Kwajalein Atoll and Rockets

How do you spell 1.6 Beee-ll-yee-an Dollarssss?

2008-12-23T15:08:00.000-08:00

S-P-A-C-E-X, that's how. Holy crap, Spacex just got awarded a monster contract from NASA.

$1.6 Billion to for cargo resupply services to the International Space Station. That's right, that's 'illion' with a B at the beginning.

And if things go well, NASA has the right to order another $1.5 Billion worth of services afterwards. Damn, that is serious sweetness.

For those that haven't been keeping up, SpaceX was previously awarded a smaller contract of about $300 million in 2006. Back then it was huge (actually it's still huge), but now it looks like small potatoes. The launch vehicle is Falcon 9 and the spacecraft that will dock with the ISS is called Dragon. The first Falcon 9 has already arrived in Cape Canaveral in preparation for its launch in 2009.

A 3D rendering of the Dragon Spacecraft that will dock with the ISS.

Here's the link to the official SpaceX announcement on the NASA Award.

Go SpaceX!!

And this is what the locals saw...

2008-11-24T13:31:00.001-08:00

Taken from a handy-cam a few miles away...

And here's the video

2008-11-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

Falcon 9 Test-Fire from Saturday night. Three sweet minutes of watching liquid oxygen combine with rocket grade kerosene. I never thought I could feel such bliss.

Falcon 9 to Aliens: You ain't seen nothing yet.

2008-11-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

SpaceX test-fired the Falcon 9 last night at its McGregor Test Facility in Texas. It was awesome, and could be seen from miles away. It also went on for almost three minutes and gave the locals the clear perception that they were about to be abducted from Aliens.

Pure awesomeness!

Check out video of the Falcon 9 test-fire posted by NasaWatch. It is seriously hilarious. Whoever saw that from their bedroom window must have crapped their pants a few times over.

Some tasty tidbits from the SpaceX team:

'At full power, the rocket generated 855,000 pounds of force at sea level. In vacuum, the thrust increases to approximately one million pounds or four times the maximum thrust of a 747 aircraft. The test consumed over half a million pounds of propellant. All nine engines fired for 160 seconds, then two engines were shut down to limit the acceleration and the remaining seven engines continued firing for 18 more seconds, as would occur in a typical climb to orbit.

The test firing validated the design of SpaceX's use of nine engines on the first stage, as well as the ability to shut down engines without affecting the functioning of the remaining engines. This demonstrates the ability of Falcon 9 to lose engines in flight and still complete its mission successfully, much as a commercial airliner is designed to be safe in the event of an engine loss. Like an airliner, the Falcon 9 engines are enclosed in a protective sheath that ensures a fire or destructive loss of an engine doesn’t affect the rest of the vehicle.

The Falcon 9 will be the first vehicle since the Saturn V and Saturn 1 to have the ability to lose any engine/motor and still be able to complete its mission without loss of crew or spacecraft. Engine out reliability proved crucial to mission success on two of the Saturn V flights.'

Perfect launch!

2008-10-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Man what a day. For those that missed the action on Sunday, check out my twitters. The launch went perfectly, taking off exactly on time and delivering a 360 pound aluminum dummy satellite to orbit. Emotions were high and it was cheers and hugs all round when the rocket reached orbit.

Here's an awesome video by one of the folks at SpaceX. Congrats to everyone there. A truly amazing achievement.

Twittering from SpaceX Headquarters

2008-09-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

I'm at SpaceX today for the launch of Falcon 1, Vehicle 4. Add me on Twitter to follow along.

http://www.twitter.com/kimbal

Flight 4 Static Fire

2008-09-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

As planned, Flight 4 went through a static fire today.

From Elon:

"The static fire took place on Saturday [20 Sep 2008, CA time], as expected, and no major issues came up. However, after a detailed analysis of data, we decided to replace a component in the 2nd stage engine LOX supply line. There is a good chance we would be ok flying as is, but we are being extremely cautious.

This adds a few extra days to the schedule, so the updated launch window estimate is now Sept 28th through Oct 1st [CA time].

—Elon—"

Here are some awesome shots of the static fire...

Falcon 1 Vehicle 3 Full Webcast

2008-08-19T13:40:00.001-07:00

The full webcast of the entire voyage of Falcon 1 is now available. It's an amazing video and I suggest everyone take the time to check it out. I don't think there's anything out there like this. The idea of being this open to the public in any company is amazing. To do it in the space business, with such a high rate of failures, is especially noteworthy.

If you can't access it on my site (the link is a bit spotty), try this page on SpaceX's site.

Elon speaking at the Mars Society Convention in Boulder

2008-08-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

For friends of SpaceX in the Boulder area this week-end, Elon will be speaking at the annual Mars Society Convention this Saturday.

Place: University Memorial Center, University Of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado
Time: August 16th, 1pm.

Their website is down, so not sure how hard it is to get tickets. You can try at www.marssociety.org/portal/c/Conventions/2008/ElonMuskSpeaking. Hopefully it will be up again later today.

If you're coming, leave a comment and let's say hi at the talk.

Timing is Everything

2008-08-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Official report from SpaceX on the Falcon 1 Vehicle 3 launch:

On August 2 nd, Falcon 1 executed a picture perfect first stage flight, ultimately reaching an altitude of 217 km, but encountered a problem just after stage separation that prevented the second stage from reaching orbit. At this point, we are certain as to the origin of the problem. Four methods of analysis – vehicle inertial measurement, chamber pressure, onboard video and a simple physics free body calculation – all give the same answer.

