Wallops launch in T-1hr!

#$%^&...

Uploading the pics... but our $%^&* internet says it will take 4 hours... You will see them tomorrow morning. Or, those of you who are friends with me on FB... I just posted the pics.

Thanks... really shows CRS-3 slower off the pad. Don't know if that had anything to do with failure though.

Very cool!

Super cool pic's Matt...
Where did you take them from ??
Nate,
I don't know,, Many things happened right after Ignition..
I thought I saw a hiccup right away,, then another something,, like it wasn't burning right..
For sure,, it looked like it blew the rear enclosure...lol..

But that BIG explosion looked like it hit the ground..
I was surprised to hear that the command was given,, (to destruct )...

Teddy

Cl(VII) said:

Is it too early for a date code joke?

Click to expand...

Or a MESS report joke?

blackbrandt said:

View attachment 188779View attachment 188778View attachment 188780View attachment 188781View attachment 188782View attachment 188783View attachment 188784View attachment 188785

Click to expand...

Those are some amazing pictures! I can't believe you got to witness this in person.

azzie said:

I made a video compilation of past Antares launches (A-ONE, CRS-1, CRS-2) and today's CRS-3. All four launches are synchronized at you can see them all at once.

[video=youtube;wflPKSgSMgg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wflPKSgSMgg&rel=0[/video]

Disclaimer: original launch videos were taken from SpaceVids.tv youtube channel.

-Alex

Click to expand...

That's an amazing comparison. It looks like that drift to the right was normal, but the speed off the pad was not.

I got irritated listening to the news conference, especially the question about "are there possible causes for this that would be easier to fix than others?" or some such. Well - duh!

And as I was getting out of the car when I got home the one from the gal who said she was from "NASA social" parroting back Twitter feed questions about using "such older technology engines". Sheesh! Obviously from people who don't have a clue about how real vehicles get built or any idea of the lineage of those engines.....

Thanks for posting that compilation! I was watching live & the moment the rocket started moving I thought that the launch didn't look right. Hard to tell for sure without doing what you did.

It also seemed to drift a bit to the right (based on camera perspective) during that noticeably slow liftoff. Once it cleared the tower, my thought was "umm...something doesn't seem right..'" Then, I started to think, well, maybe it's just me....then BOOM!

Ya know,,
In those video's of Antares launches,,
There is a distinct similarity to the flame tail from the rocket,,,,,,,
In 3 of them,,,,,,,
The one that launched today was burning different...
I'm not sure how to explain it..
There were mach diamonds in the flame tail of the other 3 launches....

Teddy

Watching the video closer, I see they all drift to the right on the pad to one degree or another. But it surely didn't seem to want to "go", though...was quite sluggish...

-C

onebadhawk said:

Ya know,,
In those video's of Antares launches,,
There is a distinct similarity to the flame tail from the rocket,,,,,,,
In 3 of them,,,,,,,
The one that launched today was burning different...
I'm not sure how to explain it..
There were mach diamonds in the flame tail of the other 3 launches....

Teddy

Click to expand...

Yeah! My wife was asking me how I thought that there was something wrong while watching the launch, my only response was...I sit in the basement studio during sleepless nights watching launch videos online to pass the time....and this one just looked all wrong to me. Can't put my finger on it, but my thought a second or so after the motors lit was...ummm....something's wrong... And the feeling grew when it started to move...like a slug.

Don't think it's helped using the old Russian stuff. In testing its failed and recently.

A few more videos:

Press Area


[video=youtube;MZ0SgAU9LXI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0SgAU9LXI[/video]

From a Plane:

[video=youtube;zarWT7H9t54]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zarWT7H9t54[/video]

Live on air reporters don't know how to react:

[video=youtube;ELnq7StVP6s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELnq7StVP6s#t=34[/video]

Spectator view:

[video=youtube;fPHkDc-CwoQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPHkDc-CwoQ[/video]

It looks like to me that when the failure first occured that stopped forward and upward motion, there was a series of small explosions, not just one big one.
Anyone else seam to catch this?

