APOD: Falcon 9 Launches to Orbit (2010 Jun 08)

[wfischer]

it's a wasp, probably a yellowjacket. observe the downward curl in the tips of the antennae. the head and thoracic segment are greatly enlarged in comparison to the abdomen due to extreme foreshortening. but it's a wasp.

I'm thinking a spider wasp -- family Pompilidae -- but it's a little challenging to pick out the spines on the tibiae of the rear legs ...

[cosmo-not!]

It's a horse fly.

[Wolf7]

Its a giant alien insect attacking the Falcon 9.

SpaceX_Falcon9-BugAttack

[John S]

Happy to see the private sector taking on space. Now maybe some, many, or all the Science Fiction dreams can move forward. If there is money to be made, capitalism rules. Move out of the way NASA. I know some of you think NASA should continue and they are doing great science and all, but it wasn't NASA that decoded the human genome or recently proved synthetic life is possible and custom writing DNA will allow people to work and stay in space longer, even live out their lives in space. What an exciting for my kids to grow up in.

[John S]

It was a venusion wasp!

[Gravel]

Obviously, it was "Mothra."

[Beyond]

Ahh....The 'magic' of Space Flight! - Even more-so now that "Merlin" is getting them there!!

[ph]

A wasp

[Ann]

Hmmm, imagine if those rockets (or whatever they are) had brought that bug back from wherever they're going....

And thanks for your birthday greetings, Beyond! No, my ears haven't turned green yet, I think!

Spock

What, me green and envious?

(And Beyond, what you said... it sure isn't easy to work out the bugs!)

Ann

[FrogSplash]

Apparently insect identification is rocket science. It was an arachnid.

Spiders do not have wings or antenna or for that matter 3 segmented bodies. The insect on the screen had all of those.

FS

[peatjohnston]

The video footage of the successful rocket launch was great.

With regard to the post of the insect in question, it was from the order Hymenoptera and does resemble one of the wasp families. My best guess is that it is in the family Pompilidae, common name spider wasp, but we would need to see the transverse sulcus across the mesopleuron. It could be from the family Sphecidae, or something else closely related.

Cheers

[BugMan]

Definitely a wasp, probably polites but not a yellow jacket.

[Duke Nukem]

Anyone else notice that the launch vehicle was spinning oddly at the end of orbit insertion? Flight control system problem perhaps?

[Worker Bee]

The object that briefly appears in the video of the Falcon 9 could be a falcon but is probably a wasp or maybe a Bald-faced Hornet.

[Beyond]

I stand corrected!! Not everyone that uses big long unpronouncable words has over 500 posts.

[jimenez]

a wasp?

a screen capture:
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/4509/wasp.png

[markm3164]

the insect was a wasp maybe whats called a mud dobber not sure on the species

[AC]

I see some idiot posted a youtube link, so all I see is a page with no picture. Great job, Lou. Either use Theora or mp4 videos, which everyone can see, or use an animated gif (which everyone can also see), or don't bother. Flash and YouTube both suck, stop using them. Stupid.

[Chris Peterson]

I see some idiot posted a youtube link, so all I see is a page with no picture. Great job, Lou. Either use Theora or mp4 videos, which everyone can see, or use an animated gif (which everyone can also see), or don't bother. Flash and YouTube both suck, stop using them. Stupid.

The point of using YouTube is that the video is hosted. Your suggestion of formats isn't useful for those without the ability to host the data. Flash is ubiquitous; any device or OS worth anything supports it, and this forum is set up to easily accommodate embedded video from YouTube (and from Vimeo) . If you aren't seeing anything, you need to upgrade to modern equipment and software.

[oldtechie]

I am not an entomologist, so I'll go with wasp; never saw a winged spider. Thank God someone is keeping us (USA) in space; Congress certainly doesn't appear to be interested. By the way, Ann, Happy Birthday! Congratulations to the SpaceX team and keep flying, Falcon 9.

[rstevenson]

... Flash is ubiquitous; any device or OS worth anything supports it, ...

Thoughts On Flash, by Steve Jobs.

(Couldn't resist.)

Rob

[keir]

Why is it that Falcon 9 is already ascending before the atdio countdowns has completed?

[Jovian]

Apparently insect identification is rocket science. It was an arachnid.

Do you know what an arachnid is? They don't have wings...

The insect was a wasp.

[orin stepanek]

OK! By now we all know that it was a wasp! Is anyone still doubting it? I'd still like to know more about the Dragon! I knew they were working on a reentry vehicle; but was unaware of it's nearing completion. Besides; I thought a lot of funding was cancelled for the space program. I am thankful that we got something going.

[Arie Melamed-Katz]

I wonder if it's one of the couple of insects seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pOegGGHrP0#t=1m05s