SpaceX Falcon 9

[Бродяга]

Неужели! :wink:

А что, были ранее такие случаи?

 Я помню, что как-то хотели выловить ступень Титана-4 для исследования возможностей спасения ступеней, но не скажу, выловили или нет.

[Salo]

Еще на Р-1В и Р-1Е. Правда неудачно.
Ну и по мелочи: МР-1, AeroBee и т.д.

[Андрей Суворов]

Да, в США хватает дорог с такой колеёй, хоть она и называется "русской".

[Бродяга]

Еще на Р-1В и Р-1Е. Правда неудачно.
Ну и по мелочи: МР-1, AeroBee и т.д.

Однако, не знал, что Р-1B пытались спасти на парашюте.

[Петр Зайцев]

Он не уточнил, уже будут спасать при первом же старте или это перспективная наработка на будущее?

 Если будут спасать, это будет первый случай попытки спасения ступени ракеты с ЖРД на парашюте.

Falcon-1 004 пытались спасти, но не вышло, сгорела ступень. Элон сказал, что термоизоляции было недостаточно. Но почему-то 005 (с малайским спутником) даже не стали пытаться спасти, сняли парашюты. На Falcon-9 будут пытаться прямо с первого пуска. Помните фотографию жизнерадостных туристов-водников?
-- Pete

[ntil]

Железнодорожная тележка чтото до боли напоминает. Кто специалист - в америке тоже такие же?

Да, такие же. И автосцепки используются. И единый пневматический тормоз. А еще, колея отличается всего на 4 мм.

Но есть и отличия. Автосцепка вместо сдвига клина запирается поворотом кулака. Вагонный парк сильно отличается: большинство длиннее, контейнеры вообще возят в группах. Зато 8-осных нет совсем. Еще, очень популярен ролл-он-ролл-офф, а в России его нет совсем.

Ну в общем американская ЖД сильно смахивает на советскую, но не совсем такая же. И обе заметно отличаются от европейской (ну и соответственно от всех колониальных дорог в Африке и.т.п.)

-- Pete

На самом деле ЖД в пиндостане конкретно отличаются от наших (пост-советских).
Почти нет электрификации (дурацкое законодательство продавленное в свое время "автомафией" )
Практически не исбользуются ЖБ шпалы (почему кстати?)
Практически отсутствует пассажирское движение (тока госкомпания амтрэк) ибо невыгодно.
более мягкие нормы безопасности.
кстати все дизельные локомотивы (даже разных вендоров) совместимы по цепям управления друг-с-другом. у нас такого нет.
очень мало двухпутных дорог. это следствие отсутствия пассажирского движения.
выше нагрузка на ось, больше габарит (по 2 контейнера в стопку).
алс\арс есть далеко не везде.
не забываем, что дороги частные, и, как следствие - проблеммное взаимодействие между компаниями. пасс. составы намерено тормозят (это отдельная история.)

[Лютич]

Практически не исбользуются ЖБ шпалы

используются, хотя распространяются медленней, чем хотелось бы.

Практически отсутствует пассажирское движение (тока госкомпания амтрэк) ибо невыгодно.

Потому что его успели удушить. В Европе в период расцвета автомобиля, когда почти вымер тот же трамвай, его дотировали, теперь оно прибыльно. В США слишком много придется тратить для реанимации, и если в докризисные жирные времена кто-то рассматривал такую возможность, то теперь - фиг.

больше габарит (по 2 контейнера в стопку).

Только на специальных низкопольных платформах. На высокопольные в два этажа рискуют ставить только индусы с их еще более широкой (1600 с копейками мм) колеей.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/001/status.html

FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2010
Space Coast residents shouldn't expect to hear a thunderous roar emanating from the Falcon 9 rocket until Monday, at the earliest.

SpaceX says the engines at the bottom of the 15-story rocket will be tested no earlier than Monday. The Falcon's first stage includes nine Merlin 1C engines to power the rocket from the launch pad to the edge of space in the first three minutes of flight.

The company plans to fire the engines for about three-and-a-half seconds at the end of another practice countdown to exercise the rocket, ground systems and launch team.