Killachrome said:

A few more videos:

Press Area


[video=youtube;MZ0SgAU9LXI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0SgAU9LXI[/video]

From a Plane:

[video=youtube;zarWT7H9t54]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zarWT7H9t54[/video]

Click to expand...

Wow! That one guy in the press area sounded like maybe he was going to need fresh undies! Of course, he probably thought he was going to be blown to pieces or burned alive... And I don't think he likes loud noises. Probably if you were standing right there when it exploded, it would be terrifying.

Killachrome said:

Live on air reporters don't know how to react:

[video=youtube;ELnq7StVP6s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELnq7StVP6s#t=34[/video]

Click to expand...

I hope she was looking away from the feed and maybe checking her notes when she said, "That never gets old!"

The Flame looked a little weird live to me too,.but I figured "eh, I havent seen that many launches like this, I'm sure it's fine". Then it wasn't

In the video side hy side, there is definitely a difference in the liftoff speed and flame tail. Maybe the flame just looks different because this is at night while the others are during the day?

Nate

The one that launched today was burning different...

Click to expand...

Previous launches were done during daytime, this was the first night launch of Antares. With artificial lighting instead of sunlight, color and details will look different.

I' m thinking that flashes we see in night video could be normal events (like blowing pyro-bolts that hold vehicle on the pad), we just get to see them now due to greater contrast of the night time.

I wonder what this mishap is going to mean for Orbital when they try to re-up their contract with NASA. I think their original contract was for 8 deliveries to ISS, and I think this launch was the third under the contract. It's probably close to time for them to be negotiating for more launches. This disaster won't help.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

Wow! That one guy in the press area sounded like maybe he was going to need fresh undies! Of course, he probably thought he was going to be blown to pieces or burned alive... And I don't think he likes loud noises. Probably if you were standing right there when it exploded, it would be terrifying.

Click to expand...

When you're in one of the special viewing areas closest to the launch pads, you are told before the launch what to do and where to go if something goes wrong with the launch. The main concern, I assume, is that smoke from an accident might be hazardous. Anyway, after hearing such warnings then seeing something like that happen, a little panic is not surprising.

-- Roger

azzie said:

I' m thinking that flashes we see in night video could be normal events (like blowing pyro-bolts that hold vehicle on the pad), we just get to see them now due to greater contrast of the night time.

Click to expand...

I agree, the flashes seem to be pyro-bolts. They precede the gantry dropping away. One thing for sure, is the lift-off was slower that the other Antares launches. That suggests something wasn't right from the start.

Pyropetepete said:

Don't think it's helped using the old Russian stuff. In testing its failed and recently.

Click to expand...

Yep. Let's make it in the USA, come on!

It was a mistake to basically throw away all the technology we developed in the 60s and 70s and instead rely on technologies the Soviets developed in the 60s and 70s.

I just submitted the photos I got to the local news channel... Fingers crossed...

Whoa! Hate it when that happens! Not very common these days, at least in the US.

A nice HD NASA-TV capture from station KRQE without an intrusive station logo and text ("Bringing sickness on the third mission to the ISS"):

[video=youtube;CjoXozts0-I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjoXozts0-I[/video]

azzie said:

Previous launches were done during daytime, this was the first night launch of Antares. With artificial lighting instead of sunlight, color and details will look different.

I' m thinking that flashes we see in night video could be normal events (like blowing pyro-bolts that hold vehicle on the pad), we just get to see them now due to greater contrast of the night time.

Click to expand...

WoShuGui said:

I agree, the flashes seem to be pyro-bolts. They precede the gantry dropping away. One thing for sure, is the lift-off was slower that the other Antares launches. That suggests something wasn't right from the start.

Click to expand...

The explosion in an aerospace grade explosive bolt is totally contained so no fragments are generated as high velocity fragments can damage the items being held together. The explosive fired inside the bolt generates a shockwave that travels down the bolt into a groove that concentrates the shockwave enough to fail the bolt at that point. If you see a flash from the bolt, it probably failed to function properly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrotechnic_fastener



https://www.eba-d.com/products/separation-bolt-explosive/

Bob

Has anyone heard whether the explosion resulted in the loss of Reid Wiseman's crab cakes?