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 GloryDayz:
Maybe NASA can ask SpaceX for some pointers on how to gas-up a rocket? :-)
It's all good, I'd rather wait than have a catastrophic failure.
But seriously, a little duct tape goes a long way when fixing rocket leaks.. :-)
Eh, it's just a different approach. SpaceX has had plenty of hydrogen issues (including an explosion during a test fire a month or so ago that damaged some engines). We're just more used to stuff blowing up when SpaceX does it. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Eh, it's just a different approach. SpaceX has had plenty of hydrogen issues (including an explosion during a test fire a month or so ago that damaged some engines). We're just more used to stuff blowing up when SpaceX does it. :-)
Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN)NASA will not pursue a launch of Artemis I for the remainder of the launch period, which ends on Tuesday, according to an update from the agency after a second scrubbed launch attempt Saturday.
Future launch periods, including those in September and October, depend on what the team decides early next week, but this results in a minimum of delays consisting of at least several weeks.
"We will not be launching in this launch period," said Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. "We are not where we wanted to be."
Free said the stack, including the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, has to roll back into the Vehicle Assembly Building, unless they get a waiver from the range, which is run by the US Space Force. [Reply]
Sounds like NASA's facing some tough decisions, either rush'ish fixes while on the pad or scrub until October and possibly face hurricane issues that might be around by that time of year.
The launch of NASA's Artemis "mega moon rocket" has been pushed out more than a month, likely to mid-October, after Saturday's (Sept. 3) second launch attempt was canceled because of an engine leak.
The gigantic Artemis 1 rocket — made up of the Orion capsule perched atop the 30-story Space Launch System (SLS) — will be rolled back to the vehicle assembly building, and the next launch window won't open until at least early October, NASA announced (opens in new tab). [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
Heading back to the the VAB...
The launch of NASA's Artemis "mega moon rocket" has been pushed out more than a month, likely to mid-October, after Saturday's (Sept. 3) second launch attempt was canceled because of an engine leak.
The gigantic Artemis 1 rocket — made up of the Orion capsule perched atop the 30-story Space Launch System (SLS) — will be rolled back to the vehicle assembly building, and the next launch window won't open until at least early October, NASA announced (opens in new tab).
To be fair, it's remarkable they made it this far, and their abort system worked perfectly. If there had been humans on board, they would have been 100% fine. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes them to get going again, though. [Reply]
To be fair, it's remarkable they made it this far, and their abort system worked perfectly. If there had been humans on board, they would have been 100% fine. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes them to get going again, though.
Whoa. I just watched the BO webcast and it looked like the retros didn't fire just before capsule landing:
Originally Posted by Donger:
Whoa. I just watched the BO webcast and it looked like the retros didn't fire just before capsule landing:
It's tough to tell for me. The video wasn't good since it was so far from where it was supposed to be, and the retros always fire at the very last second. My guess is it was nominal - we just couldn't see it very well.
