Ares I-X

[SpanishCastleAle]

Mind if I ask just what you do there?

I give you 1 guess.

 

[jgln]

I give you 1 guess.

I already saw you list your occupation as engineer; I hoping you would be more specific as to what you do at KSC. I have quite an interest in what goes on down there and have even been offered jobs there myself. I respect if you do not want to go into specifics.

 

[jgln]

I give you 1 guess.

Thanks for the PM!

 

[kaiser423]

Looked like one hell of a good launch to me. The stage separation dynamics looked a little rough, but I hadn't looked at the simulations to see what it was supposed to look like, so it may have been nominal.

Other than that, it looked like they lost the TM source for the video at chute deployment. I don't know if the camera went down, or they just lost the TM link, but it was pretty awesome.

In the end, a most impressive flight for something that was scratches on paper 3 years ago. There's still a long way to go, and some serious political and funding hurdles, and a couple of technical ones, but you gotta love it when you see new things fly. That was a seriously impressive vapor buildup when they started breaking the speed of sound. It was really cool.

I just wish that they had tasked us to support it!

 

[jgln]

Looked like one hell of a good launch to me. The stage separation dynamics looked a little rough, but I hadn't looked at the simulations to see what it was supposed to look like, so it may have been nominal.

Other than that, it looked like they lost the TM source for the video at chute deployment. I don't know if the camera went down, or they just lost the TM link, but it was pretty awesome.

In the end, a most impressive flight for something that was scratches on paper 3 years ago. There's still a long way to go, and some serious political and funding hurdles, and a couple of technical ones, but you gotta love it when you see new things fly. That was a seriously impressive vapor buildup when they started breaking the speed of sound. It was really cool.

I just wish that they had tasked us to support it!

Yeah, it was. For those of you who want to see it floridatoday.com has a good picture posted right now. That is a good place to keep updated on that stuff if you enjoy it and they always have pictures of girls in bars and at the beach posted there too as a bonus.

 

[mad_scientist]

I see there is an article now about the debate of the $360M cost of the test, I also read an article Goldman Sachs has set aside $5.4B for 3rd qtr bonuses alone, with approaching $20B for the year. I know they don't compare but after reading that $360M for continuing space exploration doesn't sound that bad.

NASA's budget for this year is smaller than the bail out sent to GM. GM is asking for more money and will get it. NASA will continue to struggle with what it gets.

SpanishCastleAle Nice to see others like us on here. I am out at WSTF in the middle of the desert.

 

[jgln]

I have worked here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_6

Do a search on the curse of SLC 6 for some interesting reading about it being built on acient indian burial grounds.

And here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_2

 

[jgln]

And I built and tested this from the ground up (with others of course), took many years. I have also worked on others (or parts of) of about 20 or so. GPS, Milstar, DMSP, Tiros, EOS, Intelsat, Discs and maybe a few other I forget. This picture appeared on the cover of Aviation weekly. I was in the original photo for the magazine but they came back and took another because the camera had not yet been mounted as it is in this photo. I was there that day just went out for lunch a couple of my co-workers guys got on the cover instead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsat_7

 

[kaiser423]

I have worked here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_6

Do a search on the curse of SLC 6 for some interesting reading about it being built on acient indian burial grounds.

And here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_2

I was working the airborne downrange telemetry asset for that launch. They actually hired an Indian Shaman to de-curse the launch pad before T-time. Appears to have worked!

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Couple of shots from the parking lot:

 

[jgln]

I was working the airborne downrange telemetry asset for that launch. They actually hired an Indian Shaman to de-curse the launch pad before T-time. Appears to have worked!

Athena’s? Which one? The first two were essentially failures (the curse!!), third one had no issues.

 

[jgln]

Another interesting fact about SLC 6 is that it was going to be the launch complex for the space shuttle and was retrofitted for it too. Read the article, pretty cool. When I would walk up to the door to get in the building where I was working there was a rusty old plaque on the door saying “Space Shuttle Launch Complex” (or similar words) on the door. I got to work in one of their 3 high bays, each the shape and size as the shuttle cargo bay. Man, they were big. What they were designed to do was you prep your payload in there, then they roll the shuttle to the processing building and you mate to its bay and then back to the pad. Pad was cool to check out too. Blast tunnels were huge. One of the roads on the base had the rock cut out on both sides so they could transport the shuttle from the airport to the pad about 30 miles away or so. I drove that road to work every day. I took a ton of pictures but unfortunately back then I had a film camera. I have pictures of Atlas and Titan complexes too. Got to see old ICBMs up close too being refabed as satellite launch vehicles, they had the star on the side and were all dusty. Sorry, I just love talking about this stuff.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Ares chase plane video

Follows it up to separation then follows it back down to chute deployment and splash-down. Nothing happens after ~6:20.

 

[jgln]

Ares chase plane video

Follows it up to separation then follows it back down to chute deployment and splash-down. Nothing happens after ~6:20.

I was thinking a fast jet as the chase plane but I guess it was really a plane and what appears to be a slow one since the final scenes of splashdown almost appeared to come from a helicopter. What do I know though, I am not a pilot.

 

[kaiser423]

Athena’s? Which one? The first two were essentially failures (the curse!!), third one had no issues.

They did the shaman thing on the third one (the one that launched successfully).

 

[kaiser423]

I was thinking a fast jet as the chase plane but I guess it was really a plane and what appears to be a slow one since the final scenes of splashdown almost appeared to come from a helicopter. What do I know though, I am not a pilot.

Probably an old prop-job like a P-3. They just pre-stage to the area with a big honkin' camera and wait for it to show up.

No plane would be fast enough to chase a rocket like this, even if this one didn't go orbital.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

No plane would be fast enough to chase a rocket like this, even if this one didn't go orbital.

I was disappointed at the beginning of that video because I was thinking; "Crap, they're far away and they def aren't gonna get any closer." It's more for the descent/chute/splashdown.

I don't know what they were in, it was sent to me via e-mail as 'ARES Chase plane video' so I googled that and posted one of the links.

 

[jgln]

Probably an old prop-job like a P-3. They just pre-stage to the area with a big honkin' camera and wait for it to show up.

No plane would be fast enough to chase a rocket like this, even if this one didn't go orbital.

Still looks like a still camera shot, not saying it is not. The plane appears to follow pretty much the assent and decent with great accuracry and not a hickup or apparent change in angle form where it was taken except for focusing. I am sure the camera had tracking on it though so I am sure it is possible. I still expect to see some movement of the plane once it hits the water but I saw none.

 

[jgln]

They did the shaman thing on the third one (the one that launched successfully).

Ok, I was there when they had it on the pad but was not there for the launch.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

More good ARES pix.