The problem arose due to the longer thrust decay transient of our new Merlin 1C regeneratively cooled engine, as compared to the prior flight that used our old Merlin 1A ablatively cooled engine. Unlike the ablative engine, the regen engine had unburned fuel in the cooling channels and manifold that combined with a small amount of residual oxygen to produce a small thrust that was just enough to overcome the stage separation pusher impulse.

We were aware of and had allowed for a thrust transient, but did not expect it to last that long. As it turned out, a very small increase in the time between commanding main engine shutdown and stage separation would have been enough to save the mission.

The question then is why didn't we catch this issue? Unfortunately, the engine chamber pressure is so low for this transient thrust -- only about 10 psi -- that it barely registered on our ground test stand in Texas where ambient pressure is 14.5 psi. However, in vacuum that 10 psi chamber pressure produced enough thrust to cause the first stage to recontact the second stage.

It looks like we may have flight four on the launch pad as soon as next month. The long gap between flight two and three was mainly due to the Merlin 1C regen engine development, but there are no technology upgrades between flight three and four.

Good Things About This Flight

Merlin 1C and overall first stage performance was excellent
The stage separation system worked properly, in that all bolts fired and the pneumatic pushers delivered the correct impulse
Second stage ignited and achieved nominal chamber pressure
Fairing separated correctly
We discovered this transient problem on Falcon 1 rather than Falcon 9
Rocket stages were integrated, rolled out and launched in seven days
Neither the near miss potential failures of flight two nor any new ones were present
The only untested portion of flight is whether or not we have solved the main problem of flight two, where the control system coupled with the slosh modes of the liquid oxygen tank. Given the addition of slosh baffles and significant improvements to the control logic, I feel confident that this will not be an issue for the upcoming flight four."

Thanks for joining me this week-end

2008-08-04T09:38:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone.

Thanks for joining me over the week-end as we watched one of the most exciting Space events of the year. It's sad that it did not make it to orbit, but that's the reality of a Space Exploration. SpaceX is going to change the way mankind reaches space. Turns out, that's not as easy as it sounds. ;)

I'll keep posting as there is new news. In the meantime, click here to use Me.dium to stay up to date on Falcon 1 and SpaceX.

The Plan Going Forward

2008-08-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

From Elon's message to the SpaceX employees:

"It was obviously a big disappointment not to reach orbit on this flight [Falcon 1, Flight 3]. On the plus side, the flight of our first stage, with the new Merlin 1C engine that will be used in Falcon 9, was picture perfect. Unfortunately, a problem occurred with stage separation, causing the stages to be held together. This is under investigation and I will send out a note as soon as we understand exactly what happened.

The most important message I’d like to send right now is that SpaceX will not skip a beat in execution going forward. We have flight four of Falcon 1 almost ready for flight and flight five right behind that. I have also given the go ahead to begin fabrication of flight six. Falcon 9 development will also continue unabated, taking into account the lessons learned with Falcon 1. We have made great progress this past week with the successful nine engine firing.

As a precautionary measure to guard against the possibility of flight 3 not reaching orbit, SpaceX recently accepted a significant investment. Combined with our existing cash reserves, that ensures we will have more than sufficient funding on hand to continue launching Falcon 1 and develop Falcon 9 and Dragon. There should be absolutely zero question that SpaceX will prevail in reaching orbit and demonstrating reliable space transport. For my part, I will never give up and I mean never.

Thanks for your hard work and now on to flight four.

--Elon--"

Update: Initial post-launch analysis

2008-08-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

It has been a tough day. Falcon 1 Vehicle 3 did not reach orbit today.

A problem occurred with stage separation, causing the stages to hold together. On the plus side, the new Merlin 1C engine in the first stage performed flawlessly. This engine will be used on Falcon 9, the SpaceX rocket that will take cargo to the International Space Station.

Falcon 1 Vehicle 4 is almost ready for flight and Vehicle 5 is right behind it. I'll post expected launch dates as I have them.

Onward and upward!

Rocket is lost

2008-08-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

More information as I get it.

Anomoly in launch

2008-08-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

Waiting for more information.

We have two more Falcon 1's right behind this one, no matter what happened.

T-Zero Lift off!

2008-08-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

Wooooo hooooo!!!!

T-30s

2008-08-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

T-5min

2008-08-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Strong back lowered. External power removed. We're ready to go.

T-10min

2008-08-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

We're on again.

Abort analysis

2008-08-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

No biggie: 0.5 psi off on turbopump purge pressure. Adjustments are being made. Countdown should resume soon.

(we have about 40min left in the launch window)

Countdown to resume in 15min

2008-08-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Should be at T-10min when we start up again.

Strongback coming back up

2008-08-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

Count aborted at T-Zero

2008-08-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

T-30secs!

2008-08-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

T-2min

2008-08-02T19:55:00.002-07:00

Engines firing up.

T-5min

2008-08-02T19:55:00.001-07:00

We're good to go.

T-10min

2008-08-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

The strongback has been lowered and Auto-Sequence has begun.

T-15min!

2008-08-02T19:45:00.001-07:00

We've past the previous checkpoint! We are clear for launch!!!!

T-20min

2008-08-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

No issues. everything looks green.

T-30min

2008-08-02T19:30:00.001-07:00

Looking good...

T-33min

2008-08-02T19:28:00.001-07:00

First stage fuel load complete.

Both stages loading fuel

2008-08-02T19:24:00.001-07:00

We're about 38min on the count.

Green for launch at 8pm PDT

2008-08-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

No known issues at this point.

