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.
Originally Posted by allen_kcCard:
Less than 24 hours till next spacex launch bump. Will be a F9 launch for this one, but another falcon heavy is coming in 12 days.
Looks like we confirmed that the visibility near ground level can be absolute crap and everything go off without a hitch anyway. I would say it was another cool launch/landing, but I sure couldn't see anything to confirm it :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by stumppy:
Pretty cool watching it come up out of all that fog.
Going down too. I had always been under the impression that it had to go with visual guidance in the final seconds to hit the bullseye, but I sure couldn't see the target until it was practically on the ground. Clearly their GPS systems are pretty precise. [Reply]
24-hour bump for Falcon Heavy. I'm stoked for the night time launch (and landing). Seeing two boosters coming down side-by-side in the dark is gonna be fun. Window opens at 11:30pm Eastern tomorrow night (Monday). [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket will attempt its most technically demanding mission yet on Monday night, with a rideshare flight organized by the US Air Force. Company founder Elon Musk has characterized the mission as "Our most difficult launch ever."
During this Space Test Program-2 flight, the world's most powerful operational rocket will attempt to deliver 24 different payloads into three different orbits, resulting in multiple re-lights of the Merlin 1D engine powering the rocket's second stage.
Further Reading
This may be the moment SpaceX opened the cosmos to the masses
It is a critical mission for SpaceX and its Falcon Heavy rocket for a few reasons. First of all, this is the first time the Air Force has flown payloads on a Falcon Heavy rocket. And while this mission will not be carrying anything critical to national security—such as large satellites valued at $1 billion or more used for observation, communication, or other purposes to advance the national interest—Air Force officials will be watching closely.
The US military is in the middle of determining which providers among SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman will win lucrative launch contracts from 2022 to 2026. The Air Force is only expected to pick two winners, and SpaceX has said its Falcon Heavy rocket can meet all nine of the Air Force's "reference orbits," which means sending heavy payloads to some exotic orbits that require a lot of energy to reach.
Wow. I hadn't really paid attention to how complex this mission is. Here's the timeline from the press kit:
Code:
00:00:42 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:27 Booster engine cutoff (BECO)
00:02:31 Side boosters separate from center core
00:02:49 Side boosters begin boostback burn
00:03:27 Center core engine shutdown/main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:03:31 Center core and 2nd stage separate
00:03:38 2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:04:03 Fairing deployment
00:07:13 Side boosters begin entry burn
00:08:41 Side booster landings
00:08:38 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:08:53 Center core begins entry burn
00:11:21 Center core landing
00:12:55 Spacecraft deployments begin
01:12:39 Second stage engine restart (SES-2)
01:13:00 Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
02:07:35 Second stage engine restart (SES-3)
02:08:04 Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-3)
03:27:27 Second stage engine restart (SES-4)
03:28:03 Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-4)
03:34:09 Final spacecraft deployment
Combined with a 4-hour window, this could make for a late night. I might try and make it to SECO-2 if they get it off on time, but that'll probably be it for me. [Reply]
