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.
Sounds like the scrub wasn't weather related, so there goes my "smooth sailing" observation.
It sounds like they're still working out some of the kinks with the new supercooled LOX (only used before on the launch that landed in December), so hopefully they'll get that figured out with this one. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dave Lane:
An abundance of caution? WTF?
If I'm understanding the reddit geeks' take, the colder they get it, the more power they have, and this flight will take about everything they've got.
So it's kind of like saying, "I think I've got enough fuel to drive 100 miles, and I only need to go 80, so I SHOULD be fine. But if I wait until tomorrow, the wind will be at my back, so I might as well wait just to be safe."
EDIT: For a more techy hypothesis:
Originally Posted by :
The electric thrusters can provide about 4 m/s of delta-V per day. So if SES can get 4 m/s more out of the rocket tomorrow, they'll be in service faster than if they launch today. Working out the numbers, that's about 0.1% more fuel. For LOX, a 24 degree K decrease adds 8.9% more fuel. So the break-even point is about 1/4 degree K. So the optimum is launching right at the start of the window, when the fuel is as cold as possible. But if they try and then scrub today, they lose two ways. Launching late in the window doubtless has the oxygen warmed more than 1/4 degree, so it would be better to launch at the beginning of the window tomorrow. But recycling all the warm LOX back into the ground tanks would probably mean they can't get it back down to within a quarter degree of the initial temperature by then.
So SES would probably prefer a beginning of window launch tomorrow to a late in the launch window today. Furthermore they would prefer a pre-load scrub to a post-load scrub. Of course they are playing this against the odds of a much longer possible delay if tomorrow is scrubbed as well. But it's entirely possible the delay is preferred by SES.
Originally Posted by Scooter LaCanforno:
Not a cloud in the sky here at the Cape. Hope the wind eases a bit. Should be a nice launch.
Nice! I need to come down for a launch one of these days. I saw some random one go way back when I was a kid about 20 years ago, but I'd love go catch one of these in person. Especially once they get the F9-Heavy launches going. :-) [Reply]
I'm really excited about this one. Told my clients that I had another engagement and had to leave early. "Where do you have to go, Donger?" "Ummm, it's.... secret." [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
I'm really excited about this one. Told my clients that I had another engagement and had to leave early. "Where do you have to go, Donger?" "Ummm, it's.... secret."
Anything about this one in particular that's got you all worked up? [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
If I'm understanding the reddit geeks' take, the colder they get it, the more power they have, and this flight will take about everything they've got.
So it's kind of like saying, "I think I've got enough fuel to drive 100 miles, and I only need to go 80, so I SHOULD be fine. But if I wait until tomorrow, the wind will be at my back, so I might as well wait just to be safe."
Sorry my comment was directed more at the verbiage. Abundance of caution.
I have an abundance of caution in my pants :-) [Reply]
