On 21 Mar, 01:27, Pat Flannery wrote:
Well, if nothing else, it's showing the on-time launch reliability
demonstrated by the Shuttle in a privately funded booster.
I still don't think that pre-launch test firing of a engine with an
ablative combustion chamber lining is a good idea.

Pat

Just woke up - read all this and can't decide whether the Falcon 1
flight was a success or whether it was a failure with a positive
spin.

"The second stage didn't achieve full orbital velocity, due to a roll
excitation late in the burn, but that should be a comparatively easy
fix once we examine the flight data."

What's a roll excitation, and why doesn't the flight control software
compensate for this?

Perhaps this will mean more to me after a cup of coffee.