Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 289

**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** · 06-03-2021, 11:34 AM

It's weird to see such a nice, clean rocket.

**DaFace** · 06-03-2021, 11:37 AM

Less clean now. I feel better.

**Donger** · 06-03-2021, 11:37 AM

Whoa!! Amazing video of the landing.

MagicHef · 06-03-2021, 11:38 AM

Definitely the best landing video I've seen.

eDave · 06-03-2021, 11:40 AM

Separation video was wild too.

**DaFace** · 06-07-2021, 08:44 AM

Mildly interesting news:

Jeff Bezos was talking longingly about going into space more than five years ago. Next month, he will finally get his chance.https://t.co/XdTTYOji9n
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) June 7, 2021

Despite my general lack of enthusiasm for Blue Origin's style, it's nice that they're finally going to fly humans, and having Bezos himself on board will generate plenty of discussion. Maybe someday they'll actually be relevant in the broader landscape of space exploration.

unlurking · 06-07-2021, 01:59 PM

lol @ the attempt to compare New Shepard to the Soyuz.

**Donger** · 06-07-2021, 06:18 PM

Good for Bezos. I wonder if the timing has anything to do with his resignation.

RINGLEADER · 06-07-2021, 06:28 PM

I hope they perfect these systems and get the price down so I can get into space before I die.

eDave · 06-07-2021, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

I hope they perfect these systems and get the price down so I can get into space before I die.

I personally think Virgin Galactic @ $200K is reasonable at this time. Certainly as an opening rate.

**Donger** · 06-12-2021, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

I hope they perfect these systems and get the price down so I can get into space before I die.

Got a few dozen million laying around?

Blue Origin auctions seat on first spaceflight with Jeff Bezos for $28 million

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/12/jeff...8-million.html

**Donger** · 06-17-2021, 09:10 AM

T-60:00

SpaceX
Falcon 9 Block 5 | GPS III-5
JRTI
Thu Jun 17, 2021 16:09 UTC
SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA

**Donger** · 06-17-2021, 09:56 AM

T-15:00 Stream is live:

**Donger** · 06-17-2021, 10:19 AM

That landing looked a little iffy for a while...

**DaFace** · 06-17-2021, 10:51 AM

I didn't catch it live, but aside from being a little off center, the landing looked OK to me. What am I missing?

The crowd reaction was a little odd, too.

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-93101	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: 52,581	1 0

06-03-2021, 11:34 AM	#4321
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-93101	It's weird to see such a nice, clean rocket.
Posts: 52,581

06-03-2021, 11:37 AM	#4322
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-93101	Less clean now. I feel better.
Posts: 52,581

06-03-2021, 11:37 AM	#4323
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8379900 VARSITY	Whoa!! Amazing video of the landing. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,593

06-03-2021, 11:38 AM	#4324
MagicHef The Seated Villain Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Seattle Casino cash: $910247	Definitely the best landing video I've seen. __________________ With a sack in 61% of his games, SB MVP Von Miller is the most consistent pass rusher in NFL history.
Posts: 10,721

06-03-2021, 11:40 AM	#4325
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013 Casino cash: $9998560	Separation video was wild too.
Posts: 53,803

06-07-2021, 08:44 AM	#4326
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-93101	Mildly interesting news: Jeff Bezos was talking longingly about going into space more than five years ago. Next month, he will finally get his chance.https://t.co/XdTTYOji9n — Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) June 7, 2021 Despite my general lack of enthusiasm for Blue Origin's style, it's nice that they're finally going to fly humans, and having Bezos himself on board will generate plenty of discussion. Maybe someday they'll actually be relevant in the broader landscape of space exploration.
Posts: 52,581

06-07-2021, 01:59 PM	#4327
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	lol @ the attempt to compare New Shepard to the Soyuz. __________________
Posts: 10,620

06-07-2021, 06:18 PM	#4328
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8379900 VARSITY	Good for Bezos. I wonder if the timing has anything to do with his resignation. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,593

06-07-2021, 06:28 PM	#4329
RINGLEADER In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Confusion, USA Casino cash: $8420503	I hope they perfect these systems and get the price down so I can get into space before I die.
Posts: 47,503

06-17-2021, 09:10 AM	#4332
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8379900 VARSITY	T-60:00 SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 \| GPS III-5 JRTI Thu Jun 17, 2021 16:09 UTC SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,593

06-17-2021, 09:56 AM	#4333
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8379900 VARSITY	T-15:00 Stream is live: __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,593

06-17-2021, 10:19 AM	#4334
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8379900 VARSITY	That landing looked a little iffy for a while... __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,593

06-17-2021, 10:51 AM	#4335
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $-93101	I didn't catch it live, but aside from being a little off center, the landing looked OK to me. What am I missing? The crowd reaction was a little odd, too.
Posts: 52,581