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Space.com- Minotaur Rocket to Launch Tonight


mikered30

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Pretty cool to watch, although the launch window is a bit long. Launch is from Wallops Island tonight between 7:30 and 9:15 pm EST. If you guys get any good pics, post them here. Launch should happen at 7:30, check the link formmore details. I will watch the live broadcast and look outside a few seconds later.

http://m.space.com/23627-rocket-launch-visible-east-coast-tuesday.html

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Saw it.  Had binoculars on it.  Pretty neat.  It would start to fade, then flash bright again... assuming as the next stage fired.  

 

Also, the fact that a few light clouds were in the sky actually made for better viewing.  The flame would fade behind the clouds but still be visible.  It gave the view some depth perception.

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Watched it from my front yard in PA.  A much "slower" looking launch than the LADEE launch some months ago, though that could be due to the target orbit inclination and/or the fact that LADEE was destined for an elliptical Earth orbit that eventually led to lunar orbit.  Maybe LADEE needed a lot more delta-v for that.  It was really moving.

 

I enjoyed the slower launch more, though.  Longer viewing window.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 9 months later...

Just after launch, it started leaning.  Looks like they blew it up to abort before it flew off course.

 

I don't think they blew it up. it seems like it lost lift, fell and exploded on impact with the launchpad.  Also, I would think that the radio chatter would have mentioned something about an abort.

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I don't think they blew it up. it seems like it lost lift, fell and exploded on impact with the launchpad.  Also, I would think that the radio chatter would have mentioned something about an abort.

 

 

CNN had on astronaut Mark Kelly, and he speculated that they blew the thing up when it started listing and stalled.  I guess we'll wait and hear in the days ahead...

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Meanwhile the Russians sent one up without incident last night.  

 

How long until we hear Putin waggling his **** about that?    :angry:

 

Surely he's happy to be rid of the Russian-made engines they didn't want to keep.

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CNN had on astronaut Mark Kelly, and he speculated that they blew the thing up when it started listing and stalled.  I guess we'll wait and hear in the days ahead...

 

I just read this about it.  

 

The rocket’s flight-termination system, which is designed to detect flight anomalies, was engaged shortly after launch, causing it to self-destruct. It is unclear whether that system was triggered by the rocket’s automated on-board systems or by mission control, Orbital Sciences spokesman Barron Beneski said Wednesday.

“A malfunction was detected, the flight termination system was engaged,” Beneski said.

Didn't know they had an auto self destruct system.

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That first vid in post 23 is both incredible to behold and funny to reflect upon.  Did those people think there were humans aboard the rocket, or perhaps casually milling about the launch area in harm's way?  At the end of the day the only thing lost was money, and if you know the first thing about these launches then you know there isn't a living soul within two miles of the rocket when it takes off.  Yet one guy is in full-on panic mode and the lady is in tears.  

 

I assume the "gotta go" dude in the background may be a photog wrangler telling all the media drones to pack it up and ship out, so he doesn't count.

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