http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/11/spacex-falcon-9-v1-1-milestone-ses-8-launch/

launch window opens at 5:37pm. This is their upgraded falcon 9 rocket sending a satellite which will eventually reach GSO.

11/25/2013 12:42:56 PM

I can relate. Our satellites will be launching on Dec. 5th at VAFB.

11/25/2013 1:26:53 PM

http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

11/25/2013 5:25:30 PM

16 mins

11/25/2013 5:37:48 PM

countdown on hold. might be delayed for the remainder of the evening.

11/25/2013 5:53:31 PM

countdown back on. 14 minutes.

11/25/2013 6:16:35 PM

This is awesome, thanks Smath74

How large is that Falcon 9 compared to rockets NASA has used in the past?

[Edited on November 25, 2013 at 6:25 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2013 6:24:04 PM

doh! "hold hold hold"

11/25/2013 6:27:39 PM

11/25/2013 6:31:24 PM

sweet

another random question - probably the dumbest one you've ever heard

How the hell do they keep the things upright after they lower the scaffolding like structure

11/25/2013 6:33:22 PM

cancelled - lame

11/25/2013 6:35:30 PM

I'm pretty sure there are some sort of launch clips at the bottom that release on launch, but i could be mistaken.

Also these things are pretty heavy when fully fueled.

11/25/2013 6:35:45 PM

next window for launch is on thanksgiving UGH. Will be driving in rural Virginia at that time

11/25/2013 6:37:17 PM

at least that chart clarified whether or not the Washington Monument is cleared for flight.

11/25/2013 7:57:56 PM

Quote :

"How the hell do they keep the things upright after they lower the scaffolding like structure"

I want to know how they keep those things upright as they're climbing.

And the shuttle was always very "WTF". It's got the external tank strapped on, and its boosters are on the shuttle itself, like it doesn't give a shit about center of gravity. What is this, pin the tail on the donkey?

11/26/2013 8:59:39 AM

the engines can gimbal (and the shuttle engines were able to gimbal a ridiculous amount)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_jserW1Mbk

11/26/2013 9:09:39 AM

Pretty sure all modern rockets...probably all large successful rockets ever -- have some sort of movable flight control to control them

yea, that

[Edited on November 26, 2013 at 9:11 AM. Reason : ]

11/26/2013 9:10:56 AM

reminds me of the

11/26/2013 11:32:49 AM

in the picture comparing the launchers, note the discrepancy between the US Space Shuttle and the Soviet Buran lifting capability... the difference is that the US shuttle orbiter contained main engines, and so was not counted towards payload, whereas the soviet version's main engines were on the bottom of the main fuel stack, and the buran orbiter was counted entirely as payload. the actual lifting abilities for extra payload were more similar.

11/26/2013 11:42:57 AM

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/12/spacex-falcon-9-v1-1-milestone-ses-8-launch/

3rd attempt today.

12/3/2013 12:21:58 PM

Quote :

"I want to know how they keep those things upright as they're climbing."

Basically the center of thrust is always behind the center of gravity and the rocket utilizes aerodynamics and thrust vectoring to balance the moments created by drag and lift. Easy as pie.

12/3/2013 4:17:20 PM

Quote :

"How the hell do they keep the things upright after they lower the scaffolding like structure"

They have what's called hold down posts that lock the vehicle to the pad. Controlled pyro charges blow a split second before ignition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster#Hold-down_posts


On the topic of staying up while climbing, the SRBs have gimbal motors as well. They gimbal in opposite directions to control the roll with a coupled moment.

12/3/2013 4:19:33 PM

^ sweet, thanks for the hold down info

when's the webcast going live?

12/3/2013 5:17:52 PM

looks good so far...

12/3/2013 5:49:30 PM

in orbit... relight of the second stage is the next major challenge... they had problems with it when they tested it on their previous falcon 9 flight. hopefully they made the fix and it goes off with no problem!

12/3/2013 5:54:45 PM

camera work needs improvement

12/3/2013 5:54:56 PM

that's what a lot of the folks on my space nerd forum are saying too

12/3/2013 5:57:38 PM

Quote :

"SpaceX ?@SpaceX 8s #Falcon9 second stage restart burn successful. Orbit looks nominal."

!!!

12/3/2013 6:12:14 PM

View of Earth from yesterday's launch.

12/4/2013 8:43:00 AM