SpaceX COTS2 Photos and Videos
Go, go, go!
So far so good. The Dragon spacecraft separated and the solar arrays deployed.
Liftoff Video, complete launch video, and my favorite: the sound of the employees cheering as we watch the solar arrays deploying, the first major new and essential technical milestone of this mission. They have to have power to finish the testing and berth with the ISS.
Congrats to Elon Musk, Gwynne Shotwell and the entire SpaceX team!!!
Startups get pretty excited at a new product launch. With rockets, many of the metaphors are quite real, and visible, and loud. Here you can see the employee reception of Elon Musk at Mission Control... and 1,800 of them cheering at 1 am. So amazing.
Mission Highlights from SpaceX:
During the mission, Dragon must perform a series of complex tasks,
each presenting significant technical challenges (dates subject to
change):
· May 22/Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches a
Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station.
· May 23: Dragon orbits Earth as it travels toward the
International Space Station.
· May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems are subjected to
a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to
berth with the space station; these tests include maneuvers and
systems checks in which the vehicle comes within 1.5 miles of the
station.
· May 25: NASA decides if Dragon is allowed to attempt
berthing with the station. If so, Dragon approaches. It is captured
by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station, a feat that
requires extreme precision.
· May 25 - 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies
and fill Dragon with return cargo.
· May 31: After approximately two weeks, Dragon is detached
from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific,
hundreds of miles west of Southern California.
Comments and faves
rstaff3 and hjl added this photo to their favorites.
PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE (12 months ago | reply)
That was wowww. History in the making !!!! So far so good... Hope you are having fun too =)
Loved the : "Confirmed: SpaceX Dragon Ferried ‘Scotty’s’ Remains Into Space"
elonmusk : Dragon spaceship opens the navigation pod bay door without hesitation. So much nicer than HAL9000 :) #DragonLaunch
PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE added this photo to his favorites. (12 months ago)
jurvetson (12 months ago | reply)
and from my friends at launch pad 40 at KSC: before launch
and after, as dawn breaks this morning:
![photo[3]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7071/7249523134_d5fb24f132.jpg)
![photo[3]](http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceout.gif)
The ISS crew watching the SpaceX launch:
Frame grab from that solar cell video
Here's the live orbital chart
and twitter feed, and the music video animation of the mission.
gsikich1 (12 months ago | reply)
Great shot.
vennettaj ( a bit away ) (12 months ago | reply)
nice! the cheers sounded like from a football(soccer) match
sjmurdah added this photo to his favorites. (12 months ago)
Ramones Karaoke (12 months ago | reply)
And as I watched this live over breakfast in the UK, I also cheered just as the array deployed, and was surprised to hear cheering coming out of my Mac. This is a very, very important moment. Well done team SpaceX, a genuinely momentous occasion.
Fabio Rage (12 months ago | reply)
I wish the best to SpaceX!
Dexter A. Pinto added this photo to his favorites. (12 months ago)
jurvetson (12 months ago | reply)
and from the 5th floor at NASA KSC.... the star of the evening
ChrisRudge (12 months ago | reply)
Thanks for the share, as I was away from technology for the weekend to watch.
solerena (12 months ago | reply)
Wow!!! What a beauty!
scleroplex (12 months ago | reply)
most excellent!!
scleroplex, [ebarrera], and avlxyz added this photo to their favorites.
msamaclean ©...be back soon!...;-) (12 months ago | reply)
Yes, very!
rwdiehl (12 months ago | reply)
Fantastic!
mtanne added this photo to his favorites. (12 months ago)
jurvetson (12 months ago | reply)
Update: Dragon is thrusting to catch up the ISS for a flyby approach just after midnight tonight.
Nice AP photo symbolism from the LA Times:
...and my favorite quote of the year, from The Atlantic:
vennettaj ( a bit away ) (12 months ago | reply)
what is it..phoenix? :p
solerena, jeany777, and breic added this photo to their favorites.
seatonsnet (12 months ago | reply)
I hate to bring up Freud :^)
jgury (12 months ago | reply)
"think about this. The four most interesting projects in the last five years are Tesla, SpaceX, Google Driving, and Google Goggles. That is one individual, Elon Musk, and one company, Google, doing all four things that are truly Silicon Valley-class disruptive."
Yes, Google Goggles are certainly on my five year four most interesting list.
" The headline for me here is that Facebook's success has the unintended consequence of leading to the demise of Silicon Valley as a place where investors take big risks on advanced science and tech that helps the world. The golden age of Silicon valley is over and we're dancing on its grave. On the other hand, Facebook is a great company. "
Yes, but I don''t want to own FB stock for some reason. The headline for me here is that Apples's success has the unintended consequence of leading to the demise of Silicon Valley as a place where investors take big risks on advanced science and tech that helps the world. Except that everyone wants to own Apple Ipads, stock, and options on Apple ventures everywhere in the world.
solerena (12 months ago | reply)
Agree regarding Apple...
jurvetson (12 months ago | reply)
And here's the view from the ISS of the Dragon Capsule's fly by:
and video.
solerena (12 months ago | reply)
I am so happy to be on the same planet with Elon and yourself:):)
jgury (12 months ago | reply)
solerena (12 months ago | reply)
:):)
biogreen, DvYang, fish3_410, and lilo stern added this photo to their favorites.