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.
I usually have both the hosted and technical windows on separate monitor. I love that SpaceX is this public with their launches, and always educational with their webcasts.
Unfortunately got pulled way last night, so watching now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
As cool as these are for this space geek, when are they going to launch a rocket that has already flown and landed? Has something been scheduled yet?
I would think that the customer would get a discount, or something.
Scheduled? No. But it's not far off. There's talk that they might get two of them off the ground by the end of 2016. (But that's SpaceX time obviously, so chances are it'll be only one.)
Rumor is it'll be an SES launch for it, though.
SES is likely inaugural customer for reused SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stage this yr. For SES, reuse part of capex cutting. pic.twitter.com/ye74nS3neX
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Scheduled? No. But it's not far off. There's talk that they might get two of them off the ground by the end of 2016. (But that's SpaceX time obviously, so chances are it'll be only one.)
Rumor is it'll be an SES launch for it, though.
SES is likely inaugural customer for reused SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stage this yr. For SES, reuse part of capex cutting. pic.twitter.com/ye74nS3neX
I know it's not a launch, but NASA will be live streaming a spacewalk tomorrow AM as astronauts install the IDA2. Should get some good live shots of the Dragon berthed to the ISS, which delivered the IDA2 to the station.
Originally Posted by unlurking:
I know it's not a launch, but NASA will be live streaming a spacewalk tomorrow AM as astronauts install the IDA2. Should get some good live shots of the Dragon berthed to the ISS, which delivered the IDA2 to the station.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
EVA's are exciting in concept, but in real-time, they're excruciatingly slow. I look forward to reading about how it went, though. :-)
Shots of the landing are up here, but even I'm starting to think they all kind of look alike. Here's my favorite of the return trip, though.
:-)000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">After more than a month at the @iss, Dragon had a successful return to Earth today. Now on recovery ship headed back to port for quick cargo handover to @nasa
:-)c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by SpaceX (@spacex) on
It's official - SES-10 will be on a "flight-proven" rocket. No specific date yet, but listed as "Q4 2016". (Though not specifically mentioned, sounds like October is the goal.)
SES-10 LAUNCHING TO ORBIT ON SPACEX’S FLIGHT-PROVEN FALCON 9 ROCKET
Leading satellite operator will be world’s first company to launch a geostationary satellite on a reusable rocket in Q4 2016
LUXEMBOURG/ HAWTHORNE, CA, 30 August 2016 - SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) and SpaceX announced today they have reached an agreement to launch SES-10 on a flight-proven Falcon 9 orbital rocket booster.
The satellite, which will be in a geostationary orbit and expand SES’s capabilities across Latin America, is scheduled for launch in Q4 2016. SES-10 will be the first-ever satellite to launch on a SpaceX flight-proven rocket booster.
SES-10 will be positioned at 67 degrees West, pursuant to an agreement with the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru), and will be used for the Simón Bolivar 2 satellite network. With a Ku-band payload of 55 36MHz transponder equivalents, of which 27 are incremental, the multi-mission spacecraft is the first SES satellite wholly dedicated to Latin America. It will replace the capacity currently provided by SES’s AMC-3 and AMC-4 satellites at that location, as well as bring additional capacity to Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The high-powered, tailored and flexible beams will provide direct-to-home broadcasting, enterprise and mobility services.
“Having been the first commercial satellite operator to launch with SpaceX back in 2013, we are excited to once again be the first customer to launch on SpaceX's first ever mission using a flight-proven rocket. We believe reusable rockets will open up a new era of spaceflight, and make access to space more efficient in terms of cost and manifest management,” said Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer at SES. “This new agreement reached with SpaceX once again illustrates the faith we have in their technical and operational expertise. The due diligence the SpaceX team has demonstrated throughout the design and testing of the SES-10 mission launch vehicle gives us full confidence that SpaceX is capable of launching our first SES satellite dedicated to Latin America into space.”
“Re-launching a rocket that has already delivered spacecraft to orbit is an important milestone on the path to complete and rapid reusability,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX. “SES has been a strong supporter of SpaceX’s approach to reusability over the years and we’re delighted that the first launch of a flight-proven rocket will carry SES-10.”
SES-10 is being built by Airbus Defence and Space and is based on the Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite will utilise an electric plasma propulsion system for on-orbit manoeuvres and a chemical system for initial orbit raising and some on-orbit manoeuvres.[/url] [Reply]
