Would that be the X37-B? It is a military project and it has a claimed 270 day in orbit capability.
Posted on 04/04/2010 6:02:23 PM PDT by KevinDavis
Dear Lord Please Don't Let Me Frak Up!!
Ku-band antenna isn’t working. Guess they’ll be restricted to the lower-volume S-band for awhile longer.
I viewed the launch from the beach on Hilton Head Island. I could track it from horizon to horizon in the pre-dawn light.
Quite impressive.
The Shuttle stack without the orbiter (using disposable main engines to replace it) would make an incredible heavy lift vehicle.
Would that be the X37-B? It is a military project and it has a claimed 270 day in orbit capability.
We saw the launch from Kissimmee. It was a beautiful as last year’s twilight launch! Still air with the long lasting vapor trail glowing from the morning sun.
:) It was lovely to see- never fail to get goose-bumps.
“Hillman In Orbit” ping.
Thanks once again KD! “It was a gasser.”
Was just there on vacation - toured KSC on Saturday. We were extremely bummed out we couldn’t stay a couple of more days to see the launch, but at least we saw her on the pad - amazing experience.
Wait till OBOZO finds out how much the next Soyoz Cargo and or Manned Capsules start costing to take replacements and Life support supplies up there!! Its called Monopoly Pricing and the RUSSIANS are Experts at it! I’ll bet PUTIN just signed an Agreement to fly Hugo Chavez to the ISS sohe can rant and rave about the Evil Dog called AMERIC from Space! Come to think of it, that will have OBOZO HUSSEIN Cheering Chavez on about his HATE for America!
Timeline (approximate) of debris seen on NASA-TV internet:
T+0:06 - A bit falls below the left wing (ice?) (KSC DOAMS TV-16)
T+0:07-8 - Two bits from the right above the wing, near the orbiter’s body, i.e. between the boosters. (KSC DOAMS TV-16)
T+0:10-11 - Two more, same area.
T+0:12 - Something white and large falls from above the left wing near the shuttle body. (KSC DOAMS TV-16)
T+0:14 - Two more, right side. (KSC DOAMS TV-16)
T+0:30 - A series of six red streaks through the orbiter’s blue plume, possibly from objects falling from the left (away) side. (KSC DOAMS TV-16)
T+0:45 - One more streak from the left side. (KSC DOAMS TV-16)
T+3:45 - a blizzard of bits around the right (near) wing. (EFT cam)
T+3:50 - two or three more from the rear strut area blow around through the exhaust more slowly.
T+5:20 - another bit from the rear strut.
T+8:53 - Several bits float away at EFT separation.
T+8:55 - Chunks continue to fall from the rear strut of the jettisoned EFT for the remaining minute and a half of video.
T+8:55-9:20 - Several bits are seen one by one floating into view from the orbiter after it has gone off camera.
Most seem to come from the rear strut area as well.
I’m a full 100 miles perfectly west in Dade City. Beautiful launch.
Nothing to hear just a sight to see.
Mission Highlights is pretty cool. Kind of like a VP pass to the behind the scenes.
Flight Director update...
KU-band electronics modules failed POST. After rebooting: no change. Rendezvous radar functionality affected. Ascent data and video imagry of leading edges will be routed through ISS and review will occur after Day 3. Pieces of the current failure mode have occured, however, never have ALL the failures occured simultaneously.
Since the KU-band communications are down, they’ll have to use alternative methods to get command, voice & video data to and from the shuttle. They probably could use flag signals or something.
On docking day they’ll probably have to get one of the guys on the ISS to suit up and go outside to guide the shuttle in (you know like they have somebody callin’ the shots to back a semi into the loading dock). I imagine he’ll have a couple of those flashlights the ground grew uses to guide airliners around to and from the boarding gates.
They were just showing the mission commander getting suited up. Poindexter was doing the hand signals like the launcher does on aircraft carriers. That was cool.
Then he did the Spok “live-long-and-prosper”.
Maybe the failures are due to the intense solar activity today.
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