The Space Exploration Discussion Thread/The Rocket Launch Megathread

[mustwinfull]

Next Space Mission:

Mission Name: SES-6

Mission For: SES S.A.

Launch Vehicle: Proton-M/Briz-M

Launch Provider: International Launch Services

Launch Site: Baikonur Site 200/39

Time (UST): 09:18

Date (GMT): 3rd June 2013

Time (EDT): 05:18

Date (EDT): 3rd June 2013

Live Coverage:

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Other Upcoming Missions:

5th June 2013:

Albert Einstein ATV

7th June 2013:

Persona

11th June 2013:

Shenzhou 10

IRNSS-1

---

Past Missions (In the time of this thread):

Edited May 29, 2013 by mustwinfull

[Aescwulf]

There's actually a mission a day before called SpaceX-1 Commercial Resupply Services Flight. And it will be the first commercial resupply mission by SpaceX. It will be resupplying ISS using the Falcon 9 launch vehicle on the 7th October around 8:35pm EDT at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 40

[Nikolai]

There's actually a mission a day before called SpaceX-1 Commercial Resupply Services Flight. And it will be the first commercial resupply mission by SpaceX. It will be resupplying ISS using the Falcon 9 launch vehicle on the 7th October around 8:35pm EDT at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 40

He has that one. When you convert from EDT to GMT, you have to go four hours ahead... so it's the next day.

[mustwinfull]

He has that one. When you convert from EDT to GMT, you have to go four hours ahead... so it's the next day.

That's right. Remember your time converters.

Also, Aescwulf, don't worry about the mistake you made, If I didn't normally live in GMT & GMT+1(BST) then I would of made that mistake, maybe I should add EDT and PDT so people in America can get the time easier.

Good idea?

[Aescwulf]

I live in GMT 0 but haven't known anyone to convert it to GMT. Sorry

EDIT for idea - What would be a good idea is to add the PDT and EDT and also your GMT

Edited October 4, 2012 by Aescwulf

[mustwinfull]

I live in GMT 0 but haven't known anyone to convert it to GMT. Sorry

EDIT for idea - What would be a good idea is to add the PDT and EDT and also your GMT

I had the idea in my last post so I'm guessing other people want it. I will add it and it should be up in a few minutes.

Thanks for the feedback.

EDIT: EDT is implemented, now I'm going for PDT.

Edited October 4, 2012 by mustwinfull

[Borklund]

Repost time!

Thought I'd share this with you all:

https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/images/charts-diagrams/20120928_solar-system-missions2012-10.png

Source: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2012/09281400-whats-up-october-2012.html

[mustwinfull]

It's amazing really, how many sattelites and landers we have exploring the Solar System and some on their way there, I'm looking forward to lots of different missions when they get to their various targets like Dawn to Ceres, New Horizons to Pluto and Juno to Jupiter. What a great time to live in terms of space exploration.

That picture just shows it all and what is to come.

[mustwinfull]

A launch schedule this month for you, to see what is coming up:

Key for purpose of mission:

ISS RE - International Space Station Re-Supply

ISS MAN - International Space Station Manned Mission

NAV - Navigation

COMM - Communications

TECH - Technology

--------------

7th/8th October 2012: SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch (ISS RE)

12th October: Arianespace Fregat-MT/Soyuz-STB Launch (NAV)

14th October: International Launch Services Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced Launch (COMM)

23rd October: Roskosmos Soyuz-FG Launch (ISS MAN)

25th October: United Launch Alliance Atlas V 501 Launch (TECH)

26th October: Khrunichev/KARI Naro-1 Launch (TECH)

31 October: Roskosmos Soyuz-U Launch (ISS RE)

Unconfirmed Launch Dates This Month:

3 China Missions

3 Canadian Missions

1 USA Mission

1 Germany Mission

You can now add this information to your heads to find out which launches are when.

[gta-man]

Please keep this updated, i love seeing rocket launch live.

[mustwinfull]

Please keep this updated, i love seeing rocket launch live.

I will keep it updated, I like seeing rocket launches live as well.

Also, remember that the SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch to the International Space Station takes place tommorow/Monday with ISS berth 3 days later.

[mustwinfull]

At 19:00 GMT (15:00 EDT) the CRS SpX-1/Orbcomm-2 F1, the mission science briefing can be viewed live on NASA TV.

Also at 22:00 GMT (18:00 EDT) is the Pre-Launch briefing.

