SpaceX launch today

[MartG]

Eric Mc said:

I wonder if they had any sort of emergency blow down system?

Given the unpowered nature of the craft, I'd guess gear deployment would be by a gas pressure system anyway

[Eric Mc]

There must have been electrical power - to operate the flight control system etc. I would presume that was provided by a battery.

[CrutyRammers]

Loving the fluffy dice
Shame about that, it was looking very good up until the point the gear didn't come down. Hopefully will push them to develop a failsafe system, as that would be rather bad with passengers onboard...not like you can go-around.

[RSoovy4]

Dice are brilliant!

I bet it was a mess when it stopped

[Eric Mc]

I'm hoping a more complete video will appear eventually. It apparently flipped over á la "The Six Million Dollar Man" crash.

[Einion Yrth]

I think Sierra Nevada would prefer you to focus on it having followed its glidepath perfectly rather than the unfortunate stop at the end.

[Eric Mc]

I'm sure they would.

I wonder what NASA would have done?

[RSoovy4]

Einion Yrth said:

I think Sierra Nevada would prefer you to focus on it having followed its glidepath perfectly rather than the unfortunate stop at the end.

It's like a hotel "shuffle movie" - it forges manfully towards the vinegar strokes and then.................... the credits

[MartG]

SpaceX are ready to try the next step in their plan to recover the 1st stage of the Falcon 9 - the next one to fly will have landing legs fitted, though it'll still come down in the ocean as they need to prove the ability to land at a precise location before trying it on land.

http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/009/140223legs/#...

[Caruso]

They're managing expectations stating a 30-40% chance of success. Still I don't doubt they will eventually manage to land the 1st stage safely at some point.

[CrutyRammers]

They just need a handy deserted island a few hundred miles downrange to make things easier.

[MartG]

CrutyRammers said:

They just need a handy deserted island a few hundred miles downrange to make things easier.

A bit like Ascension you mean ?

[CrutyRammers]

Bit far south isn't it?

[MartG]

CrutyRammers said:

Bit far south isn't it?

Still less delta V required than a return to the launch site

[CrutyRammers]

Just reading on the Reg that his eventual plan is to launch from california, then recover the engines over florida way...though obviously they'll have to do a lot of safety work before they're allowed to do that.

[CrutyRammers]

Next flight was scheduled for today, but has just been scrubbed because of a helium leak. Rescheduled for the 18th.
Be good to see what happens with the re-entry, though the promised video of the previous attempt never materialised...must have looked really bad.

[Eric Mc]

That's the trouble with commercial entities. They only want to show their successes. I'm still waiting to see the video of the gear collapse at the end of the Dream Chaser test flight.

NASA shows everything - warts and all.

[OldandGrumpy]

Commercial Space being private enterprise has no obligation to show anything at all. NASA, being publically funded, does.

[Eric Mc]

I know the reasons - but it does make it difficult to know what is happening.

And don't forget, even though these operators may be "commercial" in principle, at the moment, most of their funding is still coming via NASA funding routes - so their income comes from the US taxpayer.

I'm referring to the Dream Chaser and Falcon/Dragon projects.

[rxtx]

Watched the launch online then watched it pass overhead. 4 bright dots through binoculars, was quite good to see.