...

**DaFace** · 06-01-2014, 09:40 AM

Since a number of cool things are happening in space exploration these days, we'll widen the scope of this thread a smidge. Conversation about all things space exploration are welcome, whether it be from NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, or anyone else. Chances are most of the discussion will still be about SpaceX since they love to make things public and fun, but nothing's off limits. I'll eventually get around to modifying the OP to include resources for other companies too, but in the meantime, feel free to post any cool stuff you run across.

Lists of Upcoming Missions

Spoiler!

How to Watch a Live Launch

Spoiler!

Where to Learn More

Spoiler!

Glossary

Spoiler!

Space discussions tend to get a little bogged down in jargon, so here's a list of terms you might encounter. (Others, please let me know of others that should be added.)

ASDS - Autonomous Spaceport Droneship - The "barges" that they sometimes land rockets on.
Dragon - The cone-shaped capsule that sits at the top of the rocket for ISS-bound launches that holds the cargo (or, in the future, humans).
F9 - Falcon 9, the name of the rocket itself.
FH - Falcon Heavy, the three-booster version.
GTO - Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, a type of orbit that will eventually result in the satellite orbiting the earth as it turns so that it seems to be in the same spot from the ground (such as DirecTV or Dish satellites). These types of launches are particularly challenging because they require a lot of power to get them into the right orbit, leaving very little fuel left for landing.
HIF - Horizontal Integration Facility - the building near the launch pad where they put all of the pieces of the rocket together before rolling it out to the pad.
ISS - The International Space Station
JRTI - Just Read The Instructions, the name of the "barge" that they land on for west-coast launches.
LEO - Low Earth Orbit, a fairly low orbit shared by many satellites and ISS. These launches usually require less power to achieve the proper orbit, so the first stage can often be landed back on land rather than on a drone ship.
LZ1 - Landing Zone 1, basically a big open slab of concrete at Cape Canaveral where the first stage will attempt to land (for some launches).
NET - No Earlier Than, basically the date they're hoping to launch, but rocket launches have a tendency of getting delayed.
OCISLY - Of Course I Still Love You, the name of the "barge" that they land on for east-coast launches.
RTLS - Return to Landing Site, a mission where the first stage comes back and lands at LZ1.
Starship - SpaceX's next-generation rocket (and spacecraft) that will hopefully one day take us to Mars. Starship is the "second stage" that will carry cargo or people, but also refers to the whole system. (It's confusing, but think of it like the Space Shuttle, which was both the shuttle itself and the entire launch system.)
Super Heavy - The giant booster that will carry Starship to space.

**Donger** · 07-21-2022, 11:52 AM

An abort. I don't remember the last time that happened.

**Donger** · 07-22-2022, 10:57 AM

Try this again... T-45:00

SpaceX is targeting Friday, July 22 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 10:39 a.m. PT (17:39 UTC).

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85 and SARah-1. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff.

**Donger** · 08-12-2022, 03:30 PM

SpaceX is targeting Friday, August 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 2:40 p.m. PT (21:40 UTC), and a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, August 13 at 10:40 p.m. PT (05:40 UTC on Sunday, August 14).

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, and one Starlink mission. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff.

GloryDayz · 08-12-2022, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

SpaceX is targeting Friday, August 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 2:40 p.m. PT (21:40 UTC), and a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, August 13 at 10:40 p.m. PT (05:40 UTC on Sunday, August 14).

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, and one Starlink mission. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff.

Here we go. Woot...

**Donger** · 08-27-2022, 11:02 AM

Aiming for the Moon: Artemis I countdown begins for historic flight

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022...ntdown-begins/

The launch countdown for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Artemis I mission is underway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of a planned liftoff within a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 AM EDT (12:33 UTC) on Monday, August 29.

The launch count comes after more than a decade of development, capped by successful Green Run and Wet Dress Rehearsal tests — both of which provided good lessons learned and changes in procedures for launch day.

The countdown is the first for launch operations at LC-39B since Ares I-X’s only mission on October 28, 2009, and marks the first in a series of three NASA-led missions to return humanity to the surface of the Moon for the first time since December 1972.

