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 2112:
When are they gonna test fly the new Saturn 5 type heavy lift star ship rocket?
They're still working on it and doing ground tests (static fires). They were hoping to do a 15km hop with it soon-ish, but they ran into an issue with one of the engines in the last test.
It's tough to predict when a test flight will happen since they're constantly testing and iterating, but hopefully by the end of the year. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
They're still working on it and doing ground tests (static fires). They were hoping to do a 15km hop with it soon-ish, but they ran into an issue with one of the engines in the last test.
It's tough to predict when a test flight will happen since they're constantly testing and iterating, but hopefully by the end of the year.
Has SpaceX even begun physical work on Super Heavy, or whatever the first stage is called now? [Reply]
To clarify, they're hoping to "hop" Starship (the second stage) soon. Super Heavy SN01 is being built, but there hasn't been any timeline given for flying that one. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
They're still working on it and doing ground tests (static fires). They were hoping to do a 15km hop with it soon-ish, but they ran into an issue with one of the engines in the last test.
It's tough to predict when a test flight will happen since they're constantly testing and iterating, but hopefully by the end of the year.
Thanks!
I was in kindergarten when Apollo 8 launched and everybody was glued to the TV in the classroom. It was the First manned launch of the Saturn V and first trip to the moon. Incredible what Von Braun did with the fuel pumps for those first stage engines. 3,000 gallons a second if I remember right and the whole thing was 7 million pounds fully loaded. 1960’s technology and still the most powerful machine ever built by man. [Reply]
I just watched the recording of the welcome ceremony, and wow, that's awesome. It never gets old. When the Japanese were talking it really showed, again, the good things that happen when people work together. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Teak:
My wife gets to brag about talking to Von Braun in her apartment kitchen. His daughter was in college with her. Sorry a little off subject
Originally Posted by DaFace:
They're still working on it and doing ground tests (static fires). They were hoping to do a 15km hop with it soon-ish, but they ran into an issue with one of the engines in the last test.
It's tough to predict when a test flight will happen since they're constantly testing and iterating, but hopefully by the end of the year.
About 2 secs after starting engines, martyte covering concrete below shattered, sending blades of hardened rock into engine bay. One rock blade severed avionics cable, causing bad shutdown of Raptor.