pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Anyone who questions the value of FIRST I am going to just show them this picture, flip a table, then walk away. We send stuffs to space!

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Amazing! Actual engineering on CD is pretty cool, especially so close to build. Good luck on the launch!
I wonder if I told my friends this was student-built would they believe me?

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

I absolutely tribute both my passion for the space program, and fortune to be a part of it because of my involvement with FIRST.

Without FIRST, I would have never developed an interest in science and technology in high school. In college wouldn't have had the opportunity to work as an educator at the Kennedy Space Center if I didn't meet 233 mentor Gabe Salas. Post college graduation I wouldn't have obtained a career at Lockheed Martin if it weren't for the Lockheed Martin mentors on 1902, Ryan Leitch and Sarah Plemmons, whom I spent many hours with volunteering.

In the interview for this recent position I asked the panel of interviewers "Do any of you know about FIRST?" and I received the response "Why yes, my son is on a team!"

And here is the kicker... I'm not even an engineering major. FIRST mission is to inspire all students who go through the program, even the ones not destined to be engineers. Without this inspiration, who knows where I would have been this week, but certainly not on the 10th floor of a launch pad.

I owe a ton to my original teachers and mentors, to the corporate sponsors who made investments in the future, to the Florida Regional Planning Committee, and the hundreds of volunteers who made my life possible. I'm already registered in VIMS to support 11 FIRST events in the 2014-2015 season, so I too can help others realize how bright their futures can be.

You don't need a time machine to change the future.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Team 701 is also very excited! One of our team members, Jared Ellenberger, works at Lockheed and is an engineer that worked on the capsule ejection system for Orion. He is also a Head Referee at the Colorado Regional.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

As a 32 year employee of UTAS Space Systems, I too, have hardware on that vehicle. I get just as excited for every launch as I did watching the Mercury and Gemini launches as a kid. LIGHT THAT CANDLE!!!!:D

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

This is amazing. I can't wait!!! :D where can you go for updates? I really wanna find out what's going on as its happening tomorrow.

EDIT: Nevermind, just found that Orion has a page on NASA's site here.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Floridatoday.com is the Brevard County newspaper that always covers launches. Of course the NASA website could also be a very nice place to try as well.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Thanks! Yeah, I just found it at http://www.nasa.gov/orion/ It looks like they're gonna be updating that real time.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

This. It's my personal go-to site for any space news.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

grr weather and valves! hope ya'll will be able to launch in the next hour!

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Launch scrubbed. 24 hr recycle. Try again tomorrow 0705 EST.

Right off the NASA Orion blog:

The launch team has tentatively set a liftoff time of 7:05 a.m. EST, the opening of a 2-hour, 39 minute window just as today. We will begin our launch coverage at 6 a.m. tomorrow on NASA TV and on the Orion blog. Tune into the blog and NASA.gov for continuing updates throughout the day.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Thanks! So from a very elementary stand point, could you explain why there is a time window so small? It's not rendezvous-ing with any thing or interacting with any spatial bodies, so I would think it could just launch whenever. Why is this not the case?

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch
 

Launch and recovery during daylight, for one. Tracking space junk that might be in the way, for another. And I'm sure someone else way smarter than me can chime in here with some orbital mechanics reasons.