Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 217

**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.

arrowheadnation · 08-05-2020, 12:33 AM

Literally the ground floor steps to the future survival of the human race. Oh what a time to be alive.

GloryDayz · 08-05-2020, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arrowheadnation

Literally the ground floor steps to the future survival of the human race. Oh what a time to be alive.

Agree.

**Donger** · 08-05-2020, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Official video from SpaceX:

Very cool! Although the flames above the engine looked a little odd starting around 0:36

**Donger** · 08-05-2020, 11:08 AM

Houston (AFP) - SpaceX's crewed capsule isn't called Dragon for nothing.

The two NASA astronauts brought back to Earth on Sunday said they felt they were inside the belly of a beast as it careened into the atmosphere at 17,500 mph.

"It came alive," said mission commander Bob Behnkhen at a virtual press conference held Tuesday in Houston, Texas.

The thrusters were firing to keep the capsule, called "Endeavour," pointed precisely at its target site off the coast of Pensacola, for the first water landing by a US spaceship since 1975.

"The atmosphere starts to make noise, you can hear that rumble outside the vehicle and as the vehicle tries to control, you feel a little bit of that shimmy in your body," continued the 50-year-old.

"It doesn't sound like a machine, it sounds like an animal coming through the atmosphere with all that all the puffs that are happening from the thrusters and the atmospheric noise," he added.

Not only was ride down deafening, but each time the vessel carried out descent sequences like jettisoning its "trunk" that contained the power system and firing parachutes, it was also bone-jarring.

"Very much like getting hit in the back of the chair with a baseball bat, you know, just a crack," said Behnken, describing the sensation.

Behnken and crewmate Doug Hurley, 53, are best friends in real life and both are married to fellow astronauts.

They were addressing journalists, as tradition dictates, two days after their return from a six-month stay on the International Space Station.

The success of the demonstration mission for SpaceX Crew Dragon, the first crewed US spaceship to achieve orbit since the Space Shuttle era, means it will likely soon be certified for regular service.

The next mission is already planned for September.

"The mission went just like the simulators, from start to finish, all the way there was really no surprises," said Hurley.

Both men are veterans of the Space Shuttle program, which ended in 2011, and they had been training for five years with SpaceX.

Splash down at 15 miles per hour in the Gulf of Mexico felt "pretty firm," said Hurley, but that was expected.

One person who will particularly benefit from Behnken's knowledge: astronaut Megan McArthur, who is slated to make the same voyage in the spring of 2021 on the same spacecraft, and is Behnken's wife.

**DaFace** · 08-06-2020, 04:17 PM

In case anyone's up for a late night tonight.

Falcon 9’s first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched two Starlink missions, Crew Demo-1, and the RADARSAT Constellation Mission pic.twitter.com/eCsqnBYD04
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 6, 2020

**DaFace** · 08-14-2020, 12:47 PM

NEWS: @NASA & @SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Oct. 23 for Crew Dragon’s first operational mission to the @Space_Station with @Astro_illini, @VicGlover, Shannon Walker and @Astro_Soichi, pending certification following a successful Demo-2 test flight. https://t.co/saubpEc2Ms pic.twitter.com/Ug3LyyhTdF
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) August 14, 2020

**Donger** · 08-14-2020, 02:15 PM

Awesome!

Megatron96 · 08-14-2020, 02:35 PM

We're going to get to see time dilation in about two years:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-fas...speed-of-light
https://phys.org/news/2020-08-fastest-star.html

**DaFace** · 08-16-2020, 10:47 AM

Just to let you guys know, I'm leaving for a while and maybe forever. Take care of my thread. Go SpaceX.

unlurking · 08-16-2020, 10:56 AM

One of a few threads that keep me coming back here. Sorry to see you go.

eDave · 08-16-2020, 10:56 AM

You take care of yourself Daface and best of luck. If you don't return, it was great getting to know you.

**Donger** · 08-16-2020, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Just to let you guys know, I'm leaving for a while and maybe forever. Take care of my thread. Go SpaceX.

I'm sorry to hear that, DaFace. Worry not. We'll take care of this thread. God speed and I hope you come back soon.

Megatron96 · 08-16-2020, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Just to let you guys know, I'm leaving for a while and maybe forever. Take care of my thread. Go SpaceX.

??? Hope everything's okay. Good luck or good hunting, whichever is appropriate.

GloryDayz · 08-16-2020, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Just to let you guys know, I'm leaving for a while and maybe forever. Take care of my thread. Go SpaceX.