Engineers loaded propellant into the rocket for the first time at Cape Canaveral during a Feb. 26 wet dress rehearsal. That test ended with a simulated pad abort at T-minus 10 seconds.

The Falcon 9 launch is still booked on the Eastern Range for March 22, but the rocket probably won't launch until April, according to SpaceX officials.

[ronatu]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/001/status.html

....
The Falcon 9 launch is still booked on the Eastern Range for March 22, but the rocket probably won't launch until April, according to SpaceX officials.

[Salo]

The Falcon 9 launch is still booked on the Eastern Range for March 22, but the rocket probably won't launch until April, according to SpaceX officials.

[zyxman]

The Falcon 9 launch is still booked
but rocket won't launch until April
People are drinking
but vodka stores still not empty

[ronatu]

The Falcon 9 launch is still booked
but rocket won't launch until April
People are drinking
but vodka stores still not empty

The Falcon 9 still booked for March
With possible rescheduled launch
We all would like to hurry up
But company can not afford a "lyap"

 :wink:

[Космос-3794]

Согласно представителям SpaceX, заправка топливом ракеты Falcon 9 и кратковременный прожиг двигателей первой ступени намечены на вторник (завтра). Испытания начнутся поздним утром или ближе к полудню.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/001/status.html

[Петр Зайцев]

Судя по прямой трансляции, какая-то фигня вышла. Я видел огонь снаружи, клубы керосина догорали. Наверное пустили компоненты, но не было настоящего старта двигателей. Сейчас, похоже ракета в безопасности, пожара нет.

P.S. С Насовского вебкама видно, что ракета слегка обуглилась, хотя может быть это просто копоть хорошо видна на белом.

[Salo]

http://flametrench.flatoday.net/

Tuesday, March 09, 2010
SpaceX Ignites Falcon 9 In Test At Cape Canaveral
SpaceX hot-fired its Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 1:41 p.m.

The planned 3.5-second ignition of the rocket's nine Merlin 1C engines produced a brief flash of orange light and a small diffuse cloud of smoke. But no rumble was felt here at NASA's Launch Complex 39 Press Site, which is about four or five miles north of Launch Complex 40.

It was unclear whether SpaceX achieved a full-duration test-firing.

The test-firing is considered a major milestone to the inaugural launch of the Falcon 9, which now is scheduled for March 22.

The Falcon 9 first stage is equipped with nine Merlin 1C engines that were designed and developed by SpaceX.

The engines use RP-1, a highly refined kerosene, and liquid oxygen as propellants. They are designed to be recovered from the ocean, refurbished and reused. Each of the engines produces 125,000 pounds of thrust at sea level.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/001/status.html

1927 GMT (2:27 p.m. EST)
Spectators report they heard a loud bang at the time of ignition, but no other prolonged sounds of the engine burning. Visual indications at ignition included a flash of orange light, a cloud of steam and black smoke, and a brief fire at the base of the rocket, which appeared consistent with behavior after an engine cutoff.

1910 GMT (2:10 p.m. EST)
The Falcon 9 engine test is apparently scrubbed for the day.

1906 GMT (2:06 p.m. EST)
Replays of the brief engine firing show the countdown was aborted just as the rocket was ignited.

1857 GMT (1:57 p.m. EST)
SpaceX commonly recycles after an aborted first stage ignition to try again within minutes, if the problem causing the countdown cutoff is minor.

It is unclear whether SpaceX will attempt another ignition this afternoon.

Computers monitor parameters in various systems on the rocket and the launch pad during the final seconds of the countdown. Small deviations from expected values can trigger an abort.

"We want to set our aborts tighter initially, and we don't want one tight abort to scrub a whole launch day," said Tim Buzza, the Falcon 9 launch director.

"The key thing is it's not cavalier, it's thought out. We have rules when we see that abort how we go into an anomaly team and get the engineers to say, OK, it was tight. I'm going to open it up 1 psi," Buzza told Spaceflight Now in a previous interview.

1848 GMT (1:48 p.m. EST)
A reminder that if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional countdown updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)

1844 GMT (1:44 p.m. EST)
The Falcon 9 rocket is again venting liquid oxygen following the apparent brief ignition attempt.

