Launches...

[MikeMcc]

Little bit of an understatement on the broadcast 'significant property damage, and significant vehicle damage'... No shit Sherlock.

 

[Crispy]

damn, I planned to watch this
A real shame. Antares is a nice vehicle.
(is? was? it'll be a long time until another one flies from wallops)

 

[2hats]

Looks like it largely fell to one side of the pad. I think it already had a degree of drift towards the SE even in those few seconds. There seem to be two main seats of fire.

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

Footage

 

[Crispy]

Although reconditioned, the main engines of Antares are 40-50 year-old leftovers from the Soviet moon rocket programme. Fantastic engines, but maybe a little old for active flight? It will be very interesting to find out how this happened.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Footage

Just got that on Facebook

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

Just got that on Facebook

Amazing how quick stuff goes round nowadays

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Amazing how quick stuff goes round nowadays

Isn't it. I had to google just to check it was actually current and not something else

 

[Crispy]

I remember when Columbia broke up on re-entry. I was walking home from a night out at dawn and saw it on a display window full of TVs. I stared slack-jawed at the footage on dozens of screens. It was like a scene from a movie.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

and exactly how far away were those spectators?

 

[Crispy]

and exactly how far away were those spectators?

More than far enough. It's not like Russia, where you can get this close to a much bigger rocket:

(skip to 1:15)

 

[sleaterkinney]

haha, from wikipedia:

 

[2hats]

A little audience reaction...

 

[2hats]

And then there's the press site:

 

[MrSki]

Pear shaped I think it is called.

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

From a plane flying near-ish

 

[2hats]

The smoke plume even stood out on local weather radar:

e2a: launch and subsequent explosions picked up by an infrasound array around 25km SW of the launch site:

 

[2hats]

Not unsurprisingly a fair bit of damage around the pad...

 

[2hats]

Well not quite as bad as it might have been I guess:

The engine supplier claims their engines worked normally.

Elsewhere, at Cape Canaveral an Atlas has lofted a GPS satellite to orbit without any apparent problems. There were some nice rocket cam shots as per usual.

 

[2hats]

Detailed view of the pad. Crater next to the flame duct. The transporter erector launcher and lightning suppression rods (the two that are left) are scorched. A full assessment of the state of the launch facility will take several weeks.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

God, we suck. This is what happens when you put out the job to the lowest bidder.

 

[Crispy]

Actually, the lowest bidder (on a $/lb to order basis) is SpaceX

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Actually, the lowest bidder (on a $/lb to order basis) is SpaceX

I meant that as a shorthand critique of the current US space program.

 

[sleaterkinney]

Spaceship two has just crashed as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29857182

 

[Crispy]

Spaceship two has just crashed as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29857182

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/virgin-spaceshiptwo-suffers-in-flight-anomaly.328821/unread

 

[2hats]

Not entirely surprising - the turbopump of one of the Antares AJ-26 engines is the chief suspect. In a conference call today Orbital president/CEO David Thompson stated:

At this time, we believe the failure likely originated in, or directly affected, the turbopump machinery of this engine, but I want to stress that more analysis will be required to confirm that this finding is correct.

 

[2hats]

Soyuz TMA-15M launch tonight from Baikonur (Expedition 42/43 'Futura') carrying three (one Russian, one US, one Italian) to the Space Station. Blast off due at 2101UTC. Launch coverage on both NASA TV and ESA TV from 2000UTC. Docking 0230UTC (Monday), hatch opening 0400UTC.

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

I'm watching a press conference with the three going up to the ISS. The Italian woman astronaut has just been asked if she's taking any make-up with her.

 

[2hats]

All appears nominal and on time. Chasing down the ISS now, docking due 0253UTC Monday.

 

[2hats]

Interesting to note that the upper stage rocket from the Sunday Soyuz launch came back down on the morning of 26 November over Europe:

Most of the Soyuz fast ascent trajectories to the ISS from Baikonur seem to tend to result in this - a re-entry a couple of days later tracking NW to SE over Europe. Several reports from ground observers across central Europe, as well as pilots. The rocket was already glowing incandescent, encountering the upper atmosphere, as it made a final pass over the UK (but typically it was largely cloudy).

View of the re-entry and break-up seen from Belgrade: