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 Cornstock:
A couple questions maybe y'all can answer that crossed my mind watching this:
Around 3:30 the guy announces that they are switching from one guy at the stick to the other. Why is it necessary to change who's steering it halfway through?
It might just be camera angles, but are they pretty much vertical at some points in that descent? Talk about coming in hot...
When the landing gear deployed, it seemed like the compartment doors were much thicker than standard wheel well door. Are they pressurized to keep the wheels from exploding in 0 pressure? Or are they solid rubber? Or are they inflated during the descent?
It's not the camera angle. It is thpretty steep and for most of it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Cornstock:
A couple questions maybe y'all can answer that crossed my mind watching this:
Around 3:30 the guy announces that they are switching from one guy at the stick to the other. Why is it necessary to change who's steering it halfway through?
It comes in at a max angle of -20 degrees. Compare that to around -3 degrees for a commercial aircraft landing. That's far from vertical, and the camera angles probably exaggerate it, but it's definitely a steep rate.
Originally Posted by :
When the landing gear deployed, it seemed like the compartment doors were much thicker than standard wheel well door. Are they pressurized to keep the wheels from exploding in 0 pressure? Or are they solid rubber? Or are they inflated during the descent?
Here's some info on the Space Shuttle tires. In short, they're nitrogen-filled.
My guess is that they are plenty strong to be fine in a vacuum. The wheel doors are probably thicker just due to the amount of heat the shuttle has to handle on the way down. [Reply]
It comes in at a max angle of -20 degrees. Compare that to around -3 degrees for a commercial aircraft landing. That's far from vertical, and the camera angles probably exaggerate it, but it's definitely a steep rate.
Here's some info on the Space Shuttle tires. In short, they're nitrogen-filled.
My guess is that they are plenty strong to be fine in a vacuum. The wheel doors are probably thicker just due to the amount of heat the shuttle has to handle on the way down.
The steep descent angle is probably because the shuttle has a terrible glide ratio. [Reply]
It comes in at a max angle of -20 degrees. Compare that to around -3 degrees for a commercial aircraft landing. That's far from vertical, and the camera angles probably exaggerate it, but it's definitely a steep rate.
Here's some info on the Space Shuttle tires. In short, they're nitrogen-filled.
My guess is that they are plenty strong to be fine in a vacuum. The wheel doors are probably thicker just due to the amount of heat the shuttle has to handle on the way down.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Lots of things happening lately - I just haven't been keeping up. A few notable things:
-Zuma appears to be indefinitely on hold until they figure out their fairing issue (whatever it is).
-CRS-13 is on the clock for a week from now. This will be the first launch back at the repaired SLC-40 site that was damaged last year. Also, this will be the first time an ISS mission is launched on a previously-flown booster.
-Iridium-4 is coming up in about 3 weeks off the west coast.
-Falcon Heavy is pushed back to early January (but not a set date yet)
And on that note...
Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape. Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another.
Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.
Almost looks like they didn't even clean this one off. Wonder if they're trying to make it 100% clear that this is a reused booster since there will be more press than usual. :-)
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Almost looks like they didn't even clean this one off. Wonder if they're trying to make it 100% clear that this is a reused booster since there will be more press than usual. :-)
Have you seen the price of paint?!?! Heck I'm buying automotive paint to paint my son's hockey goalie mask, and it's like $90, so this space-grade stuff might sink the program! [Reply]
Taking additional time for the team to conduct full inspections and cleanings due to detection of particles in 2nd stage fuel system. Now targeting CRS-13 launch from SLC-40 on Dec. 15. Next launch opportunity would be no earlier than late December.
Last night I accidentally came across a documentary of Elon Musk on Bloomberg and the story of this guy kinda blew my mind. I had heard his name frequently but never had done any research into who he was.
This dude rules, and now I'm closely watching SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity.
GoGo Gadget Sustainable Technology. [Reply]