The 46-hour 40-minute countdown will see the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) launch team take the SLS vehicle through final configurations for launch, including the all-important fueling process to give SLS the needed propellants for its four RS-25 Core Stage engines and its single RL10B-2 engine on the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS).

The twin five-segment Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and the European Service Module (ESM) had their propellants (Polybutadiene acrylonitrile-Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant for the SRBs and mixed oxides of nitrogen & monomethylhydrazine for the ESM) loaded before the SRB segments were shipped from Utah and before the ESM and the Orion capsule were brought to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for stacking.

The start of the count commences with a five-hour operation to fill the water tower at LC-39B for use as sound suppression during engine start and liftoff. The tower will be topped off just before terminal count (which begins at T-10 minutes) in the traditional fashion of pumping water into it until water starts to cascade from an over-fill line — indicating the tank is full.

Simultaneously, teams will start bringing online the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen ground systems ahead of final fuel loading preparations.

At Launch minus 42 hours (L-42 hours), the 30-minute process of powering up the Orion spacecraft will begin; however, there is an option to perform this operation at the very start of the countdown instead.

At L-38 hours 30 minutes, teams will bring their attention to the ICPS and its initial power-up. After verifying functionality and systems, the ICPS will be powered back down until later in the count.

While this is taking place, final launch preparations for the four RS-25 engines will begin.

At L-34 hours, teams will pick up the process of powering up the Core Stage, an operation that should last approximately 40 minutes.

At L-31 hours, the Core Stage Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels (COPVs) will be pressurized to flight levels, followed by charging of the Orion and Core Stage flight batteries. Final ICPS power-up for flight will take place at L-18 hours 30 minutes.

All non-essential personnel will be required to leave LC-39B between L-12 and L-10 hours. The launch team will then bring the Ground Launch Sequencer online, a two-hour process beginning at L-11 hours 15 minutes.

The critical transition from air to gaseous nitrogen purge will then follow at L-10 hours 45 minutes.

After this, a two-and-a-half-hour built-in-hold will then take place from L-9 hours 40 minutes to L-7 hours 10 minutes. This hold has been extended one extra hour from the Wet Dress Rehearsal counts due to gaseous nitrogen changeover lessons learned.

The launch team, led by Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, will then conduct a final pre-tanking weather briefing at L-9 hours 40 minutes and will issue a “go” or “no go” decision for fueling around L-8 hours 40 minutes — though this decision could come earlier if the meeting does not require the full hour earmarked.

At L-8 hours 15 minutes, while still in the planned hold, fueling operations of SLS for launch will pick up with liquid oxygen transfer line chilldown, a process that slowly thermally cools the transfer and propulsion system lines so they are not cryo-shocked at the start of fueling.

The count will then resume at L-7 hours 40 minutes for the fueling process on launch day.

Controlling the count

Serving as the brain underneath all the operations during the count is the Command & Control System Software in the Launch Control Center.

As related by John Ramsey, lead for the Command & Control System Software in an interview with NASASpaceflight, this is the system upon which all the other sub-system level software programs live.

The Command & Control System Software is “responsible for the testing and processing of the spacecraft at the pad and responsible, ultimately, for the launch down to T0 when the vehicle leaves the pad,” said Ramsey.

“The master control operator — you’ll hear that console position on launch day — operates the Launch Control System, and they’re doing all the housekeeping and monitoring of the system, making sure it’s healthy, and they’re executing the things to advance the different stages of configuration that the system needs to be in to support the outcome.”

In this manner, the Command & Control System Software is the inner workings, “the guts,” as Ramsey described it, of launch control. Systems like the Ground Launch Sequencer are applications that “live in our system.”

This base code for Artemis I was built and then modified with lessons learned from the Green Run campaigns at Stennis in 2021; however, the four Wet Dress Rehearsal runs and the lessons learned there were all at the application level and not at the Command & Control System Software level.

For countdown operations, Ramsey noted that “if something comes up and it’s not something we already have documented or have a design waiver for, [there’s a back room team] there to support the master control operator.”

