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 Hog's Gone Fishin:
FWIW my father was a zoo veterinarian at one time and took care of miss able before she got her ass launched. Independence Kansas.
As someone that clearly remembers the July 16, 1969 moon landing, even though I wasn't even 4 years old at the time, today's successful launch is an amazing reminder of what we humans (and Americans!) can do when we all work together.
Hopefully, this launch is just the beginning of human space exploration, something I've been looking towards my entire life. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
I'm pretty much speechless.
As someone that clearly remembers the July 16, 1969 moon landing, even though I wasn't even 4 years old at the time, today's successful launch is an amazing reminder of what we humans (and Americans!) can do when we all work together.
Hopefully, this launch is just the beginning of human space exploration, something I've been looking towards my entire life.
Originally Posted by Delano:
Anyone know if the stage one gets lashed down on the drone ship or does it use boosters to stabilize? That thing looks like it would topple over in any kind of choppy water.
They have a robot (affectionately referred to by fans as the "roomba") that comes out of a garage and attaches it to the bottom of the rocket. It's super heavy and is sufficient to stabilize it for the ride home.
On my phone, but google SpaceX roomba for pics. [Reply]
On some level, I always find it neat that despite the tensions going on down here were able to maintain the ISS w/ a significant Russian presence. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin:
I was laughing with my daughter at the water tower leaning towards the rocket launch. Anybody else notice that?
You mean your half hog half human daughter? :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Reminder to everyone that you should be able to catch ISS flying over tonight. It's around 9:20pm here in Denver, but check your local area.
Normally, you'd check here, but NASA's servers are probably getting hammered right now.
I'm hoping that Dragon might be bright enough to catch it trailing behind...
The app Heavens Above is a great tool for this. Has DM2 8 minutes off of ISS for two passes this evening. Can be found under "Crew Dragon" when searching. [Reply]
I’m proud to have caught this live on Discovery channel, it looked amazingly smooth, almost like it was was hardly moving at all
And the shots from inside the capsule after they broke through the atmosphere, monitoring their touchscreen was just icing on the cake... America is still exceptional
There’s nothing wrong with us, that can’t be fixed with what’s right with us [Reply]
Just watched them both fly over! Friggin Awesome!!! North Central Kansas. North West to South East. Roughly 8 to 10 degrees apart. Perfectly clear night!
Originally Posted by Coogs:
Just watched them both fly over! Friggin Awesome!!! North Central Kansas. North West to South East. Roughly 8 to 10 degrees apart. Perfectly clear night!
Originally Posted by DaFace:
ISS likely will be, but it'll be dimmer. So will Dragon, which means it might be harder to spot.
It wasn't hard to spot. It is a bit dimmer, but very easy to see. Roughly 5 to 10 degrees behind. We, my wife and I, are going back out in to see the next pass.
Even if it is dimmer. We are going to look for it.
Too bad on the clouds for you. It was very cool! [Reply]
