Little birdie says falcon heavy static fire in 18hrs.
01/11/2018 12:56 Stephen Clark
The Falcon Heavy's static fire test has been scrubbed for the day after SpaceX's launch team loaded propellants into the heavy-lifter for the first time at pad 39A.
01/11/2018 12:48 Stephen Clark
The hotfire test is not expected to occur at the opening of today's window at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT). No additional venting has appeared at pad 39A, suggesting fueling of the Falcon Heavy has stopped.
01/11/2018 12:22 Stephen Clark
Vapors are now visible coming from the Falcon Heavy rocket at pad 39A, an indication the cryogenic propellants are being pumped into the launch vehicle at this time.
Rocket-grade RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen will flow into the Falcon Heavy's three first stage boosters and second stage in advance of today's static fire attempt.
The exact time of the static fire has not been released, but today's window opens at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT). The venting suggests the hold-down firing of the Falcon Heavy's 27 Merlin main engines could occur at the start of the window, or soon after 1 p.m. EST.
...one of the eight hold-down clamps had some sort of issue.
I'd bet 3-2-3... Basically putting thrm where they fit.Hmmm, how do they distribute 8 hold-downs across 3 boosters? Is it maybe 4 on the central core and 2 on each side booster?
I'd bet 3-2-3... Basically putting thrm where they fit.
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I'd bet 3-2-3... Basically putting thrm where they fit.
The engine test firing for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket has slipped until Tuesday, with the opening of the window set for 4pm (2100 GMT)
Updated: 01/16/2018 13:57
The static fire test of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is not expected today, and we have not received a new target date for the hold-down firing at pad 39A.
SpaceX's launch team continues to work through testing of the Falcon Heavy ahead of the first static fire at pad 39A.
Meanwhile, launch preps at nearby pad 41 are underway for an Atlas 5 mission scheduled for liftoff Thursday evening, with rollout of the rocket to the launch pad scheduled for tomorrow. A Falcon Heavy static fire at pad 39A is not expected to occur during the Atlas 5 countdown, a ULA official said today, due to shared safety, security and ground infrastructure between the two adjacent pads.
Based on that, the Falcon Heavy static fire is expected no earlier than Friday, but the target date for the hold-down engine firing remains uncertain, and we'll share information as we confirm it.
ME TOO!!! I'll be in Orlando the entire week of Feb 12th, so that would be nice if I got to "call in sick" one of those days and head to the Cape!!Now NET Friday. This may be selfish but at this point i hope it pushed the launch back into the week of Feb. 10th... Then I'll get to see it in person.
SpaceX #FalconHeavy status update: As suspected, test fire at pad 39A has moved to Saturday; six-hour window opens at 1445 ET (1945 UTC).
ULA, meanwhile, targeting 1948 ET (0048 UTC) tonight for #AtlasV launch with #SBIRS from nearby LC 41.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy static fire test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is now expected no earlier than Monday. https://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/status/954459424122392579
NO LAUNCHES: per @45thSpaceWing key members of civilian workforce are removed due to govt shutdown. 45th cannot support @SpaceX commerical static fire tests @NASAKennedy or launch operations @MyNews13
Well, NO STATIC FIRE in the predictable future.
Government shutdown has affected the 45th Space Wing, so no launches and no static firings until the shutdown is over.
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Even for a Static Firing, the range has to be cleared, and safety/emergency/security personnel in place (And example, when AMOS-6 blew on the pad shortly before a planned firing, people had been cleared and emergency teams were in place to respond). Without them on duty, no firings and no launches.
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