Update: T-Zero around 8pm PDT

2008-08-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

Word on the ground is that the Helium cryochill appears to be ok. T-Zero now around 8pm PDT.

Did you know that Kwaj started out as a target?

2008-08-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

When I was in Kwaj, I couldn't help but notice the strange pictures from around town.

Strange picture from around town

As it turned out, Kwaj was (and still is) a giant target for testing missiles launched from the continental US. Those images are the re-entry trails of the ICBM's launched from California. I found this out on a bike ride around the island. There is a beautiful view on the north side of the island looking into the center of the atoll.

The beautiful view of the center of the atoll from this chair

What it looks like when ICBMs re-enter (from the chair).

Dum-de-dum...

2008-08-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Mmm... what to do to kill some time.

Well, I went through the Kwajrockets archive and found some goodies. I know you guys are probably scouring every corner of this blog for all the great stuff I've written, but just in case, I thought I'd give you a highlight reel.

Omelek - SpaceX's island

Did you know that Kwaj is very far away?

Some Kwaj facts:

Guam is closest at 1,400 miles away, Hawaii is 2,100 miles away
It's the largest Atoll in the world
Population 2,500
It has a runway and a small military base.

Directions from the Kwajalein Airport.

The Houston of SpaceX.

The main view of the rocket from Control Room.

The ocean as seen from Kwaj.

The beaches aren't the big draw here.

Weather Radar over Kwaj

2008-08-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Gotta love Google and WunderMap for their awesome service. Here's an image capture from a minute ago. Weather is here, wish you were great!

Kwaj's main base (and where the control center is) is at the bottom right of the Atoll.

Here's a detailed map. Omelek is about 2 miles north of Meck along the Atoll.

Expected T-Zero around 7pm PDT

2008-08-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Not official yet, but based on reports from Kwaj, expected T-Zero is around 7pm PDT.

T-16min

2008-08-02T18:08:00.001-07:00

[Correction]: Defueling is to ensure that the helium does not cool the fuel.

For those that heard 'Depowering the FTS'. That means Flight Termination System. Just powering down to ensure that we don't overheat.

Holding at T-16min

2008-08-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hold is due to extended time needed to cryochill the helium.

Falcon 1 is at 98% helium mass load, but as we all know, that last 2% is a bitch. (Asymptotically approaching the limit of the heat exchanger).

T-16min

2008-08-02T17:35:00.002-07:00

Doing final helium chilldown to cryo temp.

Whoever thought 30 minutes would take this long

2008-08-02T17:35:00.001-07:00

Damn. I think the countdown clock is slow.

T-21min

2008-08-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

Topping valve closed.

T-22min

2008-08-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Helium pump stopped. Starting Helium top.

T-25min

2008-08-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

Weather is good to go. Pad Crew are on Meck and reported in.

T-28min

2008-08-02T17:27:00.001-07:00

Fuel load is complete.

The SpaceX Hanger

2008-08-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

For those that aren't aware, SpaceX does almost all its work just south of Los Angeles. It's headquarters is a 500,000sf Hanger on Hawthorne airport. Check it out:

It's Huuuuugggggge!

T-44s

2008-08-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

Standing by for LOX topping.

Countdown has resumed

2008-08-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

T-55 to lift-off!

Awesome shot of the Falcon Locked and Loaded!

Three minutes to resume countdown

2008-08-02T16:57:00.001-07:00

Topping up of LOX to begin shortly.

SpaceX crew in Hawthorne

2008-08-02T16:54:00.001-07:00

SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. The entire staff and their families are viewing the webcast in the Hanger.

It's going to be a fun night

The webcast in IMAX 3D!
(just kidding)

From Kwaj:

2008-08-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

Lox load is complete. Holding to determine Collision Avoidance with ISS and avoid radiating UFKAS during powered flight. New projected T zero is 12:55pm local-time on Kwaj.

What is Merlin 1C? Falcon 1's Awesome Engine

2008-08-02T16:46:00.001-07:00

The good thing about having a little bit of free time, is that it just happens that there's a lot to talk about. Here's a diddy on the rockin' Merlin 1C, the main engine of Falcon 1 Vehicle 3.

The pintle style injector at the heart of Merlin was first used in the Apollo Moon program for the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) landing engine, one of the most critical phases of the mission.

Specs:

Sea Level Thrust: 78,000 lb - those three F-16s I mentioned earlier
Vacuum Thrust: 138,400 lb - everything is just better in space.
Sea Level Isp: 255 s - Isp is Specific Impulse
Vacuum Isp: 304 s

Now I know you're asking: What exactly is Isp, Kimbal? Well, funny you ask. I just happen to have an explanation...

For the Rocket Scientists out there...

The specific impulse Isp is given by:

Isp = Veq / g0

where g0 is the gravitational acceleration constant (32.2 ft/sec^2 in English units, 9.8 m/sec^2 in metric units). Now, if we substitute for the equivalent velocity in terms of the thrust:

Isp = F / (mdot * g0)

Mathematically, the Isp is a ratio of the thrust produced to the weight flow of the propellants. A quick check of the units for Isp shows that:

Isp = m/sec / m/sec^2 = sec

Now I know that a lot of folks aren't into physics, or if they are, and you still can't figure it out, our friends at NASA have a nice and easy explanation of Isp:

"Why are we interested in specific impulse? First, it gives us a quick way to determine the thrust of a rocket, if we know the weight flow rate through the nozzle. Second, it is an indication of engine efficiency. Two different rocket engines have different values of specific impulse. The engine with the higher value of specific impulse is more efficient because it produces more thrust for the same amount of propellant. Third, it simplifies our mathematical analysis of rocket thermodynamics. The units of specific impulse are the same whether we use English units or metric units. Fourth, it gives us an easy way to "size" an engine during preliminary analysis. The result of our thermodynamic analysis is a certain value of specific impulse. The rocket weight will define the required value of thrust. Dividing the thrust required by the specific impulse will tell us how much weight flow of propellants our engine must produce. This information determines the physical size of the engine. "

And from SpaceX:
"With a vacuum specific impulse of 304s, Merlin is the highest performance gas generator cycle kerosene engine ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Atlas II main engine and on par with the Saturn V F-1.

