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 dlphg9:
Has this thing launched recently or ever? Seems it's gotten scrubbed a ton.
What thing are you talking about? FH hasn't been scrubbed much more than you'd expect, but probably a bit more as a percentage than a single stick launch.
It just doesn't fly very often. Not sure if that's why you're thinking it gets scrubbed. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
What thing are you talking about? FH hasn't been scrubbed much more than you'd expect, but probably a bit more as a percentage than a single stick launch.
It just doesn't fly very often. Not sure if that's why you're thinking it gets scrubbed.
Yeah I meant FH. It just seems like every time I've checked out this thread that they've scrubbed it. Maybe it was a different rocket or maybe it just seems like a lot. Is this the one they had the problem that knocked them out of commission for awhile or am I misremembering? I could go through the thread and check, but that's not fun [Reply]
SpaceX is targeting Friday, July 28 for Falcon Heavy’s launch of the Hughes JUPITER 3 mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 99-minute launch window opens at 11:04 p.m. ET (03:04 UTC on July 29). A backup opportunity is available on Saturday, July 29 with the same window.
Both of the side boosters on this mission previously supported USSF-44 and USSF-67. Following stage separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. [Reply]
All systems are looking good for Falcon Heavy’s launch of JUPITER 3. Tonight’s 99-minute launch window opens at 11:04 p.m. ET, and weather is currently 75% favorable → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK
Now that 3rd burn was to slow it down, right? To keep it in geostationary orbit?
Yessir
The second stage has completed its third burn and SpaceX Mission Control reports a nominal orbit insertion for the second stage with the Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 satellite. Watch live: https://t.co/d0HSytp3GDpic.twitter.com/P6TMuw5nXm
