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[alway]

Today SpaceX is expected to launch their first test flight of their Falcon 9 rocket. As always, they will have a live webcast of it on their website here. Launch window opens at 11AM EST (about 1 hour from this thread's posting) with the live webcast starting 20 minutes earlier. So if you need something to do this afternoon, you can watch a rocket launch! If this webcast is like the last one, there will be onboard cameras which give a nice view of the Earth. As of now, the webcast is on, but on looping footage.

Edit: SpaceX's site seems to be going very slow; I found another webcast here (not the same as the other, but rather coverage done by a site). I would guess it will at least be passable if you can't get the official one to work.

Edit: As of around 2:55 PM EST, the Falcon 9 rocket made it into orbit after a launch at 2:45 PM EST.

[andrea]

thanks you for the information and the link.
Now I am watching it,waiting for the looping video to stop. shouldn't have it stopped already?launch window opens soon.

[alway]

thanks you for the information and the link.
Now I am watching it,waiting for the looping video to stop. shouldn't have it stopped already?launch window opens soon.

Seems it starts at t-20 minutes; current time is t -22 minutes.

[alway]

The live webcast should be starting any second now.
Edit: And it has started!
Edit2: T -15, countdown has been put on hold for "range".

[andrea]

started I think. Somebody spoke. I wish I could understand spoken english better.

[smjjames]

Whooyea! Watching it.

CNN has it live!

[alway]

Huh... The holding counter isn't increasing any more, but the T counter isn't decreasing.

[andrea]

I noticed that too, and was going to post about it.

Did they say anything about it? unluckily, I can hardly understand anything they say.

edit:started again. the hold timer I mean, not the T counter

[alway]

So it would seem. I, quite frankly, have no idea why they are still holding. Mostly because I have very little understanding of a rocket launch. Something about "range going red."
Edit: From chat via the second link in the original post, it seems some idiot boater decided it would be fun to go into the area of ocean which must be clear during launch.

[andrea]

confirmed by SpaceX webcast.

"Posted June 04, 2010 09:54 Pacific Time

Currently the range is holding for a concern about the downrange clear zone."

edit: hold timer reset back to 0, T timer doesn't move. what happens?

[alway]

The launch was scrubbed for today. F'ing moron in a sailboat went into the downrange area. That combined with running out of time (weather was getting bad) due to the sailboat meant no launch today. The link to that second webcast is much better as far as explaining the situation.

[andrea]

COUNTDOWN STARTED!

[smjjames]

5 min and counting!

[andrea]

I hope alway didn't stop watching.
4 minutes and counting.

[andrea]

2 minutes