Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 232

**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** · 11-09-2020, 10:45 AM

Well, this kind of sucks. It's pretty widely viewed that, regardless of political leanings, Jim has done a fantastic job as administrator. I was hoping he'd stick around.

Even if asked by the President-elect Biden administration, @JimBridenstine told us he would pass on staying on as head of the @NASA, not for partisan reasons but to ensure that, politically, NASA has the best chance of thriving under new leadership. https://t.co/szjshdQJhK
— Aviation Week (@AviationWeek) November 9, 2020

unlurking · 11-09-2020, 10:56 AM

He's been great. Many expected a crony to toe Shelby's line, but Bridenstine navigated things pretty well. I hope his replacement is successful. Never really had any expectations that Artemis would survive/succeed. Even the current administration wasn't funding appropriately (too much tied up in SLS).

To me, key is maintaining the commercial aspect of launches and a solid plan for ISS. Anything that funds Artemis is just gravy.

**DaFace** · 11-09-2020, 04:49 PM

Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A ahead of launching four astronauts to the @space_station; liftoff targeted for Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST pic.twitter.com/dlMrPUpr4d
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 9, 2020

**Donger** · 11-09-2020, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A ahead of launching four astronauts to the @space_station; liftoff targeted for Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST pic.twitter.com/dlMrPUpr4d
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 9, 2020

Can't wait!! And they changed it to more agreeable time, which is nice.

**Donger** · 11-10-2020, 04:14 PM

BREAKING: @NASA and @SpaceX have completed certification of #CrewDragon! I’m extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft. More: https://t.co/VGPPAtSll3 #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/jUZx0BBPwb
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) November 10, 2020

**DaneMcCloud** · 11-10-2020, 04:21 PM

This doesn't technically qualify as Space Exploration but I didn't know where else to post it, so please delete if necessary.

That said, this is pretty freaking amazing and while the test only topped out at 100 MPH over 500 meters, it won't be long before they're up to 600 MPH, which would definitely change continental travel.

**DaFace** · 11-10-2020, 05:01 PM

Hyperloop is such a strange effort. There are dozens of different organizations working on it, so it's really tough to keep track of what is signal vs. noise. Regardless, cool to see that someone is making progress at least!

**Donger** · 11-10-2020, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This doesn't technically qualify as Space Exploration but I didn't know where else to post it, so please delete if necessary.

That said, this is pretty freaking amazing and while the test only topped out at 100 MPH over 500 meters, it won't be long before they're up to 600 MPH, which would definitely change continental travel.

I think it's neat, but commercial aircraft routinely fly at 550 MPH. West to east, anyway.

**DaFace** · 11-10-2020, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

I think it's neat, but commercial aircraft routinely fly at 550 MPH. West to east, anyway.

If it works and is economical (neither of which are at all guaranteed), the use case would be more along the lines of connecting nearby cities. Fort Collins to Denver in 10-15 minutes would be pretty sweet, for example.

**Donger** · 11-10-2020, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

If it works and is economical (neither of which are at all guaranteed), the use case would be more along the lines of connecting nearby cities. Fort Collins to Denver in 10-15 minutes would be pretty sweet, for example.

Why would anyone want to go to FoCo?

**DaneMcCloud** · 11-10-2020, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

If it works and is economical (neither of which are at all guaranteed), the use case would be more along the lines of connecting nearby cities. Fort Collins to Denver in 10-15 minutes would be pretty sweet, for example.

LA to Vegas in 30 minutes would be amazing, as would LA to SF in 45 minutes or less.

I'd imagine there would be substantial benefits to the Midwest as well, like KC to Chicago or Dallas or Denver in an hour or less.

Of course, the first thing that came to mind was terrorism, which actually sucks and hope they can find some way around that possibility.

**DaneMcCloud** · 11-10-2020, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Why would anyone want to go to FoCo?

To bang college hotties at CSU

**DaFace** · 11-10-2020, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Why would anyone want to go to FoCo?

Perhaps you should take the trip.

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/10/...-live-america/

MagicHef · 11-10-2020, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Why would anyone want to go to FoCo?

what

**Donger** · 11-10-2020, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Perhaps you should take the trip.

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/10/...-live-america/

I was kidding. I like it up there, unless the wind is from the north.

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1786899	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: 51,944

11-09-2020, 10:45 AM	#3466
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1786899	Well, this kind of sucks. It's pretty widely viewed that, regardless of political leanings, Jim has done a fantastic job as administrator. I was hoping he'd stick around. Even if asked by the President-elect Biden administration, @JimBridenstine told us he would pass on staying on as head of the @NASA, not for partisan reasons but to ensure that, politically, NASA has the best chance of thriving under new leadership. https://t.co/szjshdQJhK — Aviation Week (@AviationWeek) November 9, 2020
Posts: 51,944

11-09-2020, 10:56 AM	#3467
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	He's been great. Many expected a crony to toe Shelby's line, but Bridenstine navigated things pretty well. I hope his replacement is successful. Never really had any expectations that Artemis would survive/succeed. Even the current administration wasn't funding appropriately (too much tied up in SLS). To me, key is maintaining the commercial aspect of launches and a solid plan for ISS. Anything that funds Artemis is just gravy. __________________
Posts: 10,620

11-09-2020, 04:49 PM	#3468
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1786899	Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A ahead of launching four astronauts to the @space_station; liftoff targeted for Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST pic.twitter.com/dlMrPUpr4d — SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 9, 2020
Posts: 51,944

11-10-2020, 04:14 PM	#3470
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $10129900 VARSITY	BREAKING: @NASA and @SpaceX have completed certification of #CrewDragon! I’m extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft. More: https://t.co/VGPPAtSll3 #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/jUZx0BBPwb — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) November 10, 2020 __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 181,288	2 0

11-10-2020, 04:21 PM	#3471
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	This doesn't technically qualify as Space Exploration but I didn't know where else to post it, so please delete if necessary. That said, this is pretty freaking amazing and while the test only topped out at 100 MPH over 500 meters, it won't be long before they're up to 600 MPH, which would definitely change continental travel.
Posts: 88,960	1 0

11-10-2020, 05:01 PM	#3472
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1786899	Hyperloop is such a strange effort. There are dozens of different organizations working on it, so it's really tough to keep track of what is signal vs. noise. Regardless, cool to see that someone is making progress at least!
Posts: 51,944