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How stupid, to test with satalite on-board?? esp considering how expensive they are, they should use a dummy the same size and weight. You can't test satalite f

How stupid, to test with satalite on-board?? esp considering how expensive they are, they should use a dummy the same size and weight. You can't test satalite functionality on the ground so a completly pointless risk to include it.

krschultz 10y ago
There are actually things to test in the integration between the rocket and satellite. It's not like the satellite is a dump piece of steel sitting on top of the rocket. The payload has its own computer, power systems, and propulsion. The interactions between that and the launching rocket / ground systems matter. Also mating the two is non-trivial, so you can push the static fire back closer to the launch if you are doing it with the payload on board. A static fire without the payload on the rocket was already done in Texas several weeks ago. This is the final dress rehearsal before launch. I always thought of these tests as low risk, but I guess nothing in rocketry is low risk.
- garyclarke27 10y ago
  Would they do so if human cargo?
  - scjody 10y ago
    Note that a human doesn't "plug in" to the rest of the launch vehicle the way a satellite does. I imagine they _would_ do these tests with the crew compartment attached and dummy human loads strapped in to the crew seats.
  - gvb 10y ago
    That is how Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee died. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1
  - rory096 10y ago
    Actually they specifically plan to load astronauts before fueling begins. If they're in the capsule the launch escape system (LES)[1] can propel them away from any on-pad disaster; not so if they're still walking across the gantry. That said, NASA has raised concerns about loading crew pre-fueling as part of the NASA-SpaceX Commercial Crew development contract (CCDev). [1] Here's a video of the LES test for Dragon 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_FXVjf46T8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_FXVjf46T8
  - yread 10y ago
    They have a launch escape system. Although even when it works the human cargo might need cigarettes and "shots of vodka to help them relax" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_7K-ST_No._16L https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_7K-ST_No._16L

krschultz 10y ago

There are actually things to test in the integration between the rocket and satellite. It's not like the satellite is a dump piece of steel sitting on top of the rocket. The payload has its own computer, power systems, and propulsion. The interactions between that and the launching rocket / ground systems matter. Also mating the two is non-trivial, so you can push the static fire back closer to the launch if you are doing it with the payload on board. A static fire without the payload on the rocket was already done in Texas several weeks ago. This is the final dress rehearsal before launch. I always thought of these tests as low risk, but I guess nothing in rocketry is low risk.

garyclarke27 10y ago
Would they do so if human cargo?
- scjody 10y ago
  Note that a human doesn't "plug in" to the rest of the launch vehicle the way a satellite does. I imagine they _would_ do these tests with the crew compartment attached and dummy human loads strapped in to the crew seats.
- gvb 10y ago
  That is how Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee died. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1
- rory096 10y ago
  Actually they specifically plan to load astronauts before fueling begins. If they're in the capsule the launch escape system (LES)[1] can propel them away from any on-pad disaster; not so if they're still walking across the gantry. That said, NASA has raised concerns about loading crew pre-fueling as part of the NASA-SpaceX Commercial Crew development contract (CCDev). [1] Here's a video of the LES test for Dragon 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_FXVjf46T8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_FXVjf46T8
- yread 10y ago
  They have a launch escape system. Although even when it works the human cargo might need cigarettes and "shots of vodka to help them relax" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_7K-ST_No._16L https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_7K-ST_No._16L