Science Space Exploration megathread - Page 68

**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** · 05-05-2017, 09:16 PM

The next re-used booster is on the calendar.

BulgariaSat-1 to launch in June w/ @SpaceX 1st stage flown on @IridiumComm Jan. flight; Falcon tempo is accelerating.https://t.co/cuL6Z1TKha
— Peter B. de Selding (@pbdes) May 5, 2017

**Donger** · 05-06-2017, 09:42 AM

Nice. And Heavy?

**DaFace** · 05-09-2017, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Nice. And Heavy?

No date yet, but they're getting close.

First static fire test of a Falcon Heavy center core completed at our McGregor, TX rocket development facility last week. pic.twitter.com/tHUHc1QiKG
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 9, 2017

Hydrae · 05-09-2017, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

The next re-used booster is on the calendar.

BulgariaSat-1 to launch in June w/ @SpaceX 1st stage flown on @IridiumComm Jan. flight; Falcon tempo is accelerating.https://t.co/cuL6Z1TKha
— Peter B. de Selding (@pbdes) May 5, 2017

Under 6 month turn around, that is awesome!

**Donger** · 05-10-2017, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

No date yet, but they're getting close.

First static fire test of a Falcon Heavy center core completed at our McGregor, TX rocket development facility last week. pic.twitter.com/tHUHc1QiKG
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 9, 2017

Nice, thanks

unlurking · 05-10-2017, 06:09 AM

That makes 2 FH cores tested at McGregor. The "Leaning Tower of Thaicom 8" was already test fired. FH maiden flight will be using 2 previously flown cores.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017...d-progressing/

**DaFace** · 05-14-2017, 10:46 AM

Should be on track for a launch tomorrow night. It's interesting in that it's the heaviest payload to date (it was originally supposed to be a Falcon Heavy launch), but there won't be a landing attempt, so the webcast won't be as fun to watch.

I will most likely be in mid-flight at the time so I will probably miss it, unfortunately.

**DaFace** · 05-15-2017, 04:47 PM

Bump. Time to board.

eDave · 05-15-2017, 04:57 PM

Whew. Thanks DaFace. Tuning in.

Delayed LOX load. No issue.

SpaceX launch team confirms start of LOX load into the Falcon 9 around 10 minutes later than expected. TBD impact on launch time tonight.
— Stephen Clark (@StephenClark1) May 15, 2017

eDave · 05-15-2017, 05:25 PM

Kinda boring without a landing.

Hydrae · 05-15-2017, 05:27 PM

I haven't had much chance to watch any of these so this is great. Amazing what mankind has accomplished.

**DaFace** · 05-15-2017, 10:37 PM

Another successful (albeit boring) launch. Here's hoping that they get the Heavy going here soon to spice things up a bit.

unlurking · 05-16-2017, 07:12 AM

I will never find this kind of thing boring...

unlurking · 05-16-2017, 07:31 PM

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000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Moonlight Sonata

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**DaFace** · 05-16-2017, 08:07 PM

I was hoping we'd see it burning up in the atmosphere or something (I assume that's the fairing), but it's definitely a cool view.

I want them to release the video of the booster burning up. Based on the crowd reactions on the live stream, I'm almost sure that's what they were looking at.

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1796899	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: 51,939

05-05-2017, 09:16 PM	#1006
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1796899	The next re-used booster is on the calendar. BulgariaSat-1 to launch in June w/ @SpaceX 1st stage flown on @IridiumComm Jan. flight; Falcon tempo is accelerating.https://t.co/cuL6Z1TKha — Peter B. de Selding (@pbdes) May 5, 2017
Posts: 51,939

05-06-2017, 09:42 AM	#1007
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $10129900 VARSITY	Nice. And Heavy? __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 181,288

05-10-2017, 06:09 AM	#1011
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	That makes 2 FH cores tested at McGregor. The "Leaning Tower of Thaicom 8" was already test fired. FH maiden flight will be using 2 previously flown cores. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017...d-progressing/ __________________
Posts: 10,620

05-14-2017, 10:46 AM	#1012
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1796899	Should be on track for a launch tomorrow night. It's interesting in that it's the heaviest payload to date (it was originally supposed to be a Falcon Heavy launch), but there won't be a landing attempt, so the webcast won't be as fun to watch. I will most likely be in mid-flight at the time so I will probably miss it, unfortunately.
Posts: 51,939

05-15-2017, 04:47 PM	#1013
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1796899	Bump. Time to board.
Posts: 51,939

05-15-2017, 04:57 PM	#1014
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013 Casino cash: $9998560	Whew. Thanks DaFace. Tuning in. Delayed LOX load. No issue. SpaceX launch team confirms start of LOX load into the Falcon 9 around 10 minutes later than expected. TBD impact on launch time tonight. — Stephen Clark (@StephenClark1) May 15, 2017
Posts: 53,803

05-15-2017, 05:25 PM	#1015
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013 Casino cash: $9998560	Kinda boring without a landing.
Posts: 53,803

05-15-2017, 05:27 PM	#1016
Hydrae Sandbox: Leander Lasercats Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Austin, Tx Casino cash: $2097000	I haven't had much chance to watch any of these so this is great. Amazing what mankind has accomplished.
Posts: 14,693

05-15-2017, 10:37 PM	#1017
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1796899	Another successful (albeit boring) launch. Here's hoping that they get the Heavy going here soon to spice things up a bit.
Posts: 51,939

05-16-2017, 07:12 AM	#1018
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	I will never find this kind of thing boring... __________________
Posts: 10,620

05-16-2017, 07:31 PM	#1019
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:28.10185185185185% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> 000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Moonlight Sonata c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on May 16, 2017 at 3:43pm PDT __________________
Posts: 10,620

05-16-2017, 08:07 PM	#1020
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1796899	I was hoping we'd see it burning up in the atmosphere or something (I assume that's the fairing), but it's definitely a cool view. I want them to release the video of the booster burning up. Based on the crowd reactions on the live stream, I'm almost sure that's what they were looking at.
Posts: 51,939