Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 238

**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.

**DaFace** · 11-17-2020, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlurking

About 2 secs after starting engines, martyte covering concrete below shattered, sending blades of hardened rock into engine bay. One rock blade severed avionics cable, causing bad shutdown of Raptor. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2020

Well, that'd do it. It'll be interesting to see how they work around that one.

On a different note, SpaceX is going for a doubleheader on Saturday. Morning launch from Vandenburg and evening launch from Florida.

unlurking · 11-17-2020, 09:20 PM

Yeah, brings the whole landing and launching on natural services issue back to light. The lunar version of Starship has side mounted engines lunar landing/launch engines, but that won't work on Mars.

Thanks for the reminder! Always forget to convert from UTC until close to the date.

**Donger** · 11-18-2020, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlurking

About 2 secs after starting engines, martyte covering concrete below shattered, sending blades of hardened rock into engine bay. One rock blade severed avionics cable, causing bad shutdown of Raptor. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2020

Oh. Well, that's "good" but maybe time for a flame trench?

**DaFace** · 11-18-2020, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Oh. Well, that's "good" but maybe time for a flame trench?

They want to design around flame trenches since they won't have the option on Mars.

**Donger** · 11-18-2020, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

They want to design around flame trenches since they won't have the option on Mars.

Right, but there won't be concrete covered with epoxy on Mars either (at least not right away).

What are the landing pads at the Cape made of? The drone ships have steel decks?

unlurking · 11-18-2020, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Right, but there won't be concrete covered with epoxy on Mars either (at least not right away).

What are the landing pads at the Cape made of? The drone ships have steel decks?

Based on their history of melting launch towers, pads, and GSE I'm guessing they are still learning about the power of Raptor to destroy things.

At the Cape they have flame diverters and shock dampening water systems. They've already started a new launch tower at Boca Chica, but the cement has been curing for a couple months now. I'm guessing they planned to move to it after SN8 testing, at minimum for SH-SN1.

MagicHef · 11-18-2020, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Right, but there won't be concrete covered with epoxy on Mars either (at least not right away).

What are the landing pads at the Cape made of? The drone ships have steel decks?

I would imagine landing isn't the problem as much as takeoff.

unlurking · 11-18-2020, 07:29 PM

This is cool. Looks like passenger (or lunar considering recent paint job?) Starship is getting an interior mockup maybe? Capsule hotel style berths it appears.

Bocachicagal:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/in...784#msg2155784

**DaFace** · 11-19-2020, 07:51 PM

If anyone's interested, RocketLab is trying out their new version tonight. The booster now has parachutes on the first stage, and they will be recovering it after splashdown. Eventually the plan is to snag it with a helicopter. They're donating a dollar per viewer to the Starship Children's Fund, so at least give it a click if you see this.

Hydrae · 11-19-2020, 08:31 PM

Thanks, that was a fun watch. Not as slick as SpaceX but still great to see more private space flights going on!

GloryDayz · 11-19-2020, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

If anyone's interested, RocketLab is trying out their new version tonight. The booster now has parachutes on the first stage, and they will be recovering it after splashdown. Eventually the plan is to snag it with a helicopter. They're donating a dollar per viewer to the Starship Children's Fund, so at least give it a click if you see this.

No space junk left behind. That's impressive...

**DaFace** · 11-21-2020, 10:27 AM

Launch coming up in around 45 minutes

**Donger** · 11-21-2020, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Launch coming up in around 45 minutes

Beat me to it!

neech · 11-21-2020, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Right, but there won't be concrete covered with epoxy on Mars either (at least not right away).

Duh

**DaFace** · 11-21-2020, 11:09 AM

Pretty cool mission this time. This satellite will yield some pretty cool science.

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

11-17-2020, 09:20 PM	#3557
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	Yeah, brings the whole landing and launching on natural services issue back to light. The lunar version of Starship has side mounted engines lunar landing/launch engines, but that won't work on Mars. Thanks for the reminder! Always forget to convert from UTC until close to the date. __________________
Posts: 10,620

11-18-2020, 07:29 PM	#3563
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	This is cool. Looks like passenger (or lunar considering recent paint job?) Starship is getting an interior mockup maybe? Capsule hotel style berths it appears. Bocachicagal: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/in...784#msg2155784 __________________
Posts: 10,620

11-19-2020, 07:51 PM	#3564
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	If anyone's interested, RocketLab is trying out their new version tonight. The booster now has parachutes on the first stage, and they will be recovering it after splashdown. Eventually the plan is to snag it with a helicopter. They're donating a dollar per viewer to the Starship Children's Fund, so at least give it a click if you see this.
Posts: 52,542	2 0

11-19-2020, 08:31 PM	#3565
Hydrae MVP Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Newport, Or Casino cash: $697000	Thanks, that was a fun watch. Not as slick as SpaceX but still great to see more private space flights going on!
Posts: 14,762

11-21-2020, 10:27 AM	#3567
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	Launch coming up in around 45 minutes
Posts: 52,542

11-21-2020, 11:09 AM	#3570
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $76899	Pretty cool mission this time. This satellite will yield some pretty cool science.
Posts: 52,542