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.
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.
Kind of looking like this is gonna get bumped back (perhaps significantly) FWIW. DM1 has slipped into March, and it'll come off of the same pad as the next FH launch. I can't imagine it'll be quick to turn around the pad for Heavy after DM1, so if I was placing bets, I'd say FH slips into April. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Kind of looking like this is gonna get bumped back (perhaps significantly) FWIW. DM1 has slipped into March, and it'll come off of the same pad as the next FH launch. I can't imagine it'll be quick to turn around the pad for Heavy after DM1, so if I was placing bets, I'd say FH slips into April.
I would imagine they're getting pad turn around times down to a matter of days. Easily a week. I still think we can see both launches in March. I think it's more likely that DM-1 gets pushed to after Arabsat-6A actually. Scheduling issues with ISS seem to be the biggest question mark right now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
I would imagine they're getting pad turn around times down to a matter of days. Easily a week. I still think we can see both launches in March. I think it's more likely that DM-1 gets pushed to after Arabsat-6A actually. Scheduling issues with ISS seem to be the biggest question mark right now.
It's more about what they can do in the HIF to me. Can they build a FH when they still have DM1 sitting in there? I really have no idea, but that seems like a pretty tight space. Guess we'll see.
DM-1 has been expected to slip to March since late January. Apparently Roscosmos is rather gabby when it comes to ISS/NASA timelines. lol
The SpaceX HIF has plenty of room for boosters in addition to having an FH already integrated on the TEL. With the Arabsat-6A launch, they don't have the added burden of scheduling ISS, so I can see SpaceX trying to go forward with a FH launch while DM-1 waits in the wings. (Then again, it's more likely my own desire to see another FH launch that I'm looking at it through rose colored glasses.)
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
I never cared about space. At all. Saw all the movies (right stuff, the Martian, Apollo 13, etc). Still never cared.
Saw “First Man” last weekend. Now I care. Now I finally get it. We need to get to Mars and explore everywhere we can. I was really wrong.
I actually haven't ever gotten around to seeing that. I need to put that on the priority list. But yes, space exploration is critical. If we're not exploring, I'm not really sure what the point of life really is. [Reply]
