Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 369

**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** · 06-25-2024, 03:34 PM

Ended up being a beautiful day.

GeorgeZimZam · 06-25-2024, 03:38 PM

Falcon Heavy’s side boosters land on Landing Zones 1 and 2 pic.twitter.com/5RDbTGNnSq
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2024

Wait for it... (sonic boom warning)
This is what it would be like to stand next to Falcon Heavy boosters coming in for a landing 🎥 pic.twitter.com/EOkMEcRQiz
— Cosmic Perspective (@considercosmos) June 24, 2024

**Donger** · 06-26-2024, 10:31 AM

Amazing shot of the boost back:

GeorgeZimZam · 06-30-2024, 11:09 AM

Some shots from this morning at Starbase. Segments of the second Orbital Launch Integration Tower prepped at the production site, ahead of their final destination at the Starship Orbital Launch pad a few miles down Highway 4.

New mural along Highway 4 route to Starbase, based on infamous, shitty Elon sketch:

Tried drawing Elon Musk. I'm fairly new to drawing portraits and would appreciate any advice/criticism!
byu/Watchieboy indrawing

New Elon Musk meme mural catches eyes near Starbase. 'Push the craziness,' its creator says.

archived 30 Jun 2024 16:50:13 UTC

4th and Long · 06-30-2024, 11:46 AM

China won't be headed to space with this particular rocket.

Chinese rocket crashes after accidental launch during ground test

A Chinese rocket crashed after being accidentally launched during a ground test Sunday, its company Space Pioneer said in a statement.

The crash happened when the first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket detached from its launch pad during a test, due to structural failure. It landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China.

“Due to the structural failure of the connection between the rocket body and the test platform, the first-stage rocket was separated from the launch pad,” Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology, said.

“After liftoff, the onboard computer was automatically shut down, and the rocket fell into the deep mountains 1.5 kilometers [0.9 miles] southwest of the test platform. The rocket body fell into the mountain and disintegrated.”

There were no injuries as a result of the crash, the company said, as people in the area were evacuated in advance of the rocket test.

Space Pioneer, a leading company in the commercial rocket sphere, specializes in liquid-propellant rockets.

In April 2023, it successfully launched its Tianlong-2 rocket, making the company China’s first commercial launch operator to send a liquid carrier rocket into space and successfully enter orbit, according to state media.

Tianlong-3, the rocket that crashed on Sunday, is a large liquid carrier rocket. It was made to help construct China’s satellite internet network.

The rocket’s product performance is comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, according to Space Pioneer, adding that it will be capable of launching the rocket over 30 times per year after the rocket’s first successful flight.

The accident comes just days after China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module returned to Earth from space, where it collected the first ever samples from the far side of the moon.

The mission was a key milestone in China’s “eternal dream” – as articulated by Chinese leader Xi Jinping – to establish the country as a dominant space power and comes as a number of countries, including the United States, also ramp up their own lunar exploration programs.

GeorgeZimZam · 06-30-2024, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4th and Long

China won't be headed to space with this particular rocket.

LOL oopsies

Barely a week ago they did this...

#China dropped another booster stage full of hypergolics on a local village. Debris from a Long March 2C rocket that fell on a village in China today.

They give literally a shit on his own people's safety. pic.twitter.com/WI6MsS36cT
— Asgard Intel 🛡️ WW3.INFO (@AsgardIntel) June 23, 2024

4th and Long · 06-30-2024, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeorgeZimZam

LOL oopsies

Barely a week ago they did this...

#China dropped another booster stage full of hypergolics on a local village. Debris from a Long March 2C rocket that fell on a village in China today.

They give literally a shit on his own people's safety. pic.twitter.com/WI6MsS36cT
— Asgard Intel 🛡️ WW3.INFO (@AsgardIntel) June 23, 2024

Yikes. Imagine the backlash if something like that happened here.

