Some tips, and commentary from Bob Zimmerman.
[Monday-morning update]
OK, the guaranteed excitement didn’t happen today. But to be fair, the guarantee only applied if they actually got to T-0. Anyway, they should be able to resolve the pressurization issue for the next attempt.
On YouTube, with as many streams open as you have monitors while reminding yourself that the launch might not happen and you still need to get your stuff done.
My boss is already aware that any delay past the opening of the launch window means that I will be fairly useless until the window closes.
Luckily, he’s also a huge space nerd and almost beat me to the punch in mentioning the distraction coming on Monday morning.
I’ve warned my wife that I might not be on top of the coffee game in the morning as well, or it will already be cold by the time she’s up.
Am I wrong to hope the first launch is delayed until Friday when I am off work?
Nah, that’s the way to bet. The most likely scenario for Monday is some fault that trips up a sensor, causing an automatic abort just before launch. Probably gonna happen more than once before they actually light the candle. Murphy’s Law rules.
Yes, yes it does.
And how do we talk you into rescinding your law?
Occasionally Murphy’s Law applies to Murphy. Typically we refer to those rare occurrences as Miracles.
Occasionally? Rare? Murphy’s Law smacks me around the head and shoulders with a clue by 4 on a daily basis! I structure my projects with huge amounts of buffer specifically because of this. I am hyper cautious, even squirrelly about a lot of things because I’m just waiting, anticipating for the poo meets fan moment. Because it -will- happen, at that moment when human fallibility accrues to the point of triggering the inevitability of the universe.
Well, there it is, a scrub. I expect the next attempt to also scrub, then the third one to burn down, fall over, then sink into the swamp, but the fourth one, goes UP.
Project CORONA (Discoverer was its “cover” name) had launch failure after launch failure.
The project team grew discouraged but President Eisenhower insisted they perservere. Ike knew what was at stake given the U-2 flights being very risky.
The other story I read is that the reason Ike wasn’t setting what was left of his hair on fire with the launch of Sputnik is that this paved the way for CORONA. I mean, how could the Russians object to overflight by US spy satellites when Sputnick was flying over the US and every other country? I mean the Russians could object, but the argument would ring hollow with independent voters (neutral countries).
I’ve heard that all of those CORONA launch failures were later discovered to have been caused by a virus the Soviets managed to get into the launch vehicles’ flight computer….
In those days? Interesting… Bad paper tape? Would that be called a tapeworm rather than a virus?