Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 34

**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.

**Rain Man** · 04-27-2016, 02:29 PM

Anywhere in the solar system? Okay, show me Jupiter.

**DaFace** · 04-27-2016, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Anywhere in the solar system? Okay, show me Jupiter.

I'm sure they could land it there, but I'm less optimistic about it ever taking off again...

**BigRedChief** · 04-27-2016, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm sure they could land it there, but I'm less optimistic about it ever taking off again...

One way? At least you would want out to stretch your legs after the cramped trip.

Hydrae · 04-27-2016, 03:44 PM

Exciting times man!

eDave · 04-27-2016, 09:58 PM

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) have held on military space launches for more than a decade.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sp...source=twitter

GloryDayz · 04-27-2016, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eDave

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) have held on military space launches for more than a decade.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sp...source=twitter

Good...

**DaFace** · 04-27-2016, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eDave

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) have held on military space launches for more than a decade.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sp...source=twitter

Not particularly exciting in terms of science, but a big step to ensuring long-term financial stability.

aturnis · 04-28-2016, 10:20 PM

I think it suggests a bright future for space exploration. What was left of the old mold has officially been broken.

GloryDayz · 04-29-2016, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

It it OK that I watched that looping GIF for 3 minutes wondering when MECO was? Or in this case would that be PLSCO?

**DaFace** · 04-29-2016, 07:06 PM

360(ish) view of the landing from the barge. (You can click and move your mouse around, or if you're on a phone, move it around.) It's much calmer than I would have guessed.

**DaFace** · 05-03-2016, 09:26 PM

Looks like we're on for an attempt tomorrow late night. Another water landing, but the difficulty level is a bit higher than the last one, so no guarantees of another success.

I'll probably try and stay up just for fun, but if they have to delay for any reason, that'll be it for me.

Squalor2 · 05-03-2016, 09:42 PM

there is so much debris in 120 miles of our atmosphere, that space flight to moon is impossible?

**DaFace** · 05-04-2016, 09:48 AM

Scrubbed already due to expected weather. Now aiming for tomorrow night.

**DaFace** · 05-05-2016, 04:12 PM

Barring setbacks, we're on for late tonight.

Hydrae · 05-05-2016, 08:20 PM

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $26899	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: 52,558	1 0

04-27-2016, 02:29 PM	#496
Rain Man Seize life. Be an ermine. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $1318491 VARSITY	Anywhere in the solar system? Okay, show me Jupiter. __________________ Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history.
Posts: 143,226

04-27-2016, 03:44 PM	#499
Hydrae MVP Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Newport, Or Casino cash: $647000	Exciting times man!
Posts: 14,762

04-27-2016, 09:58 PM	#500
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013 Casino cash: $9998560	The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) have held on military space launches for more than a decade. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sp...source=twitter
Posts: 53,803

04-28-2016, 10:20 PM	#503
aturnis MVP Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Iowa Casino cash: $9975811	I think it suggests a bright future for space exploration. What was left of the old mold has officially been broken.
Posts: 13,873

04-29-2016, 07:06 PM	#505
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $26899	360(ish) view of the landing from the barge. (You can click and move your mouse around, or if you're on a phone, move it around.) It's much calmer than I would have guessed.
Posts: 52,558

05-03-2016, 09:26 PM	#506
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $26899	Looks like we're on for an attempt tomorrow late night. Another water landing, but the difficulty level is a bit higher than the last one, so no guarantees of another success. I'll probably try and stay up just for fun, but if they have to delay for any reason, that'll be it for me.
Posts: 52,558

05-03-2016, 09:42 PM	#507
Squalor2 Banned Join Date: Aug 2015 Casino cash: $10001425	there is so much debris in 120 miles of our atmosphere, that space flight to moon is impossible?
Posts: 2,502

05-04-2016, 09:48 AM	#508
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $26899	Scrubbed already due to expected weather. Now aiming for tomorrow night.
Posts: 52,558

05-05-2016, 04:12 PM	#509
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $26899	Barring setbacks, we're on for late tonight.
Posts: 52,558

05-05-2016, 08:20 PM	#510
Hydrae MVP Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Newport, Or Casino cash: $647000
Posts: 14,762