GeorgeZimZam · 07-04-2024, 10:56 AM

Despite not bothering to do a Starship pre-Flight 4 hype video (much to my chagrin!), SpaceX did just release a post-Flight 4 highlight video...

The fourth flight of Starship brought us closer to a rapidly reusable future pic.twitter.com/maSky0Rsjy
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 4, 2024

...and even remembered their YouTube password.

**Donger** · 07-07-2024, 07:29 AM

"Flight 5 in 4 weeks," Musk said Friday (July 5) via X, the social media platform he owns.

Flight 5 will feature an exciting new twist, if all goes according to plan: SpaceX has said it aims to bring the giant booster back for a pinpoint landing on Starbase's launch mount, an effort that will be aided by the "chopstick" arms of the facility's launch tower.

This bold strategy will increase Starship's flight cadence, allowing the booster to be inspected, refurbished and relaunched more rapidly, Musk has said.

**Shiver Me Timbers** · 07-11-2024, 08:03 PM

Boeing get them space travelers back yet?

**DaFace** · 07-12-2024, 09:32 AM

Well, SpaceX's success streak ends at 334 launches. That's a crazy good streak, but it still sucks. We'll see how quickly they can move through the investigation and get launching again. It'll almost certainly delay things for a little bit at least.

During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit.

SpaceX has made contact with 5 of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them…
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2024

"The FAA is requiring an investigation" of the Starlink 9-3 mission inflight failure, the agency says in a statement: https://t.co/CaV6vZVXjz pic.twitter.com/uoD2weFIk1
— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) July 12, 2024

**Donger** · 07-13-2024, 09:46 AM

GeorgeZimZam · 07-13-2024, 03:36 PM

Footage of Starlink sats reentering: (and probably Stage 2 as well) https://t.co/8njxBV2i6k
— Florida Man (@FLman747) July 13, 2024

GeorgeZimZam · 07-15-2024, 08:37 AM

Starship Flight 5 booster testing underway, static fire likely in about 1 hour:

GeorgeZimZam · 07-15-2024, 01:51 PM

Photos from static fire pic.twitter.com/WZMVwklWtO
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 15, 2024

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $156899	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: 52,515	1 0

06-25-2024, 03:34 PM	#5521
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $156899	Ended up being a beautiful day.
Posts: 52,515	1 0

06-25-2024, 03:38 PM	#5522
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3310400	Falcon Heavy’s side boosters land on Landing Zones 1 and 2 pic.twitter.com/5RDbTGNnSq — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2024 Wait for it... (sonic boom warning) This is what it would be like to stand next to Falcon Heavy boosters coming in for a landing 🎥 pic.twitter.com/EOkMEcRQiz — Cosmic Perspective (@considercosmos) June 24, 2024 __________________
Posts: 1,662	2 0

06-26-2024, 10:31 AM	#5523
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8599900 VARSITY	Amazing shot of the boost back: __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 186,961	1 0

06-30-2024, 11:09 AM	#5524
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3310400	Some shots from this morning at Starbase. Segments of the second Orbital Launch Integration Tower prepped at the production site, ahead of their final destination at the Starship Orbital Launch pad a few miles down Highway 4. New mural along Highway 4 route to Starbase, based on infamous, shitty Elon sketch: Tried drawing Elon Musk. I'm fairly new to drawing portraits and would appreciate any advice/criticism! byu/Watchieboy indrawing New Elon Musk meme mural catches eyes near Starbase. 'Push the craziness,' its creator says. archived 30 Jun 2024 16:50:13 UTC __________________
Posts: 1,662

