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.
First stage booster returning to earth never gets old. Cannot wait for Starship Flight 5, and attempted Mechazilla "catch" of the Super Heavy booster! (And it sounds like it will be happening earlier than "Late November," after all...perhaps the weekend of Chiefs' week 6 bye; i.e. 2 weeks from today!)
Originally Posted by :
For those of you that have not visited [Starbase at Boca Chica, Texas], I invite you and strongly encourage you to come down, and come down often. If you miss a six month cycle, you will have missed the tremendous progress we've made down there. It is an extraordinary place.
...she ain't lying. Starbase is like no other place on earth. You rocket nerds should make the pilgrimage!
Sounds like another grounding. Hopefully it's something easy to identify.
After today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn. As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Sounds like another grounding. Hopefully it's something easy to identify.
After today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn. As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area.
Originally Posted by GeorgeZimZam:
First stage booster returning to earth never gets old. Cannot wait for Starship Flight 5, and attempted Mechazilla "catch" of the Super Heavy booster! (And it sounds like it will be happening earlier than "Late November," after all...perhaps the weekend of Chiefs' week 6 bye; i.e. 2 weeks from today!)
BREAKING: US Coast Guard documentation indicates a NET Launch Date of @SpaceX's Starship Flight 5 of October 12, between 07:00 and 08:10 local time.
This is ~6 weeks earlier than what had previously been said publicly by @SpaceX and the @FAANews.
Teams encapsulated @NASA 's Europa Clipper spacecraft into Falcon Heavy's fairing earlier this week ahead of next week's Falcon Heavy launch from pad 39A in Florida pic.twitter.com/ZPJnEvHfMV
Originally Posted by : RocketLaunch.Live: The Europa Clipper mission is designed to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which is believed to harbor an ocean beneath its thick ice shell. This NASA mission will investigate whether Europa has the necessary conditions to support life by performing nearly 50 flybys of the moon. Equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, the spacecraft will gather data about the moon’s surface, ice structure, and potential water plumes. These observations will help scientists understand Europa’s composition and its potential for harboring life beneath its ice-covered ocean.
Europa Clipper's payload includes a range of scientific tools such as ice-penetrating radar, spectrometers, and thermal imaging systems, which will help reveal the moon’s internal structure and composition. The spacecraft will be protected from Jupiter’s intense radiation by a specially designed vault to shield its electronics. With its enormous solar arrays, the spacecraft is also one of the largest NASA has ever built for a planetary mission.
The launch date is currently targeted for Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 4:31 PM (UTC).