Update: Liquid oxygen loading is complete

2008-08-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

Holding at t-55min.

Update: First Stage Oxygen Load Completed

2008-08-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Second stage LOX load at 50%.

Image from Meck Island (2 miles away)

Falcon 1 Facts

2008-08-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

While we're waiting, I thought I'd share some fun factoids about the rocket we're checking out today:

Falcon 1 is a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle. It is designed from the ground up by SpaceX for cost efficient and reliable transport of satellites to low Earth orbit.

She shore is purty, ain't she?

Length: 21.3 m (70 feet) - Your standard 7 story building.
Width: 1.7 m (5.5 feet) - actually, make that a 7 story pencil.
Mass: 27,670 kg (61,000 lbs) - about the weight of 4 semis (sans trailer).
Thrust on liftoff: 347 kN (78,000 lbf) - about the same thrust of three F-16's at full throttle.

First Stage
The primary structure is made of an aluminum alloy (patent pending), graduated monocoque, common bulkhead, flight pressure stabilized architecture developed by SpaceX. The
design is a blend between a fully pressure stabilized design, such as Atlas II, and a heavier isogrid design, such as Delta II. As a result, Falcon 1 first stage is able to capture the mass
efficiency of pressure stabilization, but avoid the ground handling difficulties of a structure unable to support its own weight.

A single SpaceX Merlin 1C regenerative engine powers the Falcon 1 first stage, and is flying in this configuration for the first time on Flight 3. After first stage engine start, the Falcon is held down and not released for flight until all propulsion and vehicle systems are confirmed to be operating nominally.

Stage separation occurs via redundantly initiated separation bolts and a pneumatic pusher system. All components are space qualified and have flown previously on other launch vehicles.

Second Stage
The tanks are precision machined from plate with integral flanges and ports, minimizing the number of welds necessary. A single SpaceX Kestrel engine powers the Falcon 1 upper stage.

Update: Liquid oxygen loading has begun

2008-08-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ah yeah! Let's get this party started!

Pad Crew have left Omelek and begun their boat ride to Meck (a few miles away).

Update: Lift-off at 5:00pm PDT

2008-08-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

Liftoff is now expected at 5:00pm PDT / 8:00pm EDT / 24:00 UTC.

Update: Lift-off at 5:30pm PST

2008-08-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Live feed from Kwaj in 30 minutes.

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

Stay up to date on Falcon 1 and SpaceX with Me.dium Social Search. Me.dium finds the hottest pages from around the web on any topic.

Flight 3 Timeline

2008-08-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

The Falcon 1 Flight 3 will carry a payload stack of three separating satellites that will orbit at an inclination of 9 degrees:

1. The Trailblazer satellite, developed by SpaceDev of Poway, Calif.
2. PRESat, a micro laboratory from NASA's Ames Research Center
3. NanoSail-D, which will unfurl an ultra-thin solar sail, developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in collaboration with NASA Ames Research Center.

Here's the timeline of what we should expect during the launch. Time to delivery of all three payloads is 18 minutes and 17 seconds.

Update: Lift-off at 4:30pm PST

2008-08-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Liftoff is now expected at 4:30pm PDT / 7:30pm EDT / 23:30 UTC.

Countdown has begun!

2008-08-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

Pad preparations have been completed. Helium is filling and chilling nominally. Tanks have been purged.

T-1 hour and counting. As of now, all systems are go!

Here's a photo of DemoFlight2 to keep you occupied while you wait:

Falcon 1 Launch window opens in two hours

2008-08-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

The launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. (PDT) / 7:00 p.m. (EDT) / 23:00 (UTC) and remain open for five hours.

Webcast url is now available: http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php

Full Thrust Test-Firing of Falcon 9!

2008-08-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Last night Spacex achieved a major milestone. I know, you're thinking I'm talking about the Falcon 1 launch window, but as is to be expected for a company like SpaceX, they tend to have more than one major awesome thing going on at a time.

On Thursday night was the first nine engine firing of the Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle at the Texas Test Facility out of McGregor. Last night a second successful firing completed a major milestone for NASA on the path towards a new transportation vehicle to the International Space Station. I.e. replacing the Space Shuttle. Oh yeah baby.

And of course, some awesome stats
1. 3,200lbs/sec - Fuel consumed full power
2. 832,000lbf - pounds of force generated at full power (four times the maximum thrust of a 747)
3. With some tweaks and a new fuel pump upgrade, Falcon 9 will be the most powerful singe core vehicle in the US.

From Elon -
“This was the most difficult milestone in development of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and it also constitutes a significant achievement in US space vehicle development. Not since the final flight of the Saturn 1B rocket in 1975, has a rocket had the ability to lose any engine or motor and still successfully complete its mission,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX. “Much like a commercial airliner, our multi-engine design has the potential to provide significantly higher reliability than single engine competitors.”

