Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 115

**DaFace** · 07:17 AM

Since a number of cool things are happening in space exploration these days, we'll widen the scope of this thread a smidge. Conversation about all things space exploration are welcome, whether it be from NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, or anyone else. Chances are most of the discussion will still be about SpaceX since they love to make things public and fun, but nothing's off limits. I'll eventually get around to modifying the OP to include resources for other companies too, but in the meantime, feel free to post any cool stuff you run across.

Lists of Upcoming Missions

Spoiler!

How to Watch a Live Launch

Spoiler!

Where to Learn More

Spoiler!

Glossary

Spoiler!

Space discussions tend to get a little bogged down in jargon, so here's a list of terms you might encounter. (Others, please let me know of others that should be added.)

ASDS - Autonomous Spaceport Droneship - The "barges" that they sometimes land rockets on.
Dragon - The cone-shaped capsule that sits at the top of the rocket for ISS-bound launches that holds the cargo (or, in the future, humans).
F9 - Falcon 9, the name of the rocket itself.
FH - Falcon Heavy, the three-booster version.
GTO - Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, a type of orbit that will eventually result in the satellite orbiting the earth as it turns so that it seems to be in the same spot from the ground (such as DirecTV or Dish satellites). These types of launches are particularly challenging because they require a lot of power to get them into the right orbit, leaving very little fuel left for landing.
HIF - Horizontal Integration Facility - the building near the launch pad where they put all of the pieces of the rocket together before rolling it out to the pad.
ISS - The International Space Station
JRTI - Just Read The Instructions, the name of the "barge" that they land on for west-coast launches.
LEO - Low Earth Orbit, a fairly low orbit shared by many satellites and ISS. These launches usually require less power to achieve the proper orbit, so the first stage can often be landed back on land rather than on a drone ship.
LZ1 - Landing Zone 1, basically a big open slab of concrete at Cape Canaveral where the first stage will attempt to land (for some launches).
NET - No Earlier Than, basically the date they're hoping to launch, but rocket launches have a tendency of getting delayed.
OCISLY - Of Course I Still Love You, the name of the "barge" that they land on for east-coast launches.
RTLS - Return to Landing Site, a mission where the first stage comes back and lands at LZ1.
Starship - SpaceX's next-generation rocket (and spacecraft) that will hopefully one day take us to Mars. Starship is the "second stage" that will carry cargo or people, but also refers to the whole system. (It's confusing, but think of it like the Space Shuttle, which was both the shuttle itself and the entire launch system.)
Super Heavy - The giant booster that will carry Starship to space.

**Donger** · 02-22-2018, 08:31 AM

Yay. More Heavy, please.

Chitownchiefsfan · 02-22-2018, 08:36 AM

Another successful launch!

**DaFace** · 02-22-2018, 08:39 AM

They're trying to catch the fairing at the moment, so that's fun at least.

FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">

F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:49.9537037037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">

000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Going to try to catch the giant fairing (nosecone) of Falcon 9 as it falls back from space at about eight times the speed of sound. It has onboard thrusters and a guidance system to bring it through the atmosphere intact, then releases a parafoil and our ship, named Mr. Steven, with basically a giant catcher’s mitt welded on, tries to catch it.

c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Feb 22, 2018 at 6:07am PST

stumppy · 02-22-2018, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

They're trying to catch the fairing at the moment, so that's fun at least.

FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">

F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:49.9537037037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">

000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Going to try to catch the giant fairing (nosecone) of Falcon 9 as it falls back from space at about eight times the speed of sound. It has onboard thrusters and a guidance system to bring it through the atmosphere intact, then releases a parafoil and our ship, named Mr. Steven, with basically a giant catcher’s mitt welded on, tries to catch it.

c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Feb 22, 2018 at 6:07am PST

I seen that and had this thought 'Easy Peezy, what could go wrong'.

**DaFace** · 02-22-2018, 09:32 AM

Not quite there yet.

