SPACE - random thread about space stuff

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:20 pm

That's good info there Isgrimnur, thanks for posting it.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:25 pm

Always glad to help.

The question piqued my interest. My first response was that they had to have planned for that, and so I went looking for it to share.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:01 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 12:28 am

This is what the solar system looks like from the Parker Solar Probe, inside Mercury's orbit. There are some similar images from other vantage points here.

Science Alert

The footage is made up of individual images captured between August 8 and 12 this year, during the probe's ninth perihelion, or closest approach to the Sun.
...
These images were captured by the Parker probe's WISPR (Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe) instrument.

All of those streaks the probe is zooming through are coronal streamers – massive loops of electrically charged gas and plasma that connect two regions of opposite polarity on the Sun. They're extended out by the solar wind and they glow like this because they're filled with electrons.

These streamers, also known as helmet streamers, are usually only visible from Earth during an eclipse – but in the footage they're seen as the spacecraft flies above and below them inside the corona.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 4:19 pm

You can watch SpaceX launch NASA supplies to space station early Tuesday. Probably not, the weather looks iffy. And something different, a used Dragon Cargo but a new Falcon.

SpaceX will launch a Dragon spacecraft packed with NASA cargo to the International Space Station early Tuesday (Dec. 21) as part of its latest resupply mission for the U.S. space agency and you can watch it live.

A shiny new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will take to the skies here from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 5:06 a.m. EST (1006 GMT). The two-stage launcher will blast off from Pad 39 lofting a robotic Dragon cargo capsule carrying more than 6,500 pounds (2,948 kilograms) of fresh supplies, experiment hardware, and other gear for the astronauts aboard the orbiting lab.

NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission slips to spring 2022 after engine issue

Rocket woes have again delayed NASA's return to the moon.

The agency is now targeting a launch in March or April 2022 for its Artemis 1 flight, an uncrewed mission around the moon and the first flight of its massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA was previously targeting Feb. 12, 2022, for the flight, which is the first in the Artemis program that aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface later this decade. But hiccups in the mission's integrated testing program have forced another schedule delay.

"After performing a series of inspections and troubleshooting, engineers determined the best course of action is to replace the engine controller, returning the rocket to full functionality and redundancy while continuing to investigate and identify a root cause," NASA officials wrote in a statement published Friday (Dec. 17). "NASA is developing a plan and updated schedule to replace the engine controller while continuing integrated testing and reviewing launch opportunities in March and April."

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 4:28 pm

I wonder if you could use a much smaller around rocket yet much taller to launch small sats into orbit? Like a rocket 3 times taller than a Saturn V but less than half as big around using smaller engines. I guess it would come down to weight and engine power and fuel. Not to mention strength of the vehicle with the small size and weight at the top.

Was thinking of my old long thin model rockets.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 5:05 pm

Typically small sats are hitching rides in a launch vehicle intended for a primary launch satellite.

Long, tall designs have the additional concern of a buckling failure that’s not present in squattier designs.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 5:22 pm

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:39 am

In spite of iffy weather, we had a launch earlier this morning: SpaceX aces 100th rocket landing after Dragon cargo ship launch to space station

SpaceX launched its 31st rocket of the year early Tuesday (Dec. 21), sending a used Dragon cargo capsule toward the International Space Station before nailing the company's 100th landing.

A new two-stage Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 39A here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:07 a.m. EST (1007 GMT), kicking off the company's 24th cargo resupply mission to the orbiting lab for NASA. The Dragon is packed with more than 6,500 pounds (2,949 kilograms) of supplies, scientific experiments, and hardware for the crew of Expedition 66 on the station.

About eight minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth, landing on one of SpaceX's drone ships in the Atlantic Ocean in a smooth touchdown. The massive ship, called Just Read the Instructions, is one of SpaceX's three drone ships that are designed to serve as floating landing platforms and return them to port for later reuse.

SpaceX's Dragon CRS-24 cargo ship is seen as it separates from its Falcon 9 rocket upper stage after launching into orbit on Dec. 21, 2021 to deliver Christmas gifts and other NASA supplies to the International Space Station. It will arrive on Dec. 22, 2021. (Image credit: SpaceX)

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:32 am

wrapped like a butterfly in a chrysalis of technology, ambition, metal and wires

The NY Times published a very nice (and very well-written) overview of JWST's history and the science it's intended to explore.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:32 pm

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:42 pm

Seasons Greetings from NASA:

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:56 pm

How to watch NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launch online in several languages on Christmas Eve Christmas Day

NASA is counting down towards a Christmas Eve launch for its biggest space telescope ever and you can watch it all live online.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to NASA and Europe's iconic Hubble Space Telescope. The next-generation capabilities of the upcoming observatory, paired with the laundry list of mission delays over the last several years, makes this a highly-anticipated event across the astronomical community. You can watch the entire mission on our live updates page here.

Already one change:

Arianespace has announced that due to upper-level winds, it will not attempt to launch the James Webb Space Telescope on Friday (Dec. 24). The next launch opportunity will be Saturday (Dec. 25) beginning at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT).

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 6:10 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:42 pm

Seasons Greetings from NASA:

I suspect a Kerbal Space Program parody is almost certain.

