Falcon 9 v1.1 stacked and on the pad at VAFB! Primary goal is to deliver Cassiope to orbit but the secondary goal which most people are more interested in is the expected goal of a powered water splash in the ocean! Lots for SpaceX to prepare for with a new pad, new rocket and first cargo launch for the 9 v1.1 Latest date appears to be Sept 14th but that could change again. At the heart of the rocket’s upgrades are its nine Merlin 1D engines, arranged in their new octagonal placement on the core stage. The additional performance from these engines – which have been undergoing testing since 2011 – will increase the payload capability of the Falcon 9 to over 29,000 pounds to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Good luck SpaceX!
I was reading through the FAA waiver granted to SpaceX to launch from Vandenberg. I found it interesting that the U.S. Air Force only gave the new Falcon rockets a 50 percent chance of success for their first 2 missions.
Musk Says SpaceX Being “Extremely Paranoid” as It Readies for Falcon 9’s California Debut “Just before we hit the ocean, we’re going to relight the engine and see if we can mitigate the landing velocity to the point where the stage could potentially be recovered, but I give this maybe a 10 percent chance of success,” Musk said. Will be very interesting to see if SpaceX releases the video of the ocean "encounter". http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/37094musk-says-spacex-being-%E2%80%9Cextremely-paranoid%E2%80%9D-as-it-readies-for-falcon-9%E2%80%99s
I'm pretty sure that Elon Musk means they'll try to turn it into a slow crash, presumably to recover it and check the condition of the parts. It's one thing to be able to recover it, it's another thing to use it again.
It looks like the test firing finally occurred today: SpaceX test anticipates California launch - WacoTrib.com: Joe Science
The launch is officially delayed due to the anomalies: SpaceX California Falcon 9 Launch Debut On Hold : Discovery News
Will do another static fire of rocket to make sure all is good & AF needs to test ICBMs, so probable launch Sept 29/30 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/379171375732105218
2nd test firing F9 1.1 was successful: 2nd SpaceX engine test paves way for California launch - WacoTrib.com: Joe Science
Elon- "Falcon 9 launch window is Sunday and Monday, assuming good weather at Vandenberg Air Force Base" https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/382901196509294592
Merlin flight will be on livestream http://new.livestream.com/spacex/F9-6 Very significant flight for Spacex *Will use new Grasshopper system to "crash/land" first stage onto the ocean surface. First time trying multiple engine restarts. *Both stages will carry more fuel. *Merlin1D engine replaces Merlin1C *First flight at Vandenberg *First use of payload fairing Good Luck!!!
The increase in size and fuel use is interesting. I wonder what's driving it. Required for reusability? Larger market for the extra payload? Preparation for Falcon Heavy? Oh, I really hope they get something from the re-usability test.
So I take the site to mean that there will be launch coverage from noon - 3pm on Sunday. Awesome! Cant wait to see it. If I was not so busy at work, I'd probably have driven down to spend the weekend on the coast and take Monday off incase of a delay. Definitely my plan for when they launch the Heavy from Vandenberg.
SpaceX has a live feed (think it's the same as the livestream.com one): SpaceX | Launch Central It's live now but I think the actual feed starts in 30 minutes.