Falcon I First Flight: 25th November 1pm PDT

[kdavis007]

5 minutes to launch???

 

[grooble]

Next attempt is in 23 minutes, if they do not launch then, there will still be 2 hours left to try.

 

[skyone]

this from kawajelein atoll and rocket blog :<br /><br />We're T-minus 25 minutes. There is no turning back now.<br /><br />They are refueling both the LOX and the RP1. <br /><br />During the operation, they unloaded about 15% of the RP1 from the rocket tanks. The reason they did this was because the LOX tanks and the RP1 tanks are adjacent to each other. If the RP1 tank is full, the fuels effect each other's temp. With a temperature differential between the LOX and RP1 of about 400F, that causes the LOX to boil-off much faster. <br /><br />Since the race was to finish the operation before all the LOX boiled off, this move bought them some time. The LOX burn-off went from 8 gallons per minute to 4 gallons per minute. The delay took three hours in all. That's 750 gallons saved.<br /><br />I told you they were smart.<br /><br />T-minus 20 minutes.

 

[mikejz]

Liftoff Targeted to 8pm est

 

[robotical]

And if doesn't...<br /><br />You'll have something to douse your sorrows with. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[skyone]

Lox tanks are at full<br />hold at T-minus 10 minutes to refill Helium tanks and other procedures.

 

[mikejz]

SFN<br /><br />The launch team is going through safing procedures and depressurizing the vehicle tanks. Standing by for further word. <br /><br /><br />Uh-Oh???!!!

 

[mikejz]

SCRUB!!!

 

[grooble]

scrubbed.

 

[skyone]

anomoly appeared during the T-Minus 10 minute hold. The rocket computer rebooted and there is not enough LOX to analyze the problem.

 

[najab]

Quick question for those who might know: have SpaceX blown anything up yet in their development program? I ask this because the history of every successful rocket program so far has at least one smoking crater/totalled test-stand/charred launchpad at some point.

 

[mikejz]

Report that the Falcon's Computer rebooted during the last 10 minutes of the count for an unknown reason. Report that based on LOX resupply aval to the island, the next possible launch date is in January.

 

[kdavis007]

SCRUB!!!!!

 

[mikejz]

They had several failures during there engine tests, the level of distruction is not known....

 

[robotical]

This has to be one of the most up and down few hours I have ever had. Argh! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[skyone]

I am hearing that the next launch window is 9am tomorrow morning?... <br />can anyone confirm or correct?

 

[Swampcat]

I'm seeing anywhere from same time tomorrow to January. There was a mention somewhere that we should check the SpaceX website for more on this.<br /><br />This has certainly been an interesting day following about 6 different websites for updates...and a bit disappointing in the end. Of course, it's better to be cautious than have to pick the pieces out of a crater. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>

 

[kdavis007]

Yes 12pm cst...

 

[mikejz]

Just wondering, how much would it cost to build a LOX plant out there?

 

[skyone]

This from SpaceX:<br /><br />Posted November 26, 2005 at 5:11 p.m. PST: The launch is scrubbed for today. As I warned, the likelihood of an all new rocket launching from an all new launch pad on its first attempt is low. <br /> <br />What happened was that an auxiliary liquid oxygen (LOX) fill tank had a manual vent valve incorrectly set to vent. The time it took to correct the problem resulted in significant LOX boiloff and loss of helium, and it was the latter that caused the launch abort. LOX is used to chill the helium bottles, so we lose helium if there is no LOX to cool the bottles.<br /> <br />Although we were eventually able to refill the vehicle LOX tanks, the rate at which we could add helium was slower than the rate at which LOX was boiling away. There was no way to close the gap, so the launch had to be called off. In addition, we experienced an anomaly with the main engine computer that requires further investigation and was arguably reason in and of itself to postpone launch. <br /><br />We are anticipating rescheduling the launch within a week at the earliest but probably longer as we need to bring in LOX and helium from Hawaii. Our LOX plant on Omelek will not replenish in time

 

[ragnorak]

Damn shame it didn't go up. Mid-December' is not so far away. Better luck next time!

 

[najab]

><i>That was very poor planning on their part.........trying a first launch from a new pad with only enough LOX and helium for one attempt.</i><p>To their defense, reading through the reports it sounds like they had plenty of LOX, but a valve was in the wrong poisition and they ended up venting a lot of it straight into the atmosphere.</p>

 

[mikejz]

Also the computer fault by itself would of delayed the launch as well.

 

[n_kitson]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I'd be inclined to give them some slack on that issue, considering the rushed nature of the forced change to a most difficult venue and from a transportation aspect. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />If the strategy is keeping costs low, then supply chain efficiency becomes critical. It seems they have taken a just in time inventory approach to achieve this. Unfortunately it backfired this time, as they did not have a back up plan. But it is encouraging to see that they are adopting lean operating principles.

 

[mikejz]

CNN can get live video out of a hole in the ground with a backpack of equipment, and SpaceX can't get decent updates out of a DoD facility! PR was really sad, however, I guess maybe if they want to launch rockets this cheap, we might have to get use to the PR asspects taking a back seat. <br /><br />Seriously though, SpaceX should of at least broadcast the launch in the clear on a satellite.