In this case, the back room would analyze the situation, advise the master control operator on the issue and forward paths and potential solutions. Meanwhile, the master control operator would focus on how the issue interfaces with other aspects (and console positions) of the overall launch count processes.

Moreover, from a design perspective, the team will be monitoring the system to make sure it functions as expected and that it has expected behavior.

“There are certain things that are irregular but expected, and when we see those, we want to confirm that that signature is what we’re expecting to see or what we’ve seen before.”

“As we get deeper into the count, we’ll be looking at specific performance data. We’ll be doing retrievals from our recorded enclave data — the processed data — in the system and making sure that the patterns we’re expecting to see are there, and that the rates we’re expecting to see are similar to what we saw in Wet Dress and the countdown sequence.”

If all systems and software are in agreement and all launch team positions agree, SLS will liftoff Monday, August 29 on its historic flight to send Orion and the European Service Module on a 42-day mission to a Distant Retrograde Orbit of the Moon.

As of publication, the 45th weather squadron of the Space Force is predicting a 70% chance of acceptable weather conditions on Monday, with the primary concerns being the cumulus cloud and surface electric fields rules (aka natural and triggered lightning) as well as flight through precipitation.

Fish · 08-27-2022, 11:14 AM

Some really interesting details about Artemis...

**DaFace** · 08-28-2022, 08:39 PM

Reminder that they're finally on schedule to fly this thing tomorrow morning at 8:33am ET.

**DaFace** · 08-29-2022, 06:07 AM

Sounds like it's a scrub. Not a huge surprise for a new system. Hopefully the issues are minor.

**Donger** · 08-29-2022, 08:25 AM

Today's historic launch of Artemis I on its mission to the moon was postponed due to an issue with one of the rocket's four engines.

NASA is expected to provide an update later today, but here's what we know so far:

The launch team discovered an issue with an engine bleed in one of the rocket's four engines. During engine bleeds, hydrogen is cycled through the engine to condition it for launch. Three of the four engines were performing as expected, but engine #3 was experiencing an issue.

**Donger** · 09-02-2022, 09:26 AM

Artemis 1 moon mission is 'go' for Saturday launch, NASA says

https://www.space.com/artemis-1-moon...ch-september-3

Liftoff is scheduled to occur during a two-hour window that opens Saturday at 2:17 p.m. EDT (1817 GMT).

Dante84 · 09-02-2022, 09:31 AM

Just finished The Orville last night, so I’m now an expert on this thread’s subject.

Kellerfox · 09-03-2022, 05:56 AM

Assuming it isn’t scrubbed, I’m going to have a front row seat today for the launch! Pretty ecstatic.

**DaFace** · 09-03-2022, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kellerfox

Assuming it isn’t scrubbed, I’m going to have a front row seat today for the launch! Pretty ecstatic.

Nice! Fingers crossed they get it off the ground.

**DaFace** · 09-03-2022, 07:40 AM

Looking pretty iffy. Apparently they've got a leak in a hydrogen supply line, and their first three tries to fix it haven't worked.

NASA's launch team is discussing further troubleshooting steps to try to fix this hydrogen leak at the Artemis 1 launch pad. https://t.co/J3lGTTJQF3
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) September 3, 2022

GloryDayz · 09-03-2022, 08:00 AM

Maybe NASA can ask SpaceX for some pointers on how to gas-up a rocket?

It's all good, I'd rather wait than have a catastrophic failure.

But seriously, a little duct tape goes a long way when fixing rocket leaks..

