Out of the Cradle is live blogging it. They seem to be weather delayed right now.

[Update at about 3 PM Pacific (two hours before the launch window closes]

They need to check valves on the LOX fill tanks and then clear the area restarting the countdown in 1 and a half to two hours. What been driving the delays? weather? equip? Weather at one point - then lox - no other Boiloff of mechanical - doesn’t know 3 camera crews at launch site, waiting Anyone streaming live - not sure Possible further update coming?

Sounds like they're cutting it pretty close for a launch before the window closes. I think that they can continue to attempt it tomorrow and for a few more days, though.

[Update at 8 PM EST]

They've extended the launch window, but still no launch. Hard to believe it will happen today (their time).

[Another update a minute or two later]

Paul Dietz notes in comments that they scrubbed the launch. No other indication of this from my limited (in time) resources, but it seems likely to me.

And now they've scrubbed the launch. Next try, tomorrow at the same time.

Excuse me, tomorrow at 1 PM EST.

It was being reported on www.spaceflightnow.com, in their mission status page for the launch.

The scrub is now being reported there as being due to the rocket's computer rebooting.

Now the SpaceX site is saying the launch has been scrubbed until mid-December.

Better a reported launch than a lost rocket, I say.

If the spacex website is to be believed then
the launch must wait for more LOX to be delivered.
The launch was scrubbed by insufficent LOX and Helium.

I can't imagine bringing the whole circus halfway around the world and not bringing enought Lox and Helium to scrub four or five times, this is just astounding!

Actually, if I read it right, the problem appears to be that they vented a lot of LOX by accident early in the day and that they only can make a ton of LOX per day on site. That apparently was insufficient to cool down enough helium for launch.

I don't know what temperature the helium had to be cooled to, but at standard pressure, it boils at 4.2 K, -269 C, or -452 F. In comparison, oxygen boils at 90K. So whatever process you use to get helium down to that temperature is going to evaporate a lot of oxygen.

I don't believe they are using liquid He,
I just believe that they are cooling the gas bottles
to get the benifit from the lower temperature.
pv=nrt so for a given p and v you get a lot more
moles (n) when t=90K then when t=273K

Paul

Well, my first venture into the world of "live-blogging" has come and past.

To start with, I want to say I had a blast doing it and fully intend to try again, when a new launch date is settled upon.

I want to salute everyone at SpaceX who worked hard providing the opportunity to participate in, what most everyone agrees will be a turning point in the alt. space industry.

It was a day of firsts and I for one learned a lot from it. My one disappointment with myself, (call it lesson learned number one) is as the teleconference was breaking up we were informed that another attempt would take place tomorrow, (which would have been Sunday, November 27th), tentatively set for 9:00 am (pst) but that was not a firm time and something would be posted on the SpaceX website. At that point the conference call was disconnected.

So shy of jumping back on the phone and calling every cell phone number I have for SpaceX staff, I have to get the word handed to me directly and personally, I shut down and went to get some much needed sleep, (especially with the thought that I was going to probably be doing it all over again the next day.) Little did I know that less than five minutes later, the word came down that the flight was not only scrubbed, but the rescheduled date wouldn't be for a week, probably longer.

As I said, lesson learned.

I did want to thank everyone that checked in from time to time to take a look at my humble efforts to get the word out, on the events taking place, or as it turned out, not taking place. I also want to thank Dianne Molina and Larry Williams of SpaceX who worked very hard to keep us abreast of the goings on, even though they themselves were struggling to get the news, since their video and audio feeds from the island would drop off, be regained, only to drop off again.

I personally would have long before said, "heck with it..." and bellied up to the beverage counter. So to those folks, a well deserved tip of the hat!

In the end what it boiled down to, or should I say boiled off to was in SpaceX own words:
_________

" Although we were eventually able to refill the vehicle LOX tanks, the rate at which we could add helium was slower than the rate at which LOX was boiling away. There was no way to close the gap, so the launch had to be called off. In addition, we experienced an anomaly with the main engine computer that requires further investigation and was arguably reason in and of itself to postpone launch."
__________

As I said before, like them, I will be trying again, when the next launch date is firmed up.

This young bird will fly.
Mark J. Trulson
www.outofthecradle.net