Falcon 1 parts shipped

[holmec]

I don't know if anyone picked up on this in this forum yet.<br /><br />Falcon1 getting ready<br /> /><br /><br />Posted December 8, 2006<br /><br /><br />Minor Update<br /><br />All Falcon 1 parts have been shipped to the launch site to prepare for next flight. Our current schedule calls for a static fire in mid January and first flight countdown in late January. Given the many upgrades to Falcon 1, there may be many countdowns before launch occurs.<br /><br />< <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[propforce]

Good luck to SpaceX.<br /> <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[kdavis007]

Where is it being launched from???

 

[henryhallam]

Kwajalein

 

[holmec]

Here is a web site for the place - Kwajalein <br /><br />And it might be done by this facility. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[spacester]

And it might be covered by this blog. <br /><br />Or not.<br /><br />Hard to say.<br /><br />But nice when it happens. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[comga]

And what? Everyone forgot their digital cameras back in CA? <br /><br />No photos, no lists, nothing. No discussion of the LOX generator that was so problematic last year. No discussion of the tear-away insulation panels that were Velcroed to the first Falcon 1. Not even a word on Kimbal's blog.<br /><br />Perhaps they are all bored with Falcon 1, now that they are committed to Dragon, the Falcon-9 with Merlin 1C's, and COTS.<br /><br />I also wish them much luck, but am growing skeptical.<br />

 

[holmec]

I'm sure they are all too busy getting the rocket ready. Apparently the did a lot of upgrades to it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[rocketman5000]

From reading about planned modifications. (Safety and reduced manhours) it sounds like Musk believes in continuous improvement. I like that idea. It can keep from expending large amounts on a single major redesign, and can quickly improve the safety record.

 

[josh_simonson]

It seems that with a failure and now big NASA contracts, SpaceX is starting to hold their cards closer to their chest like a mature company. I know I wouldn't want my brother maintaining a blow-by-blow blog of my work activities...

 

[comga]

"It seems that with a failure and now big NASA contracts, SpaceX is starting to hold their cards closer to their chest like a mature company. I know I wouldn't want my brother maintaining a blow-by-blow blog of my work activities..."<br /><br />I can understand that, to a degree. It's the most benevolent way to look at it. It is more believable than holmec's supposition that they are "too busy". And Musk's brother did write some pretty goofy stuff, even if we did like the photos.

 

[edkyle98]

From right here:<br /><br />http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=9.0482+N,+167.7433+E&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=9.048478,167.743303&spn=0.004736,0.010815&t=h&om=0&iwloc=addr<br /><br />Omelek Island in Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands<br /><br />More launch sites here:<br /><br />http://www.geocities.com/launchreport/padsites.html<br /><br /> - Ed Kyle

 

[comga]

What a great idea: a Google map of Omelek. Thanks<br /><br />60cm per pixel. Gotta love those QuickBird images.<br /><br />Is there a way to determine when this image was taken? <br /><br />Is there anything obviously new since the first launch attempt, if indeed this image is less than nine months old?<br /><br />Can anyone identify the items on the ground, other than the helicopter pad with the big "H" and the launch pad (where you centered the image)? Is that the LOX storage just to the left of the pad, with two tanks attached and one detatched? <br /><br />I don't see any structure with a Falconsat sized hole in the roof ;-)

 

[soyuztma]

I read on a blog that some SpaceX personnel is allready at Kwajalein. Their next launch attempt seems to be getting nearer. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[comga]

Can you provide a link to that blog, and do you think it is reliable?<br /><br />Of course, with an announced hot-fire this month, and launch countdowns to a launch perhaps next month, their people would have to be there.