Missed by a few hundred meters, but fairing landed intact in water. Should be able catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down descent.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2018

**DaFace** · 02-22-2018, 11:42 AM

FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">

F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">

000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Falcon fairing half as seen from our catcher’s mitt in boat form, Mr. Steven. No apparent damage from reentry and splashdown.

c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Feb 22, 2018 at 7:36am PST

savchief · 02-22-2018, 01:16 PM

Don’t tell anyone, but the wifi password is “martians”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2018

**Donger** · 02-22-2018, 01:38 PM

The MicroSat 2a and 2b are two identical satellites to test technologies for SpaceX's planned 4425-satellite Starlink constellation to provide broadband Internet access.

These satellites replace the MicroSat 1a and 1b microsatellites as the first test satellites for the SpaceX constellation. The first phase of testing will include two satellites: Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b. These two satellites are intended to be launched as early as 2017.

Both of these satellites will be deployed in one mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 v1.2 launch vehicle into an orbital plane of 514 km circular at 97.44 degrees inclination. After insertion, the satellite orbits will be raised to the desired mission altitude of 1125 km circular. The designed lifetime of each satellite is six months. If this lifetime is exceeded, SpaceX plans to continue operation until such time as the primary mission goals can no longer be met, at which point the spacecraft will be deorbited. Both Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b are identical in their construction and operation.

The primary structure for the Microsat-2a and -2b test spacecraft will be a box design measuring 1.1 m × 0.7 m × 0.7 m and carries the spacecraft flight computer, power system components, attitude determination and control components, propulsion components, GPS receiver, and broadband, telemetry, and command receivers and transmitters. The primary bus is mounted on the payload truss system, which also carries communications panels, inter-satellite optical link transmitters and receivers, star trackers, and a telemetry antenna. There are two 2 m × 8 m solar panels. Each demonstration spacecraft has a total mass of approximately 400 kg. The attitude of each spacecraft is 3-axis stabilized, and is dynamically controlled over each orbit to maintain attitude position for two pointing modes of operation: broadband antenna (antennas to nadir for testing) and solar array (solar arrays facing sun for charging). Power is provided by solar panels designed to deliver sufficient power at the predicted end of spacecraft life to not impair any test objectives. The Thermal Control System ensures that components are kept within operational temperature ranges.

In addition to proving out the development of the satellite bus and related subsystems, the test program for the Microsat-2a and -2b spacecraft will also validate the design of a phased array broadband antenna communications platform (primary payload) that will be included in the final spacecraft design for the proposed NGSO constellation. SpaceX intends to test the Microsat-2a and -2b communication paths utilizing five broadband array test ground stations located in the western United States, as well as three transportable ground stations that will be deployed near the fixed ground station locations, all within the contiguous United States (“CONUS”). With the orbit profile provided, broadband array tests (Ku-band) will be conducted on average once every 0.9 days for less than 15 minutes. The primary Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (“TT&C”) ground station will be located near the primary test site in Redmond, WA to facilitate and control the broadband array testing. The testing will help to validate a number of design parameters.

**DaFace** · 02-23-2018, 11:36 PM

I wish I had a way to post this without a bump, but since I wasn't the last post otherwise, here's a bump to say that the thread shouldn't be bumped this weekend after all.

Standing down from this weekend's launch attempt to conduct additional testing on the fairing’s pressurization system. Once complete, and pending range availability, we will confirm a new targeted launch date.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 24, 2018

Molitoth · 02-25-2018, 01:01 AM

**DaFace** · 02-27-2018, 01:13 PM

There are rumors that Hispasat may launch in the next couple days, but nothing definitive. I'll bump the thread when we know.

Unrelated, the first Block 5 F9 is on the test stand. Looks like it's gonna be a more black and white rocket moving forward rather than just white. The legs will be black too. (The yellow cap on the top is just to hold it down during testing.)

