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[cameron]

5 hour launch window opens at 9:50 a.m. EDT.

SpaceX Youtube Stream: Orbital Test Vehicle 5 (OTV-5) Mission

Falcon 9 and OTV-5 are vertical on Pad 39A Weather is 50% favorable for today’s ~5 launch window which opens at 9:50 a.m. EDT, 13:50 UTC.

— SpaceX‏ (@SpaceX) Sep 7, 2017​

Mission Overview via the Press Kit:

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) on its fifth mission.

SpaceX is targeting launch of OTV-5 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The primary launch window opens on Thursday, September 7 at 9:50 a.m. EDT or 13:50 UTC, and closes at 2:55 p.m. EDT or 18:55 UTC.

A backup launch window is available on Friday, September 8.

Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will attempt to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

CBC: SpaceX launches U.S. military space plane on secret mission

SpaceX is set to launch the U.S. Air Force's reusable robotic space plane today.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), built by Boeing, is an unmanned spacecraft that has spent up to 700 days orbiting the Earth on previous missions.

This is it's fifth mission, but the first aboard a SpaceX rocket.

The U.S. Air Force has provided few details about this or previous missions, saying only that the orbiters "perform risk reduction, experimentation and concept-of-operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies." The cost of the program is also classified.

The X-37B first flew in April 2010 and returned after eight months. A second mission launched in March 2011 and lasted 15 months, while a third took flight in December 2012 and returned after 22 months. The fourth launched in May 2015 and landed this past May after almost two years in orbit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37

 

[mcfrank]

Cool. Hope they keep having success.

 

[gutshot]

This is it's fifth mission, but the first aboard a SpaceX rocket.

The CBC needs some better copy editors.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

X-37B is a beast I wonder why it is up there so long though

 

[Timedog]

If this blows up is Musk and NASA done for?

 

[maquiladora]

X-37B is a beast I wonder why it is up there so long though

Secret spy shit.

 

[Daedardus]

Interested to see this. I take it that if the weather is favorable in half an hour they immediately proceed to launching? Or do they need to do some other preparations before liftoff?

If this blows up is Musk and NASA done for?

Who else are they going to contract with the current succes rate?

 

[Smiles and Cries]

why do they have art of Mars becoming a blue water world on the youtube feed?

 

[Jezbollah]

Who else are they going to contract with the current succes rate?

The United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing) for starters. Then Blue Origin when that gets going.

 

[Khoryos]

X-37B is a beast I wonder why it is up there so long though

Same reason there are so many subs under the ice caps.

why do they have art of Mars becoming a blue water world on the youtube feed?

That's Spacex's ultimate goal.

 

[Jezbollah]

SpaceX FM is live.

 

[E-phonk]

why do they have art of Mars becoming a blue water world on the youtube feed?

Because that's one of Space X's ultimate goals?

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Same reason there are so many subs under the ice caps.



That's Spacex's ultimate goal.

SpaceX seems more powerful than NASA at this point
turning Mars blue is an interesting goal, I would love to see what the next 100 years would bring

 

[E-phonk]

SpaceX seems more powerful than NASA at this point
turning Mars blue is an interesting goal, I would love to see what the next 100 years would bring

Be sure to read this excellent article about Space X:
https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/08/how-and-why-spacex-will-colonize-mars.html

 

[Jezbollah]

Webcast is live. Format will be the same as the NROL launch a few weeks back - Stage 1 only.

EDIT: I forgot to say, no fairing recovery attempt due to Irma.

 

[Jezbollah]

Lots of work has been done on stripping the shuttle rotating structure by the looks of it.

 

[TheRealTalker]

So this is a co goverment and private launch

 

[Smiles and Cries]

this size if this thing is misleading if they fit the X-37B on it

looks smaller than it is

 

[DrEvil]

and we're off!

 

[Jezbollah]

Interesting. Looks like they're running Block 4 on this launch

 

[rbanke]

Thanks for the headsup GAF, the kids are home today because of the hurricane and I happened to see this thread about 3 minutes before liftoff. Could see it very well despite the clouds. This one was decently loud too.

 

[Jezbollah]

Thanks for the headsup GAF, the kids are home today because of the hurricane and I happened to see this about 3 minutes before liftoff. Could see it very well despite the clouds. This one was decently loud too.

Dont head back inside. You'll want to see the landing.

 

[cameron]

Falcon 9 first stage has landed at Landing Zone 1.

— SpaceX‏ (@SpaceX) Sep 7, 2017
​

Yay! Space is easy!

 

[Jezbollah]

X marks the spot. Perfect landing.

 

[Alexlf]

Another flawless success, grats SpaceX.

 

[E-phonk]

looking at that landing, it's still amazing Space X can do that.

 

[Timedog]

Did it blow up?

 

[DrEvil]

Watching that booster land will never get old.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

impressive every time

 

[Trickster]

Smooth as duck

 

[kmfdmpig]

Very impressive. They're becoming quite consistent at sticking the landing.

 

[TheRealTalker]

smooth reentry

over 8 mins

 

[allenpergallon]

Very clean procedure, and still endlessly fascinating.

 

[rbanke]

Dont head back inside. You'll want to see the landing.

For some reason I never think of that lol. I'm only ~13 miles from the pad so I guess i'd be able to see it pretty well. I'll remember next time.

Been here since 84, and launches of any type never get old.

 

[thiscoldblack]

That was great, as expected. SpaceX keeps on delivering.

 

[mcfrank]

Perfection

 

[santi_yo]

 

[Timedog]

Seemed off a little. Wasn't perfectly in the center. Still work to be done.

 

[Jezbollah]

Seemed off a little. Wasn't perfectly in the center. Still work to be done.

But it didn't blow up right?

 

[SteveMeister]

Man they make it look so easy. What an achievement.

 

[Daedardus]

Very smooth ride, seems like they have built up enough experience to make sure nothing goes wrong anymore.

The United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing) for starters. Then Blue Origin when that gets going.

ULA will never go away, yes, but I feel costs of SpaceX will continue decreasing while the reliability is approaching the Atlas V. Vulcan still has to undergo lots of testing and the Blue Origins engines aren't ready yet too. Even if SpaceX has one mishappening, I doubt the government will suddenly abandon them completely, they still offer a favorable price package.

SpaceX seems more powerful than NASA at this point
turning Mars blue is an interesting goal, I would love to see what the next 100 years would bring

Granted, SpaceX and NASA seem to have completely different goals nowadays. NASA is still doing interesting and useful science stuff, just not the groundbreaking stuff to the common man. SpaceX is currently focused on developing launch vehicles (and systems) and plans to use the Falcon Heavy to send a payload to Mars. But there's still so much that they have to start researching and developing to truly send someone to Mars, and that's something where NASA will enter in any way. I wouldn't put any of them above the other in terms of technological power.