Space x manned launch

[daedalusminos]

ISS was clear and bright from 22:11 to 22:16...no sign of Dragon which should have been 5 mins behind.

 

[daleyd]

Saw it up here, wasn’t as low as I thought it would be and was visible for a good few minutes, I tried to wake the daughter up as she watched the launch and was so excited but she was having none of it

 

[Bullet2012]

Just seen both ISS AT 22:11 very bright followed by Dragon slightly lower and very very faint. Next bit will be the docking , some time tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Migmac]

We think we saw it.

 

[Revs1972]

Deffo saw the ISS , but didn’t see Dragon

 

[Wozzaaah]

I saw one which I think was the ISS.

 

[Kayos]

Docking with the space station now

 

[Bullet2012]

Blimey takes awhile to open a door,

 

[stuvy]

Was rather inebriated last night and only had my prescription sunglasses so no chance of seeing either

the video was good, I must say I was disappointed with the take off. The old clips you see that look so much more dramatic with the smoke. I also thought there space suits had come on along way

 

[Bullet2012]

Guess the rockets are more efficient now, so less smoke etc

 

[mike os]

Guess the rockets are more efficient now, so less smoke etc

its not about efficiency its more about fuel density, type and mix. some are specifically designed to leave little or no visible plume, others for maximum thrust. some achieve both but tend to be expensive

 

[reb78]

Why do they measure everything in metric with regard to speed and distance? I found it hard to relate the speed of the space craft as I never think in km/h!

 

[Bullet2012]

its not about efficiency its more about fuel density, type and mix. some are specifically designed to leave little or no visible plume, others for maximum thrust. some achieve both but tend to be expensive

Also the falcon is designed as a heavy lift rocket. As it was only lifting two slightly rotund American astronauts and a small amount of kit it was probably not running at maximum capacity.

 

[colaboy]

Also the falcon is designed as a heavy lift rocket. As it was only lifting two slightly rotund American astronauts and a small amount of kit it was probably not running at maximum capacity.

The launch vehicle for Crew Dragon is the Falcon 9. It is a medium lift rather than a heavy lift.

The SpaceX heavy lift vehicle is the Falcon Heavy. It is essentially a Falcon 9 with a further two first stage boosters attached.

The Falcon 9 has a Maximum Payload to LEO of 22,800kg.

The Heavy has a Maximum Payload to LEO of 63,800kg.