SpaceX Falcon 9 set for fourth launch attempt SpaceX will reportedly make a fourth attempt to get its SES-9 mission off the ground later today from Florida's Cape Canaveral. The launch window for the Falcon 9 lifter is from 23:35 GMT tonight until 01:05 GMT on Wednesday morning. The first pop at carrying the SES-9 satellite aloft was scuppered by bad weather. A second go …
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Three meters up it becomes engine out. Not shutdown all nine.
Like the Shuttle, Saturn etc.. last seconds are about checking engine performance if all as expected its launch commit, from that point on unless your configuration cant tolerate loss of an engine (aka Orbitals Antares) it goes up to either a bad orbit or to be destroyed for a severely sub-optimal trajectory.
Falcon 9 has up to two engine out capability, though I think more than a single engine out on initial boost, would result in the aforementioned rapid disassembly process.
" 1970's German Starfighter display team low-flying over the crowd with full afterburn"
Was that the German Navy two-man team? The Vikings? Saw them at Yeovilton during the height of the Falklands problem and they really pulled the stops out.....opposition passes at ground level at near-supersonic speed right in front of the crowd. Visible shock waves streaming off the aircraft and into the crowd................yikes. Best air display I ever saw - all the performers appeared to be doing something "special" because of what was happening down south
Yes, I watched five harriers hovering at Farnborough on one of the business days many years ago and that was impressively loud. If I remember correctly I was sitting in a Grippen at the time and the pilot gave up trying to give me the spiel and told me to sit there while they did their stuff!
Harriers............two days before the Government made the announcement about closing the squadrons they went out with a bit of a bang. Complete squadron + more (I lost count at 12) at low level at 15 second intervals over Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria................and I mean low and tile-shattering. Whole building (a hillside pub) rocked to its foundations. Trying to make a point / swansong I guess as everyone knew what was to be announced. They would then have turned north and headed up the Lune Gorge, I would have loved to have watched that convoy through there
There are alternative uses for ground vehicles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Merlin_alternative_uses
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_511805-Custom-Made-Beast.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0guvOMs8nWc
http://www.popularmechanics.co.za/wheels/aero-engined-cars-special-kind-of-madness/
There's only so many late nights in quick succession I can cope with.
I missed the landing on land when that happened so have watched each (attempted) launch live since then!
I think I must be cursing them as my live track record thus far is 3 aborts and one KABLAMO on the barge.
Fingers crossed for tonight!
I'm in the same boat watching from CET timezone. 00:45 is not exactly a really late night but by the time the launch is definately scrubbed its more like 01:30 (esp. the last one).and I don't need one after another on school nites....
I thought geostationary orbits don't have a orbital inclination therefore can be launched at anytime of the day. Can't we have a more European friendly launch time??? (SES is an European customer after all)
Its called COLA.. Collision On Launch Assessment and dictates the length of the window as much as other factors.
Start thinking in three dimensions between lower orbit traffic, the growing levels of junk as well this has been part of orbital operations for years,
The problem with the latest Falcon 9 and its fuels is that they are now using a much colder than normal fuel. Both the LOX and RP-2 are chilled down significantly colder than other boosters. That allows the same tank structure to hold more fuel, and thus extend lift capability. Quite significantly it turns out. The down side is that keeping the fuel cold is a much more critical and difficult task than it has been in the past. They have to load it much later in the countdown, and there is much less wiggle room with delays.
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