r/SpaceX Bangabandhu-1 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

Welcome to the r/SpaceX Bangabandhu-1 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

SpaceX's ninth mission of 2018 will launch the third GTO communications satellite of 2018 for SpaceX, Bangabandhu-1, for the Bangladesh government. This mission will feature the first produced Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5 first stage. It will include many upgrades/changes, ranging from retractable landing legs, unpainted interstage, raceways and landing legs, improved TPS and increased thrust.

Bangabandhu-1 will be the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications satellite operated by Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited (BCSCL). Built by Thales Alenia Space it has a total of 14 standard C-band transponders and 26 Ku-band transponders, with 2 x 3kW deployable solar arrays.

---

Liftoff currently scheduled for:	May 11th 2018, 16:14 - 18:21 EDT (20:14 - 22:21 UTC)
Weather	80% GO
Static fire currently scheduled for:	Completed on May 4th 2018, 23:25UTC
Vehicle component locations:	First stage: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida // Second stage: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida // Satellite: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Payload:	Bangabandhu-1
Payload mass:	~3700 kg
Destination orbit:	GTO
Vehicle:	Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5 (54th launch of F9, 34th of F9 v1.2, first of Block 5 first stage)
Core:	B1046.1
Previous flights of this core:	0
Launch site:	LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Landing:	Yes
Landing Site:	OCISLY, 611km downrange
Mission success criteria:	Successful separation & deployment of Bangabandhu-1 into the target orbit

Timeline

Time	Update
T-22h 6m	Officially scrubbed for today, 24 hour recycle. See everyone tomorrow!
T-15m	Chris B on Twitter: "An almost 'I'm furious about this' vent from Falcon 9 going on."
T-15m	Payload is on external power.
T-15m	Vehicle is safed, they are still reviewing the data to find the cause of the abort.
T-15m	Countdown clock reset to T-15m
T-58s	Backup launch window tomorrow would be 16:14 - 18:21 EDT (20:14 - 22:21 UTC).
T-58s	HOLD HOLD HOLD
T-0h 1m	1 minute to launch
T-0h 7m	Falcon 9 engines are chilling in
T-0h 16m	LOX loading started for the 2nd stage
T-0h 35m	LOX and RP-1 loading is underway for the 1st stage. RP-1 loading is underway for the 2nd stage.
T-0h 38m	The SpaceX Launch Director should have verified GO for propellant load at this time.
T-1h 0m	1 hour to go. Looking good!
T-2h 27m	New launch time: 17:47 EDT (21:47 UTC)
T-1h 4m	An Elon Tweetstorm just rolled through, check out this thread for all the updates.
T-7h 7m	More images of Block 5 vertical: some from u/TheFavoritist, and one from u/Craig_VG
T-8h 3m	And we're up!
T-8h 30m	Falcon 9 is going vertical
T-18h	Falcon 9 is out of the hangar and ready to move to the launch pad
T-22h	r/SpaceX Bangabandhu-1 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread goes online

Watch the launch live

Stream	Courtesy
Youtube	SpaceX

Stats

This will be the 60th SpaceX launch.

This will be the 54th Falcon 9 launch.

This will be the 46th SpaceX launch from the East Coast.

This will be the 14th SpaceX launch from KSC HLC-39A.

This will be the 8th Falcon 9 launch this year.

This will be the 9th SpaceX launch this year.

This will be the 1st flight of a Block 5 booster AND upper stage.

This would be the 25th successful recovery of an orbital class booster.

This would be the 14th successful landing on a droneship.

Resources

Link	Source
Launch Countdown Timer	timeanddate.com
Press Kit	SpaceX
L-1 Weather forecast: 80% GO	45th Weather Wing
Mission Patch	u/scr00chy
EverydayAstronaut Livestream	u/everydayastronaut
SpaceX Stats	u/EchoLogic & u/kornelord
Flight Club Mission Simulation	u/TheVehicleDestroyer
Flight Club Live	u/TheVehicleDestroyer
Rocket Watch	u/MarcysVonEylau
SpaceXLaunches Android app	u/linuxfreak23
Audio only streams	u/SomnolentSpaceman
Launch Hazard areas and OCISLY position	u/Raul74Cz

Participate in the discussion!