And for the voyeur's in all of us, here the running commentary on the test firing from the team on the ground-

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 6:22 PM
Status: Helium trailer hooked up. We are getting ready to bring the stage up on the new helium and perform valve timing checks.

Time: Fri Aug 01 18:57:26 2008
Status: Main valve timing is good. We are setting up to test

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 8:09 PM
Status: LOX load started

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 8:18 PM
Status: LOX load at 30%

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 8:20 PM
Status: Starting fuel loading on F9 stage. LOX load at 16,000 gallons

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 8:27 PM
Status: LOX load at 70% fuel load at 25%

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 8:35 PM
Status: LOX load complete, fuel load at 70%

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 8:43 PM
Status: F9 propellant load complete. 535,000lbm propellant loaded. Next step is to set up to run 15 second trim test.

Time: Friday, 01 August, 2008 8:51 PM
Status: Starting autosequence... For 15 second nine engine test

Time: Fri Aug 01 20:54:06 2008
Subject: Test complete - full 15 seconds!!!! No Aborts

And of course, no test firing post is complete without the video from last night.

How's that for some candy before the launch!

- Stay up to date on Falcon 9 with Me.dium Social Search.

Time-lapse photo of Falcon 1 under the stars

2008-07-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

This amazing photo just came in from the SpaceX team on the ground in Kwaj. Man, I miss being there. (not that I ever was there)

Elon (my bro') wins an Oscar

2008-07-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, he actually won a George. But it's the rocket industry's version of an Oscar. Elon just received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George M. Low Space Transportation Award for 2008. Maybe we should call it a 'Jorge'? No? Okay, a George.

The award is presented for a timely outstanding contribution to the field of space transportation. I think Elon qualifies for that one. :)

It will be awarded at the annual AIAA Space 2008 Conference in September.

Wait! It's better than an Oscar because it's only given out every two years. Yay Bro!

Falcon 1 is vertical

2008-07-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

Weather conditions are good right now for the launch window that opens on Friday. The base have given us five days to find a time to launch. The final decision will be based on conditions on the ground. The priority is always the safety and reliability of the vehicle, and the successful delivery of the Defense Department and NASA satellites to orbit.

That being said, doesn't it just look cool as heck?

[damn. Blogger is down and won't let me upload photos. I've reposted this picture on my typepad blog. check it out here]

Launch window coming up!

2008-07-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

We're now 4 days away from the launch window for the Falcon 1 flight 3 vehicle, equipped with SpaceX's new Merlin 1C regeneratively cooled engine. Launch window is August 1-5, and launch will occur out of our favorite launch base in the world, Kwaj.

For those that missed it, there was a successful static fire on June 25th. For those that don't remember how cool a static fire is, check out this video of the static fire from Falcon 1 Demoflight 2.

Falcon 1 Flight 3 will carry the Trailblazer satellite for the Jumpstart Program of the Department of Defense’s Operationally Responsive Space Office (ORS). Additional secondary payloads include an adapter system developed by the government of Malaysia that holds two small NASA satellites.

Payload being encapsulated in the ferring

Vehicle the night before rollout to the launch pad

I'll keep you updated as I hear more...

(check this page to stay up-to-date Falcon 1 using Me.dium Social Search)

SpaceX gets Launch Services Contract from NASA

2008-04-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

SpaceX can now compete for more NASA missions. Ah yeah!

From Elon:

"Receiving the NASA Launch Services contract for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 is a significant endorsement of SpaceX's products and of our plans for the future. In addition to the fourteen missions we've sold thus far, gaining NLS approval constitutes further validation of SpaceX's technology, and opens the doors for the wide variety of NASA spacecraft to fly aboard our launch vehicles. We look forward to working with NASA to send their payloads to Earth orbit, Geostationary orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

--Elon--"

Falcon 1 ships to Kwaj for June Launch

2008-04-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Flight 3 of Falcon 1 heads to Kwajalein, with the upgraded Merlin 1C engine.

This flight will carry the DoD's (Department of Defense's) ORS (Operationally Responsive Space) office's first JMP (Jumpstart Mission Payload) into orbit.

I wonder if texting actually started with the Department of Defense? They certainly keep to their abbreviations, imnsho. :/

From the SpaceX blog:
"In addition to the ORS primary payload, Flight 003 will also carry a rideshare adapter experiment for ATSB of Malaysia (the primary customer for the following Falcon 1 launch, F1-004), and two CubeSat payloads.ge.)"

I'll keep you updated.

K

Great Space Travel Trivia

2008-02-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

Did You Know: Space Travel - Watch more free videos

If you thought the photos were cool...

2007-08-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Check out this high-quality video of the launch.

I grabbed this screenshot as the first stage separated.
(click the image to start the video)

Unbelievable shots of DemoFlight2

2007-08-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

When I saw these, I almost wet my drawers. It's amazing that we see these kinds of photos all the time, but this time for me it was just awe-inspiring. I have actually touched that nozzle. I watched as engineers worked on the finishing touches of the rocket.

And now I see it looking down from outer space. That is just awesome.

So here you go:

T+17s: Falcon1 leaving Omelek island in the mid-Pacific

T+2m58s: First Stage Separation

T+3m9s: Fairing separation

T+7m17s: Second Stage Engine firing away

T+8m12s: End of Mission... high above the horizon

Amazing stuff.

Demo Flight 2 Review Update Released

2007-08-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone.

I know it's been a little while, but there's a great report released by SpaceX on DemoFlight2. You might have already seen it, but in case you didn't, I thought I'd post it to the blog.