1842 GMT (1:42 p.m. EST)
A flash of fire and smoke was just observed at the base of the Falcon 9 rocket, possibly indicating ignition. But there is no confirmation the engines fired for the full expected duration of 3.5 seconds.

1840 GMT (1:40 p.m. EST)
Standing by for ignition.

1831 GMT (1:31 p.m. EST)
The Falcon 9 engines did not ignite as scheduled at 1:30 p.m. EST.

1825 GMT (1:25 p.m. EST)
In the final minute before the time liftoff would occur, the countdown is on an automated computer-controlled sequence to check thousands of parameters on the rocket and the launch pad.

Final activities include a steering check of the nine first stage engines and propellant tank pressurization.

During the last minute before launch, a network of approximately 30 water spigots will release to flood the launch deck with water. Inside T-minus 10 seconds, the water deluge system in the flame trench is activated. The water system dampens the acoustics of engine ignition and liftoff, releasing about 75,000 gallons of water per minute, according to SpaceX engineers.

The first stage engine ignition sequence begins a few seconds before launch, including a heavy nitrogen purge of the propulsion unit at T-minus 5 seconds. The Merlin engine turbines start spinning in the turbopumps at T-minus 3 seconds.

"What you do is you start the pump because it needs to feed the gas generator. As the pump starts spinning, we light the main chamber at low pressure, then we light the gas generator, which is the powerhead," said Tim Buzza, the Falcon 9 launch director.

"When the engine starts, we blast it with helium to get the turbine spinning. And then we also have a high pressure GN2 purge. Those are the two largest ground system things we need to start the first stage, other than the TEA-TEB ignition source," Buzza said.

The TEA-TEB, or triethylaluminum-triethylborane, ignition source lights the propellant inside the engines.

The engines ramp up to full power by T-minus 1 second. During today's static fire, engine shutdown should occur just after the simulated liftoff time.

During the engine test, the rocket will remain firmly attached to the launch pad by four holddown clamps on the launch mount.

1823 GMT (1:23 p.m. EST)
The fully-fueled Falcon 9 rocket is still on schedule for a 3.5-second burn of its nine Merlin engines at 1:30 p.m. EST.

1820 GMT (1:20 p.m. EST)
Critical steps expected to occur in the last 10 minutes of the countdown include the alignment of the internal navigation system, a second stage engine steering check, transferring the rocket to internal power, liquid oxygen system closeouts, and the start of the automated sequence about at about T-minus 90 seconds.

1806 GMT (1:06 p.m. EST)
The Falcon 9 rocket's nine Merlin 1C first stage engines will be ignited today for 3.5 seconds, enough time to verify systems on the ground and the launch vehicle responsible for the final few seconds of the countdown.

The engines will produce about 825,000 pounds of total sea level thrust, about four times the power of a 747 jumbo jet at full throttle. The engines consume about 3,200 pounds of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants per second, according to SpaceX.

"This is analogistic to a run-up an aircraft might do on the runway to verify all systems are functional," said Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder and CEO. "That gives the rocket a nice final shakedown. We will then double-check everything to make sure everything's OK after that short static fire. If it's looking good, then we launch soon thereafter."

Liftoff is booked on the range for March 22 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. EDT, but SpaceX officials say launch is more likely to occur some time in April.

1752 GMT (12:52 p.m. EST)
The Air Force Eastern Range is supporting today's test activities with SpaceX. Range officials are based in the Range Operations Control Center, or ROCC.

"The launch vehicle does not contain all mission elements at this point; however, we will be supporting the static fire with a majority of the Eastern Range interface with SpaceX, which will be scheduling and conducting a Mission Dress Rehearsal as a milestone to launch, as well an Integrated Crew Exercise," an Air Force spokesperson said in a written statement.

"The 45th Space Wing continues to work to support range customers like SpaceX to assure access to the high frontier."

1742 GMT (12:42 p.m. EST)
We are now streaming live video of the Falcon 9 rocket at Complex 40. Hit reload and the video window should appear on the right side of this page.

