Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 355

**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.

MagicHef · 11-21-2023, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

View from atop the tower at liftoff pic.twitter.com/qbXqbXAO8A
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 20, 2023

Hope it's not another fake.

SpaceX =/= Elon. I'd be surprised if SpaceX posted something fake.

GloryDayz · 11-21-2023, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

View from atop the tower at liftoff pic.twitter.com/qbXqbXAO8A
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 20, 2023

Hope it's not another fake.

OK, that's badass!

GeorgeZimZam · 11-21-2023, 03:38 PM

If you open this video in the YouTube app, you can pan and tilt 360°.

**Donger** · 11-24-2023, 02:28 PM

This is pretty cool:

https://www.space.com/spacex-starshi...tronomer-video

GeorgeZimZam · 12-07-2023, 09:49 PM

The final letter is lowered into place at the GATEWAY TO MARS pic.twitter.com/e2lLWyhsSK
— Cosmic Perspective (@considercosmos) November 30, 2023

New sign at Starbase launch pad pic.twitter.com/Fbd5H393dS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2023

Cute sign! Street name was changed from Weems to Memes but nobody thought to inform the residents! 🥴🚀 pic.twitter.com/ZBdCys198f
— Mary (@BocaChicaGal) December 6, 2023

**Donger** · 12-10-2023, 11:57 AM

Now targeting Monday, December 11 for Falcon Heavy’s launch of the USSF-52 mission, with weather conditions forecasted to improve to 70% favorable for liftoff on Monday night. The team will use the time to complete additional pre-launch check outs → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/OsQ6bjWwxK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 10, 2023

SpaceX is targeting Monday, December 11 at 8:14 p.m. ET for Falcon Heavy’s launch of the USSF-52 mission to orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A backup launch opportunity is available during the same time on Tuesday, December 12.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.

This will be the fifth launch and landing of these Falcon Heavy side boosters, which previously supported USSF-44, USSF-67, Hughes JUPTER 3, and NASA’s Psyche mission. Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

GeorgeZimZam · 12-11-2023, 06:14 PM

T-MINUS 1 HOUR FOR FALCON HEAVY

SpaceX Double Header Launch - USSF-52 & Starlink 6-34 https://t.co/P2dffD3XEm
— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) December 11, 2023

GeorgeZimZam · 12-11-2023, 06:43 PM

Standing down from tonight’s Falcon Heavy launch due to a ground side issue; vehicle and payload remain healthy. Team is resetting for the next launch opportunity of the USSF-52 mission, which is no earlier than tomorrow night.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 12, 2023

Mr. Plow · 12-15-2023, 12:57 PM

Thought this was cool.

POV footage of Earth during a spacewalk on the ISS
byu/29PiecesOfSilver inBeAmazed

**Donger** · 12-16-2023, 12:17 PM

SpaceX's powerful Falcon Heavy rocket will fly again before the end of the year, if all goes according to plan.

SpaceX is now targeting Dec. 28 for the launch of the U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane, which will fly atop a Falcon Heavy from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

GeorgeZimZam · 12-20-2023, 10:20 PM

Slow motion view of six-engine static fire pic.twitter.com/0O3H0jb9oq
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 20, 2023

Additional drone view of Starship static fire pic.twitter.com/rpIN9shSwt
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 20, 2023

And to cap off Ship 28's static fire, a test of the payload door followed.

An unexpected payload bay door test after the static fire. #SpaceX #Starbase #Starship pic.twitter.com/t4qAAVJHCp
— LabPadre Space (@LabPadre) December 20, 2023

In the not too distant future, we should see this method used for Starlink satellite deployment in orbit.

Booster 10 static fire test could be conducted as soon as Thursday. Integrated Flight Test 3 could occur within a month or two. Exciting to see the processes gaining steam.

**DaFace** · 12-21-2023, 10:07 AM

Nice to see the pace accelerating. Guess it helps when you don't blow the launch pad to bits.

MagicHef · 12-21-2023, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Nice to see the pace accelerating. Guess it helps when you don't blow the launch pad to bits.

Imagine needing to build a new airport after every flight...

**DaFace** · 12-25-2023, 08:53 PM

This is actually kind of sad. RIP 1058.

During transport back to Port early this morning, the booster tipped over on the droneship due to high winds and waves. Newer Falcon boosters have upgraded landing legs with the capability to self-level and mitigate this type of issue
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 26, 2023

manchambo · 12-26-2023, 10:24 AM

The development of rotating detonation motors has potential to improve capabilities, especially in space. Potentially a 25% improvement in efficiency. And they’re pretty cool.