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	Space Exploration megathread Since a number of cool things are happening in space exploration these days, we'll widen the scope of this thread a smidge. Conversation about all things space exploration are welcome, whether it be from NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, or anyone else. Chances are most of the discussion will still be about SpaceX since they love to make things public and fun, but nothing's off limits. I'll eventually get around to modifying the OP to include resources for other companies too, but in the meantime, feel free to post any cool stuff you run across. Lists of Upcoming Missions Spoiler! General lists: https://nextspaceflight.com/ http://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/ SpaceX specific list: https://spacexnow.com/upcoming.php How to Watch a Live Launch Spoiler! SpaceX: https://www.youtube.com/user/spacexchannel ULA: https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance RocketLab: https://www.youtube.com/user/RocketLabNZ NASATV will also cover some launches (primarily ISS resupply missions): https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision Where to Learn More Spoiler! Some cool pics... https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/ https://www.instagram.com/spacex/?hl=en Twitter feed is usually interesing... https://twitter.com/SpaceX https://twitter.com/elonmusk The SpaceX sub is a great source of info... https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/wiki/index And for a more forum-style discussion board... http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php#c17 And there are plenty of YouTube channels with great content... Joe Scott - Lost of "future" discussion. Some about rockets and space. Much that goes beyond. Scott Manley - Super smart dude (engineer) who reviews a lot of major events in space exploration. Frazer Cain (Universe Today) - Podcast-style videos that go in-depth into space topics. Tim Dodd (Everyday Astronaut) - A "random dude" who got really into space (particularly SpaceX). He's a great resource for simple explanations of this stuff, as well as live hosting launches. USLaunchReport - Lost of videos of the more mundane stuff (e.g., booster recovery operations). Not a ton of commentary. NASASpaceFlight - Live hosting of most launches including a ton of video of Starlink operations. Glossary Spoiler! Space discussions tend to get a little bogged down in jargon, so here's a list of terms you might encounter. (Others, please let me know of others that should be added.) ASDS - Autonomous Spaceport Droneship - The "barges" that they sometimes land rockets on. Dragon - The cone-shaped capsule that sits at the top of the rocket for ISS-bound launches that holds the cargo (or, in the future, humans). F9 - Falcon 9, the name of the rocket itself. FH - Falcon Heavy, the three-booster version. GTO - Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, a type of orbit that will eventually result in the satellite orbiting the earth as it turns so that it seems to be in the same spot from the ground (such as DirecTV or Dish satellites). These types of launches are particularly challenging because they require a lot of power to get them into the right orbit, leaving very little fuel left for landing. HIF - Horizontal Integration Facility - the building near the launch pad where they put all of the pieces of the rocket together before rolling it out to the pad. ISS - The International Space Station JRTI - Just Read The Instructions, the name of the "barge" that they land on for west-coast launches. LEO - Low Earth Orbit, a fairly low orbit shared by many satellites and ISS. These launches usually require less power to achieve the proper orbit, so the first stage can often be landed back on land rather than on a drone ship. LZ1 - Landing Zone 1, basically a big open slab of concrete at Cape Canaveral where the first stage will attempt to land (for some launches). NET - No Earlier Than, basically the date they're hoping to launch, but rocket launches have a tendency of getting delayed. OCISLY - Of Course I Still Love You, the name of the "barge" that they land on for east-coast launches. RTLS - Return to Landing Site, a mission where the first stage comes back and lands at LZ1. Starship - SpaceX's next-generation rocket (and spacecraft) that will hopefully one day take us to Mars. Starship is the "second stage" that will carry cargo or people, but also refers to the whole system. (It's confusing, but think of it like the Space Shuttle, which was both the shuttle itself and the entire launch system.) Super Heavy - The giant booster that will carry Starship to space. Last edited by DaFace; 12-10-2020 at 03:36 PM..
Posts: 51,801

07-21-2022, 11:52 AM	#4906
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W	An abort. I don't remember the last time that happened.
Posts: 180,793

07-22-2022, 10:57 AM	#4907
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W	Try this again... T-45:00 SpaceX is targeting Friday, July 22 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 10:39 a.m. PT (17:39 UTC). The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85 and SARah-1. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff.
Posts: 180,793

08-12-2022, 03:30 PM	#4908
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W	SpaceX is targeting Friday, August 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 2:40 p.m. PT (21:40 UTC), and a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, August 13 at 10:40 p.m. PT (05:40 UTC on Sunday, August 14). The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, and one Starlink mission. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff.
Posts: 180,793

