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 Donger:
I wonder if they are going to have to mod the Falcon?
A guy on reddit looked at all the tech specs and thinks that it can fit in a normal fairing, but with only about 2.5 cm of clearance. That seems awfully tight to me, but I doubt they let things rattle around in there much, so maybe it's fine. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
A guy on reddit looked at all the tech specs and thinks that it can fit in a normal fairing, but with only about 2.5 cm of clearance. That seems awfully tight to me, but I doubt they let things rattle around in there much, so maybe it's fine.
And they might be able to get extra clearance by removing recovery hardware like the parachute packs and cameras. Would love to see if they have been building an oversized fairing for this. [Reply]
Just to check in with readers of this thread, I'm starting to settle into a pattern of posting stuff. I generally try to post:
Major news about milestones
After a launch, an estimate of the timing and key details of the next one
Completion of the static fire (and final target date and time)
Final heads-up somewhere between 2-24 hours before the launch
Any particularly awesome videos or shots of the launch
Everyone still liking that flow? I still recognize that there are like 5 of us who are really involved in this thread, so I hate to bump it TOO often. (That said, it's not like there are hundreds of NHL or NBA fans around here either, so there are other threads that are similar in scope.) [Reply]
$300M cost diff between SpaceX and Boeing/Lockheed exceeds avg value of satellite, so flying with SpaceX means satellite is basically free https://t.co/CaOulCf7ot
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Just to check in with readers of this thread, I'm starting to settle into a pattern of posting stuff. I generally try to post:
Major news about milestones
After a launch, an estimate of the timing and key details of the next one
Completion of the static fire (and final target date and time)
Final heads-up somewhere between 2-24 hours before the launch
Everyone still liking that flow? I still recognize that there are like 5 of us who are really involved in this thread, so I hate to bump it TOO often. (That said, it's not like there are hundreds of NHL or NBA fans around here either, so there are other threads that are similar in scope.)
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Just to check in with readers of this thread, I'm starting to settle into a pattern of posting stuff. I generally try to post:
Major news about milestones
After a launch, an estimate of the timing and key details of the next one
Completion of the static fire (and final target date and time)
Final heads-up somewhere between 2-24 hours before the launch
Any particularly awesome videos or shots of the launch
Everyone still liking that flow? I still recognize that there are like 5 of us who are really involved in this thread, so I hate to bump it TOO often. (That said, it's not like there are hundreds of NHL or NBA fans around here either, so there are other threads that are similar in scope.)
This is a thread I look for when I log in. You probably have more people reading and enjoying the bumps than you realize. [Reply]