Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 208

**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.

tmax63 · 07-30-2020, 02:58 PM

Inner space, outer space there isn't that much difference...…..

eDave · 07-30-2020, 03:22 PM

This is the first time I've really actually heard the roar of the thing as it heads out. It must sound massive in person. It's an awesome sound.

**Donger** · 07-30-2020, 03:31 PM

Mark your calendars this Sunday for The Return of Bob and Doug:

Weather permitting, NASA and SpaceX are targeting 2:42 p.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 2, for the splashdown and conclusion of the Demo-2 test flight mission, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, lifted off May 30 on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Scooter LaCanforno · 07-30-2020, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eDave

This is the first time I've really actually heard the roar of the thing as it heads out. It must sound massive in person. It's an awesome sound.

I was at the Cape today for this launch. That was the loudest rocket I've heard since the Space Shuttle. It was shaking the metal doors behind me.

**DaFace** · 07-30-2020, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Mark your calendars this Sunday for The Return of Bob and Doug:

Weather permitting, NASA and SpaceX are targeting 2:42 p.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 2, for the splashdown and conclusion of the Demo-2 test flight mission, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, lifted off May 30 on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Wonder if they'll have to put them in the Gulf. There's a hurricane bearing down on Florida on the Atlantic side.

**DaFace** · 07-30-2020, 06:22 PM

This weekend could be a lot of fun. On top of Bob and Doug coming home, SpaceX will hopefully be ready to hop Starship SN5. No set date and time on that one, but probably Sunday or Monday at the earliest.

pic.twitter.com/8lpvwbeC4R
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2020

**DaFace** · 07-31-2020, 08:04 PM

Looks like they think that weather in the Gulf will be OK on Sunday.

NEWS: Teams from @NASA and @SpaceX remain GO with plans to bring @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken home to Earth on Sunday afternoon. We will continue to monitor weather before undocking Saturday night. Read more: https://t.co/GjXe4q6tQA
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) August 1, 2020

It's probably not going to be the most engaging television, but departure is tomorrow night at 7:34 p.m. EDT. Splashdown will be much more of a stress-inducer and is scheduled for 2:42 p.m. EDT on Sunday.

**DaFace** · 07-31-2020, 08:07 PM

Also, I'm not sure if anyone else is geeky enough to care like I do, but Gwynne Shotwell is scheduled to be at the post-splashdown press conference. I love her interviews. She takes Elon's insanity and compresses it into a plan that's actually achievable.

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Wonder if they'll have to put them in the Gulf. There's a hurricane bearing down on Florida on the Atlantic side.

Sounding like it. I read that they have four potential recovery areas to pick from. Does that mean that they have four different recovery ships on those areas?

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 10:05 AM

This is cool!

https://spacexfleet.com/next-2/

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 10:07 AM

Visual of the two sites in red.

Scrollable map: https://t.co/PLa4xeEA7q pic.twitter.com/gzT0OaERmy
— Gavin - SpaceXFleet.com (@SpaceXFleet) July 31, 2020

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

This is cool!

https://spacexfleet.com/next-2/

Yeah, that's a nice resource. Cool.

To your earlier question, I would assume that the decision set is winnowed down as we get closer to the window. I know they started with 7 options, and you had alluded to 4. Now it looks like they're down to 2. So they probably just need to move the recovery ships to the right place, but I bet they can do that in 12 hours or so on either side.

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Yeah, that's a nice resource. Cool.

To your earlier question, I would assume that the decision set is winnowed down as we get closer to the window. I know they started with 7 options, and you had alluded to 4. Now it looks like they're down to 2. So they probably just need to move the recovery ships to the right place, but I bet they can do that in 12 hours or so on either side.

Makes sense. I shudder to think of the math required to get the accuracy needed. Those really don't look very far off land.

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Makes sense. I shudder to think of the math required to get the accuracy needed. Those really don't look very far off land.

Eh, it's super complex I'm sure, but it's also super predictable, and the equations haven't really changed since the early days of space flight. These days, I'm sure computers can figure it out nearly instantly.

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Eh, it's super complex I'm sure, but it's also super predictable, and the equations haven't really changed since the early days of space flight. These days, I'm sure computers can figure it out nearly instantly.

I looked it up. Some of the Mercury and Gemini flights were off by tens of kilometers. One was 400. No worse than 5 kilometers for Apollo.

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-13101	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..
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07-30-2020, 02:58 PM	#3106
tmax63 Veteran Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Colorado Casino cash: $1752400	Inner space, outer space there isn't that much difference...….. __________________ An armed member of society is a citizen, an unarmed member is a subject.
Posts: 3,898

07-30-2020, 03:22 PM	#3107
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013 Casino cash: $9998560	This is the first time I've really actually heard the roar of the thing as it heads out. It must sound massive in person. It's an awesome sound.
Posts: 53,803

07-30-2020, 03:31 PM	#3108
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8439900 VARSITY	Mark your calendars this Sunday for The Return of Bob and Doug: Weather permitting, NASA and SpaceX are targeting 2:42 p.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 2, for the splashdown and conclusion of the Demo-2 test flight mission, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, lifted off May 30 on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,535

07-30-2020, 06:22 PM	#3111
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-13101	This weekend could be a lot of fun. On top of Bob and Doug coming home, SpaceX will hopefully be ready to hop Starship SN5. No set date and time on that one, but probably Sunday or Monday at the earliest. pic.twitter.com/8lpvwbeC4R — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2020
Posts: 52,572

07-31-2020, 08:04 PM	#3112
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-13101	Looks like they think that weather in the Gulf will be OK on Sunday. NEWS: Teams from @NASA and @SpaceX remain GO with plans to bring @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken home to Earth on Sunday afternoon. We will continue to monitor weather before undocking Saturday night. Read more: https://t.co/GjXe4q6tQA — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) August 1, 2020 It's probably not going to be the most engaging television, but departure is tomorrow night at 7:34 p.m. EDT. Splashdown will be much more of a stress-inducer and is scheduled for 2:42 p.m. EDT on Sunday.
Posts: 52,572

07-31-2020, 08:07 PM	#3113
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-13101	Also, I'm not sure if anyone else is geeky enough to care like I do, but Gwynne Shotwell is scheduled to be at the post-splashdown press conference. I love her interviews. She takes Elon's insanity and compresses it into a plan that's actually achievable.
Posts: 52,572

08-01-2020, 10:05 AM	#3115
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8439900 VARSITY	This is cool! https://spacexfleet.com/next-2/ __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,535

08-01-2020, 10:07 AM	#3116
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8439900 VARSITY	Visual of the two sites in red. Scrollable map: https://t.co/PLa4xeEA7q pic.twitter.com/gzT0OaERmy — Gavin - SpaceXFleet.com (@SpaceXFleet) July 31, 2020 __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,535