View Full Version : Launching of Phoenix (not the city)
cobradav
08-03-2007, 06:47 AM
Phoenix Launch at 0926 UTC tomorrow. Going home now to get some sleep so I can be on console at 2300 EDT tonight (0300 UTC tomorrow).
Follow the action here: http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/status.html
Hmm, maybe I better change my avatar.
cobradav
08-03-2007, 11:00 AM
Had to update my avatar to a Delta II in honor of the booster used on Phoenix
BHR4CE1
08-03-2007, 12:33 PM
Had to update my avatar to a Delta II in honor of the booster used on Phoenix
That Delta II looks to have almost as much power as the M6!!
Richard in NC
08-03-2007, 02:37 PM
Had to update my avatar to a Delta II in honor of the booster used on Phoenix
That does better match your "SIR" title.
AusBmw
08-03-2007, 03:41 PM
Sweet.
Hope I see a man on that planet in my life time 8-)
My grandfather recalls gathering around a black and white tv in a shop front on the main street in a small farming community in country NSW watching the moon landings!
Richard in NC
08-03-2007, 04:08 PM
Sweet.
Hope I see a man on that planet in my life time 8-)
My grandfather recalls gathering around a black and white tv in a shop front on the main street in a small farming community in country NSW watching the moon landings!
You must be a young gun. I was 9 during the moon landings and remember them well. A good color TV didn't help since the early landings where grainy B&W. My aunt worked for an agency in DC at the time. She sent collectables of the landings including nice large pics. My favorite is "Earth Rise" that shows a 3/4 earth in the black sky while orbiting over the moon, although it was taken during Apollo 8 that didn't actually land.
Phoenix Launch at 0926 UTC tomorrow. Going home now to get some sleep so I can be on console at 2300 EDT tonight (0300 UTC tomorrow).
Follow the action here: http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/status.html
Hmm, maybe I better change my avatar.
:bow:
cobradav
08-03-2007, 04:40 PM
I am often times in awe of the results of our ventures into outer space. But getting to that point is often agony to watch.
Richard in NC
08-03-2007, 05:00 PM
I am often times in awe of the results of our ventures into outer space. But getting to that point is often agony to watch.
Shouldn't you be getting some sleep before your night shift to push the button? Hope it goes well. I imagine those on the inside bite their nails and hold their breath until the mission is complete and 100% successful.
boxboss
08-03-2007, 05:08 PM
Shouldn't you be getting some sleep before your night shift to push the button?
In CD's case, the LAST thing he want's to do is "push the button."
Richard in NC
08-03-2007, 05:23 PM
Shouldn't you be getting some sleep before your night shift to push the button?
In CD's case, the LAST thing he want's to do is "push the button."
I was refering to the launch button, not the destruct button. Hmm, I wonder how close they are to each other on the console.
BHR4CE1
08-03-2007, 05:32 PM
[quote="Richard in NC":deee3]Shouldn't you be getting some sleep before your night shift to push the button?
In CD's case, the LAST thing he want's to do is "push the button."
I was refering to the launch button, not the destruct button. Hmm, I wonder how close they are to each other on the console.[/quote:deee3]
They are separated only by the "call attendant" button.
cobradav
08-03-2007, 06:00 PM
Launch is an automatic sequence after a certain point in the minus count (varies by booster type) Destruct is in the hands of separate group called Mission Flight Control Officers (MFCO). Usually Civil servants, but also uniformed Air Force. Problem is for uniform ranks its one year of training before they can even get in a seat (always two. a Senior MFCO or SMFCO - as well as MFCO), so in a 2-year tour we do not see alot of these types.
I spent about three years way back in my youth (1st Shuttle launch) baby sitting these guys to make sure they knew what to do. I failed in my job once. An Air Force Captain destroyed a perfectly good Trident D-5 missile ( launched from a submarine). He was so fast on the trigger no one had a clue he did it. Needless to say, he never performed as a MFCO again.
Richard in NC
08-03-2007, 06:09 PM
Launch is an automatic sequence after a certain point in the minus count (varies by booster type) Destruct is in the hands of separate group called Mission Flight Control Officers (MFCO). Usually Civil servants, but also uniformed Air Force. Problem is for uniform ranks its one year of training before they can even get in a seat (always two. a Senior MFCO or SMFCO - as well as MFCO), so in a 2-year tour we do not see alot of these types.
I spent about three years way back in my youth (1st Shuttle launch) baby sitting these guys to make sure they knew what to do. I failed in my job once. An Air Force Captain destroyed a perfectly good Trident D-5 missile ( launched from a submarine). He was so fast on the trigger no one had a clue he did it. Needless to say, he never performed as a MFCO again.
Gee. It was more fun to imagine your left hand on the launch button and your right hand poised over the destruct button just in case.