Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 73 total)
  • Space-ists: Artemis 1 launch (hopefully) shortly.
  • Cougar
    Full Member

    NASA’s Moonshot 2.0 programme starts here with one beast of a rocket. The launch window opens for two hours from (I think) 1:30pm.

    Live stream:

    bigdaddy
    Full Member

    Not going well so far!

    ricbikemag
    Full Member

    “engineers are currently investigating a crack in the intertank – linking the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks”

    ‘Crack’ isn’t a word you want to hear just before take off 😬

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    bigdaddy
    Full Member

    Bit of gaffa tape, it’ll be reet…. 🤣

    whatgoesup
    Full Member

    Is anyone local? Could you nip over with a quart or two of Stans?

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    No doubt a daft question but watching it just now (13:17) and the picture is showing the bottom of the rocket on the take off pad…and it is steaming…what is the steam from and why? I’m aware they have a load of water in that hollow where the bottom of the rocket sits – assuming it helps cool the heat from the engines, but why and what is causing the steam? (asking as I don’t know and I’m curious)

    Twodogs
    Full Member

    I’m no rocket scientist, but I don’t think it was a good idea to build their rocket out of some rusty scrap iron

    Cougar
    Full Member

    It’s unpainted to save weight, I assume. This is why later Shuttle fuel tanks were brown instead of white.

    a11y
    Full Member

    Today’s launch has been ‘scrubbed’ it seems. Got as far as T-40 but engine bleed didn’t go to plan, so that’s it over for today. Next opportunity for launch is 2nd Sept subject to fixing the issue they had today. Oh well.

    Twodogs
    Full Member

    Apparently it’s the insulation.

    Anyway, it’s scrubbed for today 😥

    pondo
    Full Member

    Wish it had launched, but kinda glad I didn’t miss it. 🙂

    thols2
    Full Member

    the picture is showing the bottom of the rocket on the take off pad…and it is steaming…what is the steam from and why?

    It uses liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel. The fuel has to be cooled to something like 250 degrees below zero and stored in an insulated pressure tank. I assume the steam is caused by condensation as air contacts the insulated fuel tank.

    ThePinkster
    Full Member

    Bet my boss is gutted. She was booked on a trip round Cape Canaveral today with her family whilst on holiday over there and was hoping to see it go up.

    duncancallum
    Full Member

    They also use water as sound suppression

    Nasa water

    tuboflard
    Full Member

    They also use water as sound suppression

    Nasa water

    I’m guessing they’re not on a hosepipe ban.

    duncancallum
    Full Member

    Good job it’s not on southern water at least

    Cougar
    Full Member

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    I hope it takes off this time….. In many directions all at the same time!

    Massive waste of money spent on ancient technology purely on political grounds.
    It needs killing now so that SpaceX, etc can do a proper job with more reusable hardware.

    (They haven’t even completed a wet dress rehearsal yet, without overriding the launch control due to various issues cropping up)

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Half agree but for all the stupidity of artemis, now we’ve got it it’d be a shame to blow it up.

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    Well it might blow itself up!

    eddiebaby
    Free Member

    Can’t we just crash it into the Kremlin and claim it was an accident?

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    I hope it takes off this time….. In many directions all at the same time!

    It needs killing now so that SpaceX, etc can do a proper job with more reusable hardware.

    Blah blah, Elon will save us all…

    Space X have promised plenty and delivered some of it, as clever as the self landing rockets are, that “old tech” is at least proven in terms of having put people in orbit and on the moon long before Elon started bullshitting his way towards US government funds.

    I’m sure Artemis would have been scrubbed long ago if NASA really thought Space X were actually going to be capable of supporting moon missions on their desired schedule…

    scuttler
    Full Member

    long before Elon started bullshitting his way towards US government funds.

    No Musk fanboy but his company seems to have a decent track record for delivery so far and he’s brought some real innovation particularly around reusability.

