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.
And be a kick in the ass to the 2019 SLS/Orion unmanned trip around the moon. Not that I expect SpaceX to be on time, but if they launch a manned mission within months of NASA's unmanned mission? Wow. Can you imagine man's first trip back to the moon being a couple of rich tourists?
Wish I was rich. I'd sign up in a heartbeat. [Reply]
Totally cool. I am very glad to see the beginnings of space tourists is happening. SpaceX is working very hard to get humanity back into space, not just orbiting our little rock. [Reply]
Static fire of Falcon 9 just completed. Targeting EchoStar XXIII launch from @NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Mar. 14, early morning EDT. pic.twitter.com/g8moLfwfnP
Weather is iffy, but as of this moment they're planning to go for it in an hour. 2.5-hour window, so even if it's not there at the beginning, they could possibly postpone.
Don't think I'm staying up if it gets delayed though.
The first previously-flown booster is now on the clock. This one I'm excited for. (Glad they didn't blow Echostar up, though.)
SpaceX has March 27 (Window 1658-2058 Eastern) *Range Approved* for the SES-10 launch on the historic Falcon 9R 1021 (re-)launch! pic.twitter.com/HJRzD7sefh
Originally Posted by DaFace:
The first previously-flown booster is now on the clock. This one I'm excited for. (Glad they didn't blow Echostar up, though.)
SpaceX has March 27 (Window 1658-2058 Eastern) *Range Approved* for the SES-10 launch on the historic Falcon 9R 1021 (re-)launch! pic.twitter.com/HJRzD7sefh
I watched the replay this morning and was super-unstoked once I found out that they had to burn longer, thus no 1st stage landing. Bummer, but I understand... [Reply]
Originally Posted by GloryDayz:
I watched the replay this morning and was super-unstoked once I found out that they had to burn longer, thus no 1st stage landing. Bummer, but I understand...
Yeah, certainly wasn't the most exciting launch they've done in a while. Next one should hopefully make up for it though. If they successfully re-launch it and re-land it, it's gonna be a hell of a party in Hawthorne. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Yeah, certainly wasn't the most exciting launch they've done in a while. Next one should hopefully make up for it though. If they successfully re-launch it and re-land it, it's gonna be a hell of a party in Hawthorne.
I'd love to see #1 what the refit/refurb effort amounts to, and #2 what the criteria is for a go/no-go decision reusing the 1st stage.. [Reply]
Couple of cool developments this week. First, SpaceX has apparently engineered and produced some sort of crazy robot (being referred to as a giant roomba) called Optimus Prime that will live on the drone ship and automatically go out after a landing to secure the rocket to the ship. According to theory, that will help to eliminate some of the dangerous aspects of securing the ship and hauling it back. There aren't very good pictures out there, but this gives you the idea (more here):
Second, they have leased a big warehouse at Port Canaveral that they are going to use specifically to refurbish rockets, so they won't have to ship them across the country to clean them up anymore.
Pretty cool to see the effort they're now putting toward IMPROVING the recovery process rather than just landing them in the first place.
First launch of a previously-flown rocket is coming up in a week.
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Static fire test complete. Targeting Thursday, March 30 for Falcon 9 launch of SES-10. pic.twitter.com/0tZ7u6gngI
24-hour bump. Tomorrow's launch will be historic if nothing goes wrong. If they can successfully launch and re-land this booster for a second time, things are gonna accelerate quickly. [Reply]
