Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Dec 7)

[trailrider]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

I'm just glad I don't have the job of range scheduler! And all this has to be cleared with USAF range safety! :? :roll: Well, better to try to be sure, than push it and be sure of a disaster! We've seen too much of that long since! Best of luck to SpaceX!

 

[mr_mark]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Let's cross our finger for the November 18th launch. Things look good so far.

 

[trailrider]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Hoperfully, Discovery will get off within the launch window that lasts through 7 November. If not, the next launch window opens for Discovery in early December.

Q. How, if at all, will this affect Falcon 9/Dragon's projected launch window on 18 November? :?:

 

[gbmartin]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Question: When will they need to push the vehicle onto the launch pad to make the Nov 18th launch date?

Thanks

 

[mr_mark]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

There is a Delta 4 launch sitting in front of Falcon. Falcon 9/Dragon is scheduled for a prelaunch engine test on November 13th. If Discovery does not go off as planned it will be pushed back to December.

 

[Boris_Badenov]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Spaceflight Now has changed the date to Nov 19 same launch time.

 

[gbmartin]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

So close to this launch. Less than three weeks away. I am really excited.

 

[bushwhacker]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Damn Damn Damn... how much longer can they tease me with this?? Yall need someone to push the button? I still got all my fingers after 30 years as a carpenter... :evil:

 

[gbmartin]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Discovery is delayed until Nov 30. I would guess that puts this mission into mid December at the earliest? Bummer!

 

[Swampcat]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Discovery is delayed until Nov 30. I would guess that puts this mission into mid December at the earliest? Bummer!

The Nov. 18 date is likely to slip as there are apparently some conflicts with the range on that date. However, the new STS-133 launch date is not currently an issue.

 

[docm]

Re: Spacex Falcon 9 Flight 2 COTS -1 Launch (NET Nov 18)

Postponed to Dec. 7th - NSF posts say a range conflict with Delta IV Heavy. Launch window starts at 9:00 AM.

http://fdfhome.gsfc.nasa.gov/fdinfo_Launch_2010.html

 

[stevekk]

They better not delay too much into December. They still have the second COTS flight on the schedule for Feb, right ? There isn't going to be much time to learn lessons from this flight and to correct any issues before the next one.

 

[docm]

COTS-2 has already been delayed to Q2, 2011. I'm sure the COTS-1 slippages didn't help.

 

[mj1]

COTS-2 has already been delayed to Q2, 2011. I'm sure the COTS-1 slippages didn't help.

At this point, I'd bet that Q2 2011 is DOA too. I believe it's going to be a while before Falcon 9 launches become routine. Not exactly a bad thing. Is it me or does it seem to be getting pretty busy in Florida from a launch standpoint? Do you guys think launch capacity in FL will become an issue, even with the shuttle gone? Perhaps, it's time to use additional launch locations besides the Cape. I believe that SpaceX is already planning Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg, but I'm not sure on that one. Also, does anyone know when and where the first outside the US launch of a Falcon 9 will occur?

 

[MeteorWayne]

COTS-2 has already been delayed to Q2, 2011. I'm sure the COTS-1 slippages didn't help.

At this point, I'd bet that Q2 2011 is DOA too. I believe it's going to be a while before Falcon 9 launches become routine. Not exactly a bad thing. Is it me or does it seem to be getting pretty busy in Florida from a launch standpoint? Do you guys think launch capacity in FL will become an issue, even with the shuttle gone? Perhaps, it's time to use additional launch locations besides the Cape. I believe that SpaceX is already planning Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg, but I'm not sure on that one. Also, does anyone know when and where the first outside the US launch of a Falcon 9 will occur?

I'm sure the workers at the Cape would be happy to support as many launches as they can put on the schedule!

 

[mj1]

COTS-2 has already been delayed to Q2, 2011. I'm sure the COTS-1 slippages didn't help.

At this point, I'd bet that Q2 2011 is DOA too. I believe it's going to be a while before Falcon 9 launches become routine. Not exactly a bad thing. Is it me or does it seem to be getting pretty busy in Florida from a launch standpoint? Do you guys think launch capacity in FL will become an issue, even with the shuttle gone? Perhaps, it's time to use additional launch locations besides the Cape. I believe that SpaceX is already planning Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg, but I'm not sure on that one. Also, does anyone know when and where the first outside the US launch of a Falcon 9 will occur?