This probably isn't 100% accurate, but here's a brief synopsis of what people THINK the upgrades are:

https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comm..._readying_for/

Quote:

Titanium grid fins for unlimited re-uses.
New landing legs with the ability to be retracted by the ground crew instead of having to be removed after landing. These legs will also be black instead of white.
Changes to the turbopumps to prevent turbine wheel microfractures. This was never considered a risk by SpaceX but NASA asked SpaceX to fix the issue and from all reports they have.
Replace paint with thermal protection barrier coating for the purposes of re-use.
Improved heat shielding around the engines to improve re-usability.
The octoweb (structure that holds the engines) will be bolted instead of welded, to reduce time for inspection/repair/refurbishment and to allow easy change from F9 to FH side booster.
The interstage will be black instead of white - likely unpainted carbon fiber (saves time and weight).
Upgraded fairing, Fairing 2.0, which is very slightly larger and has changes to allow for recovery and re-use. It is also easier to make and lighter than the previous fairings.
SpaceX's upgraded COPVs (dubbed COPV 2.0) will fly on Block V. This is an upgrade to further reduce the potential for an incident like Amos-6.
Another improvement in thrust for the Merlin 1D engines (roughly 10%).
The rocket will be man-rated, meaning it will be certified to carry crew. NASA has set the bar at 7 successful flights of the rocket for certification.
Upgrades to valves, seals, and many other parts to allow for many re-uses.
Improved flight control, angle-of-attack, and control authority which should allow for landings with less fuel (and therefore the ability to land after lofting heavier payloads).

To summarize, they essentially made many interior parts to a significantly higher durability level, replaced the grid fins and landing legs with versions that are more durable and easier to reuse, significantly improved heat shielding over the entire vehicle - but focusing specifically on the engines - to limit needs for refurbishment, and made the engines easier to inspect/repair/refurbish by bolting instead of welding the octoweb. Then, due to improved flight control authority and thrust, they ensured that they should be able to land more of their missions.

Molitoth · 02-27-2018, 01:28 PM

boner

**DaFace** · 03-02-2018, 12:19 PM

Next FH launch is officially slated for June.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/0...-heavy-launch/

In short, 25 different satellites all in one launch. Should be a hell of a deployment to watch if nothing else.

--

Also, Hispasat is officially on for Monday night.

aturnis · 03-02-2018, 05:03 PM

Oh wow. Are they launching someone else's satellites, or their own?

Or I suppose, most likely, both?

**DaFace** · 03-02-2018, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aturnis

Oh wow. Are they launching someone else's satellites, or their own?

Or I suppose, most likely, both?

I don't THINK any of them will be more test sats from SpaceX themselves. Sounds like it's a couple of Air Force satellites plus probably a barrage of cubesats from universities and such.