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-rotating-de...ace-1851118842

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $116899	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: 52,532	1 0

11-21-2023, 03:38 PM	#5313
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3270400	If you open this video in the YouTube app, you can pan and tilt 360°.
Posts: 1,665

11-24-2023, 02:28 PM	#5314
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8559900 VARSITY	This is pretty cool: https://www.space.com/spacex-starshi...tronomer-video __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,110	1 0

12-07-2023, 09:49 PM	#5315
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3270400	The final letter is lowered into place at the GATEWAY TO MARS pic.twitter.com/e2lLWyhsSK — Cosmic Perspective (@considercosmos) November 30, 2023 New sign at Starbase launch pad pic.twitter.com/Fbd5H393dS — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2023 Cute sign! Street name was changed from Weems to Memes but nobody thought to inform the residents! 🥴🚀 pic.twitter.com/ZBdCys198f — Mary (@BocaChicaGal) December 6, 2023
Posts: 1,665	2 0

12-10-2023, 11:57 AM	#5316
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8559900 VARSITY	Now targeting Monday, December 11 for Falcon Heavy’s launch of the USSF-52 mission, with weather conditions forecasted to improve to 70% favorable for liftoff on Monday night. The team will use the time to complete additional pre-launch check outs → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/OsQ6bjWwxK — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 10, 2023 SpaceX is targeting Monday, December 11 at 8:14 p.m. ET for Falcon Heavy’s launch of the USSF-52 mission to orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A backup launch opportunity is available during the same time on Tuesday, December 12. A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live. This will be the fifth launch and landing of these Falcon Heavy side boosters, which previously supported USSF-44, USSF-67, Hughes JUPTER 3, and NASA’s Psyche mission. Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,110	1 0

12-11-2023, 06:14 PM	#5317
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3270400	T-MINUS 1 HOUR FOR FALCON HEAVY SpaceX Double Header Launch - USSF-52 & Starlink 6-34 https://t.co/P2dffD3XEm — Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) December 11, 2023
Posts: 1,665

12-11-2023, 06:43 PM	#5318
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3270400	Standing down from tonight’s Falcon Heavy launch due to a ground side issue; vehicle and payload remain healthy. Team is resetting for the next launch opportunity of the USSF-52 mission, which is no earlier than tomorrow night. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 12, 2023
Posts: 1,665

12-15-2023, 12:57 PM	#5319
Mr. Plow In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $187391	Thought this was cool. POV footage of Earth during a spacewalk on the ISS byu/29PiecesOfSilver inBeAmazed
Posts: 31,264	2 0

12-16-2023, 12:17 PM	#5320
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8559900 VARSITY	SpaceX's powerful Falcon Heavy rocket will fly again before the end of the year, if all goes according to plan. SpaceX is now targeting Dec. 28 for the launch of the U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane, which will fly atop a Falcon Heavy from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 187,110

12-20-2023, 10:20 PM	#5321
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3270400	Slow motion view of six-engine static fire pic.twitter.com/0O3H0jb9oq — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 20, 2023 Additional drone view of Starship static fire pic.twitter.com/rpIN9shSwt — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 20, 2023 And to cap off Ship 28's static fire, a test of the payload door followed. An unexpected payload bay door test after the static fire. #SpaceX #Starbase #Starship pic.twitter.com/t4qAAVJHCp — LabPadre Space (@LabPadre) December 20, 2023 In the not too distant future, we should see this method used for Starlink satellite deployment in orbit. Booster 10 static fire test could be conducted as soon as Thursday. Integrated Flight Test 3 could occur within a month or two. Exciting to see the processes gaining steam.
Posts: 1,665

12-21-2023, 10:07 AM	#5322
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $116899	Nice to see the pace accelerating. Guess it helps when you don't blow the launch pad to bits.
Posts: 52,532

12-25-2023, 08:53 PM	#5324
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $116899	This is actually kind of sad. RIP 1058. During transport back to Port early this morning, the booster tipped over on the droneship due to high winds and waves. Newer Falcon boosters have upgraded landing legs with the capability to self-level and mitigate this type of issue — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 26, 2023
Posts: 52,532	1 0

12-26-2023, 10:24 AM	#5325
manchambo Veteran Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $8902156	The development of rotating detonation motors has potential to improve capabilities, especially in space. Potentially a 25% improvement in efficiency. And they’re pretty cool. https://gizmodo.com/nasa-rotating-de...ace-1851118842 __________________ By Allah behave yourself. I will give you a taste of my shoe.
Posts: 4,904