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:
Great, thanks! I hope they stream it.
I doubt you'll see an official SpaceX stream, but chances are one of the news agencies will. You can try to keep an eye on this reddit thread or this twitter list for updates. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I doubt you'll see an official SpaceX stream, but chances are one of the news agencies will. You can try to keep an eye on this reddit thread or this twitter list for updates.
There were some wild rumors circulating earlier today that Doug Loverro's resignation was linked to his concerns about the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. These were false and seemed design to throw up FUD with the nearing launch date.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I doubt you'll see an official SpaceX stream, but chances are one of the news agencies will. You can try to keep an eye on this reddit thread or this twitter list for updates.
Spaceflightnow or news13 orlando should have it. [Reply]
Once Demo-2 is complete, and the SpaceX and NASA teams have reviewed all the data for certification, SpaceX will launch Crew Dragon’s first six-month operational mission (Crew-1) later this year. The Crew-1 spacecraft is in production and astronaut training is well underway pic.twitter.com/SVMQMkK6AB
Kind of funny how their suits look like something out of a B movie set. I am so fucking excited about the progress all of these private outfits are making. It's incredible. Thank god for Overlords Bezos and Musk. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pants:
Kind of funny how their suits look like something out of a B movie set. I am so fucking excited about the progress all of these private outfits are making. It's incredible. Thank god for Overlords Bezos and Musk.
Space travellers of the future may look more like superheroes than conventional astronauts, after SpaceX hired the Hollywood costume designer behind the suits of Iron Man and Batman.
Elon Musk's space company hired costume designer Jose Fernandez, whose costumes have appeared in Batman v Superman, Iron Man, The Avengers and Tron: Legacy.
"SpaceX, the company run by Elon Musk, reached out to me to ask if I would create a spacesuit," Fernandez told Bleep. "I didn't know what SpaceX was and I thought it was a film. Then I realized it's an actual space program.
"The look they are going to unveil in the next few months is something we created here in the studio. [Musk] wanted it to look stylish. It had to be practical but also needed to look great."
Musk said in a 2015 interview that the spacesuit design for SpaceX would focus heavily on design aesthetics, not just utility, saying: "It needs to both look like a 21st century spacesuit and work well."
The design submitted by Fernandez was developed in collaboration with Musk over a period of six months. According to the designer, the final suit design is currently being reverse engineered to make it functional for space flight. SpaceX was not immediately available for comment.
"It's pretty bad ass," Fernandez said. "[Musk] kept saying, 'Anyone looks better in a tux, no matter what size or shape they are,' and when people put this space suit on, he wants them to look better than when they did without it, like a tux.
"You look heroic in it. It's an iconic thing to be a part of." [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
In some kind of cool non-SpaceX news, Virgin Orbit is testing their launch system this weekend. It's not as exciting as all of the manned stuff, but it'll be interesting to see if they can make satellite launches from beneath a 747 work.
The first orbital test flight of Virgin Orbit’s privately-developed air-launched rocket is scheduled as soon as Sunday off the coast of Southern California.
The liquid-fueled LauncherOne rocket is designed to loft small satellites into orbit.
Branson’s Virgin Orbit Fails in Attempted Rocket Launch From 747
Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit said a crucial test of its two-stage, orbital rocket system, designed to rival that of Elon Musk’s SpaceX for satellite launches, ended the mission shortly after releasing the rocket from the plane.
“We’ve confirmed a clean release from the aircraft. However, the mission terminated shortly into the flight,” the company tweeted Monday. “Cosmic Girl and our flight crew are safe and returning to base.” [Reply]
Originally Posted by eDave: Branson’s Virgin Orbit Fails in Attempted Rocket Launch From 747
Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit said a crucial test of its two-stage, orbital rocket system, designed to rival that of Elon Musk’s SpaceX for satellite launches, ended the mission shortly after releasing the rocket from the plane.
“We’ve confirmed a clean release from the aircraft. However, the mission terminated shortly into the flight,” the company tweeted Monday. “Cosmic Girl and our flight crew are safe and returning to base.”
