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 DaFace:
Everything seems to be based on a bit of speculation at the moment, but the common theory is that, yes, SF is on for tomorrow.
The main event is slated for Wednesday during a long static fire window that opens at 13:00 EST (1p local time, 18:00 UTC) and closes at 19:00 EST (7p local time, 00:00 UCT).
Following what turned out to be an eventful Zuma launch on January 7, SpaceX is gearing up to perform a static fire test on Falcon Heavy as early as today, January 10. In the static fire test, SpaceX engineers will ignite all 27 of the heavy-lift rocket's engines nearly simultaneously for the first time, holding the rocket down on the launch pad while they do. The test is a crucial performance check before the maiden launch of Falcon Heavy, expected at the end of this month or early next.
"Falcon Heavy has been rolled out to launchpad LC-39A for a static fire later this week, to be followed shortly thereafter by its maiden flight," SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement released yesterday. The first window for the static fire test is today between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST, according to Spaceflight Now.
NASAspaceflight.com reported that workers were seen at the base of the pad this morning determining what work remains for the test fire, suggesting the test could be pushed back to later in the week. First SpaceX will perform what is known as a wet dress rehearsal, filling the rocket with fuel and performing all systems checks short of engine ignition. If everything goes perfectly, they could light the engines directly following the first wet dress rehearsal.
Employees at Kennedy Space Center were told to expect a longer test fire than normal for Falcon Heavy, up to 15 seconds, according to Spaceflight Now. Video of the test should be released shortly after the firing. All three cores of Falcon Heavy have been test fired individually at SpaceX's facilities in McGregor, Texas, but they have yet to light up together.
Once Falcon Heavy launches, it will be the most powerful rocket currently flying. [Reply]
The first hotfire test for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket at launch pad 39A in Florida has been postponed to no earlier than Thursday. The test window opens at 1pm EST (1800 GMT). https://t.co/1Xj8TMDHP7pic.twitter.com/G7XlxFVj69
The first hotfire test for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket at launch pad 39A in Florida has been postponed to no earlier than Thursday. The test window opens at 1pm EST (1800 GMT). https://t.co/1Xj8TMDHP7pic.twitter.com/G7XlxFVj69
Sounds like it is likely on for today. Not that there will be much to watch.
Wednesday had engineers on the pad working on the TSMs (Tail Service Masts). Right now, Pad Clear! So next step will be prop load. So far, so good.
Remember: Prop load is the next milestone. No assurance of an actual Static Fire (but if not, would count as WDR).#OnStepAtATimehttps://t.co/nZg7BGNu1j
On a different note, NASA has released target dates for commercial crew. These will almost certainly shift to the right, but it's nice to see a true timeline.
Targeted Test Flight Dates:
Boeing Orbital Flight Test (uncrewed): August 2018
Boeing Crew Flight Test (crewed): November 2018
SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1 (uncrewed): August 2018
SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): December 2018 [Reply]
Falcon Heavy has enjoyed a prop load for the first time, efficiently allowing for today being a part WDR (Wet Dress Rehearsal) . However, there has been an abort and a scrub for the day. Absolutely understandable. Today has been progress. pic.twitter.com/BeeU6WkPtU
There are so many unknowns about the static fire at this point that I'm not going to try and update every time. It's delayed until Saturday at least at this point.
You can keep up on the latest discussion here or at the SFN links I posed earlier.