1739 GMT (12:39 p.m. EST)
A reminder that if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional countdown updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
 
1730 GMT (12:30 p.m. EST)
Launch director Tim Buzza gave Spaceflight Now an overview of the Falcon 9 tanking procedures.

"When we start liquid oxygen loading an hour-and-a-half out, we load both stages and we eventually end up with concurrent propellant loading. We'll start both stages at the same time, and we'll get liquid oxygen loaded in," Buzza said.

The cold liquid oxygen is used to condition helium pressurant spheres inside the rocket to about -300 degrees Fahrenheit.

"We'll probably get to roughly 50 percent load on liquid oxygen, and at that point, our helium spheres are now submerged in liquid oxygen, so we can begin the fast fill of helium. We load helium cryogenically from the ground. We pass it through a nitrogen bath, so that when we go in with fuel, we have less heating and you can really load fuel quite quickly."

"We want to take them one at a time," Buzza said. "We usually stagger them roughly 10 or 20 minutes apart. LOX starts in both stages, helium starts in both stages, then fuel."

1711 GMT (12:11 p.m. EST)
The static fire is now scheduled for about 1:30 p.m. EST.

1658 GMT (11:58 a.m. EST)
FUELING BEGINS. Liquid oxygen vapors have begun streaming from the rocket, a sign that the cryogenic oxidizer is now flowing into the Falcon 9.

The liquid oxygen is stored in a 125,000-gallon sphere in the southeast quadrant of Complex 40. The rocket's RP-1 kerosene fuel is kept in cylinder-shaped tanks on the west side of the pad.

Engineers plan to load nearly 39,000 gallons of super cold liquid oxygen and almost 25,000 gallons of kerosene fuel into the first stage tanks. About 7,300 gallons of liquid oxygen and 4,600 gallons of kerosene will go into the second stage.

The propellants flow into the first stage through the launch mount at the base of the rocket. Kerosene and liquid oxygen will be pumped up the strongback umbilical tower to enter the second stage.

Roughly 30 engineers and managers are stationed inside the SpaceX Launch Control Center near the south gate of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

1522 GMT (10:22 a.m. EST)
Safety officials are establishing road blocks around Complex 40 as fueling is about to begin for the Falcon 9's static fire, which remains scheduled for around 1 p.m. EST.

1410 GMT (9:10 a.m. EST)
The Falcon 9 static fire is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST today, according to Kirk Shireman, deputy International Space Station program manager.

Shireman is briefing the media today about the upcoming STS-131 space shuttle mission during a series of press conferences in Houston.

1212 GMT (7:12 a.m. EST)
Although SpaceX is tight-lipped about its plans to fire the Falcon 9 rocket's engines today, the strongback at Complex 40 was retracted to its fueling position yesterday and remained there overnight.

[Петр Зайцев]

Ну так и я о чем.

Кстати, поступило официальное сообщение, что отсчет был остановлен за 2 секунды до нуля. Пуска двигателей не было, а пламя - это просто остатки керосина, выдутого после отсечки из камер:

As part of the abort, we close the pre-valves to isolate the engines from the propellant tank and purge the residual propellants. The brief flames seen on the video are burn off of LOX and kerosene on the pad. The engines did not ignite and there was no engine fire.

Обещали очередную попытку через 3..4 дня.

-- Pete

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/001/100309hotfire/

SpaceX: Falcon 9 engine test aborted before ignition
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: March 9, 2010

A ball of orange flame and cloud of black smoke gushed from the base of the Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday afternoon, but the countdown was aborted a split-second before the booster's nine engines ignited for a crucial ground test.


A flash of orange light appears near the Falcon 9 engines in the moments before Tuesday's abort. Credit: SpaceX

The countdown was aborted at about T-minus 2 seconds, just as the rocket's nine Merlin 1C engines were about to fire for a planned 3.5-second burn, according to a written statement released by SpaceX, the private sector operator of the Falcon 9.

"Given that this was our first abort event on this pad, we decided to scrub for the day to get a good look at the rocket before trying again," the statement said. "Everything looks great at first glance."

A SpaceX spokesperson said the company will try for another hotfire test in three or four days.