Some quick excerpts for the A.D.D. among us:

FAQ
Did the hot-fire abort during the previous launch attempt have any effect on any of the anomalies or observations?
No relationship between the March 19 (PST) abort and the above mentioned anomalies has been found. The engines are designed and tested to be re-started in rapid succession. All vehicle and ground systems showed nominal prior to the decision to attempt launch again.

What caused the abort of the first launch attempt?
Cold fuel caused the combustion chamber pressure to be approximately 0.5% below the engine computer abort limit after engine start. Investigation revealed that the fuel was colder than normal due to the previous day’s launch attempt. Draining back colder than normal fuel into insulated tanks did not allow sufficient time to warm to expected levels for the next day’s operation. The solution is to add warming to the fuel conditioning regimen and verify fuel temp in the T-2 hours launch commit criteria.

And, the conclusion to the report:
This mission represents a large step forward for SpaceX and the Falcon 1 launch vehicle. Although short of complete success, a significant majority of mission objectives were met from both a programmatic and technical perspectives. Open issues were identified, but no items are anticipated to require major re-designs to fix.

Obtaining flight data from the vehicle was the primary objective of this test flight and was clearly achieved based on both the quantity and quality of performance and environmental data. Additionally, concept of operation, procedures, ground systems and control automation systems were validated. A rapid response capability was also demonstrated with a hot-fire abort within 70 minutes of launch.

Stage 1 recovery was not demonstrated and represents the only operational domain from which data was not attained by this mission. Additionally stage 2 coast and Kestrel re-start was not demonstrated, nor was Payload simulator deployment. Eight anomalies were identified which will be addressed prior to the next mission.
--------

For the full report, click here.

Hooollllyyyyy Shhiiiiiittttt!!!!

2007-03-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

It made it. It's in space. The final frontier!!!

Mofo, that is awesome beyond words.

Will update when I know more.

Here's a sweeeeet photo from the rocket as it left the atmosphere.

Nothing much more to say...

Main Pressure Chamber Abort

2007-03-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

Pressure for the Main Chamber was 0.2% under the abort limit.

Missed by a hair...

Attempt will continue after analysis.

Terminal Count Abort

2007-03-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

Strongback has been raised. Waiting for analysis.

t-2

2007-03-19T16:41:00.002-07:00

Ignition enabled...

t-5 minutes

2007-03-19T16:41:00.001-07:00

T-Minus 8min

2007-03-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Auto-sequence has begun and the strongback has been lowered.

All systems still go.

t-minus 15min

2007-03-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

No holds planned at T-15. Looking gooood...

Falcon 1 on Omelek

2007-03-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

For those that don't have access to the webcam, here's a live photo from 1 minute ago.

t-minus 20min

T-Zero at 4:45pm

2007-03-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

As many of you probably know, the launch is in progress as we speak. I've been (painfully) in a car while this has been happening.

The status is that t-zero was moved from 4pm to 4:45pm to examine a data connectivity error between El Segundo (SpaceX head office), and Kwaj.

20 minutes to Ground Zero.

For the live webcam, go to:
http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php

Kimbal

Static Fire Successful

2007-03-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

In preparation for launch of the DemoFlight 2, the team on Kwaj performed a static fire test yesterday. A static fire is when the rocket is fully loaded with fuel, and taken all the way through countdown and then held down as the engines are fired.

The reason for the static fire is to go through the countdown and check all systems. The static fire was successful and proceeded without any aborts. (aborts would be a computer alert to abort the launch based on any small system failure)

Initial review is very positive, almost to the point of a perfect countdown. There was an alert on the GPS system, but it is a back-up system designed to help with accuracy of the rocket's position in space, but not flight-critical.

Regardless, the SpaceX team are examining the GPS thoroughly to understand what caused the alert. Once the scope of the problem is understood, it will determine when the launch will occur.

In the meantime, here is a killer video of the static fire:
http://www.spacex.com/00Graphics/Videos/StaticFire%20HScam1%202007-03-16.wmv

Kimbal

Gearing up...

2007-01-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

In the Control Room on Kwaj

The SpaceX team are back on Kwaj gearing up for a launch over the next few months.

Sunset on Omelek with the Upgraded Falcon 1

Current status for Falcon 1 is good with the full wet dress rehearsal complete. For those that don't remember what a wet dress rehearsal is, it's when the SpaceX team take the launch vehicle through the full countdown, within one minute of T-zero.

That includes evacuating the launch pad crew off the island, and filling all fuel tanks, taking the vehicle through all checks for launch, up until firing the engines.

It's great news that the wet dress showed only a few non-critical issues.

A static fire is the next step, which is the same as above, but the engines will fire while the rocket is held down. The static fire could happen as soon as Saturday. The reason for the rush is because Kwaj needs to reconfigure for an incoming missile test and the window we've got for the static fire is tight.

Anybody seen an incoming Missile Test before?

I'll keep sending updates as I get them. Once we get close to launch, I'll get everyone the Webcast information. I will post as soon as I have it.

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed and this is still not official SpaceX information. Please refer to the appropriate people at SpaceX for any and all launch information. http://www.spacex.com

A picture says a thousand words...

2006-08-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

And each word is cool, cool, cool...

By popular demand, I am posting the photos that SpaceX has released regarding the Nasa COTS project. COTS stands for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, and is intended to build a replacement for the shuttle to send cargo and people to the space station and beyond.

The project culminates in the delivery of cargo to the ISS in 2009. If that is successful, Nasa can extend the agreement to transport crew members to the ISS.

