SPACE - random thread about space stuff

[Daehawk]

Was there some kind of test firing at KSC on Friday (May 27)?

My wife and I were walking out on the wildlife trail at Merritt Island Refuge when I heard a low rumbling in the distance. We eventually saw a small amount of smoke (definitely not enough for a launch).

Spoiler:

The funny thing was that I think that we were over on the Cruickshank Trail, looking toward the Observation Tower from the roadway. If that were true then I would have been looking back toward the mainland and not KSC. It's possible we were at the Wild Bird Trail instead, in which case it could have come from the direction of KSC. I took the photo with my 35 mm camera and not my phone, so it doesn't have location information embedded.

It's also possible that this small amount of smoke was totally unrelated to the sound.

[jztemple2]

Was there some kind of test firing at KSC on Friday (May 27)?

Not of which I am aware. To the southwest of your location is Space Coast Regional Airport (TIX) known to us locals as Ti-Co (Titusville-Cocoa). It has a 7,300 foot N-S runway and is sometimes used by heavy aircraft for touch and goes. You might have heard something from there. The smoke could have been just some local wildfire or a BBQ gone out of control

[Hrdina]

Was there some kind of test firing at KSC on Friday (May 27)?

Not of which I am aware. To the southwest of your location is Space Coast Regional Airport (TIX) known to us locals as Ti-Co (Titusville-Cocoa). It has a 7,300 foot N-S runway and is sometimes used by heavy aircraft for touch and goes. You might have heard something from there. The smoke could have been just some local wildfire or a BBQ gone out of control

I had actually thought about that, since I recently flew into that airport (in MS Flight Sim). I think it's a bit too far south, by the NASA causeway, though. Still possible I guess that something big took off and the sound carried well over the water.

BTW, this was the first photo I took on our birding trip to the refuge:

[coopasonic]

Was there some kind of test firing at KSC on Friday (May 27)?

I read that as Kerbal Space Center.

[jztemple2]

From Spaceflightnow.com, FAA moves SpaceX a step closer to receiving Starship launch license

The FAA will require SpaceX to take more than 75 actions to reduce the environmental effects of flying its gigantic 40-story-tall Starship rocket from South Texas, but regulators found no significant impacts and moved SpaceX a step closer to receiving a launch license.

SpaceX will need to take actions to “mitigate environmental impacts from its proposed plan to launch the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle from Boca Chica, Texas,” the FAA said in a statement.

“One step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship,” SpaceX tweeted.

The decision means SpaceX still has more work to do to reduce the possible damage to the environment at the Boca Chica site, located on the South Texas coast east of Brownsville. But it gives SpaceX a roadmap to clear a major regulatory hurdle that stood in the way of commencing full-scale test flights of the nearly 400-foot-tall (120-meter) rocket, the largest launcher in the world.

The measures the FAA will require of SpaceX include ongoing monitoring of vegetation and wildlife in the area around the Starship facility, which SpaceX calls Starbase. SpaceX will also have to notify surrounding communities of potential engine noise and sonic booms from launches.

SpaceX will also have to provide more advance notice of launches to reduce the time that a public highway passing through the Starbase facility is closed during launch operations. Road closures will not be permitted on 18 identified holidays, and weekend restrictions will only be allowed five weekends per year, ensuring local residents can access the wildlife refuge and beach near the Starbase launch site.

The FAA also requires SpaceX to coordinate with state or federal agencies to remove launch debris from sensitive habitats, And SpaceX will have to minimize lighting at the launch complex to reduce impacts to wildlife and the nearby beach.

The FAA said SpaceX eliminated several parts of its proposal during the environmental review process, including a desalination plant to produce water for a deluge system at the Starship launch pad, and a natural gas pretreatment system and liquefier to refine methane fuel to purer levels than commercially available.

If SpaceX decides to use a water deluge system, it will truck the water into the Starbase facility from an outside source. And SpaceX told the FAA it can now rely on commercially available methane for its Raptor engines. Without a desalination plant or a natural gas liquefier, SpaceX also eliminated plans to build a power plant at the Starbase location.

[hitbyambulance]

https://www.kxan.com/news/china-detects ... a-reports/

The researchers on the team say that the possibility of the signal just being interference is “very high.” They plan to repeat the observations of the signals to discover if this is the case or if they are in fact from aliens.