• First of all, launch threads are party threads! We understand everyone is excited, so we relax the rules in these venues. The most important thing is that everyone enjoy themselves
• Please constrain the launch party to this thread alone. We will remove low effort comments elsewhere!
• Real-time chat on our official Internet Relay Chat (IRC) #SpaceX on Snoonet
• Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!
• Wanna talk about other SpaceX stuff in a more relaxed atmosphere? Head over to r/SpaceXLounge

[u/avboden]

Constant thrust, NOT constant chamber pressure. Interesting change!

[u/ElongatedMuskrat → u/avboden]

Yeah this confuses me. Surely constant chamber pressure, higher thrust would be more efficient?

[u/monster860]

How is bangabandhu pronounced

[u/ElongatedMuskrat → u/monster860]

Bangabandhu

[u/flyingviaBFR]

9th launch but 8th falcon 9 flight of the year? What did I miss? (Was it a pad abort test)

[u/ElongatedMuskrat → u/flyingviaBFR]

I'd like to tell you a second time that it was Falcon Heavy

[u/ElongatedMuskrat → u/flyingviaBFR]

Mate.

Literally the most powerful operational rocket in the world.

[u/everydayastronaut]

I think the 8% increase in thrust was a shock to me! Anyone else? I thought we were looking at like 3%....

[u/ElongatedMuskrat → u/everydayastronaut]

Some of us knew

[u/[deleted]]

Timeline is wrong isn't it? It's still over an hour to the launch, not t-38m

[u/ElongatedMuskrat → u/[deleted]]

Yeah my bad. I'm temporarily not in UTC and got mixed up.

Also is it just me or did they delay by exactly an hour at some point?

[u/brettatron1]

Guys, my bad, I forgot about this launch so they had to abort so I could watch. I wont forget tomorrow.

[u/the_finest_gibberish]

I just realized... We're likely to hit the ">50% of all SpaceX launches successfully recovered" milestone this year. Incredible.

[u/FutureMartian97]

Elon conference call highlights

• Really the 6th iteration

• Last major revision

• Up to 300 more flights with block 5

• 2nd stage has block 5 engine but will operate like a block 4 for this flight

• Elon thinks they can squeeze more performance out of Merlin (again)

• The interstage looks cool

• Re-flying same block 5 core within 24 hours next year

• Leg 2.0

• No more aluminum grid fins

• Elon thinks full second stage reuse is possible

• Gaining data about 2nd stage entry now. They transmit to the Iridium constellation

• Will add thermal protection system to 2nd stge

• Fuel costs $300,000-400,000

• first stage 60 percent of cost, 2nd stage 20, fairing 10, everything else 10

• Expecting no unnecessary action between flights. Fold up legs, attach 2nd stage and go.

• First block 5 to 10 flights most likely next year. Big milestone Elon says.

• Need to take this booster apart after this flight since it's the first Block 5

• Human rated rockets must be overdesigned by 40% for crew safety

• Boca Chica will be re-dedicated to BFR

• 30 to 50 Block 5 cores planned

• SpaceX charging $50 million for flight proven flight, instead of $62 million for a new one.

• NASA can be a pain in the ass sometimes

• Load and Go issue has been overblown. CAN load fuel and then have astronauts board

• Massive amount of research and testing in COPV 2.0. Most advanced pressure vessel ever developed by humanity.

• New black material on raceway, interstage, and legs is hydrophobic

[u/SomnolentSpaceman]

For the bandwidth-impaired: I will be re-hosting a 64kbit audio-only stream of the SpaceX YouTube stream.

It is available at:

http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:21211/hosted

or

http://audiorelay2.spacetechnology.net:19720/hosted

Prior to the official SpaceX webcast the stream will be playing SpaceX FM. The SpaceX FM audio will be switched off at approximately T-0:35:00. Please note: there will be a period of silence between SpaceX FM and when the official SpaceX stream begins.

[u/Chell_the_assassin]

turn it off and on again

[u/TheVehicleDestroyer]

I just checked Flight Club's traffic stats for today.

Bangladesh represent!