Ugh...

**Bearcat** · 08-16-2020, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

Ugh...

Speaking of reasons people leave, do something about your sig.... the max is 200 pixels tall and that reerunation is probably twice that.

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..
Posts: 52,542	1 0

08-05-2020, 12:33 AM	#3241
arrowheadnation MONTANA #19 Join Date: Mar 2005 Casino cash: $4547357	Literally the ground floor steps to the future survival of the human race. Oh what a time to be alive. __________________ Things I need to happen in order to die happy.... KU wins a National Championship....Check! The Royals win a World Series....Check! The Chiefs win a Super Bowl....FINALLY!!!
Posts: 4,421	2 0

08-05-2020, 11:08 AM	#3244
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8529900 VARSITY	Houston (AFP) - SpaceX's crewed capsule isn't called Dragon for nothing. The two NASA astronauts brought back to Earth on Sunday said they felt they were inside the belly of a beast as it careened into the atmosphere at 17,500 mph. "It came alive," said mission commander Bob Behnkhen at a virtual press conference held Tuesday in Houston, Texas. The thrusters were firing to keep the capsule, called "Endeavour," pointed precisely at its target site off the coast of Pensacola, for the first water landing by a US spaceship since 1975. "The atmosphere starts to make noise, you can hear that rumble outside the vehicle and as the vehicle tries to control, you feel a little bit of that shimmy in your body," continued the 50-year-old. "It doesn't sound like a machine, it sounds like an animal coming through the atmosphere with all that all the puffs that are happening from the thrusters and the atmospheric noise," he added. Not only was ride down deafening, but each time the vessel carried out descent sequences like jettisoning its "trunk" that contained the power system and firing parachutes, it was also bone-jarring. "Very much like getting hit in the back of the chair with a baseball bat, you know, just a crack," said Behnken, describing the sensation. Behnken and crewmate Doug Hurley, 53, are best friends in real life and both are married to fellow astronauts. They were addressing journalists, as tradition dictates, two days after their return from a six-month stay on the International Space Station. The success of the demonstration mission for SpaceX Crew Dragon, the first crewed US spaceship to achieve orbit since the Space Shuttle era, means it will likely soon be certified for regular service. The next mission is already planned for September. "The mission went just like the simulators, from start to finish, all the way there was really no surprises," said Hurley. Both men are veterans of the Space Shuttle program, which ended in 2011, and they had been training for five years with SpaceX. Splash down at 15 miles per hour in the Gulf of Mexico felt "pretty firm," said Hurley, but that was expected. One person who will particularly benefit from Behnken's knowledge: astronaut Megan McArthur, who is slated to make the same voyage in the spring of 2021 on the same spacecraft, and is Behnken's wife. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,185

08-06-2020, 04:17 PM	#3245
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	In case anyone's up for a late night tonight. Falcon 9’s first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched two Starlink missions, Crew Demo-1, and the RADARSAT Constellation Mission pic.twitter.com/eCsqnBYD04 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 6, 2020
Posts: 52,542

08-14-2020, 12:47 PM	#3246
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	NEWS: @NASA & @SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Oct. 23 for Crew Dragon’s first operational mission to the @Space_Station with @Astro_illini, @VicGlover, Shannon Walker and @Astro_Soichi, pending certification following a successful Demo-2 test flight. https://t.co/saubpEc2Ms pic.twitter.com/Ug3LyyhTdF — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) August 14, 2020
Posts: 52,542	2 0

08-14-2020, 02:15 PM	#3247
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8529900 VARSITY	Awesome! __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,185

08-14-2020, 02:35 PM	#3248
Megatron96 Suupraa Geniuuusss Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: North Phoenix, AZ Casino cash: $400	We're going to get to see time dilation in about two years: https://www.sciencealert.com/the-fas...speed-of-light https://phys.org/news/2020-08-fastest-star.html
Posts: 32,966

08-16-2020, 10:47 AM	#3249
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	Just to let you guys know, I'm leaving for a while and maybe forever. Take care of my thread. Go SpaceX.
Posts: 52,542	1 0

08-16-2020, 10:56 AM	#3250
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	One of a few threads that keep me coming back here. Sorry to see you go. __________________
Posts: 10,620

08-16-2020, 10:56 AM	#3251
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013 Casino cash: $9998560	You take care of yourself Daface and best of luck. If you don't return, it was great getting to know you.
Posts: 53,803