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.
I have to say, this is one of the my favorite, non-Chiefs threads of all time. Thank you to all who keep it updated and please, keep posting. Exciting times we live in and this is bigger than most people realize, IMO. [Reply]
Any thoughts on broadening the scope of this thread vs. keeping it SpaceX? With Boeing close to their demo launch of Starliner, it seems like this is the logical place for discussion about it. Similar for Blue Origin's stuff in the next few years. SpaceX has been the sexy company to watch and probably will still be for a while, but there's lots of other interesting stuff from others not to far into the future.
We could just change it to a "Space Exploration" megathread instead I suppose. [Reply]
I also would welcome a broader scope for this thread. I have been waiting my whole life (58 years and counting) for private space enterprises and it is finally here! IMO, this is how humanity gets to space, not through governmental programs. [Reply]
Second SpaceX Falcon Heavy flight gets April 7 launch date:
SpaceX's massive Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled for its next launch no earlier than April 7 at 6:36 pm ET (22:36 UTC), people familiar with the plans told CNBC.
In case anyone's got some time to blow, here's a cool discussion between Jim Bridenstine (NASA Administrator), Elon Musk, and the first astronauts slated to ride on Dragon.
But yeah, I think we get there in the 2030s. In theory SpaceX wants to get there sooner than that, but NASA seems to have their sights on the moon, so it'll be more of a stretch for SpaceX to do it alone. Here's the general timeline as I see it:
2020-2025 - Rapid expansion of launch vehicle capabilities (New Glenn, Starship, and maybe SLS)
2025-2030 - Manned missions to the moon to start building a base and to test out technology that would allow for long-term habitats. Also, unmanned missions to Mars that take far bigger payloads than we've ever sent there before.
2030-2035 - Manned missions to Mars, but we don't stay longer than we have to. (Granted, we might have to stay quite a while since you have to wait for the right launch window.)
2035+ - Long-term missions to Mars.
Of course, that's all just guessing. We could get there earlier or much later. Or, frankly, it's possible that we never really figure out how to live on Mars long-term. We'll see. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
Second SpaceX Falcon Heavy flight gets April 7 launch date:
SpaceX's massive Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled for its next launch no earlier than April 7 at 6:36 pm ET (22:36 UTC), people familiar with the plans told CNBC.
*PRELIMINARY* (Dates are "PENDING", but now on the Range): Static Fire: NET March 31. Launch: NET: April 7 - Window: 22:36 UTC to 00:35 UTC. 39A T/E Rollback is the next milestone.@TheFavoritist's iconic photo: pic.twitter.com/Z7KSVwznKT