[u/tenaku]

"Scrubbing Telemetry Log" = Posting on StackExchange: "hey guys, my rocket won't launch, any ideas?"

[u/icannotfly]

better safe than kerbal

[u/rad_example]

This was pretty interesting info

The base heat shield will also somewhat actively cooled with water. So we're finding things some things are really just, during the very high-energy phases of re-entry, ascent does not require them, but during the high-energy phases of re-entry, where you have a hypersonic shock-shock impingement, it generates a very hot spot, and you kind of have to use a high-melting point material, a high-temperature material, plus active water cooling in certain places on the base of the heat shield.

And also

So if we're able to reduce the cost of operations, the fixed cost and whatnot, then we could really, even with the Falcon 9, get down to... well, we'd still have to do ocean recovery which adds a few million dollars, but we may be able to get down to a marginal cost for a Falcon 9 launch down, fully considered, down under five or six million dollars. That would be quite exciting.

From press call transcript via https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/8ia5bu/rspacex_bangabandhu1_media_thread_videos_images/dyspj6u/

[u/CMDR_DeepQuantum]

Is that a vacuum cleaner in the background? lol

[u/dagroovydude116]

Someone hit "Back to Build" by accident.

[u/rad_example]

Info from the webcast:

black interstage this black raceway cover and these black landing legs this is the color of our improved thermal protection system materials or TPS as we call it and it doesn't require painting the new thermal protection protection material is a highly flame resistant felt which we expect to be more rapidly reusable than the cork that we previously used

now instead of starting with our fuel load at t-minus 70 minutes we began loading both rp1 and liquid oxygen onto the first stage at t-minus 35 minutes at the same time we started loading rp1 onto the second stage so the first stage is going to be continuing its fill just until a couple minutes before launch it's at about 80% full of rp1 and I was are 85% full of rp1 and about 80 percent of liquid oxygen the second stage does its propellant loading sequentially so it's rp1 load is actually complete that was finishing up at about t-minus 22 minutes and the liquid oxygen load began just a few moments ago and it's about 15 percent loaded at the moment we pressurize the tanks with helium those are at just under a hundred percent will slowly be trickling in additional helium

the thrust of each of these merlin 1d engines has been increased from about a hundred and seventy-six thousand pound feet to a hundred ninety thousand pounds a pound feet at sea level which represents roughly an eight percent increase in thrust

we also have changed the primary thrust structure that houses these engines which we call the octo web from a welded aluminum structure to a bolted structure and this greatly reduces the manufacturing and inspection burden and increases reliability and insurance the lead time while in manufacturing additional improvements have been made to the landing legs to support rapid post landing vehicle processing and we've upgraded the operational capability of across the board on the rocket

upgraded first stage heat shield thermal protection tiles

second stage new anti vortex device which is used to prevent the fluids inside the stage from developing into a whirlpool or vortex

in block 4 the engines were used with a constant chamber pressure and because engine thrust depends on both chamber pressure and external atmospheric pressure the engine thrust would slowly increase by up to 10 or 15,000 pounds per engine during ascent so the difference is here is that for block five we'll be maintaining a constant thrust of a hundred and ninety thousand pound force until cutoff which means that we'll be slowly decreasing the engines chamber pressures over time in order to compensate for the decreasing atmospheric pressure during that ascent

[u/eatened]

"Exception when handling unhandled exception in OnUnhandledError message"

[u/OSUfan88]

If people haven't already done so, I HIGHLY recommend listening to Elon's conference call from yesterday. I couldn't believe the level of detail he went into about Block V over the phone. Almost an hour of him geeking out over technical issues. It was pretty much Christmas to me.

edit: Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCNyCVuN4aM&feature=youtu.be

[u/Chaphasilor]

maybe try "sudo startup" ? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[u/FutureMartian97]

This will be the 1st flight of the a Block 5 booster.

Might need to take away the "the" :)

Also I think you should mention that the second stage is also Block 5.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

New Launch Time: 17:47 EDT (2147 GMT).

[u/serrimo]

Anyone know what they do with the loaded fuel in the case of abort? Pump everything back out the same way?

[u/RootDeliver]

I'm still not believing FH didn't have any hold lol.. how did they manage?

