The Pod Bay

I don't think they've got this close before...

I think they entered terminal count once or twice, but aborted around T-10...

6K viewers.

What is that on the side?

Which side?

3:12 PM

@PearsonArtPhoto hmmm no I also get over 11k viewers directly via LiveStream new.livestream.com/accounts/142499/events/2980259

I'm looking at the SFN stream.

@geoffc camera?

the number should be the same for both streams

Strange...

hmmm it's a bit big for a cam ... maybe the cam is that smaller "bump"

3:13 PM

@TildalWave Likely. Wondering if grid fins? :)

dunno definitely something I didn't notice before

good eye!

ignition

liftoff

niceeee

Finally...

and two cams side by side

Thar she goes.

Not as good video as I've typically seen...

3:16 PM

this "no commentary broadcast" is even better :)

@PearsonArtPhoto switch to 1080p

The video isn't showing the engine, sigh...

afreed

agreed*

That image I pointed at looks like the cap of the legs...

ground camera was blocked by clouds

This is a bit better.

3:17 PM

How incredibly unlikely would it be to have grid fins on this launch.

Beyond incredibly unlikely. But wouldn't that be cool!

huh cool exhaust pattern

after expanding

I like the way the engine exhausts are showing.

I love the octoweb pattern seen from above.

Through max Q.

@geoffc stream seems to me from about same height up the first stage too, so that smaller bump next to it must be the cam

3:17 PM

?

Not as nice now...

MECO

I am ata conference so cannot listen.

Stage sep!
Yay!

Fairing sep!

Cool, you can see the satellites and inside fairing!

@PearsonArtPhoto it's not till the ISS so they don't use NASA's relays?

3:19 PM

Bad telemetry... Oh well.

Most of the telmetry comes from the USAF, for range saftey.

is this engine gimbeled at all?

Nice video of firing rocket over the Earth.

the second stage engine?

@stu yes.

See the horizon on left, odd shape...

3:20 PM

great, thought so, but hard to tell if it was adjusting or not based on feed quality

Must be a fisheye camera or somerthing.

Wait, what's in the upper left...

@geoffc you think it could be just some sensors where the fins would later be, and they're measuring something after separation?

Or testing the covers, for aero affects?

could be just "simulated fins" and measuring turbulence

Yep.

3:22 PM

so they can decide on final fins shape better

I think this approach of testing new ideas, in simple form on production flights is great.

all looks good so far

I think there is a lot of margin on this mission...

Any word on first stage landing yet?

no telemetry tho

3:23 PM

Second stage to orbit is boring. :) Show me a dancing first stage, showing some leg.

@geoffc didn't Shotwell say they won't be updating on first stage this time around?

A boring launch is a good launch:-)

A boring launch is a GREAT launch.

2

I want to see the first stage fun and games.

@TildalWave I do not recall.

How can you say this is boring? :O Haven't you watched no World Cup games?

lol!!

3:25 PM

Looks good!

MECO, FTS safed, I guess it's just cruising now to the drop off point.

GOAL!

SECO

cam link is holding a lot better than their previous launches without NASA's hardware

They are thanking people for following them:-) Thanks for giving us the chance this time:-)

Now the wait for first stage news.

yup and hopefully some choppy videos

back to work, later fellas

3:27 PM

Or better weather and less chop.

Later.

later today:

3:44 PM

For those that missed it, recorded video of today's Falcon 9 launch on its OG2 mission is now available on LiveStream

Space.com hangout with Buzz Aldrin is now live on Google+ and YouTube. More info on Space.com

NASA Image of the Day: Changes Near Downhill End of a Martian Gully

4:10 PM

You know what? We're almost like live TV here with one event following the other like that. Better, we're interactive :)

Stack Exchange

posted on July 14, 2014

This image of the surface of Mars covers a location that has been captured several times by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to look for changes in gullies. Changes have now been seen in many gullies on Mars, and show that these landforms are evolving rapidly. The timing of the changes is often in winter or early spring, suggesting that they are caused by the carbon d…

TildalWave has added an event to this room's schedule.

4:42 PM

The six Orbcomm OG2 sats successfully separated from F9 2nd stage according to press stmt from @ORBCOMM_Inc.

