Space & rocket launch thread
 

Another one scheduled to go up shortly......

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Due to lightning concerns.....re-scheduled for tomorrow night just after 7pm......

I got to see one of the last Space Shuttle launches. It was supposed to be the last, but then they added more. It was STS-132 in May of 2010. We got super lucky, that trip was to see my mom, but also to see the shuttle, and we drove up and watched and it launched on schedule which is not terribly common.

I'd love to see one of the night launches, even just watching from my mom's place (Vero) during a visit is supposed to be pretty amazing. I also saw a launch from Tampa once. It was a morning launch. I was at work and the DJs on the radio announced "the shuttle just went up, if you can go outside and look east you should see it." It was amazing to me to see the shuttle from across the state.

I'm about 30 miles from Vandenberg, we see most of the launches, weather permitting.

I worked on the Delta IV Heavy, the only 3 abreast rocket in the air force launch system.

I did XYZ servo alignment of the "tubes" of the rocket to join them on a moving line.

240 feet tall.

Mostly used to launch Heavy Defense stuff way up high.

Rocketdyne RS-68 motors, three of them, 68 thousand pounds thrust each.

Turbo pumps to feed the liquid O2 and liquid Hydrogen to the engines were 3000 horsepower each.

No nasty Benzines or Kerosenes, just Oxygen and Hydrogen makes steam and thrust.




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I got to see a spectacular sight of a launch from Vandenberg that went out of control. The rocket had gained quite a bit of altitude when it started pinwheeling. It did that for maybe ten seconds, then there was a large explosion, when it was destroyed. It was too far away and probably too hgh to her the explosion.

Super cool!

Maybe I should convert my boxster to run on oxygen and hydrogen. It'd be perfectly green and probably be fast!

T minus 2 minutes......

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WXtO574ImIg" title="Watch live: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with 22 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I wonder how many more of these satellites are necessary.

Don't know - good question.

The launch went off and I was able to see it but a little fuzzy due to all the moisture in the atmosphere right now.

These are from last January from the very Southern tip (the "toe) of Hilton Head Island looking South towards Cape Canaveral. The Cape is probably 275 miles away across the open water. These are rockets from a Spacex launch. The little bump in the con trail is the start of the boosters returning to Cape Canaveral. The second is a close up of the boosters.

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We've seen several Spacex launches from this same spot over the last few years. Conditions need to be pretty clear, as they were on this evening.

My Dad worked as an electrical engineer on the Saturn V. It's stunningly amazing how the Space X boosters return to a landing pad or barge. Yes, it IS Rocket Science.

Very cool indeed! Interesting to note that the NASA team on Apollo considered having the boosters "return" for re-use, but discarded the idea early-on because the amount of engineering and development (and expense) necessary just wasn't worth it (especially given the timeline of reaching the moon before 1970). Obviously the priorities (and technologies) have shifted in this regard today...

Thinking smaller still nets fantastic results if you try...

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For those unaware, cut to the the 5:50 mark in this video link below. While this rocket is larger than a booster it gives you a really cool view as to how completely wild and futuristic this rocket return process looks in real life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLNQ6Mq5kbg

SpaceX shot a Falcon 9 up last night and tonight has their Falcon Heavy scheduled for 11:04pm.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HisrxVNaePY" title="Watch live: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches heaviest commercial communications satellite" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That was cool.....those Falcon Heavy launches never get old. Hearing the sonic booms right now.

Whole sky lit up!

Took this with my inexpensive point and shoot while standing in the road in front of my house......BTW - that smaller bright light is a street light......

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That’s so cool Baz!!!! We tried to watch a launch years ago when we visited your part of town but it was delayed due to weather.

That was years ago before all the Space-X stuff.

Thanks for sharing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

T minus 16 minutes.....

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 22 second-generation Starlink internet satellites at 10:41 p.m. EDT (0241 UTC) Sunday night from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on the drone ship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' in the Atlantic Ocean. The booster is making its 4th flight.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i7tnTS5NDTg" title="Watch live: SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

VAFB 2016

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