Dragon Reaching Out For A Castle In The Sky


9V-Orion Images

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Welcome...,

Final preparations are well underway for the launch of the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft (CRS-04 / SPX-4) on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle (LV) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled just some 6 hours away at 14:14 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST) / Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +8).

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National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) To The International Space Station (ISS), Phase 01 Contracts

Mission Designation: CRS-04 / SPX-4 (Cargo Manifest)

Payload: SpaceX Falcon 9 Version (Ver.) 1.1
Launch Vehicle (LV): SpaceX Dragon Version (Ver.) 1.0

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40)
Launch Schedule: 2014-09-20 T 14:14 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST) / Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +8)

Additional Details: This will be the 6th unmanned spaceflight) for the SpaceX Dragon (Ver. 1.0) Spacecraft (the fourth awarded under Phase 01 of National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA) Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) Contracts) and the 8th overall launches of the SpaceX Falcon 9 (Ver. 1.1) Launch Vehicle (LV).

Facts of Interests (01): Most rapid turnaround at a record setting of only 13 days between SpaceX launches.

Facts of Interests (02): This will be a time sensitive countdown as here will be no launch window other than at 14:14 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST) / Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +8), Launch Vehicle (LV) liftoff must occur at the precise second in order to intercept the orbital plane alignment of the International Space Station (ISS).

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Live broadcasts can be viewed at the following online steaming websites...

Ustream: The Leading High-Definition (HD) Streaming Video Platform
NASA Television (TV (Public))


Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Webcast @ Livestream: Watch Or Broadcast Live Events


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[vid]wsqeI2DXJAA[/vid]
YouTube Video ID No. WSQEI2DXJAA

[vid]Cf_-g3UWQ04[/vid]
YouTube Video ID No. CF_- G3UWQ04

 

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SpaceX Falcon 9 Version (Ver.) 1.1 / Falcon 9 Heavy (FH) propelled by Refined Petroleum-1 (RP-1 (Kerosene)) / Liquid Oxygen (LOX) Merlin 1D rocket engines in octaweb (clustered) arrangement / configuration. With a thrust-to-weight ratio of 159.9, they are the most efficient family of rocket engines ever designed or developed and the only one currently in service with engine out blue capability.
 

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Launch Commitment Criteria (LCC) is "No Go" at this time with multiple weather violations in the past hours ranging from...

  • the attached anvil cloud rule,

  • the cumulus cloud rule,

  • the disturbed weather rule,

  • the flight through precipitation rule,

  • the lightning rule,

  • the surface electric field mill rule,

  • the thick cloud rule,

... probability of launch weather constraint violation is now at 90%.


Edit: Launch has been scrubbed and rescheduled to tomorrow at 13:52+8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST) / Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +8).
 

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[video=youtube;DgLBIdVg3EM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgLBIdVg3EM[/video]
YouTube Video ID No. DGLBIDVG3EM

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Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) flight test of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Reusable Development One (F9R Dev 01) Launch Vehicle (LV) to an altitude of 1,000 metres Above Ground Level (AGL) on the 17th of June 2014 at SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility (RDTF) in McGregor, Texas. Unfortunately this particular Launch Vehicle (LV) was recently self-destroyed automatically via a detonation command from the Flight Termination System (FTS) as anomalous flight parameters exceeded pre-determined abort limits on the 22th of August 2014.

Really love the way how those steerable grid fins swivel around in such organic manner (steerable grid fins deployment begins at 01:12).
 

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All right...!!! And here we are down again to the wire at yet another launch attempt of the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft (CRS-04 / SPX-4) on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle (LV) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled at an instantaneous launch window of precisely 13:52:03 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST) / Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +8).

Stay tune for more updates to come along as we proceed into the critical phrase of the final terminal countdown preparations. Once again, as previously mentioned live broadcasts can be viewed at the following online steaming websites...

Ustream: The Leading High-Definition (HD) Streaming Video Platform
NASA Television (TV (Public))


Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Webcast @ Livestream: Watch Or Broadcast Live Events


:rbounce::rbounce::rbounce:

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[vid]kbivNwbD9to[/vid]
YouTube Video ID No. KBIVNWBD9TO

[video=youtube;7YkCh7uOw1Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YkCh7uOw1Y[/video]
YouTube Video ID No. 7YKCH7UOW1Y


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Distinctive rocket exhaust plume and shock diamond unique to the nine "octaweb" SpaceX Merlin 1D rocket engines just before staging.

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White hot nozzle glow of the second stage Merlin 1D (Vacuum) rocket engine.
 

Argh..., I'm currently watching live streaming video coverage for the launch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft (CRS-07 / SPX-7) and its Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle (LV) just disintegrated right before Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) and Stage One separation.


Edit: Managed to pull this .GIF animation during the point of anomaly (~ T + 02:18:00 to ~ T + 02:33:00) from my recorded HD feeds.

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Higher resolution version below as shared on the /r/space and /r/spacex subreddits.


Edit: SpaceX will be conducting a contingency press conference no earlier than 2015-06-28 T 12:30 hours (Eastern Standard Time (EST)) / UTC −5 or 2015-06-29 T 0030 hours (Singapore Standard Time (SST)) / UTC +8.
 

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You follow it for so long, worth the wait. :D
 

So the current crew in the ISS how? Rationing everything yet?
 

So the current crew in the ISS how? Rationing everything yet?
Even with the two consecutively unsuccessful ISS logistical resupply missions, Roscosmos Progress-M Spacecraft (M-27M / ISS-59P) and SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft (CRS-07 / SPX-07) on the 28th of April 2015 and on the 28th of June 2015 respectively, the ISS expedition crew members does have sufficient consumables and provisioning resources onboard to last for six whole months till October 2015 at the very least.

The recent successful launch and docking of the Roscosmos Progress-M Spacecraft (M-28M / ISS-60P) on the 3rd of July 2015 should have replenished enough to extend the levels of consumables and provisioning resources onboard by yet another month or so if I recall correctly off the top of my head, therefore it isn't really a concern at any time.


[vid]efjf37ZPYz4&feature=youtu.be&t=2m30s[/vid]
YouTube Video ID No. EFJF37ZPYZ4
(Fast-Forwarded To 2 minutes, 30 seconds)


[vid]ZeiBFtkrZEw&feature=youtu.be&t=23m40s[/vid]
YouTube Video ID No. ZEIBFTKRZEW
(Fast-Forwarded To 23 minutes, 40 seconds)


Preliminary conclusions from initial assessment after a thorough Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) had indicated the Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle (LV) experienced an "over-pressurisation event (which is an occurrence of a non-nominal nature)" as a result of the premature failure of a bolt on a supporting strut (whose quality standards are found to be non-compliant with regards to certified specifications) holding down one of the numerous helium pressurisation system’s Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) within the second stage Liquid Oxygen (LOX) tank approximately 139 seconds into flight, initiating a catastrophic sequence of events leading ultimately 0.893 seconds later to a rupture of the compromised second stage Liquid Oxygen (LOX) tank just prior to the Launch Vehicle (LV) breaking up brought upon either through an automated activation of the Launch Vehicle (LV) onboard Flight Termination System (FTS) or a complete, total loss of Launch Vehicle (LV) structural stack integrity.

Referencing Sources...

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) Official Homepage
News Articles & Press Releases: CRS-07 / SPX-07 Investigation Update (20th of July 2015)


NASASpaceFlight.com, SpaceX Falcon 9 Failure Investigation Focuses On COPV Struts
By Chris Bergi @ 2015-07-20
 

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