Live rocket launch

[Paul M]

"Nominal" seems to underplays success in the same way that "anomaly" underplays disaster; as in the Crew Dragon suffering an "anomaly" during test firing on the ground on Friday:

Space X won't confirm the severity of the incident but all reports are of catastrophic failure

The next flight was going to be manned I think.

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Paul M said:

"Nominal" seems to underplays success in the same way that "anomaly" underplays disaster; as in the Crew Dragon suffering an "anomaly" during test firing on the ground on Friday:

Space X won't confirm the severity of the incident but all reports are of catastrophic failure

The next flight was going to be manned I think.

The report on the BBC website says ' Images of smoke coming from the space capsule have been circulating on social media.'

I think that was a tad more severe?

Good job it was a test not a mission.

Edited April 22, 2019 by Stub Mandrel

[JamesF]

To me it looked like smoke was all that was left :(

James

[Paul M]

What we need is an all electric launch vehicle. Rocket fuel seems so primitive

[JamesF]

Apparently NASA has proposed using a "railgun" type technology to launch vehicles:

https://www.universetoday.com/73536/nasa-considering-rail-gun-launch-system-to-the-stars/

James

[Davey-T]

Wasn't there some proposal to fire stuff from a big gun to save carrying the weight of all that fuel ?

Dave

[JamesF]

Oddly enough, a different proposal again in the news this morning:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48013519

Somehow I can't quite accept the description of "almost expendable" however.

James

[Alien 13]

11 hours ago, JamesF said:

Apparently NASA has proposed using a "railgun" type technology to launch vehicles:

https://www.universetoday.com/73536/nasa-considering-rail-gun-launch-system-to-the-stars/

James

Its amazing that "Fireball XL5" had the right idea all those years ago 

I  dont know the exact figures but a very large proportion of a rockets fuel is used up just getting it to Mak 1.....

Alan

Edited April 23, 2019 by Alien 13

[stash_old]

The ideas are not new Nasa even experimented with a large "Gun" ("Verrnie") and even an "Elevator".

The "AltonTowers " rig still depends on Scram jets working - hence why the USA is pouring more money into Sabre than the UK does and all the engine testing is in the US.

As for the "balloon" - I think Helium has far better uses in medicine(MRI scanner) and it drives me mad that we just let it be used for kids/party toy balloon. Oh and before some one say's it - it costs 10,000 times more to create industrial Helium and cannot be produced by chemical reaction.

If SciFi inventions come from films/Cartoons then you just need anti gravity paint "Cavorite" - look up "First Men in the Moon" LOL

[Davey-T]

7 minutes ago, stash_old said:

If SciFi inventions come from films/Cartoons then you just need anti gravity paint "Cavorite" - look up "First Men in the Moon" LOL

I think they sell it in B&Q 

Dave

[Peco4321]

Here we go again 

 

 

[fireballxl5]

Just been postponed till tomorrow morning

[Paul M]

I tuned in just in time to watch that launch. Unfortunately it got scrubbed at about T-12  due to issues with the drone ship off shore.

[Peco4321]

All went well this morning. 

[Peco4321]

07:35 Tuesday morning. 

 

 

[Paul M]

 

[JamesF]

Shame they didn't recover the first stage, but still cool to see the satellite being pushed into orbit.

James

[maw lod qan]

I was checking on the upcoming launches, hoping to make a mad dash over to the Cape. 

Both SpaceX and Boeing have manned launches scheduled for this November.

There is one set for tomorrow morning around 5:30 to 6:00 am. Dont know if I can work it out with our baby sitting a few more days before school.

[Ags]

This one is only going up 150m, but it is the testbed for SpaceX's full size Mars rocket. Live stream is here:

https://www.space.com/

[Astroscot2]

Well done Space X with the successful test of the starhopper - loving the progress Space X are making …,

 

Regards

Mark

[upahill]

58 minutes ago, Astroscot2 said:

Well done Space X with the successful test of the starhopper - loving the progress Space X are making …,

 

Regards

Mark

Was great to watch! Especially after the scrub at T+.8 the day before.

I don't know why but somehow the Starhopper launch felt even more exciting than a full scale launch - I think its the fact that it was quite raw, I had been watching a live feed from a few km away and seeing cranes moving around, bits getting taken off and put back together really drove home how experimental and unknown alot of this tech still is.

[Davey-T]

I like the simulated Martian dust landing 

Dave

[Ags]

The methane engine burns really clean - no trace of kerosene-style black smoke.

[JamesF]

I found I only really got an idea of the scale of the vehicle when it landed.  At the start it just looked like a dustbin with fins.  Once it had landed and there were other objects to compare it to, my error became obvious :)

James

[upahill]

This was the clip from the feed I watched, the youtube channel livestreams from South Padre 24/7!

Gives a better sense of scale than the spacex feed.