Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 209

**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.

**mlyonsd** · 08-01-2020, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

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.

Did you ever watch the movie Hidden Figures? Great movie.

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Did you ever watch the movie Hidden Figures? Great movie.

In random WTF news, Disney is apparently trying to make that into a Broadway musical. Yes, I'm serious.

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

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.

I bet they don't have pinpoint accuracy even today; their struggles to catch the fairings is evidence enough of that. But I bet they get within 1-2 km of their target spot, and the ships can close that distance in a hurry.

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Did you ever watch the movie Hidden Figures? Great movie.

Wow, no I haven't, but I will. Thanks!

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 11:31 AM

**mlyonsd** · 08-01-2020, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

In random WTF news, Disney is apparently trying to make that into a Broadway musical. Yes, I'm serious.

Uhhhh. Ok?

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Uhhhh. Ok?

To their credit, Disney seems to have a Midas touch these days - everything they touch turns to gold. So who knows - maybe it'll be good? I guess it's cool to see a science-heavy story that might possibly make it into pop culture.

But still. Weird.

**mlyonsd** · 08-01-2020, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Wow, no I haven't, but I will. Thanks!

By chance it's on FX tonight at 6 and 9pm.

**mlyonsd** · 08-01-2020, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

To their credit, Disney seems to have a Midas touch these days - everything they touch turns to gold. So who knows - maybe it'll be good? I guess it's cool to see a science-heavy story that might possibly make it into pop culture.

But still. Weird.

To be honest I've never been to a broadway show I didn't like.

Coogs · 08-01-2020, 11:44 AM

There may be two opportunities to see both the space station and the Crew Dragon tonight. 9:12 Central for 5 minutes (if it is dark enough and the clouds are not to heavy), and again at 10:48 for only 2 minutes.

I'm not sure if they will be on the same path this time like they were prior to hook up, but both were clearly visible in the night sky at that point in time.

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coogs

There may be two opportunities to see both the space station and the Crew Dragon tonight. 9:12 Central for 5 minutes (if it is dark enough and the clouds are not to heavy), and again at 10:48 for only 2 minutes.

I'm not sure if they will be on the same path this time like they were prior to hook up, but both were clearly visible in the night sky at that point in time.

Is there a website or something that gives you the correct direction to look for it and the angle based on one's location?

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Is there a website or something that gives you the correct direction to look for it and the angle based on one's location?

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/index.cfm

That's for ISS, not Dragon, but Dragon should be right behind (I assume) tonight.

**Donger** · 08-01-2020, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/index.cfm

That's for ISS, not Dragon, but Dragon should be right behind (I assume) tonight.

That's perfect, thanks!

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 12:11 PM

Looks like they're going as far west as they can. Makes sense.

BREAKING: @NASA and @SpaceX are targeting Pensacola as the primary return location for Crew Dragon w/ @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken from the @Space_Station. We are targeting undocking at 7:34 p.m. EDT today. Read more: https://t.co/Xdh8iIpLxz pic.twitter.com/9p5TRMevAH
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) August 1, 2020

**DaFace** · 08-01-2020, 04:06 PM

Webcast is live (and will be until they're on the ground). Either NASA or SpaceX work.

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	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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08-01-2020, 11:31 AM	#3125
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8529900 VARSITY	__________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
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08-01-2020, 11:44 AM	#3130
Coogs In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Northern Kansas Casino cash: $-305651	There may be two opportunities to see both the space station and the Crew Dragon tonight. 9:12 Central for 5 minutes (if it is dark enough and the clouds are not to heavy), and again at 10:48 for only 2 minutes. I'm not sure if they will be on the same path this time like they were prior to hook up, but both were clearly visible in the night sky at that point in time.
Posts: 21,801	2 0

08-01-2020, 12:11 PM	#3134
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	Looks like they're going as far west as they can. Makes sense. BREAKING: @NASA and @SpaceX are targeting Pensacola as the primary return location for Crew Dragon w/ @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken from the @Space_Station. We are targeting undocking at 7:34 p.m. EDT today. Read more: https://t.co/Xdh8iIpLxz pic.twitter.com/9p5TRMevAH — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) August 1, 2020
Posts: 52,542

08-01-2020, 04:06 PM	#3135
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	Webcast is live (and will be until they're on the ground). Either NASA or SpaceX work.
Posts: 52,542