UPDATE 1: (0754 a.m. EST): Damn! Another hold due to wind gusts. Keep watching.
UPDATE 2: Launch now set at 0826 a.m. EST, in ten minutes.
UPDATE 3: Launch put back on hold; a drain in the liquid oxygen tanks has apparently malfunctioned.
UPDATE 4: 0832 EST, they’re recycling the valves on the boosters, and if that works, they’ll go back into launch mode. No launch time set yet; there’s about an hour left for the launch window.
UPDATE 5: 0850 EST. They are standing by for word on the “booster core liquid hydrogen fill-and-drain valves.” I’m starting to think this thing is not going to get off the ground today. . .
UPDATE 6: 0906 EST. They’re still recycling the damn valves. 40 minutes left in the launch window, so they could still launch if the damn valves work. Meanwhile, I’m getting weary of waiting.
UPDATE 7: The last valve didn’t work properly; they’re going to refill the tanks and then do the troubleshooting “cycling test” again. The window for launch is closing rapidly: about 20 minutes left. If this doesn’t work, it’s all over for today.
UPDATE 8: They’ve set a new tentative launch time (if everything works) for 0944 am EST, about 15 minutes from now.
UPDATE 9: The launch for today has been scrubbed. They’ll try again tomorrow. Bummer.
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The wind hold on Orion’s launch has expired, and there’s only 5 minutes before it goes up. Go watch at the BBC here.
Damn wind!
If it’s too windy, just tilt the rocket over a little bit into the direction of the wind and launch! I don’t see what the fuss is about.
Bloody health and safety!
It’s all these new wind farms popping up everywhere. Florida has enough wind without those expensive turbines making more.
The narrator just mentioned the latest they can launch in 9:44 Am, local Florida time. Can someone explain the reasons for this window?
Because I have to be at work at 10AM.
If they were launching to a destination … darn, yes it is another scrub and recycle … they’d be constrained by orbital dynamics of what they were trying to dock or encounter with. I don’t believe that is in the mission plan, so I’m going to guess that they have constraints on communications links. DSN has other things to do, such as uplink/ downlink with Rosetta, about a half-dozen space craft in flotilla around Mars … Cassini. New Horizons wakes up on Saturday.
Busy communications networks.
My understanding is the constraint is daylight. They want to be sure to recover the capsule before darkness falls.
The volume on the BBC video goes up to 11!
It has done for a while. Cool or what?
So it does. I wonder how the drummer is going to die this time?
(And a 3rd or 4th round of the consoles and good to go.)
America’s launching a rocket and we need to visit the BBC to watch it?
NASA links are working fine for me in Oz.
However it’s after midnight and I’m getting very sleepy.
Yes, sad isn’t it?
The NASA feed has been having problems, but the Beeb feed has been holding up OK.
NASA feed.
Both working at the moment ; couple of seconds lag between the two.
I’m just watching it on TV .. perfect.
And when we have lift off, I walk over to the pool area, and watch the thing in real time .. 40 miles south from the Cape.
😉
The NASA link works fine for me – Ustream really helps.
I also saw that Sesame Street’s Elmo tw**ted about it:
“Elmo learns all about being patient on Sesame Street. Elmo has no trouble waiting until @NASA is ready! #Orion”
Still problems… I reckon the starter motor is the problem. Either that, or someone has put diesel in it by mistake…
Booooo, scrubbed for today.
Scrubbed. See you in 24 hours ….
Scrubbed till the next window~~
Scrub. Issues with confirming that fill valves are closed.
figures. oh, the rare chances I get to see something like this live! Nasa’s not very considerate of my sleep/work schedule.
E-mail NASA your schedule. They may be more considerate if they had better information.
Update from NASA: Orion’s managers for NASA, Lockheed Martin and the United Launch Alliance said they will push on with planning to launch Orion on its flight test Friday morning at 7:05 a.m. EST. The launch window will be 2 hours, 39 minutes, the same time span as Thursday. “Our plan is to fly tomorrow,” said Mark Geyer, Orion program manager.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/2014/12/04/managers-tap-friday-launch-attempt/