It is now confirmed that a helium leak caused the scrub of the Falcon 9 May 10 launch.
It is now confirmed that a helium leak caused the scrub of the Falcon 9 May 10 launch.
According to reports, no damage occurred, but tracing the leak has apparently taken longer than expected, which explains the slip in the announced schedule.
Readers!
My July fund-raising campaign for 2021 has now ended. Thank you all for your donations and subscriptions. While this year’s campaign was not as spectacular as last year’s, it was the second best July campaign since I began this website.
And if you have not yet donated or subscribed, and you think what I write here is worth your support, you can still do so. I depend on this support to remain independent and free to write what I believe, without any pressure from others. Nor do I accept advertisements, or use oppressive social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
If you choose to help, you can contribute via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
It is now confirmed that a helium leak caused the scrub of the Falcon 9 May 10 launch.
According to reports, no damage occurred, but tracing the leak has apparently taken longer than expected, which explains the slip in the announced schedule.
My July fund-raising campaign for 2021 has now ended. Thank you all for your donations and subscriptions. While this year’s campaign was not as spectacular as last year’s, it was the second best July campaign since I began this website.
And if you have not yet donated or subscribed, and you think what I write here is worth your support, you can still do so. I depend on this support to remain independent and free to write what I believe, without any pressure from others. Nor do I accept advertisements, or use oppressive social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
If you choose to help, you can contribute via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
FAA Experimental permit for DragonFly vehicle at McGregor,TX site:
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/20140513_DragonFly_DraftEA%28Public%29.pdf#page=2&zoom=auto,-12,214
I preferred the notional DragonRider vs DragonFly due to the Pern reference, (And an endless series of available names, Ramoth, Mnemneth, Ruth, etc)
Highlights:
– up to four steel landing legs
– weighs 14000 lbs unfueled
– maximum proplellant load is 400 gallons
Four kinds of test flights expected:
– propulsive assist landing (dropped from helicopter with chutes)
– fully propulsive landing (dropped from helicopter)
– propulsive assist hop (self launched, parachute deploys)
– fully propulsive hop (like Grasshopper)
This is gonna be totally AWESOME! The cows at McGregor are in for a series of scary days. (Or else they will be the most jaded cattle on the planet).
Faster please! (As Glenn Reynolds likes to say).
Great thread on this topic at NasaSpaceflight.com
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=34800.0
Calling out the high points. This is going to be so much fun!
I can’t wait until they have launches backed up. Launches every week or two.
Then if something like this happens they can just role the rocket off the launch pad and role the next one on for a minimal delay between launches. They are only making money of things fly.