08-27-2022, 11:02 AM	#4910
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W	Aiming for the Moon: Artemis I countdown begins for historic flight https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022...ntdown-begins/ The launch countdown for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Artemis I mission is underway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of a planned liftoff within a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 AM EDT (12:33 UTC) on Monday, August 29. The launch count comes after more than a decade of development, capped by successful Green Run and Wet Dress Rehearsal tests — both of which provided good lessons learned and changes in procedures for launch day. The countdown is the first for launch operations at LC-39B since Ares I-X’s only mission on October 28, 2009, and marks the first in a series of three NASA-led missions to return humanity to the surface of the Moon for the first time since December 1972. The 46-hour 40-minute countdown will see the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) launch team take the SLS vehicle through final configurations for launch, including the all-important fueling process to give SLS the needed propellants for its four RS-25 Core Stage engines and its single RL10B-2 engine on the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). The twin five-segment Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and the European Service Module (ESM) had their propellants (Polybutadiene acrylonitrile-Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant for the SRBs and mixed oxides of nitrogen & monomethylhydrazine for the ESM) loaded before the SRB segments were shipped from Utah and before the ESM and the Orion capsule were brought to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for stacking. The start of the count commences with a five-hour operation to fill the water tower at LC-39B for use as sound suppression during engine start and liftoff. The tower will be topped off just before terminal count (which begins at T-10 minutes) in the traditional fashion of pumping water into it until water starts to cascade from an over-fill line — indicating the tank is full. Simultaneously, teams will start bringing online the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen ground systems ahead of final fuel loading preparations. At Launch minus 42 hours (L-42 hours), the 30-minute process of powering up the Orion spacecraft will begin; however, there is an option to perform this operation at the very start of the countdown instead. At L-38 hours 30 minutes, teams will bring their attention to the ICPS and its initial power-up. After verifying functionality and systems, the ICPS will be powered back down until later in the count. While this is taking place, final launch preparations for the four RS-25 engines will begin. At L-34 hours, teams will pick up the process of powering up the Core Stage, an operation that should last approximately 40 minutes. At L-31 hours, the Core Stage Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels (COPVs) will be pressurized to flight levels, followed by charging of the Orion and Core Stage flight batteries. Final ICPS power-up for flight will take place at L-18 hours 30 minutes. All non-essential personnel will be required to leave LC-39B between L-12 and L-10 hours. The launch team will then bring the Ground Launch Sequencer online, a two-hour process beginning at L-11 hours 15 minutes. The critical transition from air to gaseous nitrogen purge will then follow at L-10 hours 45 minutes. After this, a two-and-a-half-hour built-in-hold will then take place from L-9 hours 40 minutes to L-7 hours 10 minutes. This hold has been extended one extra hour from the Wet Dress Rehearsal counts due to gaseous nitrogen changeover lessons learned. The launch team, led by Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, will then conduct a final pre-tanking weather briefing at L-9 hours 40 minutes and will issue a “go” or “no go” decision for fueling around L-8 hours 40 minutes — though this decision could come earlier if the meeting does not require the full hour earmarked. At L-8 hours 15 minutes, while still in the planned hold, fueling operations of SLS for launch will pick up with liquid oxygen transfer line chilldown, a process that slowly thermally cools the transfer and propulsion system lines so they are not cryo-shocked at the start of fueling. The count will then resume at L-7 hours 40 minutes for the fueling process on launch day. Controlling the count Serving as the brain underneath all the operations during the count is the Command & Control System Software in the Launch Control Center. As related by John Ramsey, lead for the Command & Control System Software in an interview with NASASpaceflight, this is the system upon which all the other sub-system level software programs live. The Command & Control System Software is “responsible for the testing and processing of the spacecraft at the pad and responsible, ultimately, for the launch down to T0 when the vehicle leaves the pad,” said Ramsey. “The master control operator — you’ll hear that console position on launch day — operates the Launch Control System, and they’re doing all the housekeeping and monitoring of the system, making sure it’s healthy, and they’re executing the things to advance the different stages of configuration that the system needs to be in to support the outcome.” In this manner, the Command & Control System Software is the inner workings, “the guts,” as Ramsey described it, of launch control. Systems like the Ground Launch Sequencer are applications that “live in our system.” This base code for Artemis I was built and then modified with lessons learned from the Green Run campaigns at Stennis in 2021; however, the four Wet Dress Rehearsal runs and the lessons learned there were all at the application level and not at the Command & Control System Software level. For countdown operations, Ramsey noted that “if something comes up and it’s not something we already have documented or have a design waiver for, [there’s a back room team] there to support the master control operator.” In this case, the back room would analyze the situation, advise the master control operator on the issue and forward paths and potential solutions. Meanwhile, the master control operator would focus on how the issue interfaces with other aspects (and console positions) of the overall launch count processes. Moreover, from a design perspective, the team will be monitoring the system to make sure it functions as expected and that it has expected behavior. “There are certain things that are irregular but expected, and when we see those, we want to confirm that that signature is what we’re expecting to see or what we’ve seen before.” “As we get deeper into the count, we’ll be looking at specific performance data. We’ll be doing retrievals from our recorded enclave data — the processed data — in the system and making sure that the patterns we’re expecting to see are there, and that the rates we’re expecting to see are similar to what we saw in Wet Dress and the countdown sequence.” If all systems and software are in agreement and all launch team positions agree, SLS will liftoff Monday, August 29 on its historic flight to send Orion and the European Service Module on a 42-day mission to a Distant Retrograde Orbit of the Moon. As of publication, the 45th weather squadron of the Space Force is predicting a 70% chance of acceptable weather conditions on Monday, with the primary concerns being the cumulus cloud and surface electric fields rules (aka natural and triggered lightning) as well as flight through precipitation. Last edited by Donger; 08-27-2022 at 11:09 AM..
Posts: 180,793

