Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 193

**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** · 05-30-2020, 12:35 PM

Weather is go!!!

Hog's Gone Fishin · 05-30-2020, 12:41 PM

Doug & Bob looking nervous

Hog's Gone Fishin · 05-30-2020, 12:42 PM

If I were the astronaut I'd push the abort button 5 minutes before liftoff every time they strapped me in that sucker until I got fired.

**Donger** · 05-30-2020, 01:03 PM

T-20:00

Chief Roundup · 05-30-2020, 01:04 PM

Everything appears to be a go. 1st load is almost done.

Hog's Gone Fishin · 05-30-2020, 01:07 PM

oh crap, smoke pouring out the side of the rocket!

RINGLEADER · 05-30-2020, 01:07 PM

So very cool.

Shows you what willing something into existence looks like.

kstater · 05-30-2020, 01:11 PM

Stupid question, are they landing the rocket today?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**DaFace** · 05-30-2020, 01:11 PM

FWIW, the NASA feed on YouTube appears to be about 30 seconds behind the SpaceX feed.

**DaFace** · 05-30-2020, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstater

Stupid question, are they landing the rocket today?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yep, on the drone ship. (It'll be pretty rare when SpaceX doesn't attempt a landing.)

RINGLEADER · 05-30-2020, 01:13 PM

Tee-minus-ten minutes.

kstater · 05-30-2020, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Yep, on the drone ship. (It'll be pretty rare when SpaceX doesn't attempt a landing.)

I assumed so, but didn’t know if they were focusing all their efforts on getting the bus to ISS

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**Donger** · 05-30-2020, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

FWIW, the NASA feed on YouTube appears to be about 30 seconds behind the SpaceX feed.

Go NASA...

RINGLEADER · 05-30-2020, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

FWIW, the NASA feed on YouTube appears to be about 30 seconds behind the SpaceX feed.

This is true.

**DaFace** · 05-30-2020, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstater

I assumed so, but didn’t know if they were focusing all their efforts on getting the bus to ISS

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Suffice it to say, if the crew is safely into orbit and they don't land the booster, it's a hugely successful day.

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: 52,542	1 0

05-30-2020, 12:35 PM	#2881
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8519900 VARSITY	Weather is go!!! __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,225

05-30-2020, 12:41 PM	#2882
Hog's Gone Fishin Fish are scared of me Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $-129523	Doug & Bob looking nervous
Posts: 40,646

05-30-2020, 12:42 PM	#2883
Hog's Gone Fishin Fish are scared of me Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $-129523	If I were the astronaut I'd push the abort button 5 minutes before liftoff every time they strapped me in that sucker until I got fired.
Posts: 40,646

05-30-2020, 01:03 PM	#2884
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8519900 VARSITY	T-20:00 __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,225

05-30-2020, 01:04 PM	#2885
Chief Roundup Admitted Planet Junky Join Date: Oct 2000 Casino cash: $201627	Everything appears to be a go. 1st load is almost done. __________________ Fanaticism is nowhere. There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
Posts: 19,420

05-30-2020, 01:07 PM	#2886
Hog's Gone Fishin Fish are scared of me Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $-129523	oh crap, smoke pouring out the side of the rocket!
Posts: 40,646

05-30-2020, 01:07 PM	#2887
RINGLEADER In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Confusion, USA Casino cash: $8470503	So very cool. Shows you what willing something into existence looks like.
Posts: 47,261

05-30-2020, 01:11 PM	#2888
kstater Custom User Title Join Date: Jan 2007 Casino cash: $-13437	Stupid question, are they landing the rocket today? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk __________________
Posts: 39,719

05-30-2020, 01:11 PM	#2889
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $66899	FWIW, the NASA feed on YouTube appears to be about 30 seconds behind the SpaceX feed.
Posts: 52,542

05-30-2020, 01:13 PM	#2891
RINGLEADER In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Confusion, USA Casino cash: $8470503	Tee-minus-ten minutes.
Posts: 47,261