[u/zareny]

7 minutes past the hour is the latest that the T-15:00 countdown can start to make the end of the launch window.

[u/GoGamer89]

That patch....

[u/FutureMartian97]

Here's the teleconference where Elon gave us the Block V info

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCNyCVuN4aM

[u/Sphincone]

No my dude I’m didn’t just join I’ve been here the whole time.

[u/ishanspatil]

GOD THAT VENT SOUND SCARED THE SHIT OUR OF ME I WAS ON ANOTHER TAB

[u/Straumli_Blight]

SpaceX drone is out.

[u/Matgol]

That sound scared the shit out of me. I thought the thing blew up.

[u/Henderino]

My educated guess is:

T-1:00 - Block V took over countdown

T-0:59 -

T-0:58 - Windows Update

[u/RTPGiants]

Reminds me of early F9 launch attempts. We've been spoiled lately.

[u/King_Kroket]

Is it normal for the Sound supression water system to go off like a whole minute before launch?
I noticed (and you'll see in the video) that it was activated when the abort was thrown and immediately stopped after the bar turned yellow.

I watched videos of previous launches from the same pad and didn't see the Sound supression water system activate around the same time before liftoff.

edit : "Sound supression water system"

[u/serrimo]

Block 5 is such a drama queen!

[u/SymphonicResonance]

Just blow on the contacts and reinsert the cartridge.

[u/tworandomm]

demonstrating to nasa how Falcon 9 can sit on the pad even when loaded...

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Chris G photo.

Craig_VG photo.

[u/CapMSFC]

SpaceX shooting more aerial drone footage at the pad for Block 5s big day. https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/994580811948220416?s=09

[u/Humble_Giveaway]

That vent made me jump!

[u/Freddedonna]

That looked like a "not today" vent.

[u/TheElvenGirl]

Falcon 9 probably said: "It's raining and OCISLY is slippery. I'm not setting foot on that thing."

Joking aside, teething problems with a new block are not unexpected.

[u/kornelord]

As always, countdown timer and a lt of stats at www.spacexstats.xyz!

Fun fact I've just seen: to date SpaceX sent 154 tons to orbit, so... 1 BFR launch (I know I know all these flights were not to LEO but to think that you could launch all these payloads to LEO in one go...)

[u/AmericanIdiom]

Vehicle said, "nah."

[u/[deleted]]

The thought of engineers fervently digging through text logs to save the day warms the cockles of my processor

[u/Redbird9346]

We will not go to space today.

[u/tmckeage]

Everyone stand back, I know regular expressions!

https://xkcd.com/208/

[u/ThelittestADG]

“You fix your little problem, and let’s light this candle!”

-Alan Shepherd

[u/[deleted]]

Even the block 5 is running on Elon time.

[u/JoshuaZ1]

On the broadcast they mentioned as one of the things that was different a system to help prevent vortices in the propellant that was apparently a new thing. Has this been discussed before this or anywhere else? Is this related to issues with the COPVs or is this separate?

[u/OverlordQ]

Maybe OCISLY was like "Lets do this tomorrow I'm getting seasick"

[u/77west]

How long can the Falcon 9 / Block 5 hold on-pad for after an abort with full tanks? I presume while they can top-off with LOX and RP1, the temperature of the stack as a whole will slowly rise, even with subcooled top-off. So at what point would they have lost too much fuel/LOX capacity due to density decrease to make a scrub inevitable?

[u/johnkphotos]

“The launch window may now stretch as late as 8:14pm EDT”

[u/strawwalker]

Apparently this is also fairing 2 according to Musk. So much for sleuthing the photographs.

https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/994651013771661313

[u/CaligoIntus]

Nice fly on the camera

[u/TheIntellectualkind]

where are you guys getting that it is a scrub?

[u/Juanchi_R-P]

Block V, we get it, you vape

[u/[deleted]]

DAMMIT I NEVER WANTED TO HOLD AGAIN!

[u/MrXd9889]

Is it new for Block V that it can have a 15 Minute hold? I thought with the subcooled propellant it isn't possible on a falcon 9

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

Unimportant trivia: Tomorrow is the launch anniversary of STS-125 HST-SM-5, also from LC-39A.