With that aside, here are the pics:

First of all, SpaceX's transportation vehicle will be a rocket, and not a replica of the shuttle.

The Rocket is the Falcon 9, and it will carry the Dragon Space Ship in its ferring, much the same as in Apollo Program. While it is not a space plane, both Falcon 9 and Dragon are fully reusable, which is a major breakthrough in launch vehicle design.

A 3D viewing of the interior of Dragon, in its cargo-carrying configuration:

How Dragon would be configured to carry crew:

How Dragon would connect with the International Space Station:

Dragon docking to the Internation Space Station:

Dragon docked to the ISS:

The part of Dragon that carries the cargo and people back to Earth:

The crew configuration for return to Earth:

As I said, cool, cool, cool...

K

And the winner is...

2006-08-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

What do you do when really crazy good things happen to you. The kind of crazy good things that not only are too good to be true, but in fact are so rare in occurrence that it becomes almost nonsensical.

Like SpaceX getting to build the next Space Shuttle.

Well, you smile. You smile a really goofy, uncontrolled smile.

Like this one:

A stand-in for a SpaceX employee after the announcement

Seriously though, it is crazy. Here is a company that is barely four years old, but working as hard as they can to make a difference in an industry that was slowly dying from asphyxiation.

And what happens? The government actually considers that a good thing!! Whoa! What happened? I thought the government was supposed to squeeze the last breath out of these sort of efforts.

Turns out that someone different is running the show. Someone that said the way of the past hasn't been as successful as we might like to pretend.

Apparently spending an average of $1.3 Billion per shuttle launch isn't as practical as they once thought. [To be fair, that number is the total money spent on the shuttle program divided by number of shuttles launched, not the marginal cost of each launch - still, that's a lot of pesos]

Un-freaking believable. Congrats to the SpaceX team.

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering when the next launch of Falcon1 will occur, we're targeting before the end of the year.

Later,

K

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed and this is still not official SpaceX information. Please refer to the appropriate people at SpaceX for any and all launch information. http://www.spacex.com

Someone's looking out for that satellite...

2006-03-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

The team is on Omelek collecting debris.

The rocket impacted on a dead reef about 250 ft away from the launch pad, so most of it is recoverable for analysis.

Amazingly, the satellite was thrown high into the air when the rocket impacted and came crashing down through the roof of our machine shop, landing mostly intact on the floor! One helluva' return trip.

The hole in the machine shop roof is the only significant damage to the island.

Hi-Res photos of launch

2006-03-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

SpaceX has just released photos of the launch showing the fire in the engine.

Falcon on it's way - guidance showed it on track and headed for a successful trip. Looking closely, a likely fuel leak has resulted in a fire in the engine.

Post-Launch Analysis

2006-03-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

As most of you know by now, the rocket was lost.

From Elon this morning:

"Preliminary Fault Analysis
The good news is that all vehicle systems, including the main engine, thrust vector control, structures, avionics, software, guidance algorithm, etc. were picture perfect. Falcon's trajectory was within 0.2 degrees of nominal during powered flight.

However, at T+25s, a fuel leak of currently unknown origin caused a fire around the top of the main engine that cut into the first stage helium pneumatic system. On high resolution imagery, the fire is clearly visible within seconds after liftoff. Once the pneumatic pressure decayed below a critical value, the spring return safety function of the pre-valves forced them closed, shutting down the main engine at T+29s.

It does not appear as though the first stage insulation played a negative role, nor are any other vehicle anomalies apparent from either the telemetry or imaging. Falcon was executing perfectly on all fronts until fire impaired the first stage pneumatic system.

Our plan at this point is to analyze data and debris to be certain that the above preliminary analysis is correct and then isolate and address all possible causes for the fuel leak. In addition, we will do another ground up systems review of the entire vehicle to flush out any other potential issues.

I cannot predict exactly when the next flight will take place, as that depends on the findings of this investigation and ensuring that our next customer is comfortable that all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure reliability. However, I would hope that the next launch occurs in less than six months.

It is perhaps worth noting that those launch companies that succeeded also took their lumps along the way. A friend of mine wrote to remind me that only 5 of the first 9 Pegasus launches succeeded; 3 of 5 for Ariane; 9 of 20 for Atlas; 9 of 21 for Soyuz; and 9 of 18 for Proton. Having experienced firsthand how hard it is to reach orbit, I have a lot of respect for those that persevered to produce the vehicles that are mainstays of space launch today.

I am very encouraged and grateful that our launch customers took the time to call and express their support of SpaceX when their reaction could easily have been the opposite. We will stand by them as they have stood by us. SpaceX is in this for the long haul and, come hell or high water, we are going to make this work.

As SpaceX is a company that believes in maximum disclosure (within the boundaries of proprietary data and ITAR restrictions), I will try to post as much as possible about this launch attempt over the coming weeks.

--- Elon"

Some photos from the webcam:

T+20s

T+5s

Holy Shit!!!!

2006-03-24T14:30:00.000-08:00

It launched. It really launched.

Holy shit.

T-Minus 3 minutes

2006-03-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

You know that Video Camera I've mentioned the past few days? The one that caused the static fire to abort earlier in the week?

Well, it's actually pretty cool. We have it there so that we can all see what the rocket sees through the webcam.

Did I mention there was a webcam?

http://www.spacex.com/?content=webcast

T-minus 3 minutes

T-Minus 10 minutes

2006-03-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

T-minus 10 minutes

The strongback has been lowered and Auto-Sequence has begun.