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $66899	Space Exploration megathread Since a number of cool things are happening in space exploration these days, we'll widen the scope of this thread a smidge. Conversation about all things space exploration are welcome, whether it be from NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, or anyone else. Chances are most of the discussion will still be about SpaceX since they love to make things public and fun, but nothing's off limits. I'll eventually get around to modifying the OP to include resources for other companies too, but in the meantime, feel free to post any cool stuff you run across. Lists of Upcoming Missions Spoiler! General lists: https://nextspaceflight.com/ http://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/ SpaceX specific list: https://spacexnow.com/upcoming.php How to Watch a Live Launch Spoiler! SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/launches/ ULA: https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance RocketLab: https://www.youtube.com/user/RocketLabNZ NASATV will also cover some launches (primarily ISS resupply missions): https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision Where to Learn More Spoiler! Some cool pics... https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/ https://www.instagram.com/spacex/?hl=en Twitter feed is usually interesing... https://twitter.com/SpaceX https://twitter.com/elonmusk The SpaceX sub is a great source of info... https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/wiki/index And for a more forum-style discussion board... http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php#c17 And there are plenty of YouTube channels with great content... Joe Scott - Lost of "future" discussion. Some about rockets and space. Much that goes beyond. Scott Manley - Super smart dude (engineer) who reviews a lot of major events in space exploration. Frazer Cain (Universe Today) - Podcast-style videos that go in-depth into space topics. Tim Dodd (Everyday Astronaut) - A "random dude" who got really into space (particularly SpaceX). He's a great resource for simple explanations of this stuff, as well as live hosting launches. USLaunchReport - Lost of videos of the more mundane stuff (e.g., booster recovery operations). Not a ton of commentary. NASASpaceFlight - Live hosting of most launches including a ton of video of Starlink operations. Glossary Spoiler! Space discussions tend to get a little bogged down in jargon, so here's a list of terms you might encounter. (Others, please let me know of others that should be added.) ASDS - Autonomous Spaceport Droneship - The "barges" that they sometimes land rockets on. Dragon - The cone-shaped capsule that sits at the top of the rocket for ISS-bound launches that holds the cargo (or, in the future, humans). F9 - Falcon 9, the name of the rocket itself. FH - Falcon Heavy, the three-booster version. GTO - Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, a type of orbit that will eventually result in the satellite orbiting the earth as it turns so that it seems to be in the same spot from the ground (such as DirecTV or Dish satellites). These types of launches are particularly challenging because they require a lot of power to get them into the right orbit, leaving very little fuel left for landing. HIF - Horizontal Integration Facility - the building near the launch pad where they put all of the pieces of the rocket together before rolling it out to the pad. ISS - The International Space Station JRTI - Just Read The Instructions, the name of the "barge" that they land on for west-coast launches. LEO - Low Earth Orbit, a fairly low orbit shared by many satellites and ISS. These launches usually require less power to achieve the proper orbit, so the first stage can often be landed back on land rather than on a drone ship. LZ1 - Landing Zone 1, basically a big open slab of concrete at Cape Canaveral where the first stage will attempt to land (for some launches). NET - No Earlier Than, basically the date they're hoping to launch, but rocket launches have a tendency of getting delayed. OCISLY - Of Course I Still Love You, the name of the "barge" that they land on for east-coast launches. RTLS - Return to Landing Site, a mission where the first stage comes back and lands at LZ1. Starship - SpaceX's next-generation rocket (and spacecraft) that will hopefully one day take us to Mars. Starship is the "second stage" that will carry cargo or people, but also refers to the whole system. (It's confusing, but think of it like the Space Shuttle, which was both the shuttle itself and the entire launch system.) Super Heavy - The giant booster that will carry Starship to space. Last edited by DaFace; 10-13-2024 at 07:17 AM..
Posts: 52,545	1 0

02-22-2018, 08:31 AM	#1711
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8519900 VARSITY	Yay. More Heavy, please. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,242

02-22-2018, 08:36 AM	#1712
Chitownchiefsfan Starter Join Date: Jan 2018 Casino cash: $2040400	Another successful launch!
Posts: 462

02-22-2018, 08:39 AM	#1713
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $66899	They're trying to catch the fairing at the moment, so that's fun at least. FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:49.9537037037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> 000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Going to try to catch the giant fairing (nosecone) of Falcon 9 as it falls back from space at about eight times the speed of sound. It has onboard thrusters and a guidance system to bring it through the atmosphere intact, then releases a parafoil and our ship, named Mr. Steven, with basically a giant catcher’s mitt welded on, tries to catch it. c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Feb 22, 2018 at 6:07am PST
Posts: 52,545

02-22-2018, 09:32 AM	#1715
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $66899	Not quite there yet. Missed by a few hundred meters, but fairing landed intact in water. Should be able catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down descent. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2018
Posts: 52,545

02-22-2018, 11:42 AM	#1716
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $66899	FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> 000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Falcon fairing half as seen from our catcher’s mitt in boat form, Mr. Steven. No apparent damage from reentry and splashdown. c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Feb 22, 2018 at 7:36am PST
Posts: 52,545

02-22-2018, 01:16 PM	#1717
savchief Lefty Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Savannah Casino cash: $9416237	Don’t tell anyone, but the wifi password is “martians” — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2018
Posts: 123

