That vehicle didn't tick all the boxes, but I wouldn't call it a total failure. Bell's take on SpaceX is no more right today than it was yesterday. Yeah - Elon's putting a positive spin on things - but when you look at the price of that LV, a new start up with 1.5 launches to their name - I think that was a very good mission. Hell - if it takes another 2 launches to get it spot on - they will then be offering a cheap, rapid LV. No one said it would be easy. No one said it would work first time. Calling the entire program a failure is, at this stage, hideously premature.

Doug

That ring is supposed to detach remember - so I wouldn't factor that into it at all.

Or - from another perspective, from SFN

Musk says 90 percent of the Falcon 1 rocket's technical challenges were proven out with this launch. He doesn't foresee needing another test flight before launching the first operational mission in late summer carrying the U.S. military's TacSat 1 spacecraft.

The First Stage seemed great ( apart from trying to beat up the second stage on seperation ) - so hopefully they should be able to sign that off as flight worthy and see how well it does post-recovery.


That's got to have been quite a sub-orbital lob as well - Maybe they will get some telemetry back from the upper stage at some point, even if only briefly, before it gets it's swimming shorts on into the Pacific.

Doug

I saw that 'nudge' Cugel - the nozzle got quite a nudge during seperation, pitching the whole upper stage quite a bit - but it corrected itself quite quickly I thought. The nozzle glow didn't seem that different to similar I've seen on Delta II/IV footage really, but with an impact like that during S1/2 sep..who knows.

I also saw a ring, almost like the very bottom part of the Kestrel nozzle, come off about the same time as fairing seperation - perhaps dislodged during that recontact during stage seperation? One hell of a ride while it lasted...but it looked like it was turning into a bad session using the Orbiter sim towards the end.

Doug

The engine pointing was going around and around in increasing circles, and the whole stage appeared to be getting a little wild in response - like a pilot induced occilation.

From SFN
0115 GMT (9:15 p.m. EDT Tues.)

T+plus 5 minutes, 5 seconds. Telemetry has been lost, SpaceX spokeswoman tells reporters. The webcast provided by the company has stopped too.

Perhaps it threw itself into a full on tumble?

Doug

It's getting a bit divergant on the engine pointing - and my feed has died.

I think this camera might be on the second stage...I hope so, very cool views if it is.

450m/sec
13.9km
Past MaxQ
Main engine plume looking like it's growing like it does on a Delta II on the way up the hill

OUCH - the Kestrel engine got a HELL of a whack from the first stage during seperation - put the thing out of alignment for a moment I think - but it's all good again - beautiful fairing sep shot.

Doug

That water supression looks like a small garden sprinkler

She's away this time - with good onboard footage

I'm guessing the kerosine cools down quite quickly once onboard as it's sat above/below LOX which is a bit chilly. Perhaps draining some out, filling it bac up again - ups the Kerosine temp maybe?

Doug

They're asking if they can do a new 01:10 launch time.

I think we're seing a symptom of them bringing every limit tighter..ooo..remote camera man's going wandering. IF they get it away, or even get another count going, I'll be super impressed, not as impressed as I would be if they could fix their wireless video signals though.

Mocha didn't work, nothing didn't work, so I'm trying Apple Juice with Elderflower.

Doug

SFN agrees with you..
"main engine chamber pressure was less than 0.1 percent lower than the redline limit, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX vice president of business development, tells reporters. She added they are looking to recycle the countdown. Launch has not been scrubbed."

Recycle to T-11min being touted....I'm impressed.

Doug

You don't hear that during an Atlas V launch Hell, I didn't hear so much as a "Merde" after that first Ariane V failure

Doug

I assume once they've done an ignitiion they can't then recycle for another go.....oh - and did you just head that bit of audio on the feed

I'm not falling for that one again...see

"I thought we'd be a lot higher at MECO"



Doug

With a monitor that large, you're seing Falcon 1 slightly larger than it is in real life.

Doug

Stream's up now, because of the 65 min late launch time

Doug

I now know first hand how hard it is to be at a conference, trying to take it all in AND try and make sense of it to retell it to others - so much kudos and thanks to Tom and the other surrogate Emily's for a great job!

Doug

WEll - it should be in the PDS somewhere - and it should be between April '91 and April '93 - but I'm not having any luck yet...and if I do, cubes are an ISIS only sort of thing, and I wont be using that till I get a Mac

Doug

Wow - I've never heard/seen of those images - were they NIMS or SSI?

Doug

The plan is to put Mars under the rover and just turn the planet while the rover stays still

Doug

They're having a chat on the 'Anomaly Net' - sounds like something Hoagland would be on I think we'll get an answer on having another go soon.

And it's a scrub for the day.

Doug

SFN "SpaceX has time available to troubleshoot the issue and try the launch again -- so the flight has not been scrubbed for today."

They're going to look at it for another 10 minutes.

Don't know about you guys, but somewhere in the flow from that pad camera to my screen - there is a glitch that makes it wobble a little. There's some wind at the site, I can see trees moving - but there's also this whole image wobble that's a bit scarey as it makes the whole vehicle look like it's bending back and forth in the wind.

Doug