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14 minutes ago, Motokid600 said:

I wonder if they found a problem?

Given that it’s a scrub for the whole day, and not just a delay till later in the window, it’s a significant enough isssue that they think it needs 24 hours or more. Hopefully we’ll have some official details later. That is a lot of fuel to be pumping into a thing for the first time. 

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18 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

Jeb left a sandwich on his go-cart, and a pigeon was snacking on the crumbs and accidentally pecked through a LOX loading line.

Could well be. Sillier things have happened before to very expensive bits of machinery.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/nov/06/cern-big-bang-goes-phut

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Interesting stuff I was not aware of, and possibly even relevant to this thread, via an unexpected Wiki page:

Scaled Composites was purchased by Northrop Grumman back in 2007...

Let that percolate, re: Zumba...

Also, it seems Richard Branson is also interested in the point-to-point rocket market... sounds familiar... <_<

52 minutes ago, KSK said:

Could well be. Sillier things have happened before to very expensive bits of machinery.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/nov/06/cern-big-bang-goes-phut

Phut. I think that’s my new favorite word. Phut. Heheh... uh... heheheh heheh. Phut. 

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6 hours ago, Jaff said:

Whilst I understand prop loading is a big milestone, surely the whole point of the Heavy is it’s easy because you just get what works for the F9 and add 2 more exactly the same. 

 

Should almost be mundane by now surely? 

Except that they need to simultaneously feed 3 times more propellant into 3 rockets simultaneously, while monitoring 3 different boiloff rates and using at least 2 new propellant feed systems and all new procedures.

There is nothing mundane about it.

Edited by Nibb31
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Just now, Nibb31 said:

Except that to simultaneously feed 3 times more propellant into 3 rockets simultaneously, while monitoring 3 different boiloff rates and using at least 2 new propellant feed systems and all new procedures.

There is nothing mundane about it.

Not to mention Stage 2, so FOUR different tank sets. It's insanely complex. This is a test mission, there is no time limit, and failure due to rushing would be nothing short of stupid.

 

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I’m not saying they should rush, although excitement is through the roof for me atm, just commenting on the fact that heavy should be just as easy as 9 only take 3 times longer based on the “simplicity” or this rocket (I.e just strap 3 9’s together)

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Quote

it’s a beast of a vehicle.

  Understatement of the year, right here...

...tho it’s been a short year...

4 minutes ago, Jaff said:

heavy should be just as easy as 9 only take 3 times longer based on the “simplicity” or this rocket

SpaceX has stated, in so many words, that the biggest lesson they’ve taken away from FH development is that no, it isn’t simple at all.   :wink:

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6 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

  Understatement of the year, right here...

...tho it’s been a short year...

SpaceX has stated, in so many words, that the biggest lesson they’ve taken away from FH development is that no, it isn’t simple at all.   :wink:

Indeed we have found that out!

 

rocket science is simple right?

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35 minutes ago, Jaff said:

I’m not saying they should rush, although excitement is through the roof for me atm, just commenting on the fact that heavy should be just as easy as 9 only take 3 times longer based on the “simplicity” or this rocket (I.e just strap 3 9’s together)

They would be fueling all three cores simultaneously, not sequentially.  They don't want to wait around when they're using super-chilled propellants.

Uh, they are using super-chilled propellants on FH, right? It's Standard Operating Procedure, no?

Edited by StrandedonEarth
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8 hours ago, tater said:

Indian launc

31 satelites at once, in that one.

6 hours ago, tater said:

 

Related

Another crew delay?  Remember, this was supposed to be up and running in 2013.  Its five years behind schedule.  And the dragon has been around for 2 years now.  Why does nasa keep delaying? Isn't it to their advantage not to rely on Russia?

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23 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

They would be fueling all three cores simultaneously, not sequentially.  They don't want to wait around when they're using super-chilled propellants.

Uh, they are using super-chilled propellants on FH, right? It's Standard Operating Procedure, no?

None of them are linked, fuel wise - fill them all separately simultaneously or sequentially it shouldn’t make a difference 

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4 minutes ago, Jaff said:

None of them are linked, fuel wise - fill them all separately simultaneously or sequentially it shouldn’t make a difference 

Except you don't want one stage's fuel to boil away while it waits for the other two to be filled.

 

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21 minutes ago, DAL59 said:

 

Another crew delay?  Remember, this was supposed to be up and running in 2013.  Its five years behind schedule.  And the dragon has been around for 2 years now.  Why does nasa keep delaying? Isn't it to their advantage not to rely on Russia?

If Congress had allowed NASA to put more funding towards Commercial Crew, then one of them would probably be operational already. 

So the WDR didn’t go perfectly. No surprise there. The big surprise would have been if it did go perfectly, all things considered. 

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55 minutes ago, Jaff said:

None of them are linked, fuel wise - fill them all separately simultaneously or sequentially it shouldn’t make a difference 

Subcooled propellants are time-sensitive. Falcon 9s fuel load sequence is based on handling subcooled prop with specific timing; if the propellant warms or boils off, validation is out the window. In order to launch three Falcon 9s simultaneously, SpaceX has to fuel them simultaneously.

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9 hours ago, Jaff said:

I’m not saying they should rush, although excitement is through the roof for me atm, just commenting on the fact that heavy should be just as easy as 9 only take 3 times longer based on the “simplicity” or this rocket (I.e just strap 3 9’s together)

No, it doesn't take 3 times longer. It has to take the same time, but with 3 times more volume, 3 times the boiloff, 3 times the topping off, 3 times the operations, 3 times the propellant production and storage, and 3 times the risk of it blowing up. You don't fill up a rocket with cryogenic propellants like you fill up a car from a gas station.

There is nothing "simple" about the Falcon Heavy. In fact, it's much more complex than if it was a single rocket 3 times bigger.

Edited by Nibb31
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