Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 346

**DaFace** · 03:36 PM

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** · 05-30-2023, 09:05 PM

Easy peasy.

GeorgeZimZam · 05-31-2023, 01:44 PM

Did any of y'all happen to see Dragon's return in the night sky? Must have been pretty impressive.

Just streaked across the sky in Tulsa at about 9:55pm. Looks like something re-entering the atmosphere. Pretty neat! #okwx pic.twitter.com/ntTAONhSx0
— Stephanie Ivison (@ivisonphoto) May 31, 2023

SpaceX Dragon capsule returning from the International Space Station ✨

📹 @JacobWoodsWx

pic.twitter.com/pPtrLpnYQe
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) May 31, 2023

Meteor flying over Denny Chimes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. pic.twitter.com/crn7A7LkBp
— Barstool Bama (@BarstoolAlabama) May 31, 2023

Space X Dragon capsule approaching splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico tonight… video from Janet Schrieber pic.twitter.com/JW8EipG9ht
— James Spann (@spann) May 31, 2023

Another look at the Space X Dragon capsule approaching splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico… video from Deidra Shepherd in Pine Grove pic.twitter.com/a5b0q84EZc
— James Spann (@spann) May 31, 2023

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

And AX-2 is coming home tonight as well:

**DaFace** · 06-01-2023, 04:01 PM

I wish they would have published the descent track. Would have been pretty cool to see!

**DaFace** · 06-01-2023, 04:01 PM

Starliner delayed again.

Boeing has found two new issues via the latest review.

1) Parachute System - soft links (made of fabric) load limit data wasn't correct and restest showed failure at a loading point.

2) Wire harnesses covered in tape. The tape is now determined to be… https://t.co/UaJJ2JXDhB
— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) June 1, 2023

GeorgeZimZam · 06-02-2023, 09:57 PM

Golden hour at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas. Every Friday evening I enjoy an Old Fashioned (or three) and dinner at SpaceX.

Starbase sign from Highway 4.

Rocket Garden

**DaFace** · 06-03-2023, 07:35 AM

That's pretty sweet, man. You live in the area, I assume?

GeorgeZimZam · 06-03-2023, 08:17 AM

Yessir--we moved down to the Rio Grande Valley from Austin last year, when she started working at Starbase. About 25 minutes from SpaceX, and 30 minutes from South Padre Island.

GeorgeZimZam · 06-05-2023, 07:40 PM

Impressive photo captured of Falcon 9 today.

Some amazing colors and light this morning as Falcon 9 ascended pic.twitter.com/36Nctut4mk
— Ben Cooper (@LaunchPhoto) June 5, 2023

...and touchdown...

Landed another one! Falcon 9 B1077-5 becomes B1077-6 with touchdown on "A Shortfall Of Gravitas"https://t.co/TR2h27EUja https://t.co/1damaL95ku pic.twitter.com/ngI9w5mLEf
— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) June 5, 2023

GeorgeZimZam · 06-10-2023, 08:26 AM

Left Starbase last night and had to briefly vacate Highway 4 to accommodate a couple oversized loads that looked familiar...

Not your average traffic backup... Semitrailers hauled two massive SpaceX tanks through the KC metro Tuesday afternoon: https://t.co/l1NyHL3S4W pic.twitter.com/Ej5fkBCpAq
— FOX4 News Kansas City (@fox4kc) May 23, 2023

**DaFace** · 06-12-2023, 05:49 PM

Crazy visualization of the insane launch rate SpaceX is hitting the days.

Rocket reusability enables increased reliability and launch cadence pic.twitter.com/ijzlhfeXWo
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 12, 2023

GeorgeZimZam · 06-12-2023, 09:11 PM

After delivering 72 spacecraft to orbit, Falcon 9 returns to Earth and completes SpaceX’s 200th landing of an orbital class rocket pic.twitter.com/7Aw52C97jk
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 13, 2023

GeorgeZimZam · 06-22-2023, 11:31 AM

Starbase never stops. Prepping for static fire soon, and hopefully another orbital test launch in the near future.

Ship 25 completed a flight-like chill and spin of the Raptor engine pumps, stopping just before engine ignition. As a result of the test, cryogenic liquid oxygen formed a visible cloud beneath the ship. This checked out vital systems in advance of the upcoming static fire. pic.twitter.com/1rMOqlf5qM
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 22, 2023

Fish · 06-23-2023, 06:53 PM

In case you missed it, here's a SpaceX Falcon 9 hurtling to orbit with the stage 1 coming back in 90 seconds as seen from the onboard camera
by u/Individual-Union-258 in Damnthatsinteresting

Hydrae · 06-23-2023, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

In case you missed it, here's a SpaceX Falcon 9 hurtling to orbit with the stage 1 coming back in 90 seconds as seen from the onboard camera
by u/Individual-Union-258 in Damnthatsinteresting

Very cool! I even got the wife to watch.