02-22-2018, 01:38 PM	#1718
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8519900 VARSITY	The MicroSat 2a and 2b are two identical satellites to test technologies for SpaceX's planned 4425-satellite Starlink constellation to provide broadband Internet access. These satellites replace the MicroSat 1a and 1b microsatellites as the first test satellites for the SpaceX constellation. The first phase of testing will include two satellites: Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b. These two satellites are intended to be launched as early as 2017. Both of these satellites will be deployed in one mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 v1.2 launch vehicle into an orbital plane of 514 km circular at 97.44 degrees inclination. After insertion, the satellite orbits will be raised to the desired mission altitude of 1125 km circular. The designed lifetime of each satellite is six months. If this lifetime is exceeded, SpaceX plans to continue operation until such time as the primary mission goals can no longer be met, at which point the spacecraft will be deorbited. Both Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b are identical in their construction and operation. The primary structure for the Microsat-2a and -2b test spacecraft will be a box design measuring 1.1 m × 0.7 m × 0.7 m and carries the spacecraft flight computer, power system components, attitude determination and control components, propulsion components, GPS receiver, and broadband, telemetry, and command receivers and transmitters. The primary bus is mounted on the payload truss system, which also carries communications panels, inter-satellite optical link transmitters and receivers, star trackers, and a telemetry antenna. There are two 2 m × 8 m solar panels. Each demonstration spacecraft has a total mass of approximately 400 kg. The attitude of each spacecraft is 3-axis stabilized, and is dynamically controlled over each orbit to maintain attitude position for two pointing modes of operation: broadband antenna (antennas to nadir for testing) and solar array (solar arrays facing sun for charging). Power is provided by solar panels designed to deliver sufficient power at the predicted end of spacecraft life to not impair any test objectives. The Thermal Control System ensures that components are kept within operational temperature ranges. In addition to proving out the development of the satellite bus and related subsystems, the test program for the Microsat-2a and -2b spacecraft will also validate the design of a phased array broadband antenna communications platform (primary payload) that will be included in the final spacecraft design for the proposed NGSO constellation. SpaceX intends to test the Microsat-2a and -2b communication paths utilizing five broadband array test ground stations located in the western United States, as well as three transportable ground stations that will be deployed near the fixed ground station locations, all within the contiguous United States (“CONUS”). With the orbit profile provided, broadband array tests (Ku-band) will be conducted on average once every 0.9 days for less than 15 minutes. The primary Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (“TT&C”) ground station will be located near the primary test site in Redmond, WA to facilitate and control the broadband array testing. The testing will help to validate a number of design parameters. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,242

02-23-2018, 11:36 PM	#1719
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $66899	I wish I had a way to post this without a bump, but since I wasn't the last post otherwise, here's a bump to say that the thread shouldn't be bumped this weekend after all. Standing down from this weekend's launch attempt to conduct additional testing on the fairing’s pressurization system. Once complete, and pending range availability, we will confirm a new targeted launch date. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 24, 2018
Posts: 52,545

02-25-2018, 01:01 AM	#1720
Molitoth Mahomes Fanboi Join Date: Apr 2004 Casino cash: $1424969	.
Posts: 19,927

02-27-2018, 01:28 PM	#1722
Molitoth Mahomes Fanboi Join Date: Apr 2004 Casino cash: $1424969	boner
Posts: 19,927

03-02-2018, 12:19 PM	#1723
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $66899	Next FH launch is officially slated for June. https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/0...-heavy-launch/ In short, 25 different satellites all in one launch. Should be a hell of a deployment to watch if nothing else. -- Also, Hispasat is officially on for Monday night.
Posts: 52,545

03-02-2018, 05:03 PM	#1724
aturnis MVP Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Iowa Casino cash: $9975811	Oh wow. Are they launching someone else's satellites, or their own? Or I suppose, most likely, both?
Posts: 13,873