Kepler Mission |
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Kepler Mission |
 Mar 3 2009, 12:52 AM
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#46
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 Member  Group: Members Posts: 183 Joined: 22-October 05 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Member No.: 534  |
The Delta 2 rocket with Kepler has been cleared for blastoff Friday night at 10:49pm. There is a 90% chance of acceptable weather conditions predicted.
http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d339/status.html -------------------- |
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Mar 3 2009, 08:59 PM
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#47
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 646 Joined: 23-December 05 From: Forest of Dean Member No.: 617 |
*ulp*. This is the most nervous I'm going to be until the MSL launch / EDL. (Of couse, with Kepler the launch is "easy" bit... )
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Viva software libre! |
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Mar 4 2009, 09:57 AM
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#48
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 Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
imipak, Kepler and its possibilites is definitily a mission that fits in my "special cookie" condition...what will it find? What surprises expect us? A legion of earth-like planets or the absence of these? Either way it will have a huge impact in the future not only in space exploration but mostly, in my opinion, in our perspective towards the place we occupy in the universe. It will, surely, open our eyes and pave the way to a different reality. Truly a revolutionary mission for a species like ours...therefore here I am, with this strange, good feeling in the stomach, all excited, all nervous and crossing my fingers. Probably the launch I am following with more anticipation...Friday will be a great day...
-------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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Mar 4 2009, 08:01 PM
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#49
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Member Group: Members Posts: 646 Joined: 23-December 05 From: Forest of Dean Member No.: 617 |
I hope, _hope_, /HOPE!/ that you're right. Until Kepler's safely in orbit without mishap, though, I can't think of those as anything but potential possibilities. I'm a devout rationalist, but events like this really help me understand why, and how, superstitions develop. Pucker factor: 0.4...
I'm trying to persuade a colleague at work with a latent interest in UMSF to wake his kids up to watch the launch. He expresses what he thinks is a rational aversion to spending money on U?MSF in general, but I can tell he secretly digs the "cool" factor. I'm guessing his kids are his weak point!  -------------------- --
Viva software libre! |
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Mar 4 2009, 08:09 PM
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#50
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
And how cool can it get the fact of watching the launch of a mission that has the potential to change the way we see the Universe?
I would like to tell my grandchildren that I was there watching the launch of Kepler, the one who first sighted a-n-o-t-h-e-r earth, but hey...we're all talking about in the hypothetical field here...man...why does friday take so long to arrive?
-------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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Mar 4 2009, 08:53 PM
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#51
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Member Group: Members Posts: 646 Joined: 23-December 05 From: Forest of Dean Member No.: 617 |
I'm sure there's a Portuguese equivalent of the English expression: "A watched pot never boils" ... *grin*
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Viva software libre! |
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Mar 4 2009, 09:30 PM
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#52
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
Yes, I know the expression...I have chosen another one for the occasion...
Barco parado não faz viagem.  Tictactictactictac.... -------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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| Guest_PhilCo126_* |
Mar 5 2009, 08:42 AM
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#53
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Guests |
Did anyone found a weblink with the dimensions of the 1040 kilograms Kepler Space Observatory?
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Mar 5 2009, 11:18 AM
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#54
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
Nope...I would say 5 to 6 meters tall...
Only found the info at the mission site, with the photometer dimensions it is just a question of doing the maths... http://kepler.nasa.gov/sci/design/spacecraft.html BTW, Beyond the Cradle, spacEurope's sucessor, is welcoming some members of the Kepler team, the last one was Alan Gould, here's a bit of it, revealing how this guys imagination is running wild...gotta love science... :"We just finished 2 days of very exciting Kepler Science Team meetings here in Cocoa Beach FL (Mon-Tue, Mar 2-3), getting ready for Friday’s launch. We’re all extremely suspenseful, elated, and hopeful all at the same time. The science discussions were fascinating and intriguing–some about all the different types of transits we might observe with different classes of stars, different sizes of planets, shapes and periods of orbits, planets orbiting eclipsing binary stars, all stimulating thoughts of strange and wonderful new worlds." If you scroll down you will also find a piece by Edna DeVore...everything that helps passing the time is welcome...
-------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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| Guest_PhilCo126_* |
 Mar 5 2009, 03:21 PM
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#55
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Guests |
Ben Cooper Launchphotography has amazing photos of the Kepler Space Observatory:
http://www.launchphotography.com/Kepler_cleanroom.html for spacecraft dimensions: google --> Kepler Press Kit
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Mar 5 2009, 04:59 PM
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#56
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1018 Joined: 29-November 05 From: Seattle, WA, USA Member No.: 590 |
I have a "no peanuts" rule this time, though . . .
--Greg :-) |
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Mar 5 2009, 05:25 PM
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#57
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
If my time zone doesn't fail me there will be within 30 minutes (1 p.m. EST) a Kepler Mission Pre-Launch Science Briefing at NASATV.
EDITED: Speaking of hours help me here (it's always the same thing with every event...), the launch will take place in my GMT time on Saturday 03:49:57AM? Correct? Or not?...  EDITED: Stu just made me a very happy man... http://countdown.ksc.nasa.gov/elv/ -------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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Mar 6 2009, 11:33 AM
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#58
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Member Group: Members Posts: 202 Joined: 9-September 08 Member No.: 4334 |
16 hours left...
fingers crossed... |
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Mar 6 2009, 12:02 PM
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#59
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 Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
QUOTE (Vultur @ Mar 6 2009, 12:33 PM)  fingers crossed... Relax. Those guys are pros. -------------------- |
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Mar 6 2009, 12:42 PM
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#60
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
Great to see the attention it is getting on CNN's website...top story!
-------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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