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 DaFace:
Sure, there's no question that shit happens. You would just expect that they would have worked out when issues with valves were part of the problem last time.
Oh, I didn't know that valves were an issue before. I thought it was buggy code. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I'll be really curious what level of detail comes out of the press conference. I really want to know how a majority of the valves suddenly get stuck on the pad right before launch...
According to Vollmer, some of the NTO leaked through seals on the valves. Such leaks are well understood from a physics standpoint, Vollmer said. But then this oxidizer combined with some unanticipated ambient moisture in the cavity around the valve, and this resulted in corrosion that prevented the valves from opening properly.
...
News – Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin filed a sealed complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against NASA this morning, continuing the company's fight that the agency wrongly awarded the lucrative HLS lunar lander contract to SpaceX, despite the GAO ruling: https://t.co/QHG6z8zkD2
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Good lord. Can we just shut the place down? :-)
News – Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin filed a sealed complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against NASA this morning, continuing the company's fight that the agency wrongly awarded the lucrative HLS lunar lander contract to SpaceX, despite the GAO ruling: https://t.co/QHG6z8zkD2
Blue Origin last week released an infographic that added that Starship is “a launch vehicle that has never flown to orbit and is still being designed.” [Reply]
I thought those infographics were more just trying to throw shade at SpaceX more than trying to further their complaint about HLS. Regardless it is all just a rich toddler throwing a tantrum. [Reply]
This will further inflame internal tensions at Blue Origin, which are rising. Many employees are super disappointed in this tactic. It will also make other commercial space companies wary of partnering, and make it super difficult to win any federal contracts in the future.
Originally Posted by allen_kcCard:
I thought those infographics were more just trying to throw shade at SpaceX more than trying to further their complaint about HLS. Regardless it is all just a rich toddler throwing a tantrum.
Right, but it's a pretty crappy argument for why BO should be included (if it is) since BO hasn't even achieved orbit and SpaceX has how many times now? [Reply]
This is a "voluntary stay of performance" that the court filing says "shall expire on 11/1/2021." Oral arguments are set for 10/14/2021. So at longest the stop work would last a couple of months.
It's kind of funny (and horrifying) to think what the space landscape would look like if BO had their way. Recall that they tried to argue that they had a patent on using a ship in the water as a landing platform. If they had won that argument, SpaceX might never have been able to figure out reusability. :-)
Now they're trying to delay the moon work when there's not even a solution (not like NASA can suddenly come up with more money). At least it should only last a couple of months. [Reply]
Ugh.
Fuck Bezos. I'm glad NASA was able to cut SpaceX a milestone check the day the GAO protest was rejected. SpaceX will continue working on SS anyway. [Reply]
