Progeny Mk4 Flight 2

clamps installed on the pad for tomorrow's static test fire of the LF/O engine in the Mk4's bid to return to flight. The Progeny launch base has been moved back into the VAB

Mk4 3rd stage is on the way out to the launch pad to get hooked up to the static clamps & prepped for fueling. Static fire sched for 1700Z

Flight Director Lanalye has her team on console as mounting ops wrap up out on the launch pad to setup comms & systems prior to tanking

we have GO for tanking operations, loading 109 kg of LF/O - separately! Two tanker trucks on the pad. Fuel load takes approx 15 mins

rocket is topped off & pad crew is clearing out so pre-ignition checks can be performed. Still on schedule for 17:00 UTC ignition

5 minutes to ignition and all systems are GO! Pad is clear of crew & rocket is ARMED. Throttle set to initial thrust of 100% for burn start

successful ignition & good burn - we will run it at various throttle settings so entire burn will last nearly 1min instead of only 31s

burnout! crews giving things time to cool off then moving in to dismount & return the Mk4 to the VAB so we can analyze data from the TDU

Val is flying home today, Progenitor team analyzing data from static fire yesterday & KerBalloon team prepping for joint mission tomorrow

VAB technicians monitor the 3rd stage as it is integrated with the booster stack, "topping off" bit.ly/ProgenyMk4_2 launching 5/31 1733Z

both the Deuce & 2nd Progeny Mk4 have their final main integration work today, VAB & HAB so busy they are closed to non-essential workers

there was debate this morning whether Mk4 payload instruments should be removed prior to final integration check completion. Decision: No

although we continue to risk losing valuable science instruments, opinion is we risk more in losing any data that could have been collected

bit.ly/Progeny_Mk4-2 has been fully stacked & will next be laid horizontal for final readiness checks. We certainly have room to grow 🙂

view from the pad right now as 2nd sunrise gives way to blue skies. No time to enjoy the good weather for anyone tho - busy day as always!

an issue has been discovered with one of the 2nd stage engine fairing pieces - will need to be replaced, which means stack decoupled

Simon was unable to give a new estimate on rollout but def not by 3rd sunrise as originally planned, luckily rocket can remain horizontal

Tracking Station & Launch Control have submitted their launch readiness reports while Mortimer & Drew get all launch clearances in order

Val reminded Lanalye of Jeb's request to take up a Civvie for aerial photos of the launch - she said should have reminded her sooner. Drat!

Simon has signed off on the fairing replacement & launch readiness reports, rocket loading up on the carry vehicle - rollout at 4th sunrise

Drew & Mortimer have reviewed all other readiness reports & just await rocket mounting report to confirm launch readiness for tomorrow

view from the Astronaut Complex is foreboding - most of the Lagoo Nebula covered by clouds moving in from the west. We also hear thunder

rain has begun, thunder still distant but definitely getting louder. We called Jeb at Kravass who reports weather still bad too - that's 340km away!

narrow margin still remains for launch tomorrow @ 17:33 UTC. We currently plan to mount prior to 2nd sunset & roll straight into preflight

2nd sunrise is almost here but weather has not improved at all since our last update. Rollout needed by 12:13 UTC or launch hold called

storm is not severe, occasional thunder & cloud lightning w/ moderate rainfall - but it seems unusually persistent, over Kravass/Umbarg too

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-4)

5/31
#2🌄10:07:49
#3🌅12:48:12 ?🚀? 🌄16:08:40
#4🌅18:49:03 ?🚀? 🌄22:09:31

6/1
#1🌅00:49:54 🌄04:10:22
#2🌅06:50:45

this is *not* where the rocket needs to be right now :/ Launch HOLD now official. Launch window closes at 1909Z & 5h25m launch prep needed

daytime launch windows currently are 45min post-sunrise to 1hr pre-sunset. We can no longer prep launch before window closes. L-0 scrubbed

in the event that the weather clears up, new bit.ly/Progeny_Mk4-2 L-0 for next daytime window is set to 23:34 UTC w/rollout @ 18:09 UTC

Wx remains RED, launch is again on HOLD. Daytime window open until 01:09 UTC (6/1) as long as we don't roll out any later than 19:44 UTC

rainfall has remained steady & moderate, no heavy rains or flash flooding - water from the mountains draining without issue into the ocean

Flight Director Lanalye isn't giving her controllers a break or anything. More drills! How many ways can a launch fail? A lot. More drills!

well we tried our best but the weather continues to not cooperate. Launch is scrubbed for today :/ New L-0 time set for 17:37 UTC tomorrow

we checked in with Jeb again, he says they have clear skies at last, rain stopped about two hours earlier. Hopefully same for us soon then

RT @DKerman_KSA: *wakes up* today is feeling like a good day to launch a rocket

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-4)

