Wednesday, October 28, 2009

LIVE: Ares I-X Countdown and Launch Updates



16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard the delay in launch was not related to weather but rather the test monkey that is to be launched was pitching a fit.

Anonymous said...

Too bad we don't scrutinize our commercial airlines or auto industry this much. Far more deaths among those major industries.

Anonymous said...

If this weather is too wet for the rocket, Florida is definately not the place for it. Arizona perhaps, even San Diego is drier and on the coast.

Anonymous said...

Just how many "picture perfect" dry days are there in Cape Canaveral?

Anonymous said...

i am wondering if this will become a problem with all launches...we always seem to have breezy days....clouds and moisture in the air,etc. The shuttle seemed to be a little less sensitive to those issues.

Anonymous said...

If this had been an Ares 1 mission (no "X") it would have ended in loss of mission and crew! Why did they not include a reasonable stage separation sequence test? Or did they and it failed?!?! We have to know before calling this a success!! (Remember what happend to the3rd F1 test flight? This separation looked worse.)
Gerhard Hauer, Austria

lady_mountaineer said...

All they were testing was Stage I separation and retrieval. The secondary stage and crew capsule were just mock-ups with enough weight to simulate the actual mission weight. This test was a total success.

Anonymous said...

Gerhard
This was a test on the first stage only the second stage was nothing more than a weighted piece of ballast. No boosters or liquid fuel motors were in the upper stage. I know because I worked in these segments. The upper stage exterior wasn't even real all all simulation for a booster test only.

Anonymous said...

From the moment it took off, it looked like it immediately swayed, and I thought it was going to hit the tower. Is this normal?

Anonymous said...

The weather was not "too wet" but NASA did not want to waste the money putting anti-static coating on the first test prototype.

Anonymous said...

Way to go, NASA! About the restrictive flight rules: This was an experimental test flight, so they were very picky about wanting perfect launch conditions, particularly since the control system was one of the main features being tested. The wind and water rules will relax a bit for 'normal' flying.

Anonymous said...

"There always has to be someone on here to make a negative comment or stir up controversy. Some of you are ridiculous. There were no animals on the flight. Just a fool on the message board."

And someone who takes that fool's joke seriously.

"If this had been an Ares 1 mission (no "X") it would have ended in loss of mission and crew! Why did they not include a reasonable stage separation sequence test?"

How did they know that the stage separation that was already planned would be UNreasonable? This is why test flights are conducted, sir (or ma'am).

"Or did they and it failed?!?! We have to know before calling this a success!! (Remember what happend to the3rd F1 test flight? This separation looked worse.)"

The rocket flew straight as an arrow, and the first stage booster safely splashed down in the Atlantic. This flight was a success.

Anonymous said...

am I missing something here - we are celebrating the launching of a single SRB (not even the real 5 segment version) and a 3 minute parabolic trajectory? Seriously folks - this is like a 1956 event or something. We get TWO of these events at every shuttle launch; and please don't brag about verifying some ground integration or separation. In today's world, spending $400M to verify step 1 of a thousand step process is rather ridiculous. This is how we replace the shuttle , the most complex vehicle (dare I say achievement) mankind has yet created? I would have to say that lead in space is gone already...

Conor said...

Anonymous 10:20 AM
While you could launch from San Diego over the sea, you'd have the rotation of the Earth working against you. And docking with something travelling in the opposite direction would be impossible. Despite the weather, Florida is the only practical location.
This was a test flight, so the launch constraints were strict to maximise the information from the launch. They wouldn't all apply to a Shuttle launch or an operational Ares 1 launch.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it was just a test... but what really happened at Stage I seperation? Was the 'dummy' portion supposed to swerve so quickly? And also what happened to the video coverage? As soon as the dummy portion started to swerve, the video cut out. Did someone down at mission control have their finger on the censor button to prevent another "Challenger" moment?

Just wondering and now on to Ares 1-Y... lift off scheduled for, what, three years from now? That's a long time!


Rick Steele
Sarasota, Florida

Stephen C. Smith said...

The anonymity of the Internet gives courage to cowards. Clearly the person posting nonsense in this thread is clueless about space technology.