Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Well...the first day of launch got "scrubbed".

The reasonings for the constant delays of the ARES IX launch ranged from the typical weather related delays, technical difficulties concerning the rocket itself, and there was even a delay because a cargo ship somewhere out in the Atlantic had entered the red zone, which was the area in the Atlantic ocean where NASA projected that certain parts of the rocket, after disengaging, could potentially land.

The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center near 6 in the morning while the temperature was still bearable and the sun was still down. The press area was riddled with news crews covering the days events.

The patient ARES rocket gleamed off in the distance with its incredible presence, as two huge spot lights soared from the ground to the sky above. All the while the famous countdown clock at the press area diligently ticked down the seconds for lift-off.

As the sun and anticipation rose; the heat did as well. The crew slowly made their way into the on-site tent to rehydrate and re-energize with a bite to eat as the delays of the rocket launch chiseled away at the narrow four hour window that NASA allotted for the ARES launch.

Needless to say one hour turned into 2, and 3 turned into 4, which by 12 O'clock diminished the window for the first test flight of the ARES IX rocket.

Tomorrow they project a 20% increase of probability for a launch, so we're up again before the crack of dawn to set up the tripods to be there to tape the future of the NASA program.


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