Launch News SpaceX Falcon 9 F4 CRS SpX-1 Updates

[Donamy]

Big plane changes for this flight. Is that because of the satellite deploy ?

 

[PhantomCruiser]

I was guessing the same thing about plane changes. Didn't NASA have some beef regarding a worry on a few cubesats on the last Falcon flight?

 

[orb]

Parabolic Arc: Falcon 9 Puts ORBCOMM Satellite into Wrong Orbit

Spaceflight Now: Orbcomm satellite in wrong orbit after Falcon 9 launch

Aviation Week: Falcon 9 Drops Orbcomm Satellite in Wrong Orbit

 

[Arrowstar]

Big plane changes for this flight. Is that because of the satellite deploy ?

How big is the plane change?

 

[Donamy]

Here is the alignment MFD at launch.

 

[Arrowstar]

45 degrees? No way... can that be right? Seems huge.

 

[DaveS]

Here is the alignment MFD at launch.

Is that while still on the ground, pre-launch? In that case, it's within bounds. It should decrease as the ascent progresses and should be with in 0.25° after SECO-1. This is of course given that you launch into the correct azimuth.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

NASASpaceflight.com: Dragon safely en route to ISS as SpaceX review Falcon 9 ascent issues

...

While the full details of the ongoing evaluations are likely to remain restricted, as with most commercial companies, preliminary source information appears to be centering around the failure being related to a fracturing of the Merlin 1C engine’s fuel dome.

The failure is understood to be localized in that area on Engine 1, explaining why the engine continued to send data after the event.

....

...

The plan called for Falcon 9′s second stage to make a short second burn to raise its orbit ahead of deploying the Orbcomm satellite, around 45 minutes after Dragon had been separated. The burn of the second stage was, however, contingent on the stage being deemed healthy enough to make the burn.

Source information noted the health checks were specific to the stage’s pneumatic pressure, tank pressures, propellant mass, attitude and orbital radius, with some of the checks being carried out at SECO-1 during the mission, with another check scheduled at SES-2 (Second Engine Start 2).

Unfortunately, the propellant mass check at SECO-1 failed to pass the requirements to ensure safe insertion of Orbcomm and the second stage in an orbit away from Station, resulting in no second burn commanded.

...

 

[Donamy]

45 degrees? No way... can that be right? Seems huge.

I was using Current TLEs for the ISS.

 

[sorindafabico]

Where can we find Dragon's state vectors?

 

[Ripley]

http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=38846

 

[sorindafabico]

Thanks!

 

[orb]

Aviation Week: SpaceX Investigates Falcon 9 Engine Anomaly As Dragon Heads For ISS

Space News: Recovery Prospects Unclear for Orbcomm Craft Launched by Falcon 9

 

[orb]

SpaceX via Twitter:

#Dragon grapple by space station currently targeted for 7-7:30A ET tomorrow. Time is variable; please stay tuned for updates.

Parabolic Arc: Dragon Mission Update: All Systems Nominal

 

[Donamy]

The current positions of the Dragon CRS-1 and the ISS scenario.

09/10/12

Dragon updates 1 and 2 required.

 

[Kyle]

NASASpaceflight.com: Dragon safely en route to ISS as SpaceX review Falcon 9 ascent issues

I think this whole issue is not just a minus, as an engine did fail and it has to be determined why, but a huge positive for SpaceX.

With the amount of shrapnel we saw from that explosion or disintegration, if that happened on the Space Shuttle, it would have been LOV/C (loss of vehicle and crew), it not only made it space, it got the Dragon into a perfect orbit. None of the other 8 engines were affected. This is a good sign of the reliability of the Merlin design and for future Commercial Crew aspects.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

I think this whole issue is not just a minus, as an engine did fail and it has to be determined why, but a huge positive for SpaceX.

With the amount of shrapnel we saw from that explosion or disintegration, if that happened on the Space Shuttle, it would have been LOV/C (loss of vehicle and crew), it not only made it space, it got the Dragon into a perfect orbit. None of the other 8 engines were affected. This is a good sign of the reliability of the Merlin design and for future Commercial Crew aspects.

I agree - having a design (a car, plane, rocket, whatever) that can cope with a small-but-non-zero probability failure in a major component is a good thing with regards to cost and safety. It is the way to go. Trying to fly a system where all the components must not fail is impossible and exceedingly costly, in dollars and in safety.

However, even though your airliner can safely fly with an engine out, it would be disconcerting to see the engine fly to bits in mid-flight. Awfully bad PR even if everything works as intended.

I think SpaceX is now seen as a safe bet for getting cargo to and from orbit, but I think the man-rating hurdles are going to get higher and steeper, and therefore more expensive.

 

[Codz]

Yes, I'd be more than a little concerned if the LV people were riding on was falling to pieces on ascent even if it made the trip fine. While it's great that it has this capability, a manned LV should not have to test that capability out frequently.

 

[Kyle]

Design flaws and accidents happen, take a look back to the 50s. We learn from the mistakes, SpaceX has done an excellent job so far with understanding what they did wrong and correcting it, take the first 3 Falcon 1 flights for example to where we are now. It's just Murphy's law sometimes.

 

[orb]

Parabolic Arc: Schedule for Dragon Redezvous and Berthing at ISS:

{...}

If all goes according to plan, grapple is currently targeted for 7:17 AM ET/4:17AM PT; however, all times are variable and can change.

Key Times (all times variable):

• 5:13am et/2:13am pt – 250 meter hold (go/no-go)
  
  
• 6:25am et/3:25am pt – 30 meter hold (go/no-go)
  
  
• 6:57am et/3:57 am pt – 10 meter hold (go/no-go for capture)
  
  
• 7:17am et/4:17 am pt – Capture/grapple

{...}