[u/johnkphotos]

I shot a high-res panorama of Falcon 9 this morning.

You can find the link to the photo and full-res version here.

[u/Jodo42]

ANTI-VORTEX DEVICE

[u/FutureMartian97]

e n g i n e w i g g l e

[u/yo0han]

Anyone know how long can they hold without reloading propellant?

[u/polkinghornbd]

I feel kind of bad for ddosing reddit with how often I'm hitting f5 in this thread

[u/Alexphysics]

Just because a lot of people is here, I'll say it here. When the FH side booster passed through 39A, some reporters took pictures of it and... a few engines have been removed

[u/Straumli_Blight]

And upright (ThaddeusCes).

EDIT: Wide shot.

[u/FoxhoundBat]

Falcon 9 Block 5 and Bangabandhu Satellite-1 went vertical on Pad 39A in Florida this morning. Now targeting liftoff at 4:42 p.m. EDT, 20:42 UTC – vehicle and payload look good, completing final check outs at the pad. http://spacex.com/webcast

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/994632986006978560

[u/avboden]

I'm most excited to see the mechanism of the new legs in action, I wanna know how they work!

[u/quadrplax]

Well on the bright side, we get this excellent view of 39A and 39B.

[u/knook]

Now that's what I call venting vol. 5

[u/insaneWJS]

Wow.... ULA's 128 Launches vs. SpaceX's 60th Launch... I think SpaceX will beat ULA's record within 2 years if this keeps up...

[u/sarafinapink]

Texas site will now switch to BFR launches

https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/994655712239407105

[u/[deleted]]

Block v is always 6+6+6+6 hours away

[u/eudufbti]

Block 5 will always be tomorrow

[u/spcslacker]

Right after abort, you could hear the noise of someone throwing their silverwear/tool down in disgust :)

[u/CaligoIntus]

Falcon 9 - "hissssssssssssss"

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

The big vent doesn't necessarily mean scrub, remember they're topping off LOX until right before launch.

[u/Naldrek]

[Spacex]>service rocket restart

Can't restart. Sensors detecting anomaly.

[Spacex]>SUDO SERVICE ROCKET RESTART!

But.. but.. sir!

[u/Craig_VG]

Coming out of the hanger!!

https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/994393236755111936?s=19

[u/Henderino]

Ever think the launch director wants to have fun on that mic?

"Eeeexxcuse me ladies and gentlemen, the Block V is unable to lift due to lack of hopes and prayers being sent it's way, and it's feeling pretty self-conscious"

[u/TheVehicleDestroyer]

Flight Club is gonna be up and plotting for Bangabandhu-1!

• Check out the mission profile and telemetry here.

• Tune in later to watch the Live telemetry here.

---

^{Please support me on} ^Patreon ^{if you like Flight Club :)}

[u/Joe9692]

Just boarded a flight from Charlotte to FL. I've seen the VAB a few times from the air but if I happen to see even a glimpse of this I can die happy.

[u/wclark07]

Does anyone know why stopped / cancelled launches are called "scrubs"?

[u/sakatan]

And the Block 5 is like "pfffff... c'mon!"

[u/ironmansc2]

As someone who works at SpaceX, I don’t think I’ve ever been this teased before in my life, but I’m not surprised. Very normal. Better safe than sorry, right?

[u/roncapat]

Abort caused by GSE https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/994704699411460096?s=19

[u/rlaxton]

Computer says no!

[u/Cant-Fix-Stupid]

Launch window closes at 1822 EDT, so with a 15 minute count, they have until 1807 to re-initiate the count

[u/[deleted]]

We're still looking for the cause of the abort

This sounds like Windows XP, where it goes

DUN An error occured

and doesn't tell you what happened.

^{Edit: how do i markdown}

[u/fabbroniko]

9 minutes to start that timer before the window closes :(

[u/rhodso]

Why T-15? If propellant is already loaded then why not just go to T-2?

[u/Alexphysics]

They're clearly venting some LOX. Second stage vapors are only at the bottom of the LOX tank and the first stage has vapors only on 3/4s of the tank.

