NASA Orion Blog

That complex sequence of parachute and drogue deployments was a real nail biter. The whole operation from launch to splashdown was a remarkable achievement. It's amazing how young some of the managers and engineers are.
 
Watching the launch, I noticed a flare burning to the left of the rocket. Does anybody know what is being burned there?
 
Hydrogen gas vented from the fuel tanks/fueling system (the Delta 4 uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen).
 
Beelzebuddy said:
I do appreciate the way they did their launch coverage. No pomp, no glitz, no PR drones spouting off about how this is an important step, etc. Just pointed the camera at the rocket and left it there, playing mission control audio over the top. It's exactly what people are watching for.
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Although if they could have revived Walter Cronkite to do commentary that would have been good too.
 
Damien Evans said:
Although if they could have revived Walter Cronkite to do commentary that would have been good too.
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Indeed; I would have cheered! And then I would've quickly retired to my apocalypse bunker.

In the meantime, I believe NASA's return to the human spaceflight business means a change of my avatar is in order.
 
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Checkmite said:
In the meantime, I believe NASA's return to the human spaceflight business means a change of my avatar is in order.
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We are not there yet, although this is a big step in the right direction. Orion does not have any manned launches planned for another seven years, even if they stay on schedule.

Still plenty of time for politicians to screw it up.
 
crescent said:
We are not there yet, although this is a big step in the right direction. Orion does not have any manned launches planned for another seven years, even if they stay on schedule.

Still plenty of time for politicians to screw it up.
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Anything further than one election cycle...
 
3point14 said:
Anything further than one election cycle...
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Nah. As long as the Shuttle program was limping along, competing launch systems never had a chance to develop without interference. But now that we have to go to the Russians hat in hand in order to get into space, it bothers enough people for progress to be possible. No one wants to be the guy who kills off domestic spaceflight capabilities.
 
foophil said:
ETA - first delay was due to a boat in the water that was too close. You'd think with all the money spent on this, NASA could patrol the water a little better. Second delay is now due to wind. There is over a 2 hour launch window so this should still happen today.
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From my experience back in the 90s, they (actually the Coast Guard) do a great job controlling the intercoastal waterway. The open ocean might prove a bit more challenging.
 
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