T-55 to lift-off!
Awesome shot of the Falcon Locked and Loaded!Saturday, August 02, 2008
SpaceX crew in Hawthorne
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:
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.
Digg It!What is Merlin 1C? Falcon 1's Awesome Engine
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.
Falcon 1 Facts
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. Digg It!
Update: Liquid oxygen loading has begun
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
Liftoff is now expected at 5:00pm PDT / 8:00pm EDT / 24:00 UTC.
Digg It!Update: Lift-off at 5:30pm PST
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
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
Liftoff is now expected at 4:30pm PDT / 7:30pm EDT / 23:30 UTC.
Digg It!Countdown has begun!
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
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!
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.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Time-lapse photo of Falcon 1 under the stars
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
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
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]
Monday, July 28, 2008
Launch window coming up!
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.
I'll keep you updated as I hear more...
(check this page to stay up-to-date Falcon 1 using Me.dium Social Search) Digg It!
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