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.
They're relatively certain there is water under the surface of Mars. They're cautiously optimistic there is water ON the surface of Mars, although some scientists call it "avalanches of sand".
Originally Posted by Donger:
Four days to get it back horizontal, back to the assembly building, get the cargo fitted, and back out to the pad?
Wow.
Eh, I bet it doesn't take that much to throw the payload and fairing on top. It's almost certainly been attached a number of times already, so they know it fits.
This is NOT that - it's from before the static fire - but is kind of cool to see them attaching everything together.
Booster mate inside SpaceX's hangar at LC-39A ahead of Falcon Heavy’s static fire yesterday pic.twitter.com/G7ZPhOBkyj
“Launch Reschedule Notification: SpaceX Falcon Heavy has been rescheduled to Wednesday, April 10th 2019. Launch window opens at 6:36 p.m.”
SpaceX officials did not return requests for confirmation Monday morning.
The highly anticipated launch, which is expected to draw 100,000 or more spectators to the region, will carry Saudi Arabia’s Arabsat-6A satellite into space.
The U.S. Air Force Weather Squadron’s forecast, released this weekend, had placed the probability of a successful Tuesday launch at 30 percent because of weather.
The probability of favorable weather on Wednesday was 80 percent.
This will be the first flight of the vehicle with three new Block 5 boosters. [Reply]
Everything SEEMS to be on track for Falcon Heavy tomorrow! Window opens at 6:35pm EST and closes about 2 hours later. Here's hoping it goes off on time because I have a conflict starting at about 7pm EST! [Reply]
First flight for Falcon Heavy Block 5 means there is some risk of failure between 5% to 10% imo. Many good design improvements from Falcon Heavy demo, but the changes are unproven.
GAAAHHHH...goddammit. I'm not going to be able to watch live.
Falcon Heavy and Arabsat-6A are vertical on Launch Complex 39A. Currently targeting liftoff at 8:00 p.m. EDT; monitoring upper-level winds that could push us to the end of the window (8:32 p.m. EDT) → https://t.co/gtC39uBC7zpic.twitter.com/Vbzbhy6PLz
Going to apollo 11 for the fifth time tonite. Last day it’s in the theaters (AMC anyway). Feel sorry for any of you who missed this on the big screen [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
Going to apollo 11 for the fifth time tonite. Last day it’s in the theaters (AMC anyway). Feel sorry for any of you who missed this on the big screen
That'll make it basically an instantaneous window at that point, so we'll see if they get it off. Unfortunately I won't be able to catch up until late tonight, so I hope you guys get to enjoy the show. [Reply]
