Space Exploration megathread

[DaFace]

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.

[Donger]

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, March 21 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s 30th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-30) mission to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 4:55 p.m. ET with a backup launch opportunity available on Friday, March 22 at 4:29 p.m. ET if needed.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about 20 minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.

This is the sixth flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Ax-2, ESA Euclid, Ax-3, and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

CRS-30 is the fourth flight for this Dragon spacecraft, which previously flew CRS-22, CRS-24, and CRS-27 to the space station. After an approximate 38-hour flight, Dragon will autonomously dock with space station Saturday, March 23 at approximately 7:30 a.m. ET.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/miss...ssionId=crs-30

[GeorgeZimZam]

Flight 4 should be less than 2 months away (sometime in May).

Super Heavy booster for Flight 4 moved to the pad at Starbase pic.twitter.com/A3aYgdPt8V

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 4, 2024

[GeorgeZimZam]

Getting ready for Flight 4 https://t.co/cylOfDi4rk

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 6, 2024

Additional views from today’s Super Heavy static fire pic.twitter.com/jSmw7UxKF8

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 6, 2024

[Donger]

[DaFace]

The next Boeing Starliner test is coming up tonight finally (2 astronauts on board). Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly.

On NASA TV.

[DaFace]

Ha, well, that was timely. Scrubbed due to a stuck valve.

[GeorgeZimZam]

Any of you space nerds ever coming down here for a Starship flight test? IFT 4 should be within a month or so.

Then it should get even more interesting with IFT 5 and beyond. Catching the super heavy booster, a second Mechazilla Orbital Launch Integration Tower, etc.

[ThrobProng]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Ha, well, that was timely. Scrubbed due to a stuck valve.

I can't believe any astronaut with a sense of self-preservation would trust a rocket made by Boeing.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by ThrobProng

I can't believe any astronaut with a sense of self-preservation would trust a rocket made by Boeing.

Technically, the capsule is made by Boeing. The rocket is made by ULA, and that's where this particular issue came from.

[seamonster]

Originally Posted by ThrobProng

I can't believe any astronaut with a sense of self-preservation would trust a rocket made by Boeing.

Boeing has been sending rockets into space for a long time. They're probably one of the most trustworthy big-space operations in the world.

[ThrobProng]

Originally Posted by seamonster

Boeing has been sending rockets into space for a long time. They're probably one of the most trustworthy big-space operations in the world.

Boeing was also a trusted airplane manufacturer not long ago. Now? Not so much.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by seamonster

Boeing has been sending rockets into space for a long time. They're probably one of the most trustworthy big-space operations in the world.

I mean sure, but Starliner has been a complete disaster in every way except actually killing people. It was originally supposed to be in operation in 2017, so it's SEVEN YEARS behind schedule. Boeing has lost about $1.5 BILLION on it because NASA finally got tired of essentially subsidizing the company by awarding them cost-plus contracts. It was originally supposed to be a race between Boeing and SpaceX, and so far Starliner has flown 0 operational missions (and this one is still just a test) while SpaceX has flown 8 flights for NASA and another 4 for commercial customers (that's double their original contract - mostly because Boeing shit the bed and NASA needed someone else to step in).

For the sake of having redundancy, I hope Starliner flies and flies well, but implying that Boeing deserves any sort of trust with it because of their decades-old track record completely ignores the debacle that company has been for the past 20 or so years.

[GeorgeZimZam]

Ship 30 (IFT5 vehicle) set for static fire shortly. 🚀

Ship 30's time to shine (Flight 5 vehicle). Expected Static Fire test later today. Will be commented livestream later, Starbase Live for the meantime:https://t.co/e3xbqPnwZ5 pic.twitter.com/RvJUEoM7Ny

— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) May 7, 2024

[seamonster]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I mean sure, but Starliner has been a complete disaster in every way except actually killing people. It was originally supposed to be in operation in 2017, so it's SEVEN YEARS behind schedule. Boeing has lost about $1.5 BILLION on it because NASA finally got tired of essentially subsidizing the company by awarding them cost-plus contracts. It was originally supposed to be a race between Boeing and SpaceX, and so far Starliner has flown 0 operational missions (and this one is still just a test) while SpaceX has flown 8 flights for NASA and another 4 for commercial customers (that's double their original contract - mostly because Boeing shit the bed and NASA needed someone else to step in).

For the sake of having redundancy, I hope Starliner flies and flies well, but implying that Boeing deserves any sort of trust with it because of their decades-old track record completely ignores the debacle that company has been for the past 20 or so years.

What the hell does this have to do with anything? Boeing's been launching vehicles and running a massive space operation since before I was alive on planet earth. They've accumulated hundreds of years of combined engineering knowledge (more than Europe and China). To act like they can't launch a manned rocket into space because of budget over-runs is crazy. BTW, elements of Boeing space were involved with the ****ing Apollo missions. Stop reading headlines.

[ThrobProng]

Originally Posted by seamonster

What the hell does this have to do with anything? Boeing's been launching vehicles and running a massive space operation since before I was alive on planet earth. They've accumulated hundreds of years of combined engineering knowledge (more than Europe and China). To act like they can't launch a manned rocket into space because of budget over-runs is crazy. BTW, elements of Boeing space were involved with the ****ing Apollo missions. Stop reading headlines.

Loads of experience didn't prevent Boeing from committing major **** ups while designing and building airplanes, then trying to minimize and cover up their mistakes after the fact.

I wouldn't trust Boeing to design a child's drone at this point.