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.
Awesome! I read that they are planning on landing the two boosters back at the Cape (at the same time) and the primary booster on the barge. That's going to be epic!! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
Awesome! I read that they are planning on landing the two boosters back at the Cape (at the same time) and the primary booster on the barge. That's going to be epic!!
Yeah, I really hope they have increased their streaming quality. It's good, but the best stream they was for one of the first successful barge landings when NASA had a chase plan recording the video. Would really love to see that as well as good stream of the 2 returning to launch site. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Scooter LaCanforno:
Heavy was lowered and they removed the boosters this afternoon. Not sure why. It was very windy at the Cape today.
Thanks for sending me down the rabbit hole with this! I ended up watching the full interview, and then several others by Elon.
The guy is so interesting to listen to, his vision for the stages of space exploration is fascinating. Putting 2 craft on mars in 2022 with 2 manned missions and 2 supply mission in 2024!
Sharing his mining and boring technology for underground settlements, eventual terraforming efforts...
I'm kind of out of touch this weekend with friends in town, but I'd imagine it'll go up and down a few times as they test things out and make tweaks. I'm hoping for a launch by end of January. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I'm kind of out of touch this weekend with friends in town, but I'd imagine it'll go up and down a few times as they test things out and make tweaks. I'm hoping for a launch by end of January.
Yep!
This flow was for the “Fit Checks” a new rocket usually undergoes to provide data on rollout and erection at the pad. This was the first time the modified TEL had taken the full stack to the pad. No propellant loading was conducted, although the vehicle may have been “powered on” to aid the checkouts. “Power On” is one of the first items on the checklist for a launch day.
24 hours later the rocket was lowered back to horizontal and will now head into the flow for its Static Fire test.
This test is currently expected to take place on January 6, although – as always – these dates can move around due to numerous factors such as readiness, range authority and weather. [Reply]
