Let's Light That Candle!

[Stephanie B]

The feed for the Crew Dragon launch this afternoon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aymrnzianf0

[Guerrero]

SCE to AUX!

[Jim Watson]

Jet Song

When the field is clear, the reports all seen,
When the lock sighs shut, when the lights wink green,
When the check-off's done, when it's time to pray,
When the Captain nods, when she blasts away --

Chorus:

Hear the jets!
Hear them snarl at your back
When you're stretched on the rack;
Feel your ribs clamp your chest,
Feel your neck grind its rest.
Feel the pain in your ship,
Feel her strain in their grip.
Feel her rise! Feel her dive!
Straining steel, come alive,
On her jets!

Rhysling

[Hambo]

Weather is sketchy today.

https://www.weather.gov/mlb/blog

[jetfire]

This is the tightest shit ever

[JDD]

The feed for the Crew Dragon launch this afternoon.

I am so psyched by this launch. Especially since it is finally bringing launch capacity back to the US, and on US designed and built hardware as well. (don't get me started on ULA...)

Hopefully the weather is good enough to go.

[boing]

Astronauts Bob and Doug. This will be a great milestone for Canada’s Space Programme.

[TCB]

Crack open an Elsinore and get ready... This is gonna be a beauty, eh!

[Spartan1980]

They're fueling LOX. Countdown is still counting at T-26:00. WX is GTG (now). Fingernails are depleting!

[Parf]

Whoa.

I started watching and got excited, and then felt the dread sink down into my belly. I cant watch this. Who knew that that other launch I stayed home from school to watch would affect me today?

Gotta go, seems I still have to deal with some shit.

[Spartan1980]

Damn...

[Wingate's Hairbrush]

Scrubbed. Weather.

[Stephanie B]

Shit.

Next launch window is Saturday at 3:22 EDT.

[blues]

Disappointing, but prudent to await better conditions.

[Stephanie B]

Disappointing, but prudent to await better conditions.

Yeah, they seriously lucked out when they didn't lose Apollo 12.

[Grey]

Was going to cut a meeting short to watch the launch. I'll be ready on sat.

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[TCB]

Hosed...

[TGS]

I see that "scrubbed" is now everyone's favorite word on social media.

[blues]

I see that "scrubbed" is now everyone's favorite word on social media.

If only that were the worst thing about it...

[Hambo]

Disappointing, but prudent to await better conditions.

I'm always glad that they choose caution over impatience.

[ccmdfd]

I'm always glad that they choose caution over impatience.

That's not always been the case.

[Hambo]

That's not always been the case.

I didn't say it has been or that it's always the case with all the entities that launch now. I'm just happy when they do it.

[blues]

I didn't say it has been or that it's always the case with all the entities that launch now. I'm just happy when they do it.

Yet another example of unreliable feds. ;)

[Hambo]

Yet another example of unreliable feds. ;)

Actually, in these cases it's unreliable private companies. ;) There have been some satellite launches that made me wonder whether old NASA would have gone in those conditions. It's not at "hold my beer" level, but it seems as though they push the envelope. But what do I know? I'm not a rocket scientist, just a guy who lives downrange.

[Greg]

https://youtu.be/nC6dBsNz0oc

[blues]

Actually, in these cases it's unreliable private companies. ;) There have been some satellite launches that made me wonder whether old NASA would have gone in those conditions. It's not at "hold my beer" level, but it seems as though they push the envelope. But what do I know? I'm not a rocket scientist, just a guy who lives downrange.

I was conducting an investigation back in the early 2000's on behalf of the State Department ODTC, (Office of Defense Trade Controls), in connection with the illegal export of a precursor chemical necessary for the manufacture of solid rocket propellant. (The fear was that it might end up in the hands of some our Middle Eastern enemies.)

Anyway, that investigation gave me the opportunity to spend some quality telephonic time with actual NASA rocket scientists who clued me in to just what I was looking at in terms of fueling Scud missiles and such post 9/11. I wasn't going to allow this to slip through our fingers and potentially endanger our brave service men and women overseas.

Fascinating stuff. As a lifelong astronomy buff, NASA holds a special place in my black little heart.

(Postscript: I tracked it down. I had to go to Brazil to do so, and utilize a contact at a three letter agency that was a former nemesis, but we got 'er done.)

[JimCunn]

"Rhysling"

For a blind poet, he done good.
There sure are a lot of Heinlein fans on this forum :-)

[Stephanie B]

I was conducting an investigation back in the early 2000's on behalf of the State Department ODTC, (Office of Defense Trade Controls), in connection with the illegal export of a precursor chemical necessary for the manufacture of solid rocket propellant. (The fear was that it might end up in the hands of some our Middle Eastern enemies.)

Anyway, that investigation gave me the opportunity to spend some quality telephonic time with actual NASA rocket scientists who clued me in to just what I was looking at in terms of fueling Scud missiles and such post 9/11. I wasn't going to allow this to slip through our fingers and potentially endanger our brave service men and women overseas.