Hrdina · Post by **Hrdina** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 6:17 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:56 pmAlready one change:
Arianespace has announced that due to upper-level winds, it will not attempt to launch the James Webb Space Telescope on Friday (Dec. 24). The next launch opportunity will be Saturday (Dec. 25) beginning at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT).

Good thing they were smart enough not to put the launch date into their new video.

Hrothgar · Post by **Hrothgar** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 6:26 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:56 pm How to watch NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launch online in several languages on Christmas Eve Christmas Day

NASA is counting down towards a Christmas Eve launch for its biggest space telescope ever and you can watch it all live online.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to NASA and Europe's iconic Hubble Space Telescope. The next-generation capabilities of the upcoming observatory, paired with the laundry list of mission delays over the last several years, makes this a highly-anticipated event across the astronomical community. You can watch the entire mission on our live updates page here.
Already one change:
Arianespace has announced that due to upper-level winds, it will not attempt to launch the James Webb Space Telescope on Friday (Dec. 24). The next launch opportunity will be Saturday (Dec. 25) beginning at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT).

Let me be the first to wish the JWST a happy new year's launch.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 6:35 pm

Has anyone checked it for Log4j?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 11:22 pm

From our local news outlet: Brevard County Commission’s resolution commends Blue Origin’s reconstruction of launch pad for New Glenn rocket

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — As Blue Origin prepares for its first orbital launch using the New Glenn rocket in the new year, the aerospace company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos received some accolades from the Brevard County Commission.

On Tuesday, commissioners presented members of Blue Origin’s team with a resolution commending the work that the company has done to prepare Launch Complex 36 to launch New Glenn in 2022.

“Of all of the thousands of rockets that we’ve launched in this county since the early 50s, not one has ever been built here, and that’s going to change now,” Commissioner Curt Smith said.

Speaking before the commission, Scott Henderson, the vice president of test and flight operations and Florida site director for Blue Origin, noted that the company’s investment of more than $1.5 billion into the Florida economy is a key part of their goals.

“Our vision at Blue Origin is millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of the Earth,” he said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen in our lifetime — maybe in our kids’ lifetime, maybe in our grandkids’ lifetime, but I think it’s special that we’re going to be able to say that that road to space started here in Brevard County at mile marker zero right there at Complex 36.”

Henderson said that Blue Origin has hired more than 1,000 people in Florida and an average of 500 construction workers have been working at the LC36. A ribbon cutting was held at the site in October. Henderson received his bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and his masters in engineering management from Florida Tech. He worked for SpaceX and for Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems before starting at Blue Origin in March 2014. He was also the space launch commander for the 45th Launch Group in Cape Canaveral before he started working in the commercial sector.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 11:56 pm

Pretty pic.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:18 am

Size comparison of the Blue Glenn to other rockets.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 10:43 am

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 11:30 pm

Space.com has a comprehensive overview of the Webb mission. The second embedded video, detailing deployment, is worth your time.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:00 pm

Rollout to the pad for Webb is about to begin:

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:02 pm

Im nervous already.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:22 pm

The Ariane 5 rocket is now on the pad

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Dec 24, 2021 12:31 pm

What to expect from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launch

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:35 pm

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope won't hit Santa during Christmas launch

NASA is launching a huge observatory into space early Christmas morning (Dec. 25), but you don't need to worry about it hitting Santa Claus.

While St. Nick is wrapping up his annual world tour, presumably somewhere in Alaska, Hawaii or the other Pacific islands in the westernmost time zones, an Ariane 5 rocket will be blasting off from South America with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

Santa is not expected to cross paths with the Ariane 5 rocket, which is scheduled to lift off during a 32-minute window that opens at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT) on Saturday. That's 9:20 a.m. local time at the launch site: the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana.

Worryingly however, it has been discovered that the servers at the North Pole have been running Log4j. Some delay in gift delivery might be expected.

Hrdina · Post by **Hrdina** » Fri Dec 24, 2021 5:39 pm

Here is a quick reminder of all the things that have to go correctly after launch and before science operations:

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 7:50 am

Live feed for the launch.

T-30 minutes!

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 7:57 am

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:17 am

Let's do this!

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:32 am

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:37 am

Let's make some juice. SADA don't fail us now...

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:50 am

Dang, I did not expect to WATCH the solar array deployment. So cool!

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:59 am

The Meal wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:50 am Dang, I did not expect to WATCH the solar array deployment. So cool!

Ditto!

Hrdina · Post by **Hrdina** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:01 am

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:59 am
The Meal wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:50 am Dang, I did not expect to WATCH the solar array deployment. So cool!
Ditto!

The commentators seemed just as surprised as I was.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:07 am

I kept being distracted by noticing people with inadequate and/or poorly fitted masks. Thanks, COVID!

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 4:19 pm

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 4:27 pm

How's progress going?

Things are good so far:
https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbL ... sWebb.html

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:15 pm

The Meal wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 4:27 pm How's progress going?

Things are good so far:
https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbL ... sWebb.html

Thanks for that link.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:11 pm

There's a Weird Cube on the Moon

China’s Yutu-2 rover recently sent home a photo of a mysterious cubic object on the lunar horizon, according to logs published by Our Space.