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    I’m sure Artemis would have been scrubbed long ago if NASA really thought Space X were actually going to be capable of supporting moon missions on their desired schedule…

    Utter bollocks.
    The only reason Artemis still exists is because of Boeing and other state supported companies and the US political system.

    that “old tech” is at least proven in terms of having put people in orbit and on the moon

    You do know that the tech in question are the engines and SRBs from the space shuttle don’t you?
    None of which made it anywhere near the moon.

    Seeing as NASA has just awarded SpaceX the balance of the Crew Dragon missions up to the end of the ISS’s life, it seems they do have confidence in them.

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    They’re having another go tomorrow (Saturday)

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62758482

    Aware Sharkbait has already mentioned it.

    Twodogs
    Full Member

    Canned again 🙄

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    Yes, well…. 🤔

    It’s not a good look is it?

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    So they’re having a problem loading the hydrogen tank it seems…. This time it was only 11% full before they scrubbed due to a big leak from one of the filling connectors.
    This all goes back to the politicians stating that Artemis had to use legacy engines/tech which means using hydrogen.
    In all its history the shuttle never launched without at least one scrub and most of the issues related to using hydrogen which is very leaky.

    Despite all their previous experience with hydrogen NASA couldn’t put up a fight against the politicians who were effectively designing the rocket.
    And now they’re stuck with a core stage that is already 2.5 years old* that they haven’t managed to fill completely a single time.

    Without SpaceX the US would currently have no manned space program.

    I’ve just read that, at current funding levels, a delay to mid-october would cost $495 million, or the total development cost of Falcon Heavy, or the total development cost of Falcon 9 plus four flights.

    …. That’s the cost of JUST the delay! 🤷🏻‍♂️

    * It seems there are limits on how many times a system can go through a cryogenic load due to the stresses caused by the temperatures involved

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I read that this is the 6th time they’ve tried and failed to fully fuel it? I mean, spaceflight is hard, but surely that’s something that had to be nailed in the dress rehearsals, assuming it was practical (and I’m reasonably sure it was) rather than rolling out full stacks that don’t work.

    Obviously the choice of components and design isn’t really on NASA, the politics of it are so openly corrupt. But this bit seems like execution only?

    neilnevill
    Free Member

    as excited by a lunar return and a big artemis rocket as i am….it does look silly tech compared to spaceX

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    I’m yet to be convinced by the SpaceX approach to interplanetary travel. Taking a huge craft like Spaceliner all the way from an Earth launchpad and landing it in its entirety on another planet. I think a more sensible scheme is to build craft in Earth orbit, put an orbital station in place around the destination planet with a dedicated lander (a la Artemis). But hey, I’m not a brain surgeon, let alone a rocket scientist.

    neilnevill
    Free Member

    Whoop whoop! Artemis launched successfully this morning. The Orion capsule is in free flight off to the moon. My 2 yo is enthralled by rockets currently so this programme could really inspire him over the next few years!

    pondo
    Full Member

    Dang – where was this thread yesterday when I needed it?!? 🙂

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Well I’m not going to lie, I’m surprised it got off the ground! But that was bloody cool to watch. Something about those big ol motors and their huge exhaust plume triggered a core memory.

    When I went to bed they still had the red team poking about inside it doing the old “if we tighten up the bolts maybe it’ll stop leaking” familiar to all project car owners

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    Something about those big ol motors and their huge exhaust plume triggered a core memory.

    Yep, took me back to watching Saturn V.

    big_scot_nanny
    Full Member

    It hoiked itself of the platform at a fair old lick, great news!

    jonwe
    Free Member

    Mighty impressive launch but who thought the massively overenthusiastic scripted buzz lightyear commentary was a good idea? Thankfully he was replaced shortly after launch by someone who was calm, technical and professional.

    Grumpy of Herts who watched the 60s/70s apollo launches in glorious black and white.

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    Amazing to think that the SpaceX starship booster will produce more power from just 16 of its 33 engines!
    …. And that they are producing 1 Raptor 2 engine per day compared to 4 RS-25 (SLS) engines per year (@ 100 million dollars each)!

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