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.
SpaceX is targeting Friday, May 13 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 3:07 p.m. PT, 22:07 UTC.
The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage will return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 10 minutes prior to liftoff.
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 14 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 4:40 p.m. ET, or 20:40 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Sunday, May 15 at 4:12 p.m. ET, or 20:12 UTC.
Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage will return to Earth and land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
I can barely keep track of Starlink launches anymore!
But aside from that, they're finally trying to get Starliner's OFT-2 (demo) launch off the ground with another test flight today at 6:54pm ET. Fingers crossed they've gotten their damn valves figured out... [Reply]
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 14 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 4:40 p.m. ET, or 20:40 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Sunday, May 15 at 4:12 p.m. ET, or 20:12 UTC.
Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage will return to Earth and land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Those booster landings still amaze me every time. [Reply]
Good to see Starliner finally make it into space, but man Boeing really needs to up their streaming game. CGI animation of a rocket in flight just doesn't cut it anymore. Though I guess if they can manage a successful mission that will be a nice upgrade. lol [Reply]
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, June 8 for launch of Nilesat 301 to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The two-hour and twenty-nine-minute window opens at 5:04 p.m. ET, 21:04 UTC. A backup launch opportunity is available on Thursday, June 9 with the same window.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously supported the launch of GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, and two Starlink missions. After stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 10 minutes prior to liftoff.
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, June 8 for launch of Nilesat 301 to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The two-hour and twenty-nine-minute window opens at 5:04 p.m. ET, 21:04 UTC. A backup launch opportunity is available on Thursday, June 9 with the same window.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously supported the launch of GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, and two Starlink missions. After stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 10 minutes prior to liftoff.
I love the fact that SpaceX has all those big convoluted names for their recovery ships and then "Doug" to recover the fairings. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan:
I love the fact that SpaceX has all those big convoluted names for their recovery ships and then "Doug" to recover the fairings. :-)
Agree it's funny, but the explanations are relatively straightforward. The drone ships are named after ships in Ian M Banks novels. The recovery ships are named after Bob and Doug, the Demo 2 astronauts. [Reply]
Musk should make that rocket to where every time it takes a satellite to orbit it runs over and grabs a NK, China ,Russian satellite and brings it back. [Reply]
SpaceX is targeting Friday, June 17 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 12:08 p.m. ET, or 16:08 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, June 18 at 11:47 a.m. ET, or 15:47 UTC.
The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, and nine Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 10 minutes prior to liftoff.