The cutoff sequence was initiated Tuesday after an unspecified problem with the first stage spin start system, an early step in the engine ignition sequence.

"We encountered a problem with the spin start system and aborted nominally," the statement said. "As part of the abort, we close the pre-valves to isolate the engines from the propellant tank and purge the residual propellants. The brief flames seen on the video are burn off of [liquid oxygen] and kerosene on the pad. The engines did not ignite and there was no engine fire."

Engineers drained the Falcon 9 rocket propellant tanks and safed the vehicle and launch pad.

"Preliminary review shows all other systems required to reach full ignition were within specification," SpaceX officials said. "All other pad systems worked nominally." The military-run Eastern Range took part in Tuesday's countdown, successfully completing holdfire, C-band, S-band telemetry and simulated flight termination system checks.

"We completed helium, liquid oxygen and fuel loads to within tenths of a percent of T-zero conditions," the SpaceX release said.

The rocket passed all tests until the countdown was called off at T-minus 2 seconds, according to SpaceX.



Workers will complete inspections Tuesday night and review data from the test Wednesday. SpaceX will also replenish the pad's supplies of kerosene fuel, liquid oxygen and TEA-TEB ignition source, according to the statement.

SpaceX planned to fire the nine Merlin 1C engines up to full power -- more than 800,000 pounds of thrust -- for about 3.5 seconds to verify the 15-story rocket and its associated ground systems were ready for flight.

The Falcon 9 rocket has spent the last two weeks on the pad at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 undergoing testing in preparation for the static fire, which is considered a major milestone in the booster's development.

Earlier tests included a practice countdown Feb. 26, during which the SpaceX launch team loaded kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants into the rocket.

SpaceX will not discuss a specific target launch date for the new vehicle, but the Air Force says the mission is booked on the range for March 22. SpaceX officials say the launch is more likely to occur some time in April.

The 154-foot-tall rocket is the cornerstone of SpaceX's efforts to design, build and launch new vehicles to carry pressurized cargo, and perhaps astronauts, to the International Space Station.

A test unit of the company's Dragon capsule is bolted to the top of the Falcon 9 currently on the launch pad. The Dragon is SpaceX's unmanned cargo freighter that could visit the space station on a test flight by the end of 2010. Schedules call for the Dragon to make its first operational flight for NASA in 2011.

But the Falcon 9's debut launch is purely a demonstration mission for SpaceX, and the company did not provide updates during Tuesday's engine test.

The inaugural Falcon 9 flight will place the Dragon spacecraft in a circular orbit about 155 miles high. The empty Dragon will remain attached to the Falcon 9 second stage after achieving orbit.


SpaceX released this view of the base of the Falcon 9 rocket moments before the planned ignition. The green color under the rocket is from the TEA-TEB ignition source. Credit: SpaceX

Once the hotfire is successfully accomplished, engineers will install the rocket's flight termination system charges that would destroy the vehicle if it flew off course and threatened the public.

SpaceX was awarded a $1.6 billion NASA contract in December 2008 for up to 12 operational Falcon 9 and Dragon launches with logistics for the space station. Orbital Sciences will conduct nine resupply flights of its Taurus 2 and Cygnus vehicles launching from Wallops Island, Va.

The Falcon 9 and Dragon are positioned to carry future astronaut crews to the outpost under NASA's proposal to solicit commercial providers for human transportation to low Earth orbit.

Other rockets, including the Atlas 5, Delta 4 and Taurus 2 vehicles, could also bid for commercial crew contracts.

SpaceX says the Falcon 9 and Dragon can be modified to safely deliver astronauts to space by 2013, or about two-and-a-half years after winning a contract.

[SpaceR]

SpaceX: Falcon 9 engine test aborted before ignition

Однако снимков обугленного хвоста не поместили.  Spaceflightnow решил "проявить толерантность"?

На сайте самого SpaceX-a пусто... Как будто ничего и не было.

[Lerm]

На сайте самого SpaceX-a пусто... Как будто ничего и не было.

Как это? Обновление в блоге еще днем было - оттуда фотография и расползлась: http://spacex.com/updates.php#Update030910