wumpus Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 16 hours ago, DAL59 said: Delayed a month again? If th dry fire is in Jan, then the launch won't be until Feb. The "official" launch window for Mars is more like March-May, I'm curious how close NASA is willing to let them get a "dirty" rocket near Mars (although a *tiny* bit of aerobraking would be ideal for making sure Teslas never rain down on Earth). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSEP Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 16 hours ago, DAL59 said: Delayed a month again? Remember Zuma? We already knew it was pushed to 2018 when Zuma got delayed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwind Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 (edited) @wumpus They're not launching anything to Mars. Assuming Elon Musk is not pulling a fast one on all of us to begin with, they're launching something "to Mars orbit". In other words, apoapsis high enough to reach out there, but not actually encountering Mars. Intentionally avoiding Mars, even, if I were to guess. Elon did say it would be "in space for millions of years". You can't get that without making sure you won't accidentally smack into the planet whose orbit you're aiming at. Edited December 15, 2017 by Streetwind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 19 minutes ago, wumpus said: The "official" launch window for Mars is more like March-May, I'm curious how close NASA is willing to let them get a "dirty" rocket near Mars (although a *tiny* bit of aerobraking would be ideal for making sure Teslas never rain down on Earth). FH with roadster has a ton of margin, they can actually do a real transfer to Mars, but this is likely just going to the distance of Mars, not actually to Mars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh1pman Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Not so sure about millions of years in space. Eventually it's going to get an encounter with either Earth or Mars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnemoe Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 12 minutes ago, sh1pman said: Not so sure about millions of years in space. Eventually it's going to get an encounter with either Earth or Mars. Mars is easy enough to avoid, even if AP is outside mars the plane also have to match. Now it will always intercept earth orbit unless you do an correction burn some distance from earth and the upper stage has limited durability not only because of battery but also cook off and probably other issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dartguy Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Looking better for a late January launch of the Heavy. I'm going to be in Daytona the last weekend. Man that would be great if it happens then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serpens Solidus Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 51 minutes ago, magnemoe said: Mars is easy enough to avoid, even if AP is outside mars the plane also have to match. Now it will always intercept earth orbit unless you do an correction burn some distance from earth and the upper stage has limited durability not only because of battery but also cook off and probably other issues. Yeah, just a touch of off-plane inclination will help keep it out of intercepts, but it will still cross Earth orbit now and then. But computing a trajectory which has no Earth encounters for millions of years is not that hard to do. Not when you're SpaceX. Just need a fast computer. 42 minutes ago, tater said: HYPE TRAAAAAAAIN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfury Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Webcast is live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 We've got soooooooooooooot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatastrophicFailure Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 *yawns* I’m up.. I’m up... I swear by von Braun and Honey Nut Cheerios y’all better light this candle today... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elthy Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Do you have those problems with microstutter, too? Every second it seems to miss about 0,2sec of video, making it very hard to watch without getting annoyed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 The new strongback is NICE. They are going over the upgrades now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfury Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 1 minute ago, Elthy said: Do you have those problems with microstutter, too? Every second it seems to miss about 0,2sec of video, making it very hard to watch without getting annoyed... Same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceception Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Watching now! Looks like they have the technical webcast again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfury Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 2 minutes ago, Spaceception said: Looks like they have the technical webcast again. And the technical webcast has no lags ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Tech webcast: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceception Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 T-10 seconds !!! And we have liftoff!! Awesome launch, sooty looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Technical webcast is nothing but the regular webcast without voiceover. No differences in shot or telemetry. Sooty rocket lifting off...beautiful sight! Through Max-Q. MVac chilling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 WOW! Badass turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceception Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Correct me if I'm wrong, but will this be landing on the landing pad,? Or is it the barge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 MOST BEAUTIFUL SHOT OF THE FLIP I HAVE EVER SEEN 1 minute ago, Spaceception said: Correct me if I'm wrong, but will this be landing on the landing pad,? Or is it the barge? All CRS missions will be RTLS from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Just now, Spaceception said: Correct me if I'm wrong, but will this be landing on the landing pad,? Or is it the barge? Pad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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