What "weed need" is a space mission!

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by only_human

ATLAS V ENGINE ANOMALY FORCES THRUST MAKEUP DURING CYGNUS LAUNCH, NEXT FLIGHT DELAYED

And it came within ~1 second of not making orbit.
http://spaceflight101.com/cygnus-oa6...cygnus-launch/

[only_human]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

And it came within ~1 second of not making orbit.
http://spaceflight101.com/cygnus-oa6...cygnus-launch/

Well it looks quite bad when explained like that. Another entry for the near disaster list.

ULA changed their CEO a couple years ago and their VP of engineering resigned a couple of weeks ago after speaking his mind too clearly. The RD-180 is not John McCain's friend, and this can't look good. Props for the Centaur upper stage saving the day. As the article's numbers suggest, much too close.

[only_human]

ROCKET LAB PLANS TO LAUNCH NEW, AFFORDABLE ROCKET ENGINE LATER THIS YEAR -
A PARTIALLY 3D-PRINTED ROCKET ENGINE JOINS THE SPACE RACE

The company says the engine will now be ready for its first test flight in the second half of 2016. The launch will be part of the development program for the Electron rocket, whose liftoff will be powered by 9 Rutherford engines.

The Rutherford engine is small and will not pack as much punch as its competitors, but Rocket Lab thinks it will be able to launch small satellites into orbit at a low cost. An Electron launch is expected to cost about $5 million, compared to SpaceX's $60 million launches.

Notably, the Rutherford is made primarily out of 3D printed parts. It also uniquely uses battery-powered electric motors to power the pumps that deliver propellant to the rocket's combustion chamber.

[only_human]

Live mice, cabbage, and a drone ship: Your SpaceX Dragon launch preview

Watch: SpaceX CRS-8 launch

Launch: Friday, April 8, 4:43 p.m. EDT (20:43 UTC)
Instantaneous launch window

NASA TV coverage starts 3:00 p.m.
Backup launch opportunity Saturday, April 9, 4:20 p.m.

Berthing: Sunday, April 10 NASA TV coverage begins 5:30 a.m. EDT
Dragon installation approximately 9:30 a.m.

Return to Earth: May 11

Last year, astronauts snacked on the first-ever crop of space lettuce as part of NASA’s pick-and-eat salad initiative. The agency is shipping 18 new "plant pillows" of chinese cabbage and romaine lettuce. Food tasters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas rated the cabbage as the tastiest menu option. "We are also working on sending some ranch dressing up," said principal investigator Gioia Massa.

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is sending 20 live mice to the station as part of a muscoskeletal experiment that could give scientists insight into muscle wasting diseases. Crewmembers will get a chance to handle the mice, but unfortunately for the rodents, the experiment is "terminal." Said an Eli Lilly representative: "Unfortunately, there is no way yet to bring mice live back to Earth."

[jasong]

If I were one of the astronauts, I'd demand the best ranch dressing. At thousands of dollars a pound, there's no reason to skimp, unless high Gs mess up ranch dressing.

And why can't they bring the mice back? Does their health deteriorate that quickly?

[chalsall]

SpaceX live stream is now, well, live...

http://www.spacex.com/webcast

[chalsall]

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dubslow]

They goddamn did it, and this time all landing legs are holding firm. Looks like it's a solid 10m off target -- around halfway around 30-40% from the center to the edge of the barge. Still, incredible stuff. Now here's hoping it can survive the journey back to port!

[firejuggler]

[Uncwilly]

Try that Jeff Bezos!

So many people that I talk to can't grasp how much harder it is to do what Space-X is than the Blue Origin folks.

Take a rocket that is separating the second stage at about 80km in altitude (260,000 feet) at a speed of Mach 10, with an ultimate apogee altitude of around 140km.
B-O is vertical only and has peaked at 101 km.
The Falcon first stage does 4 total burns. 2 are need because of the horizontal speed that B-O does not have.

Then stick the landing with less than 30m error on a moving craft that can hold position with only 3m of accuracy that is pitching on the seas.
And the landing legs have to deploy and lock. B-O does not have to have deployable legs.

[only_human]

'Of Course I Still Love You, we have a Falcon 9 on board!’ – Big plans for recovered SpaceX Booster

Musk expects the booster to be re-flown on an operational mission with a paying customer as early as June, though discussions are still to be finalized.

Steps completed immediately after landing were to safe the propellant system and vent the pressurized propellant tanks to safe pressures. Crews were expected to approach the Drone Ship some time after landing, starting with a careful inspection of the booster before getting close to it to weld the landing legs to the steel deck of the ASDS using steel shoes. The booster is secured to the pad to prevent it from tipping over in the event of rough seas and strong winds which are expected for its return to shore.

The Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship is expected at the Space Coast on Sunday, Musk was unsure whether Port Canaveral would be its first destination, but said the ASDS was ultimately headed there.

SpaceX’s future plans to further expand reusability of launch vehicle components will focus on Falcon’s 13-meter long payload fairing which costs several million Dollars to produce. Experimentation was already conducted on an earlier flight with stabilization systems on the fairing and early SpaceX concepts called for the fairing halves to be recovered in mid-air using helicopters.