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SpaceX Launching Dragon Capsule to ISS Today
Today at 10:10am ET (15:10 UTC) SpaceX will be launching an unmanned Dragon capsule, perched atop a Falcon9 rocket, to the International Space Station. The capsule is filled with about 1,200 pounds of supplies for the ISS crew, and it is scheduled to arrive early Saturday morning. The return trip, on March 25, will bring over 2,000 pounds of cargo back to Earth when Dragon re-enters the atmosphere and falls into the Pacific Ocean. Both NASA and SpaceX are covering the launch live. For text and pictures, you can watch on SpaceX Launch Central or NASA's launch blog. For streaming video, check out NASA TV. Spaceflight Now has both, and their live updates provide a bit more detail. SpaceX's press kit for the mission (PDF) explains how the launch will proceed:
"At 1 minute, 10 seconds after liftoff, Falcon 9 reaches supersonic speed. The vehicle will pass through the area of
maximum aerodynamic pressure—max Q—15 seconds later. This is the point when mechanical stress on the rocket peaks due to a combination of the rocket’s velocity and resistance created by the Earth’s atmosphere. Around 170 seconds into the flight, two of the first-stage engines will shut down to reduce the rocket’s acceleration. (Its mass, of course, has been continually dropping as its propellants are being used up.) The remaining engines will cut off around 3 minutes into the flight—an event known as main-engine cutoff, or MECO. At this point, Falcon 9 is 80 kilometers (50 miles) high, traveling at 10 times the speed of sound. Five seconds after MECO, the first and second stages will separate. Seven seconds later, the second stage’s single Merlin vacuum engine ignites to begin a 6-minute burn that brings Falcon 9 and Dragon into low-Earth orbit."
This feels bigger and more important than a few communications satellites. Godspeed, Dragon!
Looking forward to SpaceX making these flights "routine" (or at least as routine as spaceflight gets), and then scale up -- they've been having issues raising their production and launch rate up until now.
Anybody knows why they'll carry so much cargo back? [yes, please google that for me]
`echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
The world is an increasingly disappointing place. But stories like this are just awesome. Let's just step back here, the story is about a fully automated rocket developed and launched for cheap by a private company, which is going to perform an automated docking procedure with a gigantic orbiting station to resupply its international crew of astronauts from countries who once blew eachother to bits but have somehow managed to remain largely peaceful for 60-70 years.
And it's routine enough by now that I had to click to expand the story on /.
Wow. Freaking badass.
Both the launch company and congressman may have cle-in tickets.
I did this a couple years ago. we were at the standard press area about 3 miles away. The rocket flare was much brighter than i had anticipated- almost too bright to watch. However it was quieter than I had thought.
Yet his comment are true, Musk has ramped the price up, failed to keep his promises, delivered late, causes NASA problems by failing to deliver. He has a track record, but its not a good one.
When has SpaceX 'caused NASA problems by failing to deliver'?
Falcon/Dragon is still the cheapest US option for ISS resupply and has a better recent reliability record than Russian launchers.
Go paceX!
Yeah, what's with that? Did they run out of paint or something?
At least the only head to roll will be the chap tasked with painting the name on the side.
Trying to become famous by taking photos. Visit my homepage please.
In the comments that followed the launch, after orbital insertion, a problem was reported with the Dragon capsule. The downlink from the spacecraft was broken. No further details were provided.
That article is a couple years old. Falcon 9 appears to work well so far, including today's smooth-as-glass launch.
Sure, Musk doesn't understand how to deal with adversity (shoot the messenger?!?), but his companies are doing amazing things.
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
Rumor has it John Broder is about to release a story that claims Dragon won't make it all the way to the space station. The capsule SpaceX lent him died somewhere in Connecticut and had to be towed back to Cape Canaveral. Alleged leaked picture here. No word on whether Musk will issue a rebuttal.
I believe the solar panels on Dragon were supposed to deploy but did not. There was a lot of chatter I did not understand and then a generic "the vehicle is orbital but experienced an anomaly, than you for joining us" message.
