Anyone else watching the SpaceX Dragon launch?

[OSUIvan]

Been pretty cool behind the scenes.

 

[osu_orangestreak]

Watching with an uneasy feeling about it. Anything new with this high of stakes makes me not feel so great.

I should drive over for it but with my luck it would be a rainout.

 

[Ostatedchi]

It never gets old or routine.

 

[CowboyTanker]

Darn...no launch for today. Next opportunity Sat at 3:22

 

[purkey]

not sure why they are waiting until the afternoon to launch...that's when all the thunderstorms start boiling up. Maybe do it in the morning. Come on guys, it's not rocket science...oh wait.....maybe it is.

 

[CowboyTanker]

Come on Purkey.....you know those fuses are long and in the morning they're very liable to have dew on them which puts out the fuse. Some dude then needs to run out and light it again... and again... and again.

 

[OSUIvan]

Come on Purkey.....you know those fuses are long and in the morning they're very liable to have dew on them which puts out the fuse. Some dude then needs to run out and light it again... and again... and again.

 

[CowboyTanker]

If you are really a space nerd (like me) you might like following or subscribe to "Everyday Astronaut" (Tim Dodd) on YouTube. He has a lot of great videos and explains things very well.

I think this is his most recent video as he interviews Elon Musk and Jim Bridenstine from the control center...

 

[purkey]

They’re gonna get cancelled again today. Hey guys, do it in the morning. Well, looks like they've got a chance....still weather around.

 

[osu_orangestreak]

Bob and Doug, heh

A couple of hosers

 

[osuengineer]

I decided to be an engineer after seeing a space shuttle launch live when I was young.

I watched the scrub earlier this week, and gathered the family to watch the launch this afternoon.

That much raw power never fails to inspire.

 

[tcpoke]

They’re gonna get cancelled again today. Hey guys, do it in the morning. Well, looks like they've got a chance....still weather around.

They can’t do it in the morning due to the orbit location of the space station is what they said yesterday.

 

[purkey]

They can’t do it in the morning due to the orbit location of the space station is what they said yesterday.

I thought there had to be a legit reason...thanks. Of course, the space station circles the earth every hour and a half. You'd think they could do what ever they wanted but each orbit is different. It is hard to imagine that station is moving at 17,000 mph. Looks like the ISS will be visible tonight in okc at 9:37 11 degrees above north for 4 minutes. 11 degrees is about the size of your fist sitting on the horizon. I know, fun facts to know and tell.

 

[purkey]

TC---just saw some info about the launch and the particulars. Really a lot more detail out there but they basically had a 5 minute window to launch. It has to do with the orbital plane of the ISS and catching up to the ISS. There is very little wiggle room and they have really made this a mission specific vehicle. It's not like the shuttle where they had lots of wiggle room with payload and fuel. The Dragon doesn't have the ability to have that luxury as it's much smaller. So, they launch and end up below and behind the ISS, it does a 180 and climbs and speeds up to catch the ISS. They even said they do some formation flying once they catch up. It's pretty impressive. They've taken years and years of experience and fine tuned it to make this rocket work. Can't remember the numbers exactly on the price to do it, but Space X was a lot cheaper than everyone else (Boeing, etc). You can look at the Shuttle as a Winnebago and the Dragon as a Ferrari. Here is a link for whoever is interested for more info....

https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/vo...second-launch-timing-is-a-must/?MailingID=355

 

[tcpoke]

TC---just saw some info about the launch and the particulars. Really a lot more detail out there but they basically had a 5 minute window to launch. It has to do with the orbital plane of the ISS and catching up to the ISS. There is very little wiggle room and they have really made this a mission specific vehicle. It's not like the shuttle where they had lots of wiggle room with payload and fuel. The Dragon doesn't have the ability to have that luxury as it's much smaller. So, they launch and end up below and behind the ISS, it does a 180 and climbs and speeds up to catch the ISS. They even said they do some formation flying once they catch up. It's pretty impressive. They've taken years and years of experience and fine tuned it to make this rocket work. Can't remember the numbers exactly on the price to do it, but Space X was a lot cheaper than everyone else (Boeing, etc). You can look at the Shuttle as a Winnebago and the Dragon as a Ferrari. Here is a link for whoever is interested for more info....

https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/vo...second-launch-timing-is-a-must/?MailingID=355

That’s so cool!