Fascinating stuff. As a lifelong astronomy buff, NASA holds a special place in my black little heart.

(Postscript: I tracked it down. I had to go to Brazil to do so, and utilize a contact at a three letter agency that was a former nemesis, but we got 'er done.)

OK, you had best be working on your memoirs when you're not jacking your keyboard on here. :p

[blues]

OK, you had best be working on your memoirs when you're not jacking your keyboard on here. :p

Sounds a lot more intriguing in a paragraph than it does to work on tracking the shit down via carriers, missing manifests, and false documents.

Ended up being shipped via Maersk unmanifested to Brazil where the chemical / pharmaceutical corporation sold it via cutouts to Brazil's (rough) equivalent of our NASA.

I had to use CIA to give me an assist while down in Sao Paulo to get the Brazilian gov't to come clean by convincing them there would be no repercussions at the diplomatic level if I could verify that the chemical was in their hands. (The State Dept. had already advised me that had Brazil gone through proper channels they would not have been granted access to the (highly dangerous) chemical. Hence the duplicity.)

Bottom line, I was primarily concerned with our military and that the item wasn't transshipped to the Middle East.

The corporation which was responsible for selling the product, (legal domestically in the U.S. but controlled), pled to a felony.

And that's most of it.

I actually referred Tom_Jones to the the attorney in CO that represented the corporation through the investigation and eventual plea. (To help him with any export issues involving the SCD. Don't know if they ever did business, though.)

[Stephanie B]

Sounds a lot more intriguing in a paragraph than it does to work on tracking the shit down via carriers, missing manifests, and false documents.

Ended up being shipped via Maersk unmanifested to Brazil where the chemical / pharmaceutical corporation sold it via cutouts to Brazil's (rough) equivalent of our NASA.

I had to use CIA to give me an assist while down in Sao Paulo to get the Brazilian gov't to come clean by convincing them there would be no repercussions at the diplomatic level if I could verify that the chemical was in their hands. (The State Dept. had already advised me that had Brazil gone through proper channels they would not have been granted access to the chemical. Hence the duplicity.)

Bottom line, I was primarily concerned with our military and that the item wasn't transshipped to the Middle East.

The corporation which was responsible for selling the product, (legal domestically in the U.S. but controlled), pled to a felony.

And that's most of it.

I actually referred Tom_Jones to the the attorney in CO that represented the corporation through the investigation and eventual plea. (To help him with any export issues involving the SCD. Don't know if they ever did business, though.)

You know that, with a little judicious embellishment here and there, that could be jazzed up into a chop-socky movie with some action star, or made into an action comedy? You could be the technical advisor and go on a junket to the shoot in San Paulo...

[blues]

You know that, with a little judicious embellishment here and there, that could be jazzed up into a chop-socky movie with some action star, or made into an action comedy? You could be the technical advisor and go on a junket to the shoot in San Paulo...

Oh, I left out all the sexy, drunken stuff...but that was just me and the Brazilian Federal Police agent assigned to me having a good time in Sao Paulo. ;)

I've had a few fun international investigations over the years.

You wanna be Moneypenny or Q?

[JDD]

I'm always glad that they choose caution over impatience.

I am as well, since I think the long term health of SpaceX as a company is in play if this launch fails catastrophically, with all the ripple impacts that are associated.

This is a nice stark contrast with the SpaceX development process, which seems to be a mad rush with zero attention paid to the sunk cost fallicy and a willingness to try and fail as many times as it takes. The various threads over on the nasa spaceflight forums that have high quality photos of the various starship prototypes in Texas are really fun to watch, since so much of the development has been out in the open.

[TGS]

You wanna be Moneypenny or Q?

Just because you don't have a clearance anymore doesn't mean you should air you're roleplaying fantasies with Steph on the interwebs.

:p

[blues]

Just because you don't have a clearance anymore doesn't mean you should air you're roleplaying fantasies with Steph on the interwebs.

:p

This stuff is way past its expiration date. I never go into capers that could remotely touch on anything sensitive, or FISA related etc etc

Anyway, I'm just a guy on the internet making it up as I go. Well, what I don't get off YouTube.

[willie]

Did you take a weapon to Brazil?

[blues]

Did you take a weapon to Brazil?

I wish. (But I knew where the guy assigned to us kept his spare.)

[Stephanie B]

Oh, I left out all the sexy, drunken stuff...but that was just me and the Brazilian Federal Police agent assigned to me having a good time in Sao Paulo. ;)

I've had a few fun international investigations over the years.

You wanna be Moneypenny or Q?

Neither. To crib an old line, I have a face made for radio and a voice made for print.

[JAD]

Was going to cut a meeting short to watch the launch. I'll be ready on sat.

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We did an all hands. It was meta.