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:
While it's still attached. There are probably videos of it from Dragon V1 out there if you're curious enough to dig for it.
Elon Musk has a company called the Boring Company. They can build large round underground tunnels which he plans to build in California so Telsa's can bypass traffic. Jay Leno drives the Cypertruck through a mile long Boring Tunnel at the factory.
Melbourne, Florida Charging Station
Elon Musk outside waiting on the burgers
I've seen more Elon Musk this week than I have ever before combined, I got to know more about him, which was good. I watch Jay Leno's Garage Show on CNBC every week since that show started about 5 years ago. This past Wednesday's show was at the Telsa Company, filmed last November. The new Telsa cars have model names such as S, E, X, Y, you should be able to figure out why those letters were chosen.
He has a new Cypertruck, shown above, it's stainless steel and windows are bulletproof, no particular reason, just because he could. Unlike most prototypes that look nothing like the eventual car, he wants his prototypes to like the real thing. The truck is basically ready for production except he will shrink it 5% all over so it will fit in the average garage. On the back, the bed is covered by a motorized roll down top, to protect the cargo. It's also strong, when Jay asked how strong it was, Alon got up on the cover and it held.
The new cars look fantastic, they fast, he has one model that will sell for $200,000 but it will go 0-60 in 1.9 seconds. It fact it will have a rocket thruster like James Bond. The license plate will fold down and a rocket thruster will be available.
Last week when the original launch at the Cape was cancelled, later that day he was spotted at Five Guys in Melbourne, Florida. I was watching Orlando Fox 35 local news that night and they had a crew go there. Apparently it has the closest Tesla Charging station, so Elon and his entourage showed up to charge their cars and while waiting they went to Five Guys, look like he had about five cars. Elon stayed outside and talked with a crowd that quickly gathered and stood for photos, while his entourage went inside to order burgers to go.
Entourage ordering burgers, everybody wears the same black suit like Elon and looks like they've got bulletproof vests on.
Originally Posted by unlurking:
Exposed. Quick search doesn't show any images of it in space, but here is one on the ground. Notice the targeting/connection point for the arm...
Originally Posted by DeepPurple:
Jay Leno and Elon Musk inside the new Cypertruck
The new Cypertruck
Elon Musk has a company called the Boring Company. They can build large round underground tunnels which he plans to build in California so Telsa's can bypass traffic. Jay Leno drives the Cypertruck through a mile long Boring Tunnel at the factory.
Melbourne, Florida Charging Station
Elon Musk outside waiting on the burgers
I've seen more Elon Musk this week than I have ever before combined, I got to know more about him, which was good. I watch Jay Leno's Garage Show on CNBC every week since that show started about 5 years ago. This past Wednesday's show was at the Telsa Company, filmed last November. The new Telsa cars have model names such as S, E, X, Y, you should be able to figure out why those letters were chosen.
He has a new Cypertruck, shown above, it's stainless steel and windows are bulletproof, no particular reason, just because he could. Unlike most prototypes that look nothing like the eventual car, he wants his prototypes to like the real thing. The truck is basically ready for production except he will shrink it 5% all over so it will fit in the average garage. On the back, the bed is covered by a motorized roll down top, to protect the cargo. It's also strong, when Jay asked how strong it was, Alon got up on the cover and it held.
The new cars look fantastic, they fast, he has one model that will sell for $200,000 but it will go 0-60 in 1.9 seconds. It fact it will have a rocket thruster like James Bond. The license plate will fold down and a rocket thruster will be available.
Last week when the original launch at the Cape was cancelled, later that day he was spotted at Five Guys in Melbourne, Florida. I was watching Orlando Fox 35 local news that night and they had a crew go there. Apparently it has the closest Tesla Charging station, so Elon and his entourage showed up to charge their cars and while waiting they went to Five Guys, look like he had about five cars. Elon stayed outside and talked with a crowd that quickly gathered and stood for photos, while his entourage went inside to order burgers to go.
Entourage ordering burgers, everybody wears the same black suit like Elon and looks like they've got bulletproof vests on.
He makes nice spacecraft but I still hate his truck. [Reply]
This was so interesting reminded me of as a Lil tike watching newsreels Gemini and Mercury on the black and white with family. Then later live with the Apolo launches and what we got to see of walks then splashdowns.
The news conference from ground control dignitaries got to be a bit much inside the ISS.
Did Bob skin his forehead entering the ISS? He kept wiping his forehead and rubbing right side his head. [Reply]
