SpaceX rockets and launches
- Thread starter rover07
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urbanspaceman
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T & P
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A pretty momentous launch coming up this Saturday 
www.theguardian.com
Nasa poised to return to crewed spaceflight with SpaceX capsule launch
Public-private partnership with Elon Musk’s company to send four astronauts to international space station on Saturday
T & P
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I know that rockets are at heart a tube packed full of highly explosive materials and that you want to be as cautious as possible, but still, they seem to be extremely vulnerable to any kind of inclement weather aren’t they. Passenger airliners by comparison routinely fly in rotten weather, high winds, get hit by lightning...
Where is the red line weather-wise when it comes to rocket launches? Obviously tropical storms are a no-no, but are bog-standard rainy conditions like, say, an ordinary rainy day in UK, enough to delay a launch?
2hats
Dust.
Depends on the rocket, payload and launch profile.
Falcon 9 Crew Dragon Launch Weather Criteria:
Probability of violation is calculated for each location including limit conditions for wind, waves, lightning, and precipitation.
Falcon 9 Crew Dragon Launch Weather Criteria:
- Do not launch if the sustained wind at the 162-foot level of the launch pad exceeds 30 mph.
- Do not launch through upper-level conditions containing wind shear that could lead to control problems for the launch vehicle.
- Do not launch for 30 minutes after lightning is observed within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad or the flight path, unless specified conditions can be met.
- Do not launch within 10 nautical miles of an attached thunderstorm anvil cloud, unless temperature and time-associated distance criteria can be met. Do not launch within 10 nautical miles of a detached thunderstorm anvil cloud.
- Do not launch within 3 nautical miles of a thunderstorm debris cloud, unless specific time associated distance criteria can be met.
- Do not launch within 5 nautical miles of disturbed weather clouds that extend into freezing temperatures and contain moderate or greater precipitation, unless specific time-associated distance criteria can be met.
- Do not launch for 15 minutes if field mill instrument readings within five nautical miles of the launch pad exceed +/- 1,500 volts per meter, or +/- 1,000 volts per meter if specified criteria can be met.
- Do not launch through a cloud layer greater than 4,500 feet thick that extends into freezing temperatures, unless other specific criteria can be met.
- Do not launch within 10 nautical miles of cumulus clouds with tops that extend into freezing temperatures, unless specific height-associated distance criteria can be met.
- Do not launch within 10 nautical miles of the edge of a thunderstorm that is producing lightning within 30 minutes after the last lightning is observed.
- Do not launch through cumulus clouds formed as the result of or directly attached to a smoke plume, unless time-associated criteria can be met.
- Do not launch if downrange weather indicates violation of limits at splashdown in case of Dragon launch escape.
- Do not launch if downrange weather shows high probability of violating limits at splashdown in case of Dragon launch escape.
Probability of violation is calculated for each location including limit conditions for wind, waves, lightning, and precipitation.
Crispy
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Looks like they will give this a go on Friday. They've got clearance from 09:00 local time so from 15:00 in UKFantastic infographic from Tony Bela, detailing the upcoming 15km test flight of SN8. Click to zoom, right click and view image - the renders are beautiful
platinumsage
HaveMyPassword123
Dense fog here 
Crispy
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Now Tuesday or Wednesday
I will spam this thread when there's a reliable T-0
Crispy
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A high-altitude NASA plane has filed a flightplan which puts it over the launch site at around 21:55 UK time, so expect thread bumps around then
They're not traditional control surfaces like elevators or ailerons which cause lift perpendicular to the direction of flight.
They are more like speed brakes, which project into the oncoming air and cause drag parallel with the direction of flight.
During re-entry and landing approach, it will be falling belly-first. The flaps can tilt up and down to adjust how much drag they cause.
If the front flaps are retracted, they cause less drag, so the nose will pitch down.
If the rear flaps are retracted, the nose will pitch up.
And so on. All three axes of control are available via various combinations of flap actuation.
It's important to realise they're not wings; when it's flying forwards like a proper rocket, they don't do anything.
They're not traditional control surfaces like elevators or ailerons which cause lift perpendicular to the direction of flight.
They are more like speed brakes, which project into the oncoming air and cause drag parallel with the direction of flight.
During re-entry and landing approach, it will be falling belly-first. The flaps can tilt up and down to adjust how much drag they cause.
If the front flaps are retracted, they cause less drag, so the nose will pitch down.
If the rear flaps are retracted, the nose will pitch up.
And so on. All three axes of control are available via various combinations of flap actuation.
Crispy
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One of NASA's venerable WB-57s is in the air to film the high altitude parts of the flight (I doubt we'll get any live footage)
uk.flightaware.com
NASA927 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Flight Tracking and History 08-Dec-2020 (KEFD-KEFD) - FlightAware
Track National Aeronautics and Space Administration #927 flight from Houston Ellington to Houston Ellington
uk.flightaware.com
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
There it isOne of NASA's venerable WB-57s is in the air to film the high altitude parts of the flight (I doubt we'll get any live footage)
NASA927 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Flight Tracking and History 08-Dec-2020 (KEFD-KEFD) - FlightAware
Track National Aeronautics and Space Administration #927 flight from Houston Ellington to Houston Ellington
41,000ft. That's how high Starship will get