Tweeted by SpcPlcyOnline on July 14, 2014 at 4:31 PM

Detailed review of rocket telemetry needed to tell if due to initial splashdown or subsequent tip over and body slam

Tweeted by elonmusk on July 14, 2014 at 4:20 PM

Order is backwards there.

LOst a tweet post there... Landed, but lost integrity.

Rocket booster reentry, landing burn & leg deploy were good, but lost hull integrity right after splashdown (aka kaboom)

Tweeted by elonmusk on July 14, 2014 at 4:16 PM

adding "kaboom" in my strictly technical thesaurus

5:37 PM

'after splashdown' kaboom is ok. Darn explosive water.

5:48 PM

hehe

I'm looking for that "cute" technical jargon for rocket explosion, can't remember exactly how it went, something along the lines of unplanned rapid decomposition

Ah now I found it, Googling for how I remembered it. It's "Rapid Unplanned Disassembly"

We should make a thesaurus in our Meta for these :)

Kaboom: noun Intermediate state of a rocket stage, verb Things went sour in a spectacular way.

NASA's discussion with a panel of leading space experts on Search for Life Beyond Earth is now live on NASA TV. More info in this media advisory

7:00 PM

this Search for Life Beyond Earth talk is too preachy for me.. was hoping for a more technical talk!

7:16 PM

Yeah agreed, it's basically advocating StarShade without even giving any word on its feasibility. E.g., the shade part is supposed to be thousands of kilometers away from the actual telescope, how do you align them? There's no such huge area of space in the Solar system that's gravitationally flat

I mean, do you just orbit it at different altitude, and hope it's size and distance to it magically matches your needs at another orbit, and perfectly aligns with telescope for the exposure time needed?

Or do they count on random occultations?

Wiki has something on it:

> After launch, it is estimated that within a 2-year period the Starshade could help astronomers to get a better look at upwards of 75 different planetary systems.

it's certainly an interesting idea, one worth looking into, but your worries are well founded.

the scope and distance required for the system appear unmanageable at first glance. the accuracy require to line up star/shade/telescope is pretty wild. obviously we would have most control over the direction the telescope points

I did ask another question during one similar presentation but wasn't answered ... using these large shades to deliberately cast a shadow on control regions of Solar system celestials, see if it triggers response of any possible local biota ... e.g. slight change in atmospheric composition due to changes in local metabolic activity

what is the diameter of the shade suppose to be?

7:31 PM

I don't think it's set in stone yet

by the looks of it large, dunno how large tho

gotcha. also they predict usage on 75 systems?

i guess if the JWST is in a halo orbit around L2, and the shade is stationary that is a possible task

that's some estimate I came across, looks like more or less random occultations to me ... say, the shade and the telescope are predicted to nearly align in the direction of some interesting target, and I imagine they would still use "some" propulsion on both to match it more precisely, but yeah ... launch and orbit at different altitudes, then hope it works and the shade is the right size

and these wouldn't be long exposures either

so think: close targets

@Stu you'd only get perhaps a few seconds of observations for each target then, maybe less

i look forward to hearing more about it, specifically the trigonometry of the system and delta-V required to match targets

yea yikes thats not much! but like you said, maybe enough for close targets

I think it'd be more prudent to have them co-orbital at same heliocentric altitude, following each other ... if the shade can be variable size, then all you need is precise attitude control on both, and you get a lot longer observation time ... but on targets within the same plain

nice one!

yea i agree

7:39 PM

dunno, a lot of quite essential info on this proposal is so far missing ... nice concept, but seems unrefined

could be directly opposite of JWST in same orbit?

perhaps, but those halo orbits aren't really orbits per se, there's no central body that you orbit around, all your movement is on your own accord ... so think about perfectly matching the work of two sets of actuators that aren't really millimetre precise ... quite a task

ah yea i see... orbits around L2 more unstable... makes sense

Well the good news is that in such configuration, only one would have to be in "active mode" while the other can simply drift for a while and only maintain attitude, pointing precisely towards some target ... and the movement of the other only has to be controlled precisely in two of the three dimensions, then you wait for the alignment to happen. Still rather tricky IMO, I think the co-orbital option is a lot simpler.