08-27-2022, 11:14 AM	#4911
Fish Ain't no relax! Fish's Avatar Join Date: Sep 2005	Some really interesting details about Artemis...
Posts: 47,528	1 0

08-28-2022, 08:39 PM	#4912
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	Reminder that they're finally on schedule to fly this thing tomorrow morning at 8:33am ET.
Posts: 51,801	2 0

08-29-2022, 06:07 AM	#4913
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	Sounds like it's a scrub. Not a huge surprise for a new system. Hopefully the issues are minor.
Posts: 51,801	1 0

08-29-2022, 08:25 AM	#4914
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W	Today's historic launch of Artemis I on its mission to the moon was postponed due to an issue with one of the rocket's four engines. NASA is expected to provide an update later today, but here's what we know so far: The launch team discovered an issue with an engine bleed in one of the rocket's four engines. During engine bleeds, hydrogen is cycled through the engine to condition it for launch. Three of the four engines were performing as expected, but engine #3 was experiencing an issue.
Posts: 180,793

09-02-2022, 09:26 AM	#4915
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W	Artemis 1 moon mission is 'go' for Saturday launch, NASA says https://www.space.com/artemis-1-moon...ch-september-3 Liftoff is scheduled to occur during a two-hour window that opens Saturday at 2:17 p.m. EDT (1817 GMT).
Posts: 180,793	2 0

09-02-2022, 09:31 AM	#4916
Dante84 Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs Dante84's Avatar Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: ATX & OPKS	Just finished The Orville last night, so I’m now an expert on this thread’s subject.
Posts: 19,747	1 0

09-03-2022, 05:56 AM	#4917
Kellerfox Starter Kellerfox's Avatar Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Phoenix, AZ	Assuming it isn’t scrubbed, I’m going to have a front row seat today for the launch! Pretty ecstatic.
Posts: 790	1 0

09-03-2022, 07:40 AM	#4919
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	Looking pretty iffy. Apparently they've got a leak in a hydrogen supply line, and their first three tries to fix it haven't worked. NASA's launch team is discussing further troubleshooting steps to try to fix this hydrogen leak at the Artemis 1 launch pad. https://t.co/J3lGTTJQF3 — Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) September 3, 2022
Posts: 51,801

09-03-2022, 08:00 AM	#4920
GloryDayz (Sir/Yes Sir/Aye Aye Sir) GloryDayz's Avatar Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Diving	Maybe NASA can ask SpaceX for some pointers on how to gas-up a rocket? It's all good, I'd rather wait than have a catastrophic failure. But seriously, a little duct tape goes a long way when fixing rocket leaks..
Posts: 115,490