Guest dr. strangelove Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47485195/ns/technology_and_science-space/#.T7eKb1LnLos No comment needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaJoe3 Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) They'll fix the glitch and try again in a few days. It's not like it exploded or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Tuesday is the next launch window, I think. Aborted countdowns happen all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) I don't find this terribly surprising on a vehicle with nine first-stage engines. The odds of having some kind of problem goes up with every additional engine. IMHO, having a few large engines is preferable to many smaller ones. The Russians would disagree; they routinely launch vehicles with 20-engine first stages. And the next Space-X vehicle will be the Falcon Heavy, with 27 engines. Rocket science ain't easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dr. strangelove Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Still it sucks to get that close and then get hammered. Big disappointment. You know something, I always wonder why ICMBs with solid fuel systems can reach near space and hit anywhere on the planet but they need liquid fuel rockets to reach orbit. The liquid fueled rockets are much more complex, prone to glitches, etc. A sub can carry a dozen or more solid fueled rockets for months and launch at a moment's notice, and they usually work. A solid fuel orbital capable rocket would be a good breakthru, there must be a reason it isn;t being done, anyone know it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Three days. Edit: Yep, Tuesday at 3:44 a.m., EDT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Still it sucks to get that close and then get hammered. Big disappointment. You know something, I always wonder why ICMBs with solid fuel systems can reach near space and hit anywhere on the planet but they need liquid fuel rockets to reach orbit. The liquid fueled rockets are much more complex, prone to glitches, etc. A sub can carry a dozen or more solid fueled rockets for months and launch at a moment's notice, and they usually work. A solid fuel orbital capable rocket would be a good breakthru, there must be a reason it isn;t being done, anyone know it? Because the Solid Fuel ICBM does not needs to reach escape velocity or even orbital velocity. Anything more than a half-orbit is a waste of energy. Also my guess is that solid Fuel Rocktes are more expensive, but to asure "mutual destruction" they were worth the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Still it sucks to get that close and then get hammered. Big disappointment. You know something, I always wonder why ICMBs with solid fuel systems can reach near space and hit anywhere on the planet but they need liquid fuel rockets to reach orbit. The liquid fueled rockets are much more complex, prone to glitches, etc. A sub can carry a dozen or more solid fueled rockets for months and launch at a moment's notice, and they usually work. A solid fuel orbital capable rocket would be a good breakthru, there must be a reason it isn;t being done, anyone know it? Solid boosters are mainly useful as first stages because they are impossible to throttle or shut off. That's fine for stuff that's coming right back down, but efficiencies are such that maximizing orbital payload requires at least two stages. Furthermore I speculate that SRBs may not have the thrust-to-weight that liquid fueled rockets do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnaskar Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) I don't find this terribly surprising on a vehicle with nine first-stage engines. The odds of having some kind of problem goes up with every additional engine. IMHO, having a few large engines is preferable to many smaller ones. The Russians would disagree; they routinely launch vehicles with 20-engine first stages. I respectfully disagree (but then, I do live close to Russia). The SpaceX many engine philosophy saved them significant development costs (one engine for the Falcon 1, Falcon 4, the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy rather than 3-4). Additionally, mass production cuts costs and increases reliability (through shear production experience). Additionally, they only need all the engines working for about ten seconds, and can reach orbit with seven engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Carman Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) You know something, I always wonder why ICMBs with solid fuel systems can reach near space and hit anywhere on the planet but they need liquid fuel rockets to reach orbit. The liquid fueled rockets are much more complex, prone to glitches, etc. A sub can carry a dozen or more solid fueled rockets for months and launch at a moment's notice, and they usually work. A solid fuel orbital capable rocket would be a good breakthru, there must be a reason it isn;t being done, anyone know it? Solid rocket motors (mainly missiles) are designed for compactness, simplicity (less to go wrong), and shelf-stability. High specific impulse is not a priority for missiles, but is very important for maximizing the mass delivered to orbit. Hence the use of liquid propellant rockets. Though I hear that a LOX-parafin wax hybrid has about the Isp of a LOX-kerosene liquid engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) They did it today: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Apparently James Doohan's ashes were on that launch. Godspeed, Scotty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dr. strangelove Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Apparently James Doohan's ashes were on that launch. Godspeed' date=' Scotty.[/quote'] Aye, laddie, ye finally made it into the black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Okay, I confess I didn't realize the true significance of this launch. I had thought that SpaceX was basically just replicating dumb-rocket orbital launch. But apparently they're doing it nearly an order of magnitude more cheaply--and are going to going to go even cheaper if they ultimately succeed in bringing the first stage back under power. Very, very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) I just read a Scientific American report that the Dragon capsule has docked with the ISS. http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=spacex-private-vessel-reaches-iss-12-05-25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) I just read a Scientific American report that the Dragon capsule has docked with the ISS. http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=spacex-private-vessel-reaches-iss-12-05-25 Why read, when you can watch: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Why read, when you can watch: Because I can't watch? Sorry, I'm having trouble getting the link to work. Edited to add: Oh! That's weird. It didn't work in the first post, but it works inside the quote box in this post. Okay... I have no idea what's up with that, but I can watch it now so thanx heaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) And they successfull opened the hatch: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) So some advice here. When do I pivot from predicting that Dragon X will fail to complaining that we're not on Pluto yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) No time like the present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) So some advice here. When do I pivot from predicting that Dragon X will fail to complaining that we're not on Pluto yet? The New Horizons spacecraft is en route, although it won't reach Pluto until 2015. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) Now a little interview with the guys up there about the visiting Dragon: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) This thread needs a more positive, upbeat heading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) This thread needs a more positive' date=' upbeat heading.[/quote'] You mean more positive than the 3 "they did, it works" videos I have posted so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Re: Well this just sucks. (Commercial rocket aborts on launch.) ....in the opening of the capsule video.... what are they doing???? And why are they wearing masks? At first I thought maybe it was to reduce the risk of germ contamination from Earth (after all, they've been stuck up in space with a very limited supply of them).... but that didn't seem to make much sense on second thought because they still have to interact with everything in the capsule, so the germs (if there are any) are coming into the station anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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