On the same day as New Glenn, Starship got Flight 7 off the ground and returned for a second successful test. One of the engines on the booster had already flown on Flight 5.
Unfortunately a fire on Ship resulted in the loss of vehicle and a pretty meteor display over parts of the Caribbean.…
Read the rest “IFT-7”
Congratulations Blue Origin New Glen 1 for making it to orbit on your first attempt.
Screencap NG-1 on Launch Pad
NG-1 Clearing the Tower
Some pictures of SpaceX Starship IFT-6 after it cleared the tower taken from Rocket Ranch Outpost. Pictures taken with Canon R5 with RF 100-500mm lens.
Clearing Tower
Clearing Tower Closeup
Rising Above Tower
Exhaust Diamonds
Vertical Ascent
Acceleration
33 Engines Burning
Heading Down Range
Startship in Flight
Startship in Flight
Pre Separation Flight
Booster Separation
Retro Burn for Soft Landing
Soft Landing First Fireball
Empty Tower
At 4PM local time on November 19, 2024, Starship Flight Test 6 was launched. I took the opportunity to drive down and watch the launch with some dedicated space enthusiasts (and the President-elect). I watched the launch from Rocket Ranch Outpost.…
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Very early on the morning of November 16th, I stood with my camera waiting once again for this rocket to go. This was my second trip to Florida to see this launch. Back in August the first expedition was thwarted by the tiny hydrogen molecule and its unwillingness to behave under unbelievable cryogenic conditions.…
Read the rest “Artemis I Launch”
NASA announced that they are going to leave SLS on the launchpad to stand up to Nicole this week. After the storm passes they will inspect the behemoth and decide whether to start the countdown to return to the barn. There are two windows next week, both offering 2-hours to get the candle lit in the wee hours of Wednesday and Saturday.…
Read the rest “Artemis After the Rain”
NASA is monitoring Nicole, yet another storm that could mess with launch plans. At this point they are in a wait-and-see mode while keeping employee safe.
Update: Launch pushed back to Wednesday morning.
Artemis I is on the move again, heading out to the pad for next week’s launch attempt.
Artemis I, back on the pad
Just over two weeks to go until the next Artemis I launch attempt. The next critical checkpoint will be the rollout to the pad this Friday morning just after midnight Eastern Time.
NASA has announced that they will roll Artemis I back out to the pad about November 4th for another attempt to launch just after midnight on the 14th. After the last scrub they did some additional tests to get the hydrogen fillers to stop leaking.…
Read the rest “November Moon”
NASA has positioned the crawler (Crawler Transporter CT-2) at the gates of Pad 39B like the Grim Reaper just waiting for the plans for the next launch to die. The final decision will be made tomorrow. That’ll give NASA enough time to evacuate and safe the launch pad.
SpaceFlightNow is reporting that NASA will decide tomorrow whether to roll back to VAB or try for Tuesday launch. Hurricane Fiona is now well to the east and heading away. At issue is the little Tropical Depression (Nine) in the Atlantic which at a minimum will make for a rainy week.…
Read the rest “Waiting on Fiona”
The Cryogenic Leak test has been completed. All objectives were completed. Now we wait to see what the NASA engineers decide for the next launch attempt. This is also pending Space Force’s approval of the range safety system batteries. The first opportunity would be next Tuesday.