Although I'm also curious to know exactly what went wrong, I think it's wise of SpaceX to cut the feed until they have a solid understanding of what happened and what they can do to get the mission back on track.
I guess they don't give a S anymore
Roger Krone, have you taken to posting anonymously and referring to 2 year old articles have you. Smacks of desperation as yet another launch goes off without exploding.
Show me a launch company anywhere in history who didn't have failures in the development phase, who didn't increase prices and got there on time. His price might have increased since the proposal stages, but he is still cheaper than the swollen, over-sized pork-barrel receivers.
Trying to become famous by taking photos. Visit my homepage please.
from "Spaceflight Now"
FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2013
1527 GMT (10:27 a.m. EST)
"It appears that although it achieved Earth orbit, Dragon is experiencing some kind problem right now," said John Insprucker, SpaceX's Falcon 9 product manager. We'lll have to learn about the nature of what happened. According to procedure, we expect a press conference to be held a few hours from now. At that time, further info may be available."
FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2013
1524 GMT (10:24 a.m. EST)
ANOMALY. SpaceX is reporting some type of anomaly on the Dragon spacecraft. Deployment of the solar arrays was supposed to occur at T+plus 11 minutes, 45 seconds, but on-board cameras did not show the panels unfurl as planned. SpaceX's webcast cut away from the solar array view and went to a slate.
FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2013
1520 GMT (10:20 a.m. EST)
T+plus 10 minutes, 10 seconds. Dragon has separated from the Falcon 9 upper stage.
There was nothing wrong with the paint. The rocket is white. So are the wisps of vapor partially obscuring the S clearly painted on the rocket.
-- Two men say they're Jesus. One of them must be wrong. - Dire Straits
What I don't like about Elon Musk's companies, is when they have problems (like with Tesla), instead of fixing them, they go and attack the reporter. So that Forbes article was astroturf bombed, so much so, that the reported had to write a follow up piece.
And what is he supposed to do when a reporter lies and fabricates evidence? Was GM wrong to go after NBC for rigging truck fuel tanks to explode on Dateline?
Hell, I think Top Gear got off too light for faking Tesla test results.
I can appreciate a healthy skepticism. I can appreciate that someone might have a preference for something, say gas vs. electric. But if you are putting out a show that looks like a legitimate test, fake the results and then act like it doesn't matter because you're just entertainment, you're a fucking asshole and should be treated like one. It demonstrates a disgusting contempt for the truth.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
SpaceX founder and CEO just tweeted: "Issue with Dragon thruster pods. System inhibiting three of four from initializing. About to command inhibit override." Solar array deployment was delayed while engineers attempt to regain attitude control of Dragon.
Apparently 3 of the 4 thruster pods didn't turn on, they are going to give a remote kick to make it get going. Failing that they'll send up Jeremy Clarkson to push it to the ISS
Musk just tweeted that the solar arrays have been deployed. I assume that means that they have at least two thruster pods working and are able to maintain attitude control of the Dragon.
It will be interesting to learn the cause of the anomaly.
You can't take a spade, dig a small black hole and squat over it.
Have gnu, will travel.
If that proved to be true, and there were logs to prove the vehicle was not properly fuelled, then it would be entirely the fault of said mission control engineers that the vehicle did not perform as anticipated.
Hate to feed the trolls, but here you go:
http://www.businessinsider.com/possible-spacex-falcon-9-engine-explosion-2012-10
FTA:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/01/spacex-launch-cargo-delivery-mission/1955913/
This mission is still in progress. What they have there are called "issues" or "problems", not "failure". At least, not yet.
That's two failures in two launches.
You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means.
May Peace Prevail On Earth
So it will be a day late. I guess all the astronauts are going to die because their pizza doesn't arrive on Saturday.
Elon Musk has reported that thrusters 1 and 4 are now online. https://twitter.com/elonmusk Good news for SpaceX. I hope they make this a success.
http://www.spacex.com/webcast/ All thrusters now operational.
Dude, an engine blew and it didn't take down the whole rocket. How does that not make your geek-bits excited?
http://soylentnews.org/~tibman