These are the final two briefs before launch tommorow/the day after.

[mustwinfull]

Mission Science briefing is live now on NASA TV.

Then, the Pre-Launch briefing will follow in 3 hours with Vehicle roll-out sometime tommorow (mid-morning for some of USA).

This mission is the first commercial flight by Orbcomm to the ISS to deliver cargo for the crew.

[mustwinfull]

The Pre-Launch briefing is about to begin if anyone wants to watch that over at NASA TV.

Also you may find this website useful during the launch.

Also, I found in the journal Nature that the entire Universe will eventually stop, it's sad but true.

[Borklund]

Here's a mission timeline for SpaceX CRS-1 for those of you who are interested in following the mission:

Day 1: LAUNCH

COUNTDOWN

Hour/Min/Sec Events

- 7:30:30 Vehicles are powered on

- 3:50:00 Commence loading liquid oxygen (LOX)

- 3:40:00 Commence loading RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene)

- 3:15:00 LOX and RP-1 loading complete

- 0:10:00 Falcon 9 and Dragon terminal count autosequence started

- 0:02:30 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch

- 0:02:00 Range Control Officer (USAF) verifies range is go for launch

- 0:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks. Turn on pad deck

and Niagara water

- 0:00:40 Pressurize propellant tanks

- 0:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start

0:00:00 Falcon 9 launch

LAUNCH

Hour/Min/Sec Events

0:01:25 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)

0:03:00 1st stage engine shutdown/main engine cutoff (MECO)

0:03:05 1st and 2nd stages separate

0:03:12 2nd stage engine starts

0:03:52 Dragon nose cone jettisoned

0:09:11 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO)

0:09:46 Dragon separates from 2nd stage

DRAGON ON-ORBIT OPERATIONS IN THE FAR FIELD

Hour/Min/Sec Events

0:11:45 Start sequence to deploy solar arrays

2:26:49 Start GNC (guidance and navigation control) bay door deploymentâ€â€this door holds sensors

necessary for rendezvous

Day 2: DRAGON PHASING – DRAGON BEGINS APPROACH TO SPACE STATION

• Coelliptic burn places Dragon in a circular orbit

Day 3: HEIGHT ADJUST MANEUVERS TO R-BAR AND CAPTURE

(R-Bar - Radial Bar - is an imaginary line connecting station to the center of the Earth)

• Height adjust burns start adjusting altitude higher toward station

• COTS Ultra-high Frequency Communication Unit (CUCU) and on-board UHF communication system between Dragon

and ISS is configured

• Height adjust burn: Dragon begins burns that bring it within 2.5 km of station (go/no-go)

• Dragon receives and sends information from/to the CUCU unit on station

• Height adjust burn brings Dragon 1.2 km from station (go/no-go)

• Height adjust burn carries Dragon into the station’s approach ellipsoid (go/no-go)

• Dragon holds at 250 meters (go/no-go) for confirmation of proximity sensors targeting acquisition

• Dragon begins R-Bar Approach

• Dragon holds at 30 meters (go/no-go)

• Dragon holds at capture point, 10 meters below the station (go/no-go)

• Crew captures Dragon using the station’s robotic arm (SSRMS)

• Dragon is attached to the station

Day 4: HATCH OPENING

• Hatch is opened

RETURN DAY -1

• Hatch is closed

• Dragon vestibule de-mate and depressurization

RETURN

• Station’s robotic arm uninstalls Dragon

• Robotic arm releases Dragon

• Crew commands the departure

• Dragon starts departure burns

• Dragon closes the guidance, navigation, and control bay door

• Deorbit burn

• Trunk jettisoned

• Drogue chutes deployed

• Main chutes deployed

• Dragon lands in water and is recovered

[mustwinfull]

Here's a mission timeline for SpaceX CRS-1 for those of you who are interested in following the mission:

-snip-

Thanks for that, we can see what's going in during the mission, from The Pre-Launch news conference I can tell you that they are sending up ice-cream, that the launch has 40% chance of weather violation but on the backup days it only has 20%.

Also, here is a cargo list of what cargo they are bringing up:

Crew Supplies:

• Eight bulk overwrap bags with 29 food rations.
  
• Five bags with 22 rations of low sodium food.
  
• Crew clothing (8.8 pounds).
  
• Pantry items, batteries, etc. (8.8 pounds)
  
• Official flight kit (17.6 pounds).
  

