Several key elected officials who have generally been hostile to commercial space have commented positively to the successful launch of the Dragon capsule last night.
First, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) released this short statement:
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Tone deaf: The Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee have approved raising airline security fees in order to fund the TSA.
The world’s tallest tower opened to tourists today in Tokyo.
The discrepancy refers to a claim made by the Obama administration about one benefit of Obamacare, compared to the reality of what has actually happened.
It is time to repeal this disaster of a law. We should also fire the politicians who foisted it on us.
Russia is considering ending its joint commercial program with the Ukraine and Kazakhstan to launch satellites using its Dnepr rocket.
There are several reasons this decision might happen. One, the Russian government under Putin might now be shifting away from capitalism after two decades of financial success. And if so, that will be to the United States’ advantage. Two, they might have decided that the Dnepr system can’t compete on the market, and it is wiser not to throw good money after bad.
Either way, the abandonment of Dnepr will be bad for Kazakhstan and the Ukraine, and suggests that when the Russians finally get their Vostochny spaceport operational, on their own soil, they will abandon Baikonur in Kazakhstan forever.
Not surprisingly, last night’s successful launch of Falcon 9 has produced a large number of news articles. Rather than list them all, go to spacetoday.net for the links.
However, I think Clark Lindsey, in describing Elon Musk’s reaction to the successful launch, captured the most important aspect of last night’s success:
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Falcon 9 has cleared the tower and is “looking good.”
First stage has completed its job and has been released. The second stage is firing as planned.
Dragon has separated from the second stage and is now in orbit. Now comes the real test of this mission: Can Dragon maneuver and rendezvous with ISS?
The best moment for the entire launch sequence was when Dragon’s solar arrays deployed. The camera link was still working, so that everyone could see it. When the arrays locked open, there was a gigantic roar from the crowd of people watching at SpaceX’s mission control. Dragon was in orbit and operational!
Tonight’s Falcon 9 launch: The countdown has begun, and the weather conditions have improved.
SpaceX will begin its own webcast at 3 am (Eastern), which is midnight here in Arizona.
An aside: The ashes of actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on the 1960s television show Star Trek, will be among 308 other cremated remains launched into space by Falcon 9 tonight. As one commenter for the above article noted quite appropriately,
You haven’t really covered any of the important questions here.
i.e. Are there enough dilithium crystals in the engine room to get Scotty up there? And are they using photon torpedoes to blast him out into space? And when they launch, will someone say, “Take her out, Mr. Sulu. Warp factor one.”?
Godspeed, Scotty old bean.
An evening pause: In honor of the passing of Robin Gibbs on May 20. This performance was recorded live at Festival Hall in Melbourne, Australia in 1971.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has published another spectacular oblique image of Tycho crater.
If you look closely at the slope of the mountain, you can see an avalanche trail at its center and the debris piled up at the mountain’s base.
See the first oblique image, released in June 2011, here. The two images look at the crater from opposite directions.
Attack of the ignorant: A protester was arrested in Great Britain on Sunday for breaking into an agricultural research facility and trying to destroy a test crop of genetically modified wheat.
Theft by government: The town of Tewksbury, Massachusetts has teamed up with the federal government in an attempt to seize a private hotel, sell it, and give 80 percent of the proceeds to the local police department.
The Falcon 9 launch tonight is a go, with weather 80 percent favorable.
Theft by government: Wisconsin police demand that a family bring cash to bail their son out of jail, and then confiscate the cash.
It is worse than you think.
We’ve only just begun: Forty-three Catholic institutions today filed suit over the Obamacare mandate requiring them to pay for contraceptives.
As stated in the complaint filed by the University of Notre Dame:
This lawsuit is about one of America’s most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one’s religion without government interference. It is not about whether people have a right to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. Those services are, and will continue to be, freely available in the United States, and nothing prevents the Government itself from making them more widely available. But the right to such services does not authorize the Government to force the University of Notre Dame (“Notre Dame”) to violate its own conscience by making it provide, pay for, and/or facilitate those services to others, contrary to its sincerely held religious beliefs.
Our federal government at work: The federal judges in the Ninth Circuit plan to hold a conference in Hawaii this August that could cost $1 million or more, and will include a golf tournament, a tennis tournament, an ice cream social, a garden tour, sport fishing, yoga, surfing lessons, and Zumba dancing lessons.
Though many of these recreational events are supposingly not being paid for by government funds, there is something rotten here, without doubt. I’ve been to too many of these kinds of conferences as a journalist, and saw millions wasted for the entertainment of government employees. And in this case, the government is getting them to Hawaii.
The competition heats up: Boeing has unveiled a design to put small satellites into orbit for as little as $300,000 per launch.
SpaceX is set to begin the countdown tonight for a 3:44 am (Eastern) May 22nd launch of Falcon 9/Dragon.
Iran’s military chief of staff: “The Iranian nation is standing for its cause and that is the full annihilation of Israel.”
They’ve said it multiple times. They mean it. They believe in genocide and intend to carry it out. And they will soon have the atomic bomb.
But don’t worry. In America the Democrats are making sure contraceptives are free to everyone.
An evening pause: Bridge Day 2011: An 800+ foot rappel from the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. The event is held each fall, when they close the bridge to vehicles so pedestrians, base jumpers, and rappellers can enjoy it. I’ve done this rappel four times, twice as part of the safety team.
On the clip below, the rappel itself begins at 3:40. As this was this guy’s first rappel on the bridge, he takes it very slow, which is okay as it gives him time to enjoy the view.
An evening pause: A different kind of bridge, located in Russia and one that I wouldn’t speed across. Built originally as a railroad bridge to cross the Vitim River, it is 1870 feet long and about 50 feet above the water. Note how many of the cross planks are not attached.
In an email update, SpaceX reports that they have found the cause of the Falcon 9 launch abort this morning.
During rigorous inspections of the engine, SpaceX engineers discovered a faulty check valve on the Merlin engine. We are now in the process of replacing the failed valve. Those repairs should be complete tonight. We will continue to review data on Sunday. If things look good, we will be ready to attempt to launch on Tuesday, May 22nd at 3:44 AM Eastern.
If this is true, than this entire exercise is an unqualified success and illustrates a certain robustness to SpaceX’s engineering on Falcon 9. Their control computer during the launch process spotted the problem before it caused a complete loss of the vehicle and payload. They can now locate the problem, fix it, and proceed with launch.
A planet turning to dust.
Last night Falcon 9’s computers shut the launch down at T minus zero seconds after sensing a high chamber pressure in one first stage engine.
Two thoughts, one good, one not so good.
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No go: Falcon 9 aborted its launch tonight at 4:55 am (Eastern) at T minus zero seconds.
Just after ignition there was a shutdown. They were able to make the vehicle safe, and are trying to figure out what happened. It appears there was a high pressure reading in one engine.
The next opportunity to launch is three days hence, though whether they will go for it then depends on whether they can figure out what caused the shutdown.
Update: More details here.
Is there a drone in your neighborhood?
The competition heats up: WhiteKnightTwo made its 80th flight yesterday.
Falcon 9 is now upright on launchpad for tomorrow morning’s 4:55 am (Eastern) launch. For continual updates, go here.
