SpaceX CRS-5 Webcast | Hacker News Reader

SpaceX CRS-5 Webcast

spacex.com

71 pointsAliCollins34 comments

Musk from the AMA: There is a great quote by Churchill: "If you're going through hell, keep going."

Hold Hold Hold Abort :(

Aborted due to issue with stage two. Next launch attempt might be Jan 9th at the earliest. Via webcast for anyone who missed it.

The issue was apparently drift in the actuators that positioned the second stage engine.

Where did you get this information from?

"During the terminal count engineers observed drift on one of the two thrust vector actuators on the second stage that would likely have caused an automatic abort. Engineers called a hold in order to take a closer look. SpaceX is scrubbed for today and we are now targeting launch on Jan. 9th at 5:09am ET."

Both the nasaspaceflight.com forum and the Nasa TV webcast.

Too bad... but a lot better than losing a rocket.

I agree. Unlike Kerbals, we are wary of potentially catastrophic outcomes. :) Ah well, next attempt on Friday!

The one second launch window made any hold an abort :(

Why was the launch window that short? Matching trajectory with ISS?

Yeah. Given that the ISS passes overhead at ~7km/s, a little delay in launch time would mean a lot of catching up to do.

Deleted comment

Will be waiting..!!

Expected launch timeline:

T-0:00:00: Liftoff

T+0:01:10: Mach 1

T+0:01:23: Max Q (maximum aerodynamic pressure)

T+0:02:37: MECO (main engine cutoff)

T+0:02:41: Stage 1 Separation

T+0:02:49: Stage 2 Ignition

T+0:03:29: Nose Cone Jettison

T+0:09:00: First Stage Landing

T+0:09:27: SECO (second engine cutoff)

T+0:10:02: Dragon Separation

T+0:12:00: Solar Array Deployment

Landing barge location: http://www.vesselfinder.com/?mmsi=367017460

Additional streaming options:

- Youtube official stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohnnl4nOcGU

- NASA stream: http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv

- Spaceflightnow stream: http://www.livestream.com/spaceflightnow

Elon Musk on Twitter: "Need to investigate the upper stage Z actuator. Was behaving strangely. Next launch attempt on Friday at 5am."

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/552437001291841539

I don't see any video, just the twitter? feed when I view this. What am I doing wrong?

I've had to fall back to NASATV

edit: I bet that's what the 5 mins remaining on the countdown is waiting for. I'm really stupid.

edit2: Stupidity confirmed, video is now live.

I clicked "somewhere" and got this: http://new.livestream.com/spacex/events/3665355

Video just started. T minus 15 minutes. http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

That's weird, this post and it's comments appeared on the site hours ago, but seems to have re-appeared in an early form with the comment ages reset.

Last I heard they gave a 50/50 chance of landing the first stage...so quick poll: do you think they'll do it?!

From Musk's AMA on reddit:

Q: Previously, you've stated that you estimate a 50% probability of success with the attempted landing on the automated spaceport drone ship tomorrow. Can you discuss the factors that were considered to make that estimation?

A: I pretty much made that up. I have no idea :)

Fantastic! Give the man a fag packet to write on the back of and we'll see what he comes up with next!!

To be honest, 50% probability is the definition of "I have no idea" ;).

They've shown they can land on a fixed pad with their rockets. I think the critical factor will be what the wave action will be like. If the barge comes up at the exact time one of the landing legs is coming down -- things could go badly.

Yep.

Yes!

Was at Canaveral this AM... total bummer.

Here we go again...!!

This is the launch that will actually try to land on the ocean platform ! [1]

Also, the boss is doing an AMA. [2]

[1] http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/12/16/x-marks-spot-falcon-9-...

[2] http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk_...

Did I really wake up early for that?

Would you feel the same way if you didn't wake up and you missed it? This is not some two bit web app and there are plenty of people that can't manage to make those work.

Instead of being irritated the lesson to learn here is that it is better to abort 10 times than to blow up in mid-air even once.

Also, if SpaceX rockets move to carrying people, having that perfect record is even more important.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com