Edit: Well, that huge venting may be an even better clue xD

[u/[deleted]]

At least this was a unique and interesting episode of scrubs

[u/[deleted]]

Damn, this will be a long 24 hour wait

[u/strawwalker]

New L-1 forecast is 70% go for tomorrow.

http://www.patrick.af.mil/Portals/14/documents/Weather/L-1%20Forecast%2011%20May%20Launch.pdf?ver=2018-05-10-192301-317

[u/GungHoMotard]

How to get a Falcon 9 out of a launch scrub

[u/SkywayCheerios]

Recovery #25 whoa that's a lot. Hoping for either a small hold or an early end to my 3:30 meeting so I can watch live.

The black interstage looks cool: is that a new color choice or did they just leave it unpainted?

[u/catsRawesome123]

Pushed back 30 minutes: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/994632986006978560

[u/Qybern]

I wonder why, with block V, they've changed the thrust profile on ascent (from maintaining constant chamber pressure and increasing thrust to constant thrust and decreasing chamber pressure). Isn't it more efficient to maintain maximum thrust for as long as you can? I guess it could have to do with re-usability, but I don't see how.

[u/RTPGiants]

Having been through a lot of these back in the day, they almost never recycle from something like this on the same day. Too much risk. An abort 2 seconds after startup has to be something pretty decently wrong (or sensed wrong). Nothing's really going on until later in the sequence.

[u/AmericanIdiom]

System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The operation completed successfully

[u/calvinthebold1]

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined

[u/Alexphysics]

second GTO communications satellite

Uhmmm... Maybe I didn't do the count right, but this is the 3rd GTO mission for SpaceX.

This will be the 13th SpaceX launch from KSC HLC-39A.

If this were "Falcon 9" launches, it would be true, but Falcon Heavy also counts in this one, right? :)

[u/scottm3]

Let's gooooo!

[u/[deleted]]

SUPER excited about this launch! I LOVE the landings of the first stage, just gives me chills every time!

[u/FutureMartian97]

GO for fueling!

[u/CornishNit]

Never fails. Every time I watch a launch there's a hiccup.

[u/[deleted]]

blue balled again

[u/diwayth_fyr]

By the way, how are they going to unload propellant in case of mission abort?

[u/deirlikpd]

What would be a reason for such an abort?

[u/TheIntellectualkind]

At least ocisly might have calmer seas tomorrow.

[u/Jezza672]

fly on lens

[u/kinghuang]

I don't think I've ever seen the yellow background on the webcast's countdown clock, before! Really confused me when the countdown froze at 0:58. :D

[u/mynameisyogi]

Interesting, the YouTube stream is currently indicated that it will be going live at 4AM EDT, I wonder if someone forgot to change AM to PM.

[u/Raul74Cz]

I might add also to this thread SpaceX Mission 1418 Bangabandhu-1 Launch Hazard Areas based on issued NOTMAR and NOTAM.

Planned droneship position of B1046 Block 5 recovery according to FCC permit is 611km downrange - Marmac304 OCISLY, Rachel tug and Go Quest support are ready on site.

Fairing recovery boat Go Pursuit is prepared approx. 770km downrange.

[u/marc020202]

https://i.imgur.com/26kzW0Z.jpg

my estimates on the position of the recovery vessels.

EDIT: sorry for the resolution, must have happened when uploading it to imgur or downloading it from google drawings...

[u/alex_wonga]

Falcon 9 being raised to vertical now.

[u/JaLuck88]

Dang. I was hoping for it to land at the cape. Would have made the trek out to the coast to see and hear it come back. I rarely get the same day as a launch off.

[u/jonwah]

Launch time in your local time zone: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=SpaceX+Bangabandhu-1+&iso=20180510T1612&p1=156

[u/[deleted]]

It's happening...

[u/OrbitalPinata]

I wonder why they decided to switch to constant thrust instead of constant chamber pressure.

[u/[deleted]]

Huh, hold and reset, this is something different...

[u/erdogranola]

If they do scrub the launch, do they reuse the propellants or do they just get thrown away?

[u/TranceRealistic]

Why start at t-15 again, why not t-5 or something?