6/1
#2🌄10:11:13
#3🌅12:51:36 !!🚀!! 🌄16:12:04
#4🌅18:52:27 🌄22:12:55

6/2
#1🌅00:53:18 🌄04:13:46
#2🌅06:54:09

pad inspection is underway as a beautiful sunrise breaks over the horizon, with clouds heading off to the east - and good riddance!!

pad crews have cleared the launch base for use, now contacting our various sources for weather reports. Today's condensed launch timeline:

[L-5h25m] Wx report is GREEN, no storms reported in the area - crews are mounting up and getting ready to roll out to the launch pad

Mk4 off to the pad w/ LF/O fuel trucks pacing behind. Carry vehicle only moves at 2m/s, taking ~5.5 minutes to travel to the pad 655m away

[L-4hr] mounting has been going well so far, Flight Director Lanalye and her team of launch controllers now assembling for final briefing

today's ascent profile will coast the rocket between stages to ease up on dynamic pressure. 3rd stage will be at full throttle, full burn

[L-3h30m] rocket mounting has been completed on sched ahead of sunset, but lights setup to work thru night cycle. Pre-flight has begun!

[L-3h15m] we are GO to begin tanking, rocket systems powered up & responding well over RF & landline. Fuel trucks moving in one at a time

[L-3h] tanking ops complete, 109kg of propellant has been loaded onto the Mk4. Full top-bottom check of rocket systems are now in progress

Monolith pilgrims have not been allowed on KSC grounds for the launch, but they'll still get a pretty good view from out on the north field

[L-2h15m] pre-flight continues w/o mission-critical issues (a few non-criticals have been logged) & engine checks up next after pad clears

[L-1h30m] we have confirmed with MSV Tongjess it is on station 25km SSE ready to monitor the eastern range & recover the payload

we have no idea how far downrange the payload will travel - prob farther than 25km but Tongjess can't go further w/o comm & radar issues

the empty LF/O tank will *not* detach from the payload, which should keep the 3rd stage buoyant & afloat until recovery team can reach it

lots of flashlights out in the viewing areas as KSC staff & families claim their spots ahead of launch. Handy-dandy viewing location guide:

[L-45m] launch rehearsal has begun in Launch Control after preflight checks were completed with no further issues - rocket looking good!

[L-30m] launch rehearsal completed & Wx outside looking great, seen from atop the flagpole by the launch pad. GO to proceed w/final count!

[L-20m] Tongjess has confirmed their recovery craft is in the water and starting to head further east to maximum comms distance of 40km

[L-15m] 300m pad blast radius clear, 10km downrange booster fallout cone clear, skies clear. RSO has given the GO - rocket is now ARMED

everyone spending the 10 min between rocket arming & final checks differently but all working towards the same goal - a green launch board

[L-5m] final all-stations poll: Wx GO, Range GO, Flight GO, Tracking Station GO, Tongjess GO. Launch clearance: authorized! 🚀GO PROGENY!!🚀

[L-2m] nominal EC drain reported from batteries as Mk4 comes off ground support, RF signal 5x5. Last major action prior to booster ignition

[L-1m] reminder bit.ly/Progeny_Mk4-2 will update in real-time with staging info (only updates for *planned* staging/ascent events)

Good launch!!
1st stage decoupled +0:05
2nd stage ignition +0:17 @ Δ1.5°
2nd stage decoupled +0:21
3rd stage ignition +0:49 @ 100m/s VS

noticeable precession of the 3rd stage spin after decoupling led to ignition being at 100m/s vertical speed as pitch angle was too erratic

ascent breakup! Tlm signal lost @ +1:09, then something went poof @ +1:15 followed a few secs after by kablooie! & flaming trails of debris

breakup happened 11km downrange at around 30km ASL so no danger from debris, both boosters have already landed w/in the safety corridor

Tongjess has departed to pickup their recovery team & head to port, we have radar data of debris tracked to the horizon for our analysis

Tlm data at time of LOS showed an apokee of 55.4km but we will use video & radar data to determine if apokee reached 70km before break up

post-launch activities wrapping up - as usual for Thurs launches expect a flight analysis to be posted with our ops summary late tomorrow

we're experiencing issues with our tracking cam data in getting the launch video put together, so that won't be out until at least tomorrow

still a bit of bad footage we couldn't scrub completely but here is yesterday's launch all the way through break up youtube.com/watch?v=DUqMUx…

even though everyone worked late, Mk4 analysis & future plans needs more time. Weekend break, then back to it on Monday for launch summary

we can at least reveal that projections based on tlm & radar data show Mk4 apokee did in fact exceed 70km before breakup. Space w/in reach!

Drew is still hung up in Umbarg but plans a teleconf w/Progenitor teams later today to hopefully resolve Mk4 planning & we can post update

Drew is still hung up in Umbarg but plans a teleconf w/Progenitor teams later today to hopefully resolve Mk4 planning & we can post update