**Donger** · 06-29-2023, 10:10 AM

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1196899	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.youtube.com/user/spacexchannel 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; 12-10-2020 at 03:36 PM..
Posts: 52,094

05-30-2023, 09:05 PM	#5176
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1196899	Easy peasy.
Posts: 52,094

06-01-2023, 04:01 PM	#5178
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1196899	I wish they would have published the descent track. Would have been pretty cool to see!
Posts: 52,094	1 0

06-01-2023, 04:01 PM	#5179
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1196899	Starliner delayed again. Boeing has found two new issues via the latest review. 1) Parachute System - soft links (made of fabric) load limit data wasn't correct and restest showed failure at a loading point. 2) Wire harnesses covered in tape. The tape is now determined to be… https://t.co/UaJJ2JXDhB — Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) June 1, 2023
Posts: 52,094	1 0

06-02-2023, 09:57 PM	#5180
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: RGV TX (via KC & ATX) Casino cash: $4340400	Golden hour at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas. Every Friday evening I enjoy an Old Fashioned (or three) and dinner at SpaceX. Starbase sign from Highway 4. Rocket Garden
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06-03-2023, 07:35 AM	#5181
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1196899	That's pretty sweet, man. You live in the area, I assume?
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06-03-2023, 08:17 AM	#5182
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: RGV TX (via KC & ATX) Casino cash: $4340400	Yessir--we moved down to the Rio Grande Valley from Austin last year, when she started working at Starbase. About 25 minutes from SpaceX, and 30 minutes from South Padre Island.
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06-05-2023, 07:40 PM	#5183
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: RGV TX (via KC & ATX) Casino cash: $4340400	Impressive photo captured of Falcon 9 today. Some amazing colors and light this morning as Falcon 9 ascended pic.twitter.com/36Nctut4mk — Ben Cooper (@LaunchPhoto) June 5, 2023 ...and touchdown... Landed another one! Falcon 9 B1077-5 becomes B1077-6 with touchdown on "A Shortfall Of Gravitas"https://t.co/TR2h27EUja https://t.co/1damaL95ku pic.twitter.com/ngI9w5mLEf — Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) June 5, 2023 Last edited by GeorgeZimZam; 06-05-2023 at 07:48 PM.. Reason: add booster landing
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06-10-2023, 08:26 AM	#5184
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: RGV TX (via KC & ATX) Casino cash: $4340400	Left Starbase last night and had to briefly vacate Highway 4 to accommodate a couple oversized loads that looked familiar... Not your average traffic backup... Semitrailers hauled two massive SpaceX tanks through the KC metro Tuesday afternoon: https://t.co/l1NyHL3S4W pic.twitter.com/Ej5fkBCpAq — FOX4 News Kansas City (@fox4kc) May 23, 2023
Posts: 859

06-12-2023, 05:49 PM	#5185
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1196899	Crazy visualization of the insane launch rate SpaceX is hitting the days. Rocket reusability enables increased reliability and launch cadence pic.twitter.com/ijzlhfeXWo — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 12, 2023
Posts: 52,094	2 0

06-12-2023, 09:11 PM	#5186
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: RGV TX (via KC & ATX) Casino cash: $4340400	After delivering 72 spacecraft to orbit, Falcon 9 returns to Earth and completes SpaceX’s 200th landing of an orbital class rocket pic.twitter.com/7Aw52C97jk — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 13, 2023
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06-22-2023, 11:31 AM	#5187
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: RGV TX (via KC & ATX) Casino cash: $4340400	Starbase never stops. Prepping for static fire soon, and hopefully another orbital test launch in the near future. Ship 25 completed a flight-like chill and spin of the Raptor engine pumps, stopping just before engine ignition. As a result of the test, cryogenic liquid oxygen formed a visible cloud beneath the ship. This checked out vital systems in advance of the upcoming static fire. pic.twitter.com/1rMOqlf5qM — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 22, 2023
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06-23-2023, 06:53 PM	#5188
Fish Ain't no relax! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $1478919	In case you missed it, here's a SpaceX Falcon 9 hurtling to orbit with the stage 1 coming back in 90 seconds as seen from the onboard camera by u/Individual-Union-258 in Damnthatsinteresting __________________
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06-29-2023, 10:10 AM	#5190
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $9589900 VARSITY	__________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
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