I'm sure the workers at the Cape would be happy to support as many launches as they can put on the schedule!

I'd agree with that MW, as long as they can get rockets the ground without delaying each launch by months every time, especially if the delays are due to an overcrowded schedule. If they can't handle the capacity at the Cape, I'm sure that there are also other places that would be just as happy to get the work, and not only in the US. This should be about getting our human space infrastructure off the ground in a timely and safe manner, not just putting people in Florida to work.

 

[mr_mark]

It's pretty clear that the sliding date at this point is being determined by the slipping shuttle launch since Falcon 9 recovery uses the same recovery boats as the shuttle SRB's. We have to hope that the shuttle either postpones until february or launches very early December.

 

[stevekk]

It's pretty clear that the sliding date at this point is being determined by the slipping shuttle launch since Falcon 9 recovery uses the same recovery boats as the shuttle SRB's. We have to hope that the shuttle either postpones until february or launches very early December.

I don't think that is quite clear at all.

What is SpaceX going to do when the Space Shuttle retires ? There is no need for NASA to maintain the SRB recovery ships when there are no more launches. It's like staffing the VAB after the last shuttle stack leaves the building.

Maybe the FAA should be concerned about the recovery of various rocket stages. Each commerical company needs an outgoing plan to clean up their trash, both on the ground / sea and in space. If a company is adding to the ring of space junk, then they are making it more dangerous for other flights.

 

[docm]

FAA Awards SpaceX First Ever Commercial License to Re-Enter Spacecraft from Orbit

Hawthorne, CA – Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation was created in 1984, it has issued licenses for more than 200 launches.

Today the FAA has made SpaceX the first-ever commercial company to receive a license to re-enter a spacecraft from orbit.

Next month, SpaceX is planning to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, and land in the Pacific Ocean a few hours later.

This will be the first attempt by a commercial company to recover a spacecraft reentering from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only 6 nations or governmental agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency.

It is also the first flight under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station and encourage the growth of the commercial space industry. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will make at least 12 flights to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of a Commercial Resupply Services contract for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience towards this goal.

The license is valid for 1 year from the date of issue.

 

[believer_since_1956]

FAA Awards SpaceX First Ever Commercial License to Re-Enter Spacecraft from Orbit

Hawthorne, CA – Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation was created in 1984, it has issued licenses for more than 200 launches.

Today the FAA has made SpaceX the first-ever commercial company to receive a license to re-enter a spacecraft from orbit.

Next month, SpaceX is planning to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, and land in the Pacific Ocean a few hours later.

This will be the first attempt by a commercial company to recover a spacecraft reentering from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only 6 nations or governmental agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency.

It is also the first flight under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station and encourage the growth of the commercial space industry. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will make at least 12 flights to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of a Commercial Resupply Services contract for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience towards this goal.

The license is valid for 1 year from the date of issue.

Now life in the space buisness is going to get interesting. I wonder if Musk has read Heinlein's "The Man who Sold the Moon" I suspect he has.

 

[mj1]

There has been yet another delay in the next shuttle launch:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/scien ... ss&emc=rss

The next window is Dec 17th, but they have not even set a date.

Two issues for me here in regards to how this effects the COTS-1 SpaceX launch. Firstly, though everyone keeps dancing around it, I'll go ahead and say it out loud, the shuttle is too old and not really viable enough to be looked at as a state of the art launch vehicle. Secondly, why should we keep pushing back SpaceX and other launches for a vehicle that for all intents and purposes is falling apart? Now, how long is this new delay going to effect the launch schedule for everyone else? Take the thing back to the hanger and see if you can get it together and do not bring it back out until there is better confidence that it can get off the ground. If the shuttle is not viable for launch then stop trying to launch it. It has had it's day. They are just wasting money that can be better spent elsewhere at this point. In the meantime, let's please get on with the future and move on with the Falcon-9 and other launches. This whole thing is becoming a joke.

 

[mr_mark]

Launch of Falcon 9 still a go and it looks good for a December 3rd or 4th static fire. Expect somekind of word on Monday.

 

[shuttle_guy]

I am hearing that a static test will be performed this Friday or Saturday.

 

[docm]

It's a GO for Dec. 7th.

NASA TV coverage at the end of the built-in hold at T-5, SpaceX.com streaming at T-20.

Launch window: 9:03 AM to 12:22 PM EST.

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/no ... aunch.html