The previous times that auto-sequence has occurred, the computer has aborted for a variety of reasons:

1. Glitch in the Video Camera
2. Power Surge/drop on the launch pad
3. Ground helium supply disconnected itself prematurely

All of those were enough to abort the launch. Wednesday's static fire had zero issues and no aborts.

There is every reason to expect that we will go all the way to launch.

Very exciting.

Of course, once the rocket takes off, then we see a whole bunch of things that we cannot test.

We want the stages to disconnect; we want the stage 2 engine to fire up correctly; we want the ferring to separate nicely; and we want the satellite to deploy perfectly.

Don't go away when the launch happens. It ain't over until the satellite is up and on.

K

T-minus 30 Minutes!

2006-03-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

1:54pm CA time

After a small delay, the team is off the island, and we are now outside the window where we would hit the Internation Space Station with the rocket.

Probably worth waiting a little bit as I don't think NASA has much of a sense of humor. It would be funny though, just not funny to them.

Cryogenic chilldown and liquid oxygen load has begun and all systems are green.

Winds and weather looks good. RP1 loading.

K

T-minus 2 Hours!

2006-03-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

The launch is 2 hours away.

Analysis of the static fire was good.

You'll all be happy to know that in addition to honing our rocket launching skills, we have been honing our webcasting prowess.

Video kills the blogging star:

http://www.spacex.com/?content=webcast

enjoy.

K

Static Fire Analysis

2006-03-21T18:34:00.000-08:00

From all preliminary accounts, the static fire went off without a hitch.

T-Minus 1s

Falcon was held down for almost three seconds of thrust (T+0.5s), part of which the rocket was under its own guidance and control. i.e. it was on it's way before we shut down the engines.

All systems were green and no aborts were triggered.

In past static fires, the computer has alerted us to every tiny thing that goes wrong. In the case of the static fire over the week-end, a glitch in the video camera caused the whole launch to abort. That may not sound like a serious issue, but every piece of the rocket needs to work perfectly before we can assure a smooth launch.

Today and tomorrow will be a time to analyse all the data around the static fire. If nothing negative comes up, the launch will happen on Thursday at 1pm California time.

T-Zero

I'd rather be in Kwaj :(

Static Fire!!

2006-03-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

You know all those times I told you I was broadcasting from Boulder, CO?

Well, I wasn't really. I was somewhere else. I can't say where, or they would have to kill me, and then someone would have to kill you; but I wasn't in Boulder.

This time, sadly, I am in Boulder.

I know you don't believe me, so I did what any other person would do when they need to verify location and date.

See, we can learn from the terrorists...

Of course, for whatever reason the MacBook Pro camera shoots in mirror-image. But if you stare at it for a few minutes, it changes back. Try it. You'll see.

The static fire just went off. It looked successful from the secret webcam, and I'll get an update from control room in a minute.

In the meantime, here's Elon's comments on why the Static Fire was pushed back a few days:

"The countdown and static fire this weekend went smoothly, except that we had a ground helium supply quick disconnect check itself prematurely during engine startup, preventing the engine from reaching full thrust. The next day, we had a glitch with one of our vehicle video cameras. Neither are difficult to fix, but they pushed back our timeline by a few days.

We are planning on another static fire today at about 4pm (CA time), followed by a 1pm launch on March 23 or March 24, provided no issues are detected following analysis of the static fire data.

Another lesson learned for Falcon 9 development: we will test the first flight unit with its actual flight launch mount on our big test stand in Texas (http://www.spacex.com/bfts.jpg). When development is done, the launch mount and the vehicle will be shipped together to the launch site. For Falcon 1, the test stand was quite different from the launch stand, because its primary purpose was engine development of Merlin (http://www.spacex.com/nl/vertical.gif). That forced us to do a lot of launch mount debugging, such as the helium QD problem, in Kwajalein."

Now if I was in Kwaj, I would have been able to say that first hand. And I would be able to tell you right now what is going on in the Control Room.

Sadly, I can't.

But I'll tell you as I get updates.

K

Hold Down Fire Video and Photos

2006-02-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

The video is up on SpaceX.com. Check out the link:

Hold Down Fire Video

Elon's official statement on the launch:
"We were very happy to be able to execute a flight countdown all the way to lighting the engine. Although there wasn't a launch this time, we made a lot of progress refining the rocket and launch pad -- all work that needed to be done anyway."

These are great photos, taken by Tom Rogers, the SpaceX camera-man:

Camera on the Umbilical Stand

T-Minus 1/2 second

T-Zero

A great job by the SpaceX guys. While it's only a partial victory, the complexities and variables in getting to launch is so daunting, we're happy to take our progress one small bite at a time.

We also learned a lot and it brings us closer to a smooth launch. Other than a hold-down fire, there's not much more we can test. So we're confident the next time we will make it past T-plus 1.

'til next time.

Kimbal

Hold-Down Fire Successful!

2006-02-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

Rocket fired at T-Zero.

It went into auto-sequence, and fired the engines. After 1 second, system aborts to
prevent the rocket from leaving its stand.

I have a short video, and will post it when I can get it online.

K

____________
Disclaimer: In case you're wondering, this is still not official SpaceX information. Please refer to the appropriate people at SpaceX for any and all launch information.

10 minutes to T-Zero

2006-02-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

10 minutes to T-Zero.

The erector has been pulled back

Here is the control screen showing the engine status and the full tanks on the left (blue is LOX and Red Rocket Propellant). the engine is shown in the center. From this screen they can see every aspect of the engine status and what's going on.

This is the secondary control room.

The rocket preparing to fire.