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.
Well, this kind of sucks. It's pretty widely viewed that, regardless of political leanings, Jim has done a fantastic job as administrator. I was hoping he'd stick around.
Even if asked by the President-elect Biden administration, @JimBridenstine told us he would pass on staying on as head of the @NASA, not for partisan reasons but to ensure that, politically, NASA has the best chance of thriving under new leadership. https://t.co/szjshdQJhK
He's been great. Many expected a crony to toe Shelby's line, but Bridenstine navigated things pretty well. I hope his replacement is successful. Never really had any expectations that Artemis would survive/succeed. Even the current administration wasn't funding appropriately (too much tied up in SLS).
To me, key is maintaining the commercial aspect of launches and a solid plan for ISS. Anything that funds Artemis is just gravy. [Reply]
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A ahead of launching four astronauts to the @space_station; liftoff targeted for Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST pic.twitter.com/dlMrPUpr4d
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A ahead of launching four astronauts to the @space_station; liftoff targeted for Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST pic.twitter.com/dlMrPUpr4d
This doesn't technically qualify as Space Exploration but I didn't know where else to post it, so please delete if necessary.
That said, this is pretty freaking amazing and while the test only topped out at 100 MPH over 500 meters, it won't be long before they're up to 600 MPH, which would definitely change continental travel.
Hyperloop is such a strange effort. There are dozens of different organizations working on it, so it's really tough to keep track of what is signal vs. noise. Regardless, cool to see that someone is making progress at least! [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
This doesn't technically qualify as Space Exploration but I didn't know where else to post it, so please delete if necessary.
That said, this is pretty freaking amazing and while the test only topped out at 100 MPH over 500 meters, it won't be long before they're up to 600 MPH, which would definitely change continental travel.
I think it's neat, but commercial aircraft routinely fly at 550 MPH. West to east, anyway. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
I think it's neat, but commercial aircraft routinely fly at 550 MPH. West to east, anyway.
If it works and is economical (neither of which are at all guaranteed), the use case would be more along the lines of connecting nearby cities. Fort Collins to Denver in 10-15 minutes would be pretty sweet, for example. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
If it works and is economical (neither of which are at all guaranteed), the use case would be more along the lines of connecting nearby cities. Fort Collins to Denver in 10-15 minutes would be pretty sweet, for example.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
If it works and is economical (neither of which are at all guaranteed), the use case would be more along the lines of connecting nearby cities. Fort Collins to Denver in 10-15 minutes would be pretty sweet, for example.
LA to Vegas in 30 minutes would be amazing, as would LA to SF in 45 minutes or less.
I'd imagine there would be substantial benefits to the Midwest as well, like KC to Chicago or Dallas or Denver in an hour or less.
Of course, the first thing that came to mind was terrorism, which actually sucks and hope they can find some way around that possibility. [Reply]