 

[edkyle98]

"Can anyone identify the items on the ground, other than the helicopter pad with the big "H" and the launch pad (where you centered the image)? Is that the LOX storage just to the left of the pad, with two tanks attached and one detatched?"<br /><br />The LOX plant and/or storage tanks are as you noted just to the left (west) of the pad. The kerosene storage trailer is positioned on the opposite (southwest) side of the pad. The largest building a little further southwest is the "MAB", or "Missile Assembly Building", which is a 12 x 30.5 x 8 meter structure built by SpaceX for Falcon. The second-largest white roofed structure (actually a collection of temporary trailer-type buildings) just south of the helicopter pad is (or was supposed to be) the "J.A. Jones Building", which serves as office space. Just east of this structure is the small, infamous "abandoned restroom" building that Mr. Musk commented on at one point. (The restroom feeds into a septic tank that has to be pumped out periodically, with wastes transported all the way to the waste treatment plant at Kwajalein Island.) The helicopter pad, the piers, the old launch pad at the northern tip of the island, and the two boxlike structures on the east side of the island also predate Falcon. Omelek was used for some type of small missile launches more than a decade ago. Somewhere on the island there should also be several big water storage tanks (water has to be brought in), a helium trailer, the Falcon "Launch Control Van", and one or two electric generators.<br /><br /> - Ed Kyle

 

[edkyle98]

While Google-mapping this part of the world, I would also recommend pondering the meaning of this 1-mile wide hole in the reef at Bikini Atoll. :/<br /><br />http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=9.0482+N,+167.7433+E&ie=UTF8&om=0&z=13&ll=11.698971,165.277462&spn=0.076651,0.173035&t=h&iwloc=addr<br /><br /> - Ed Kyle

 

[rocketman5000]

What is a very big bomb??

 

[edkyle98]

Yes. A very, very big bomb. <br /><br />This is Bravo crater, made on March 1, 1954 by the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test, at 15 megatons the most powerful weapon ever tested by the United States. Sadly, this test rendered beautiful Bikini Atoll uninhabitable (think Chernobyl times ten) and irradiated other Atolls in the northern Marshall Islands. See, for example:<br /><br />http://www.bikiniatoll.com/history.html<br /><br />To see hundreds more radioactive craters, go to:<br /><br />http://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.116667,-116.05&ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=37.116663,-116.049957&spn=0.033194,0.086517&t=k&om=1&iwloc=addr<br /><br /> - Ed Kyle

 

[holmec]

Nice map (where did he get the coordinates)....<br /><br />To the east are two square grey boxes, aren't those missile silos? I remember on the Falcon 1 launch video last year there was a lot of fullage and leaves. So I guess it launched from one of those silos. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[edkyle98]

The two older, boxlike structures on the east side of the island were used during previous research missile launches. The northernmost structure was an old "Missile Assembly Building". The southernmost structure was used for "explosive storage". <br /><br />Before SpaceX, launches were performed from the flat pads at the extreme northern tip of Omelek.<br /><br /> - Ed Kyle

 

[comga]

As for the satellite image of Omelek and identifying the structures...... Duh! My bad! Check out the attached image snagged from the presentation at this NASA link<br /><br />http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/164283main_2nd_exp_conf_24_Commercial%20Opportunities_SpaceX_MrEMusk.pdf<br /><br />I don't know what a "fiber hut" and an I"bay" are, but you can see the lines from the LOX and kerosene storage, along with lots of details on the other buildings.

 

[comga]

*** New update at www.spacex.com ***<br /><br />".. a static fire is planned Thursday, January 18 (California time). We have a launch window on January 21 and 22 (California time) and are working with the range to secure a couple of additional days as contingency."<br /><br />Real news. Nice photo. Very near term dates.<br />What more can we ask for?<br /><br />"There will be a live webcast and a media call in line for the launch. Details will be provided shortly."<br /><br />Very good news.

 

[subzero788]

That's great news in fact! Especially the part about the live webcast!<br /><br />Although I fully support SpaceX and wish them the best of luck, past experience tells me the launch won't occur on the 21st of January. 21st of Feb, maybe <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />. But I would be happy to be proved wrong! <br /><br />

 

[rocketman5000]

The past expirence was one launch. I assume and hope that the improvements that they have made allow for a smoother countdown. Also this will be their second launch. Many of the lessons that they needed to stop and learn on the first launch shouldn't need to occur this time.