Manned Space Flight......Yippee!!!

[MooneyMitch]

SpaceX's First Manned Mission to Space Gets Its Launch Date: May 27

SpaceX will send astronauts to space first, and worry about its own satellites later.

 

Rich Smith

(TMFDitty)

May 18, 2020 at 6:43PM

A planned SpaceX launch of 60 more Starlink broadband internet satellites, which was supposed to go up tomorrow, has been scrubbed "due to tropical storm Arthur" making the Atlantic Ocean a bit too choppy to attempt recovery of the launch rocket, announced SpaceX in a tweet today. The mission -- "Starlink-7" -- has therefore been postponed "until after launch of Crew Demo-2," said the company.  

As a result, we now know when SpaceX plans to launch its first-ever crewed mission -- a spaceship carrying actual astronauts, launched from U.S. soil for the first time since the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011. Barring further delays, that launch will take place on May 27 at 4:33 p.m. EDT.

[mike_elliott]

The astronaut transport vehicle is a Tesla Model X

[mike_elliott]

1 hour ago, philip_g said:

I think it's a gulfstream

I think its a Tesla X

 

[mike_elliott]

no question thats how they got to FL yesterday, now its a durn far walk to pad 39A...bet they take the Tesla..,..

[orionflt]

Our C-130 picked up the mars rover the other week to take that to Kennedy for launch to Mars, we have been transporting the director of NASA ans some others to and from Kennedy in the B-200 for the launch on the 27th

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8677/air-deliveries-bring-nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-closer-to-launch/

Brian

[MooneyMitch]

29 minutes ago, orionflt said:

Our C-130 picked up the mars rover the other week to take that to Kennedy for launch to Mars, we have been transporting the director of NASA ans some others to and from Kennedy in the B-200 for the launch on the 27th

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8677/air-deliveries-bring-nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-closer-to-launch/

Brian

Wonderful information Brian.

Question please..... whose Antonov is it?  Does U.S. own it or do we rent it from de Russkies?? 

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, MooneyMitch said:

Wonderful information Brian.

Question please..... whose Antonov is it?  Does U.S. own it or do we rent it from de Russkies?? 

These guys.    One of them was coming to Mesa-Gateway (KIWA) pretty regularly for a while and it shows up at Phoenix Sky Harbor (KPHX) once in a while, too.

http://www.volga-dnepr.com/en/

 

[orionflt]

3 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

Wonderful information Brian.

Question please..... whose Antonov is it?  Does U.S. own it or do we rent it from de Russkies?? 

I believe it is rented, I just started with NASA so I do not know the total inventory of aircraft, just the ones out of Wallops island VA. 
 

Brian

[EricJ]

17 hours ago, philip_g said:

You see Volga dnepr and antonov bureau both in the states. Could be either. Volga dnepr just goes by Volga now which is a lot easier to say. I'm not really sure what either actually does besides be nearly impossible to understand

The Volga and Dnepr (Dnieper) rivers are major rivers in Russia.   Kind of like the Missouri and Mississippi here.    One of the nice things about the Russian language and Cyrillic alphabet is that words are very nearly completely phonetic and pronounced like they're spelled.   Compared to English it's a breeze to know how to pronounce things. 

I like seeing them here.   When it comes to IWA they leave it parked out on one of the three runways because, I'm told, it's too heavy for the taxiways.   Repositioning is apparently expensive enough that it stays wherever it leaves a load until it gets a new load.   I've seen it parked at IWA for maybe a week or so.

[MooneyMitch]

Today launch...... Go America!!!

[bonal]

Hoping and praying for a safe and successful launch and mission. This is so important for way more than the obvious reasons.  I am reminded of how torn apart our country was during the time of Apollo and the successful first steps on the moon and how the entire world was united rooting for its successful outcome.  Cool space suits very stylish. US launch of astronauts from US soil, long overdue 

forgot about Virgingalactic

Edited May 27, 2020 by bonal
Self correction

[mike_elliott]

They are now doing the 9 mile drive in the Tesla X to P39, the call will be made at the last moment, and will really be made according to a rigid go/no go protocol in place, along with either astronaut saying no for any reason at all.

 

[MooneyMitch]

Man, those spacesuits Elon conjured up sure look like Storm Troopers [Star Wars] outfits!!!

And, the Dragon interior looks just like my friends Tesla X with its white interior!! 

So incredibly AWESOME!! 

[MooneyMitch]

I'm watching SpaceX website and their coverage.

Watching the astronauts.............I think they might be a bit nervous as one of them keeps tightening his shoulder belt...........ya think?   

[aviatoreb]

On 5/21/2020 at 5:21 PM, mike_elliott said:

I think its a Tesla X

 

I was wondering if they would call an Uber.

[mike_elliott]

Just now, aviatoreb said:

I was wondering if they would call an Uber.

It would have been cool if they would have unlocked the Full self driving and had the Tesla "deliver" them

[mike_elliott]

34 minutes ago, MooneyMitch said:

Man, those spacesuits Elon conjured up sure look like Storm Trooper outfits!!!

And, the Dragon interior looks just like my friends Tesla X with its white interior!! 

So incredibly AWESOME!! 

[MooneyMitch]

Just now, mike_elliott said:

Yep, incredibly awesome photo, along with the incredibly awesome manned flight mission just ahead........

[bonal]

Mission scrubbed due to weather 

[neilpilot]

1 minute ago, bonal said:

Mission scrubbed due to weather 

Saturday at 3:22 E

[MooneyMitch]

It's so terrific watching all live, still, on SpaceX website.  Removing propellant,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then astronauts jump off........love it!!

[aviatoreb]

This is really neat.  I actually never saw a launch in so much detail.  Even if it is scrubbed for today.

Once when I was 7, my dad took me to Disney World and we made a side trip to the Cape to visit the museums and as luck would have it they had a launch that day.  Just a standard satellite launch but even just that, wow what an exciting roar for an 7 year old.  I kind of was remembering that day watching this thing on the internet.  Makes it that much more exciting to tune in again on Saturday.

Edited May 27, 2020 by aviatoreb

[flyboy0681]

What struck me watching the streaming yesterday was the sheer size and spaciousness of the Dragon capsule itself. While belting the two guys in the ground support crew were actually standing upright and their heads were nowhere near the ceiling. The three touchscreens were also a nice touch, but knowing how challenging it can be to punch data into my GTN during rough air, I can't imagine what they would be up against using it during the ascent stage.

[MooneyMitch]

Just now, flyboy0681 said:

What struck me watching the streaming yesterday was the sheer size and spaciousness of the Dragon capsule itself. While belting the two guys in the ground support crew were actually standing upright and their heads were nowhere near the ceiling. The three touchscreens were also a nice touch, but knowing how challenging it can be to punch data into my GTN during rough air, I can't imagine what they would be up against using it during the ascent stage.

Those items caught my attention as well.  I wonder if the all-white smooth surface interior with 3 touch screens only, had the visual effect of such roominess.  Super awesome!!!

[flyboy0681]

Just now, MooneyMitch said:

Those items caught my attention as well.  I wonder if the all-white smooth surface interior with 3 touch screens only, had the visual effect of such roominess.  Super awesome!!!

It's not smoke and mirrors when you consider the capsule can transport seven people, even though four seats are installed. This is not your grandfather's Apollo capsule.