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 think debris took out the on-board camera, then, as usual, the drone ship's camera blacks-out during the actual landing. Isn't that because of more than just the thunder from the engines? [Reply]
Originally Posted by GloryDayz:
45 min coast phase...
I think debris took out the on-board camera, then, as usual, the drone ship's camera blacks-out during the actual landing. Isn't that because of more than just the thunder from the engines?
Lots of vibrations = bad for a satellite link. Once the ship stops rocking a bit, the link usually comes back. [Reply]
Yeah, I was sorta expecting them to "launch" them like torpedoes or something. Just giving them a push and saying "fly free" wasn't what I was imagining. [Reply]
My son has been working with NASA in Goddard, Maryland and is currently on a program to replace the Hubble Telescope. He mentioned last week that it's so overbudget it might get scrapped that NASA has a bunch of programs running right now and the President is allocating more money to NASA than the past regime.
I personally, would like to see another manned mission to the moon 50 years on. if they're serious about Mars, they gotta re-do the runs the to moon, at least. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KCTitus:
My son has been working with NASA in Goddard, Maryland and is currently on a program to replace the Hubble Telescope. He mentioned last week that it's so overbudget it might get scrapped that NASA has a bunch of programs running right now and the President is allocating more money to NASA than the past regime.
I personally, would like to see another manned mission to the moon 50 years on. if they're serious about Mars, they gotta re-do the runs the to moon, at least.
Oohh...is he working on the JWST? That's super cool if so (and still super cool if it's something different). It is indeed way over budget, but I can't imagine it being totally scrapped. Hubble has arguably been the most fruitful scientific instrument ever created in terms of expanding our knowledge of the universe, and we need a replacement for it sooner than later.
As for moon missions, they're definitely coming. I'm still a little skeptical that NASA will get there with SLS, but there are enough entities working on it these days that someone will get there in the next 5-10 years. [Reply]
