When & where is the next rocket launch worldwide?

#129

I am adding a small feature to the above piston, but I am left with a decision to make between one of two similar choices. Would you guys give your input here, and I will add it to the next version very shortly?

OK, a bit of background.

This piston has somewhat restricted API calls. (intentionally). Basically, it calls once twice a day (at an hour of your choosing), and then as the launch approaches, it pulls hourly during the final three hours. (it also updates hourly afterwards until the API updates correctly). Then it is back to once twice a day.

OK, so here is the new feature I am about to add:

I am limited on space at the moment, but I want the log to show a tiny bit of information each time it pulls from the API… (in other words, I will not be parsing this) This only serves as a quick check in the log to see when the last API pull was.

Out of all of the dataPoints available, the following two seem to be the most informative.
Which one would you like to see inserted in the log once a day?

string {nfo}

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch the "Don't Stop Me Now" mission on Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 4:43 AM (UTC).

string {quickText}

Electron - "Don't Stop Me Now" - Thu Jun 11, 2020 04:43:00 UTC (L-07:39:00) - https://rocketlaunch.live/launch/elana-32 for info/stream

(the samples above are exactly what is seen in the current API)

Hmmm…

Personally, while I like the friendly sentence in {nfo}, I think my vote will be with {quickText} since it has all of {nfo}'s data plus 2 more…

… but I’d love to hear what you guys think…

Edit:

I just noticed that {nfo} is word for word in the hover text… so my vote is definitely {quickText}.
Plus, I really like the L- countdown…
(this appears as T- on some launches… Could T- be a USA thing?)

Please note: With our current limit of 1-4 API requests per day, we will not be using that countdown for any math in this piston.

(but it can be handy to double check to confirm that your time were converted correctly)

#130

I do like the friendly sentence of the {nfo} variable but will have to agree with you that {quickText} will probably be the better way to go. To me it feels more factual as opposed to conversational if that makes sense. And space = science = facts so there it is! :slight_smile:

In all seriousness, this piston in its current iteration already is awesome. Squeezing that much more out of it in whatever variety will only make it better.

#131

I could really feel the battle between my left and right brain on this one, LOL

#132

I can 100% relate to that from time to time! Its when they start yelling at each other when I get concerned!

#133

Thankfully, my right brain is pretty adaptable… and can usually shift over whenever my left brain decides to put it’s ‘foot’ down, LOL

On that note… The piston in the top post here has been updated with the new feature :sparkles:, as well as a few additional tweaks. (build 138 so far, LOL)

… but I am a man of my word… If the vote comes in for {nfo}, I will update it accordingly.

The biggest functional change to this updated version is the multiple checks as it gets closer to launch time… (this feature seems crucial with this API, and is here to stay)

Note to @guxdude… I’m still using the same formula, but I shifted {tzOffset} to (no value set) up top, so if there is ever an error in the calculations, I can easily confirm that it is showing the right offset.

#134

Very nice, updating now!

#135

Sweet!

3h 27m to launch now… Your new piston should update the first time it runs naturally.

#136

Just got back from camping so was out of the loop but I would say the {quickText} makes sense. For a log, I don’t necessarily need a pretty sentence.

I have thought for a while that would make sense. Like most other variables, it’s always good to see the latest calculation.

#137

Now that is what I call social-distancing, LOL

#138

T-58 minutes until launch…

Potential live feed here…

Edit:

Interesting… It looks like the New Zealand feed is actually running at a 6-7 minute delay…

#139

T-12 minutes… The feed is active now

Edit

Wow… It was a previous recording, but the first time I have seen a stage caught mid-air while falling…
(before it hit the water)

…

Bonus points for the herd of animals grazing past the launch pad

Edit 2:

Slight delay due to winds… (the clock is paused at 5:48 12:00)
It sounds like they are going to sneak in the launch in between gusts…

(I believe the window for today is 1h 49m, but the weather is looking beautiful from here!)

Edit 3:

Here is a link to the closest weather station I could find on WUnderground. (14 mi / 23 km)

Currently showing:
pic

Edit 4:

The API has not updated anything yet…
Other than showing a positive number now: (L+01:02:27) counting up.

#140

T-10 minutes on the clock… and clear for launch.
API showing L+01:16:01

Edit 2:

The launch paused at 2:49 due to high winds…
… and reset to 12 minutes… Planning to launch when there is a break in the wind.

Ahh well… Kudos to the DJ and the great “space” music…
(I’d love to know the artist here if anyone recognizes…
Shazam has given me 3 different musicians, and about a dozen failed attempts)

#141

T-15 minutes, and counting down for the last attempt for the day…

The winds are still a bit high at the moment though, so no promises.

The API still shows the old data (L+01:34:58)

Bonus observation… Our {hrsToLaunch} is a negative number… meaning the latest piston above will auto update each hour until the API adjusts itself. :+1:

Note to self:

The next version should change the background color to red when the L- turns into L+
(although I thought the Florida launch was T- to T+)

#142

The launch for today was postponed due to winds at T- 49 seconds…

pic
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The reschedule may (or may not) be in front of the Cape Canaveral launch in L-2 days, 02:44:35

#143

As of now, the API quickText is still outdated showing (L+02:04:18)

Unfortunately, I will be away from the keyboard for a bit, so I will not catch the exact time it updates. (although my log should catch it within an hour)

#144

I love your updates on this! I was already in bed but the play by play here is so good! :slight_smile:

#145

The API updated sometime between 35m and 1h 35m after the launch was postponed…
(which is somewhere between 2h 25m and 3h 25m after the scheduled launch time)

#146

So I am curious what you all have for next launch. I currently have my split pistons running as well as the latest from @WCmore. I set the latest from above to run at 3:03 AM and it is showing the Electron as the next launch but my split piston that updated around midnight is showing the Falcon-9. It appears somewhere between midnight and 3 AM, they added in the next launch attempt of Electron and it is abut 4 hours before Falcon-9. I guess they won’t get in sync until the next update after midnight tonight. I guess that is the downside of the request limit of once a day.

#147
  • The API showed New Zealand 9 hours ago…
  • Then New Zealand was postponed
  • Then the API updated to show Falcon 9 as next in line
  • Recently, the re-schedule was posted for New Zealand (L-1 days, 14:00:00)

My piston is still showing the Falcon 9, but will update itself long before the next launch.

Note: I did change my $hour24 to $hour, so mine now updates twice every day…
(I will include this in my next update, but its easy to change in your pistons, if you like)

#148

Not sure if anyone is interested in this but will post here for the curious. I took advantage of the busy launch schedule over the next week and extended @WCmore’s latest piston by converting most of the variables to lists. You can now have it display as many future launches as you like (although those too far are not so interesting as pointed out earlier). Anyway, I set it so it will display all the launches in the net week and dynamically update as launches change. DSo earlier today it looked like this:

Screen%20Shot-Two%20Gauges
Screen Shot-Two Gauges.png700×390 36.3 KB

And then tonight it updated to this as a third launch entered the window:

Screen%20Shot-Three%20Gauges
Screen Shot-Three Gauges.png1036×390 45 KB

Unfortunately, this extra logic means it is 21 chunks so WCMORE won’t be able to view it. But it is here if anyone has interest. (code 8a7e)

Launch%204
Launch 4.png1178×3243 789 KB