Enter the Dragon

Courtesy: SpaceX

DRAGON ATTACK: Our day began with NASA TV's coverage. We tuned into coverage of events leading up to the historic SpaceX launch, starting with a Tweetup (called a "social" now) centered largely on the Really Big Deal going down this weekend - launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket propelling the Dragon capsule to the ISS for a robotic resupply mission.

Or, as SpaceX describes it in their press kit, "For the first time in history, a private corporation is set to prove it can deliver cargo to the International Space Station. At the Cape Canaveral AirForce Station, Fla., a Falcon 9 rocket belonging to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), is being prepared to place its Dragon spacecraft into orbit on a test mission to the orbital outpost."

We spent time today all over the Internet, reading up on the SpaceX launch. From SpaceX's press kit, we learned lots about the cargo manifest that the Dragon capsule would be carrying. It includes 674 pounds of food and crew provision, crew clothing, "pantry" items (batteries, etc), NanoRacks Module 9 for the U.S. National Laboratory (apparently it includes a box for student competition investigations, and its scientific goals range from microbial growth to water purification in microgravity), ice bricks for cooling and transfer of experiment samples, cargo bags, and 22 pounds of computers and supplies. The total cargo mass was listed as 1,146 pounds (520 kilograms), including packaging.

However,given the really detailed list above, imagine my surprise today when I saw a headline about the "secret" cargo aboard the launch - including Star Trek's Scotty's ashes (along with 306 other souls)!!! Welcome to commercial space flight. :) To help pay the bills, they are taking on "passengers."

TEST FLIGHT: Months and months ago, we bought a model SpaceX model rocket. We carefully assembled the kit, and have been holding on to it, waiting for this official SpaceX launch day to arrive.

True confession time- I made the mistake of doing some online research and found our that it's illegal to launch model rockets from Seattle parks. Yes, we could drive to the wonderful 60 acre park in Redmond,  But in rush hour traffic on a Friday? No thank you.
So we decided to keep it local and, er, illegal. To quote Seattle son Jimi Hendrix: "Excuse me while I kiss the sky."  :)

We headed over to sprawling Discover Park, found a wide open space, and set up.

Here's CJ attaching one of the electronic ignition's clamps to one of the engine's lead wires. The parachute and recovery wadding in place, we were ready for lift off!

 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

 We have liftoff! Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 with its Dragon capsule.

 Here's some launch footage Annabelle filmed with my cell phone.

And I'm happy to report the post-launch recovery mission was a complete success. Both capsule and rocket were recovered and are ready to go again!

 We came home, had dinner and watched the clock until 1:55 a.m., the official launch time. (Christian and I stayed up, and we got CJ and Annabelle up at the appointed time.)

We watched the countdown excitedly and the announcer even SAID "Liftoff!" and well ... nuthin'. Falcon 9 didn't move an inch. The launch was aborted due to a high pressure reading in engine number 5.

Scrubbed! Drat! So back to sleep the kids went, and this morning, SpaceX's site says they'll be trying again on Tuesday early morning - 12:44 Pacific time.

We'll be watching.