06-30-2024, 11:46 AM	#5525
4th and Long Wheeeeee!!! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In a house Casino cash: $7854925	China won't be headed to space with this particular rocket. Chinese rocket crashes after accidental launch during ground test A Chinese rocket crashed after being accidentally launched during a ground test Sunday, its company Space Pioneer said in a statement. The crash happened when the first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket detached from its launch pad during a test, due to structural failure. It landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China. “Due to the structural failure of the connection between the rocket body and the test platform, the first-stage rocket was separated from the launch pad,” Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology, said. “After liftoff, the onboard computer was automatically shut down, and the rocket fell into the deep mountains 1.5 kilometers [0.9 miles] southwest of the test platform. The rocket body fell into the mountain and disintegrated.” There were no injuries as a result of the crash, the company said, as people in the area were evacuated in advance of the rocket test. Space Pioneer, a leading company in the commercial rocket sphere, specializes in liquid-propellant rockets. In April 2023, it successfully launched its Tianlong-2 rocket, making the company China’s first commercial launch operator to send a liquid carrier rocket into space and successfully enter orbit, according to state media. Tianlong-3, the rocket that crashed on Sunday, is a large liquid carrier rocket. It was made to help construct China’s satellite internet network. The rocket’s product performance is comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, according to Space Pioneer, adding that it will be capable of launching the rocket over 30 times per year after the rocket’s first successful flight. The accident comes just days after China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module returned to Earth from space, where it collected the first ever samples from the far side of the moon. The mission was a key milestone in China’s “eternal dream” – as articulated by Chinese leader Xi Jinping – to establish the country as a dominant space power and comes as a number of countries, including the United States, also ramp up their own lunar exploration programs. __________________
Posts: 20,714	1 0

07-04-2024, 10:56 AM	#5528
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3310400	Despite not bothering to do a Starship pre-Flight 4 hype video (much to my chagrin!), SpaceX did just release a post-Flight 4 highlight video... The fourth flight of Starship brought us closer to a rapidly reusable future pic.twitter.com/maSky0Rsjy — SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 4, 2024 ...and even remembered their YouTube password. __________________
Posts: 1,662	1 0

07-07-2024, 07:29 AM	#5529
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8599900 VARSITY	"Flight 5 in 4 weeks," Musk said Friday (July 5) via X, the social media platform he owns. Flight 5 will feature an exciting new twist, if all goes according to plan: SpaceX has said it aims to bring the giant booster back for a pinpoint landing on Starbase's launch mount, an effort that will be aided by the "chopstick" arms of the facility's launch tower. This bold strategy will increase Starship's flight cadence, allowing the booster to be inspected, refurbished and relaunched more rapidly, Musk has said. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 186,961

07-11-2024, 08:03 PM	#5530
Shiver Me Timbers Elway be drinkin' again Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Colorado USA Casino cash: $5885001	Boeing get them space travelers back yet?
Posts: 4,967

07-12-2024, 09:32 AM	#5531
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $156899	Well, SpaceX's success streak ends at 334 launches. That's a crazy good streak, but it still sucks. We'll see how quickly they can move through the investigation and get launching again. It'll almost certainly delay things for a little bit at least. During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit. SpaceX has made contact with 5 of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them… — SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 12, 2024 "The FAA is requiring an investigation" of the Starlink 9-3 mission inflight failure, the agency says in a statement: https://t.co/CaV6vZVXjz pic.twitter.com/uoD2weFIk1 — Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) July 12, 2024
Posts: 52,515	1 0

07-13-2024, 09:46 AM	#5532
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $8599900 VARSITY	__________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 186,961

07-13-2024, 03:36 PM	#5533
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3310400	Footage of Starlink sats reentering: (and probably Stage 2 as well) https://t.co/8njxBV2i6k — Florida Man (@FLman747) July 13, 2024 __________________
Posts: 1,662

07-15-2024, 08:37 AM	#5534
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3310400	Starship Flight 5 booster testing underway, static fire likely in about 1 hour: __________________
Posts: 1,662

07-15-2024, 01:51 PM	#5535
GeorgeZimZam Repeal the 19th Amendment Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: KC > ATX > RGV Casino cash: $3310400	Photos from static fire pic.twitter.com/WZMVwklWtO — SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 15, 2024
Posts: 1,662