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 eDave:
I don't believe it is visible in the morning. Look how far it traveled between mine and Daface's pics which were both taken at 4:30 local. And mine has mountains in front of the true horizon. She's outta there. I'm going to hike up a small neighborhood mountain I use to view monsoons coming up from the south through Indian territory and try and get a view but I bet S. Mountain will block my view looking north. May drive out tomorrow for another shot. Maybe climb S. Mountain but it sucks coming down at night.
Good info. I hope the tail is still as visible when it comes up at night. [Reply]
Got it. Visible right now. At the 5 o'clock from the big dipper. You can see it with the naked eye but a much better view with binocs. Will fire up the telescope from now on. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mlyonsd:
Got it. Visible right now. At the 5 o'clock from the big dipper. You can see it with the naked eye but a much better view with binocs. Will fire up the telescope from now on.
NASA's Johnson Space Center public affairs officer Kyle Herring says that SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour is getting ready to return from the space station on August 2: https://t.co/rQzuKiEia5
NASA's Johnson Space Center public affairs officer Kyle Herring says that SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour is getting ready to return from the space station on August 2: https://t.co/rQzuKiEia5
So, Perseverance is going to have a small helicopter drone inside that will fly out and scout the terrain? That's pretty amazing. It's crazy how far technologically we've come since the first time we landed a rover on Mars. I love it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by rydogg58:
So, Perseverance is going to have a small helicopter drone inside that will fly out and scout the terrain? That's pretty amazing. It's crazy how far technologically we've come since the first time we landed a rover on Mars. I love it.
Yeah, that was the big news to me. That could be a really useful tool. [Reply]
Here's a super cool shot. (click for the full version - you can't see the comet in the small version)
Comet NEOWISE over Falcon 9 and ANASIS-II vertical on SLC-40. Today’s launch window opens at 5:00 p.m. EDT and closes at 8:55 p.m. EDT, and weather is looking 70% favorable → https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdKpic.twitter.com/5ITydgvQVI