Launch News SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 with 6 Orbcomm generation 2 satellites, July 14, 2014

Cosmic Penguin

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And another update from Orbcomm:

OG2 Mission 1 Update: May 29, 2014
Our schedule for our OG2 Mission 1 Launch has been revised to Thursday, June 12 between 9:07 pm and 10:01 pm ET at launch pad SLC-40. The back-up date is now scheduled for the evening of Friday, June 13. We are planning to arrive at the Cape next week to re-encapsulate our satellites. We will continue to provide updates as we get closer to launch.

That's about 5 hours after the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup between Brazil and Croatia, BTW. :p
 

SpaceNut

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Obviously SpaceX has no buisiness working in a field as demanding as space flight this whole project should be scrapped and the funding redirected to more worthy goals like Orion/SLS.

:lol:

What funding? SpaceX is a private corporation that's funded by it's founder and a few other investors. You called it a project... it's not a government project, and you mentioned funding.. what funding? Sure, NASA has tossed a few bones to help out with COTS and CCDev as they have with some other private companies as well, but the entire COTS & CCDev programs are a drop in the bucket compared to the 5 billion already sunk into SLS/Orion... and that's your tax dollars if you're an American.

Who do you propose to "scrap" the program... the government?? They don't own it. Elon Musk? Good luck with that.

What's so worthy about SLS/Orion anyways? 5 years and 5 billion dollars and we're still 7 years away from manned launches? How many more billions will be sunk into that overly bloated program? I'm not saying Orion/SLS won't be awesome once done, but costs are outrageous. SpaceX developed the Falcon 9 from a blank piece of paper to a launch vehicle in 4 years and $300 million dollars, absolutely none of which of which was your (and mine) tax dollars.

I'm completely confused by your statement, could you elaborate on that?
 
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Hlynkacg

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Funding = the money currently being "wasted" on the commercial crew program.

"Worthy" because it's being built by REAL space companies that actually put stuff in space for REAL space programs. And because price-tag is the best indicator of quality.

SpaceX should stick to what it knows, internet scams and electric cars, and leave space flight the the big boys and thier betters across the pond.

:thumbup:
 
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SpaceNut

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Funding = the money currently being "wasted" on the commercial crew program.

"Worthy" because it's being built by REAL space companies that actually put stuff in space for REAL space programs. And because everybody knows that price is the best indicator of quality. SpaceX should stick to what it knows internet scams and electric cars, leave space flight the the big boys and our betters across the pond.

:thumbup:

Ok, I get it... you dislike SpaceX for whatever reason. Price is only an indicator of cost btw...

Ok, so there are other companies participating in Commercial Crew, are you saying that money is wasted too? Or just the money spent at SpaceX.

I was hoping that you would have responded with some actual reasoning. SpaceX has nothing to do with internet scams or electric cars. I'm assuming you're referring to PayPal and Tesla... both separate companies, one of which isn't even owned by Musk anymore.

It's pretty clear to me that you don't like SpaceX, but you haven't stated why you hate them.

If you're such a big fan of SLS/Orion, you should be happy. The vast majority of NASA's funds are pouring into it by the billions, but you seem miffed because NASA is spending a tiny amount of money compared to the billions being poured into SLS/Orion on SpaceX and a couple of other Companies like Orbital and Sierra Nevada. Do you hate Bigelow Aerospace too? Just curious.
 

kerlix

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Funding = the money currently being "wasted" on the commercial crew program.

"Worthy" because it's being built by REAL space companies that actually put stuff in space for REAL space programs. And because price-tag is the best indicator of quality.

SpaceX should stick to what it knows, internet scams and electric cars, and leave space flight the the big boys and thier betters across the pond.

:thumbup:

The last time I checked, SpaceX was currently the closest thing the US has to self-sufficient spaceflight (meaning, not relying on other countries).

They were also the first private company to put "stuff" in space for a "real" space program.

As far as price/cost....Are you saying that higher quality spacecraft inherently cost more? If so, please do some more research. Anything government-produced is more than likely going to be highly bloated cost-wise, even when auctioned off and given to the lowest bidder.

Having the ability to produce spacecraft in-house is naturally going to be less expensive (as opposed to "cheaper", which has a negative connotation.



Anywho......I'm a bit confused about your reasoning as well. You basically just trash talked without providing any valid points of argument. At this point I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.
 

