6:45PM Tonight -East Coasters can see a rocket launch!

[Dan Filetti]

The Anteras rocket launch will be visible from a wide swath of the eastern US tonight -see maps and directions to look in the following link....   

http://www.space.com/27544-antares-rocket-launch-east-coast-visibility-maps.html

In the event you have any interest, it's not like you see that every day.....

Dan

[Dan Filetti]

BTW, it was scrubbed -there was a boat in the range safety area.   There will likely be a 24-hour turnaround period and it may launch as early as 6:19p Tuesday.  Stay tuned.

Dan

[Dan Filetti]

Orbital Sciences is set to try a second attempt to launch its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo ship today at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

FYI,

Dan

[Bminder]

Could you ask them to make a swing over Wyoming?
I'd like to see that.

[red]

Could you ask them to make a swing over Wyoming?I'd like to see that.

Bminder,

Sorry, but launching eastward gives the rocket a free speed boost of about 1000 mph (1600 kph), due to Earth's rotation.  Launching westward, the first 1000mph (1600 kph) of acceleration just gets you to zero orbital speed, and then you need to add enough speed for the mission (~18000 mph, or ~29000 kph for orbital velocity).

Anyway, they certainly prefer to avoid the liabilities of a failed launch that might go crashing into civilian housing, rather than the ocean.  Westward launches are still done now and then, but from the west coast of the USA, usually for the weather satellites that use the polar orbits.  Earth's rotational speed would not help or hurt a satellite launch that crosses over the poles.  Those westward launches also go out over the ocean, though, for safety concerns.

Cheers,
Red

[Pat Conlon]

Wow...the knowledge of our FJ forum members just amazes me....

Thanks Red

[red]

Could you ask them to make a swing over Wyoming?  I'd like to see that.

Riders,

On most clear nights, once you are thirty minutes away from the city lights and air pollution, you can watch satellites in orbit, around 10:30 PM~11:30 PM.  You won't need field glasses for this observation, but large field glasses will help. Your local landscape will be fully dark (other than moonlight), but the Sun is still shining, up at orbital altitudes. The sunlight there will light up the satellites for you, like small slow-moving stars.  If a satellite is tumbling, it will get brighter and dimmer, every several seconds.  You might even see a mirror-flash of sunlight on a shiny surface, now and then.

If the International Space Station will be visible in your night sky, you can see it easily, at the right times.  Here is a link for the ISS schedule in your location:

http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/#.VFABmFeOq8A

Cheers,
Red

[Bminder]

Red, my man, I was joking.
And you can see satellites in the night sky all night long, not just from 10:30-11:30.  I do it all the time.

[FJ1100mjk]

Orbital Sciences is set to try a second attempt to launch its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo ship today at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

FYI,

Dan

It fall down and go boom.

http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/27033318/watch-live-wallops-island-rocket-launch

[Bminder]

It fall down and go boom.

http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/27033318/watch-live-wallops-island-rocket-launch

Dang... Who's gonna tell the ISS they're not getting their toilet paper?

[Dan Filetti]

Damn.

That is all.

Dan

[Bminder]

If I were one of the astronauts on the ISS, I'd be pretty bummed right now.

[FJ1100mjk]

An obvious terrorist attack. Cut and dried.

Look at slide three of the slideshow in the news story. It's hard to make out, but you can see a small pickup truck (possibly a Toyota, but maybe an Isuzu) with a bed-mounted machine gun  (similar to this one: http://media.vocativ.com/photos/2013/06/toyota-body.jpg ) crash the perimeter fence, and start firing at the rocket's engines. The rocket then falls back to earth, and consumes the terrorists' suicide mission.

Someone must be held accountable for the senseless murders of the martyred six research mice and 10 fruit flies that were on that brief, ill-fated, rocket ride. Not to mention the huge loss of government issue TP! Those simple gentle creatures, shall not have died in vain!

Now let's go throw some more bombs on Kobani, and make those sons of bitches pay!

P.S. God Bless America!

[Country Joe]

 

[Firehawk068]

The rocket explosion made our local news tonight.