Utilization payloads (390 pounds for NASA, JAXA, ESA):

• GLACIER - General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator, ultra-cold freezers that will store samples at temperatures as low as - 301 degrees F (-160 degrees C).
  
• Fluids and Combustion Facility Hardware - Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) is a complementary fluid physics research facility designed to host investigations in areas such as colloids, gels, bubbles, wetting and capillary action, and phase changes, including boiling and cooling.
  
• CGBA/Micro-6 - Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-Micro-6 looks at responses of Candida albicans to spaceflight, studying how microgravity affects the health risk posed by the opportunistic yeast Candida albicans.
  
• Cables for Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.
  
• CFE-2 - Capillary Flow Experiments - 2 (CFE-2) is a suite of fluid physics experiments that investigates how fluids move up surfaces in microgravity. The results aim to improve current computer models that are used by designers of low gravity fluid systems and may improve fluid transfer systems for water on future spacecraft.
  
• MISSE-8 Retrieval Bag - Materials on International Space Station Experiment - 8 (MISSE-8) is a test bed for materials and computing elements attached to the outside of the station.
  
• Double Cold Bags - Two bags used to refrigerate samples for transport.
  
• EPO-10 - Education Payload Operations-10 (Blue Earth Gazing) records video education demonstrations highlighting various fundamental scientific principles performed by crew members using hardware already onboard the station.
  
• Resist Tubule - Role of Microtubule-Membrane-Cell Wall Continuum in Gravity Resistance in Plants (Resist Wall) investigation was conducted to determine the importance of the structural connections between microtubules, plasma membrane, and the cell wall as the mechanism of gravity resistance.
  
• Ammonia Test Kit.
  
• BioLab - Biological Experiment Laboratory in Columbus (BioLab) is a multiuser research facility located in the European Columbus laboratory. It will be used to perform space biology experiments on microorganisms, cells, tissue cultures, small plants, and small invertebrates.
  
• Energy - Astronaut's Energy Requirements for Long-Term Space Flight (Energy) will measures changes in energy balance in crew members.
  

Vehicle hardware (225 pounds):

• Caution and data handling items.
  
• CHeCS - Crew Health Care System (Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustion Products; Environmental Health System).
  
• ECLSS - Ion Exchange Bed and Advanced Recycle Filter Tank Assembly filters.
  
• Electrical Powr System.
  
• Thermal Control System.
  
• Cabin fan for ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle.
  
• Pump package for JAXA.
  

Computers and supplies (7 pounds):

• Miscellaneous - Hard drives and CD case.
  

I will post the cargo going down later on.

[Borklund]

Why is it bringing so little cargo up there? The capacity is over 4 tonnes or somesuch, right?

[mustwinfull]

Why is it bringing so little cargo up there? The capacity is over 4 tonnes or somesuch, right?

The question was answered in the Pre-Launch briefing I think, I will go check the answer for you.

Apparently though, they are bringing twice as much down than up.

[mustwinfull]

Why is it bringing so little cargo up there? The capacity is over 4 tonnes or somesuch, right?

They deflected the question by saying that they will bring a lot more in their future commercial missions. I can go check the Mission Science Briefing now to see if the question was properly addressed there.

[mustwinfull]

The Falcon 9 Roll-Out is targeted for 12:30 GMT (08:30 EDT) which is just under 2 hours from now.

[Borklund]

They deflected the question by saying that they will bring a lot more in their future commercial missions. I can go check the Mission Science Briefing now to see if the question was properly addressed there.

Then I guess because of an almost non-existant reliability record? The Falcon 9 does only have 3 launches to its name, albeit 3 successful launches.

[mustwinfull]

Then I guess because of an almost non-existant reliability record? The Falcon 9 does only have 3 launches to its name, albeit 3 successful launches.

It might be, but I think it might have something to do with NASA requirements, after all, they hired SpaceX for cargo to the ISS.

For now, we don't know the reason because they are keeping it secret.

[mustwinfull]

Vehicle has been rolled out to the pad in preparation for today's launch.

[Borklund]

Any update on the weather? 40% scrub chance seems p. bad, and we'd only find out 2 hours prior to launch if it will be scrubbed

[mustwinfull]

Any update on the weather? 40% scrub chance seems p. bad, and we'd only find out 2 hours prior to launch if it will be scrubbed

Things are currently looking good from my sources, and I believe loading has occurred, I will go double check my sources.

Here's a weather report for you.