SpaceNut

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Exactly. Elon Musk said in an interview, when he was looking to buy a rocket, and saw the cost was so crazy, he sat down and did the math on the materials and labor costs (if most work was done in house and not sub-contracted, and sub-subcontracted) and realized it'd be cheaper to start a rocket company than buy a rocket, so he did, it's the foundation behind why SpaceX was even founded in the first place. It can be done safely, they're passing all NASA tests... otherwise they wouldn't be able to proceed, and last I checked they've made 4 trips to the ISS. Every other complex mechanical and electronic thing we make inherently gets cheaper over time. The fact that rockets have not have more to do with big government contracts and keeping the status quo.
 

Unstung

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At this point I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.
I think he was being sarcastic then you and SpaceNut took it way too seriously, taking the discussion off-topic and making it about politics and budget. Whew.
 

Thunder Chicken

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From Orbcomm - Sunday, June 15, at 8:00 p.m. EDT, with a backup opportunity on June 16.
 

Kyle

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OG2 Mission 1 Update: June 13, 2014

ORBCOMM's 6 OG2 satellites were re-encapsulated on Wednesday, June 11, and we are proceeding toward a static test fire of the rocket on Friday, June 13.

All six satellites have completed additional testing and are functioning as expected. In an effort to be as cautious as possible, it was decided to perform further analysis to verify that the issue observed on one satellite during final integration has been fully addressed. The additional time to complete this analysis required us to postpone the OG2 Mission 1 Launch. We are working with SpaceX to identify the next available launch opportunity, and we will update the schedule shortly.


---------- Post added at 07:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------

The static test firing just took place, no word on how well it went just yet.

---------- Post added at 09:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:40 PM ----------

Looking for a June 20th launch, that should be around 1900L or so.
 

Cosmic Penguin

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Looking for a June 20th launch, that should be around 1900L or so.

Still looking good, although I think the launch time is closer to 6 pm local.

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes
SpaceX: Orbcomm launch now set for June 20, and we sill expect seven more launches this year after that.
 

Cosmic Penguin

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OG2 Mission 1 Update: June 15, 2014
We are currently targeting launch of OG2 Mission 1 on Friday, June 20 at 6:08 pm ET at launch pad SLC-40 with a back-up date of Saturday, June 21.
 

Kyle

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70% chance of a launch violation on Friday.

Man, everything really has gone against this launch.
 
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Cosmic Penguin

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SpaceX @SpaceX
Falcon 9 targeted to launch 6 ORBCOMM satellites tomorrow @ 6:08pm ET. LIVE launch webcast @ http://www.spacex.com/webcast

BqinRUdCYAAsknc.jpg:orig


Well the weather forecast was pretty pessimistic a day or two ago (predicted only 30% GO), but it seems that it has turned better later so it may be worth the wait..... :tiphat:

Weather forecast for Titusville, Florida on June 20, 2014 (6 p.m.)

Partly cloudy. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning and early afternoon...then a chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. North winds 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Time|Temps|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Cloud cover|Pressure|Wind|Weather
6 PM|29°C|21°C|63%|9%|0%|29%|1015 hPa|8 km/h E|
partlycloudy.svg
Partly Cloudy
 

Kyle

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Still seeing only a 30% of acceptable conditions tomorrow via Patrick AFB.

Saturday looks better, with a 60% chance of acceptable conditions.

---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 AM ----------

Vertical.
index.php


---------- Post added at 02:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 PM ----------

Twofer
10402568_679878692081533_6734227748215353606_n.jpg


---------- Post added at 06:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

OG2 Mission 1 Update: June 20, 2014

SpaceX has begun fueling the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for our OG2 Mission 1 launch targeted for 6:08 pm ET this evening.

---------- Post added at 08:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:32 PM ----------

RED on surface electric field, cumulus cloud, and lightning.

Under L-2 hours now.

EDIT: Now GREEN on all accounts.

---------- Post added at 09:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:27 PM ----------

70% chance of acceptable launch weather conditions now.

Webcast to start in roughly 15 minutes.
 
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Cosmic Penguin

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Moving to the end of the window at 7:01 pm EDT (23:01 UTC).
 
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Kyle

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They mentioned a leak, not sure which stage or if it's even related to the rocket at this time.

---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 PM ----------

No sign if they're any closer to fixing the problem, L-8 minutes.

ABORT
 
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