"I heard people in Australia thought UFOs were visiting :)," SpaceX's millionaire founder Elon Musk told SPACE.com in an e-mail. "The venting of propellants, which is done to ensure that an overpressure event doesn't produce orbital debris, created a temporary halo caught the sun at just the right angle for a great view from Australia. I thought the pictures looked really cool."
Or perhaps let me google it for you.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
ok was he in norway too when the spiral happened there ? is he russian ? was he in canada too, when NO rocket was there to be used as an explanation ?
Read radical news here
I guess you missed the coverage and the fact that Russia Admitted it was a failed missile test?
Admit it, you're just a crackpot.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
yes. then it was either a failed missile test in canada too, or, spacex or whatever was there. is it ?
Read radical news here