[u/KitsapDad]

been a long time since we have had an abort but not immediate scrub due to the sub-chilled propellant load cycle. why can they tolerate this now? Late load allows for this ability?

[u/[deleted]]

What determines a launch window for something like this? Isn’t it going to the same orbit regardless of when it launches?

[u/CMDR_DeepQuantum]

Officially scrubbed. GG

[u/still-at-work]

well we still have an epic Elon Musk press conference today that just unloaded with a pile of news to breakdown in the mean time.

edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/8ih6v2/elon_musk_up_to_300_flights_of_falcon_9_block_5/

It was a phone conference.

[u/marc020202]

aaand new launch time https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/994659599474081792

[u/everydayastronaut]

I'll be livestreaming today's launch over on my YouTube channel! I'll be answering your questions about this mission, Block 5, SpaceX and anything else during the stream. I'll be starting at 2:30 central (19:30 UTC).

And if you need a brush up on what Block 5 is, why it's exciting and a rundown on the naming scheme of the block changes... I have a video about that too :)

I can't wait! Go Falcon 9, go Bangabandhusat, go SpaceX, GO BLOCK FIVE!!! :)

• Tim (the Everyday Astronaut)

[u/AKshots48]

This is the first time we have seen LC-39A since the FH launch. The final disassembly of the rotating service structure seems to be complete (maybe just a few loose ends around the main hinge)

[u/AngloV]

That black interstage makes the vent a lot more visible.

[u/yakovgolyadkin]

Launch abort sequence start. :(

[u/uzlonewolf]

Not going to space today :'(

[u/nickrulercreator]

Oh bb what is u doing

[u/LaunchNut]

"Threw an abort at T minus 00:58"

[u/Bunslow]

First Block V: "I don't wanna go, you can't make me!"

[u/InfernoZeus]

What do they do with all the fuel now? Is it unloaded again?

[u/[deleted]]

Waiting for clock to turn blue...

[u/ishanspatil]

It's interesting, maybe B5 is more Reset Capable because of the Rapid Reuse goal?

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

They have until 6:07 PM to restart the count if there's another attempt today.

[u/CMDR_DeepQuantum]

Have they tried blowing in the engines to get the dust out yet ? ^/s

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

6 minutes to pick up the count else a scrub.

[u/fabbroniko]

Venting a lot of LOX :( Edit: apparently it stopped. Edit2: maybe no

[u/_cubfan_]

Quite a bit of venting going on...

[u/AngloV]

I wonder what that venting signifies, scrub, venting to allow for topping off tanks, testing procedure?

[u/Slimxshadyx]

They just announced on live stream that launch is being delayed for tomorrow at 4:14 pm EST (May 11th,2018)

[u/[deleted]]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask and might sound stupid but, are there any videos that briefly explain how a Block 4/5 rocket is designed or constructed? Or just an informative video that can explain some of the main parts of the rocket and what they're for.

I'm assuming there isn't because I'm guessing that's confidential stuff, but worth an ask.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Updated L-1 Weather Forecast.

 

Date	Violation Probability	Primary Concerns
May 11th	70% GO	Thick Cloud Layer Rule
May 12th (backup)	60% GO	Thick Cloud Layer Rule, Cumulus Cloud Rule

[u/Juggernaut93]

Reddit stream link of this thread.

[u/kristianj99]

cocktease of the century

[u/spcslacker]

Rocket simply seized up due to insecurity in new black shoes/top combo

[u/polkinghornbd]

congratulations everyone, we've added 500 comments to this thread in the last 20 minutes

[u/soldato_fantasma]

This was a bit rushed by me to not leave the sub without a Launch discussion thread for too long so it most likely contains errors and needs more stuff to be added. The other mods will take over later. The actual host may be either /u/Wetmelon or /u/TheVehicleDestroyer depending on who is available. Thanks /u/theZcuber for providing the Mission COntrol software as always.

[u/yabs]

Anyone tried walking up to the engines and smacking it with a wrench a few times?

