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 aturnis:
Do you by chance know the cost of a BO launch ready rocket?
I know Space X is in the 60-65 million range.
Blue Origin has never launched anything into orbit, so there isn't really anything to compare SpaceX's costs to. I'm sure that BO's recent flight was considerably cheaper than that though given the significantly lower fuel requirements (ignoring all the R&D time anyway). [Reply]
Looks like SpaceX is aiming for December 15th to finally fly again. They will again be aiming to land the first stage, and this time it will be at their new facility on land (no barges).
SpaceX RTF mission with Falcon 9 and ORBCOMM-2 has a long window of 2154-0054 local, Dec. 15. Static Fire next week. https://t.co/X4tnc8qnd8
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Looks like SpaceX is aiming for December 15th to finally fly again. They will again be aiming to land the first stage, and this time it will be at their new facility on land (no barges).
Originally Posted by GloryDayz:
Did they say why land instead of a barge?
That's always been what they were aiming for. I'd imagine it's just a matter of the facility now being ready along with the confidence that they will hit the target at least even if it still falls over. I'm sure it's easier to land on land than on a barge also. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
That's always been what they were aiming for. I'd imagine it's just a matter of the facility now being ready along with the confidence that they will hit the target at least even if it still falls over. I'm sure it's easier to land on land than on a barge also.
It sounds like a totally cool place to work.. [Reply]
Originally Posted by GloryDayz:
It sounds like a totally cool place to work..
On the surface, sure, but it's pretty well-known that Musk is an insane workaholic and pretty much expects everyone else to be as well. I'm sure it's a very REWARDING place to work, but the hours are a bit much for most people. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
On the surface, sure, but it's pretty well-known that Musk is an insane workaholic and pretty much expects everyone else to be as well. I'm sure it's a very REWARDING place to work, but the hours are a bit much for most people.
Hard to disagree, but in my humble opinion/observation few huge leaps have come from people who don't burn the midnight oil.
But I'm not lost on the fact that some people take it too far and drive away the very support they might want and need. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
On the surface, sure, but it's pretty well-known that Musk is an insane workaholic and pretty much expects everyone else to be as well. I'm sure it's a very REWARDING place to work, but the hours are a bit much for most people.
Yeah, I work a pissload of hours, and I don't think I'm down for working there. Those motherfuckers be crazy. And all for a wage. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
That's always been what they were aiming for. I'd imagine it's just a matter of the facility now being ready along with the confidence that they will hit the target at least even if it still falls over. I'm sure it's easier to land on land than on a barge also.
It was my understanding that they were landing at Cape Canaveral, and the reason was to avoid the "moving target" that was the barge. I'd imagine they'd have less turbulent winds also.
This isn't to say they've given up on barge landings, but with the B.O. landing, and the willy nilly nature of public perception, no matter how wrong, the pressure is on.
They'll probably perfect landings on land, then move to the slightly more difficult barges. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
Yeah, I work a pissload of hours, and I don't think I'm down for working there. Those motherfuckers be crazy. And all for a wage.