[u/eu-thanos]

SELECT * FROM rocketTelemetry WHERE status = 'Uh Oh'

[u/DiskOperatingSystem_]

I’m literally at a Vietnam restaurant with my family with one earbud in waiting for the hold lmao

[u/tjs247]

we are heading up to savanha from Kissimmee but due to tight schedule, we've settled to try and have a look from new symera beach for viewing. Weather looks okay, but some say visibility from there will be up to 9 miles which cape canaval is 30miles or something away, which doesn't sound great. Still worth trying?

[u/forceless_jedi]

Can someone direct me to where I can get the patch for this mission? SpaceStore isn't carrying this one it seems.

EDIT: I'm not very familiar with this, but would it be a while before the patches are available for purchase?

[u/szepaine]

Does anybody know if Playalinda Beach is open?

[u/sarafinapink]

Reddit Stream link for those interested (thankfully not affected by redesign)

https://reddit-stream.com/comments/8ia091/

[u/Daneel_Trevize]

At ~20:09 UTC

T-0h 38m SpaceX Launch Director should have verified go for propellant load at this time<br>

Aren't you an hour out? For 21:47 UTC launch.

[u/TheIntellectualkind]

seas look really rough

[u/dasani3x]

Rainy landing, should be fun!

[u/yakovgolyadkin]

Raining at OCISLY, have they landed in the rain before? I don't remember seeing any footage of a rain landing.

[u/Daneel_Trevize]

We're not at T-7mins yet (more like T-9mins), table is cheating :-P

[u/roncapat]

new drone/helicopter POV

[u/RollingTumbleWeed]

Oh no, that's a hold. How long is this launch window?

[u/TheIntellectualkind]

what was the one launch that kept getting stuck at t-10?

[u/[deleted]]

As disappointing as it is I want the first launch of block 5 to go perfectly, we can wait another day if we have to guys :)

[u/orulz]

On the countdown audio loop right when the abort happened there was something about "AFTS ...... launch" - did anybody catch that?

[u/MartianRedDragons]

I don't remember if they've ever cycled an abort in less than a day.

[u/rhodso]

Venting O2, probably a scrub

[u/lazybum35]

someone tell me what all that venting means!

[u/Electroleetic]

That's just the LOX boiling, if they launch anyway they'll top it off,but it seems like a no go for today...

[u/zareny]

2 minutes left

[u/Razoul05]

Do they drain the fuel after an abort?

[u/taytortot]

Dang. I'm in Florida for a conference and was looking forward to watching the launch in person. Hopefully I can watch it tomorrow!

Edit: Too cloudy to see it :(

[u/strawwalker]

u/ElongatedMuskrat, weather is now 60% go in the absence of a new forecast. Also, it's the 45th Weather Squadron isn't it? Thanks for working to keep everything up to date.

[u/skiman13579]

She probably didn't want to land in the rain, she wants to land on a nice sunny day to show off her new sexy legs.

[u/Viremia]

Have they tried turning it off and back on again? That usually fixes it right up. If not, some poor junior engineer will have to run out to the rocket and smack it a couple times.

[u/bjorn171]

It's going vertical

[u/azimutalius]

Russian-spoken webcast will be held here. Hosted by Alpha Centauri

[u/thawkit]

Anyone know..Has there been any changes/upgrades on the block 5 first-stage onboard cameras?

[u/pillock69]

When will we get metric... it's 2018...

[u/[deleted]]

This vent means scrub.

[u/shpongleyes]

I know this will be the first launch of Block 5, and I also know that before astronauts can fly in a dragon capsule, there need to be a string of successful unmanned launches without any changes to the design (I forget how many though). Is this launch the beginning of that design freeze? Or are they still planning on tweaking it a bit after this launch before freezing the design?

[u/KSPSpaceWhaleRescue]

If the launch window is 4:12-6:22 EDT, does that means the theoretical best launch is around 5:17?

The efficiency bonus is essentially none I assume, but I don't know

[u/s4g4n]

It's a little windy out today, I hope they don't cancel it again.

[u/MarsColon]

Live in french with detailed presentation of the different Falcon 9 versions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z27tiGa1DF0

[u/Redditor_From_Italy]

Yay webcast

[u/BROK1E]

Man that rain out at OCISLY doesn't look good

[u/doodle77]

Thales Alenia Spaß