[Jaymann]

Peng Bo, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory, said that the signals are likely alien civilizations, but they are currently unable to identify them.

How does this statement jive with very high probability of interference?

Then again it is Google translate.

[jztemple2]

From Spaceflight Now, First tower segment for SpaceX’s Starship launch site moves to pad 39A

The first segment of a new launch tower for SpaceX’s behemoth Starship rocket moved across the Kennedy Space Center late Wednesday to pad 39A, where the company is poised to erect one of the tallest structures at the Cape Canaveral spaceport.

Riding a special transporter, the metal tower segment left SpaceX’s build site at the Robert Road facility inside the gates of the Kennedy Space Center for a 7-mile (11-kilometer) trip to pad 39A.

The tower segment passed by the Vehicle Assembly Building on the way to the launch pad, where SpaceX has built mounting locations for the Starship launch tower, and the structure on which the Starship’s Super Heavy booster will sit before liftoff.

[jztemple2]

From the NASA Artemis blog, Teams on Track for Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal Test

NASA is on track to begin the approximately two-day wet dress rehearsal for the agency’s Artemis I mission. The test will begin at approximately 5 p.m. EDT June 18 with “call to stations,” when the launch team arrives at their consoles inside the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rehearsal will run the Artemis I launch team through operations to load propellant into the rocket’s tanks, conduct a full launch countdown, demonstrate the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and also drain the tanks to give them an opportunity to practice the timelines and procedures they will use for launch.

Approximate times for milestones during the test are below. During the test, the timing for some events on account of several planned operational demonstrations tied to specific capabilities and test objectives may differ from the day of launch countdown. These demonstrations include tests on the cryogenic systems and an approximately three-minute hold inside the terminal count, which would not normally occur on launch day. If needed, the test team may also hold as necessary to verify conditions before resuming the countdown, or use the test window or extend beyond it, if consumables and resources allow them to complete test objectives.

The rest of the article contains a detailed listing of all times and events.

[Kraken]

Scienterrific American takes a comprehensive look at the history, status, and dwindling future of the Voyager spacecraft, with some informative graphics.

Some things outlive their purpose—answering machines, VCRs, pennies. Not the Voyagers—they transcended theirs, using 50-year-old technology. “The amount of software on these instruments is slim to none,” Krimigis says. “There are no microprocessors—they didn't exist!” The Voyagers' designers could not rely on thousands of lines of code to help operate the spacecraft. “On the whole,” Krimigis says, “I think the mission lasted so long because almost everything was hardwired. Today's engineers don't know how to do this. I don't know if it's even possible to build such a simple spacecraft [now]. Voyager is the last of its kind.”

[Hrdina]

Some things outlive their purpose—answering machines, VCRs, pennies. Not the Voyagers—they transcended theirs, using 50-year-old technology. “The amount of software on these instruments is slim to none,” Krimigis says. “There are no microprocessors—they didn't exist!” The Voyagers' designers could not rely on thousands of lines of code to help operate the spacecraft. “On the whole,” Krimigis says, “I think the mission lasted so long because almost everything was hardwired. Today's engineers don't know how to do this. I don't know if it's even possible to build such a simple spacecraft [now]. Voyager is the last of its kind.”

As impressed as I am with the Voyagers, as someone who write software for spacecraft I am less impressed by this guy's hot take that "today's engineers don't know how to do this".

Yes, I know that "this guy" designed an instrument on Voyager but still. Engineers build to the requirements they're given.

[Kraken]

Some things outlive their purpose—answering machines, VCRs, pennies. Not the Voyagers—they transcended theirs, using 50-year-old technology. “The amount of software on these instruments is slim to none,” Krimigis says. “There are no microprocessors—they didn't exist!” The Voyagers' designers could not rely on thousands of lines of code to help operate the spacecraft. “On the whole,” Krimigis says, “I think the mission lasted so long because almost everything was hardwired. Today's engineers don't know how to do this. I don't know if it's even possible to build such a simple spacecraft [now]. Voyager is the last of its kind.”

As impressed as I am with the Voyagers, as someone who write software for spacecraft I am less impressed by this guy's hot take that "today's engineers don't know how to do this".

Yes, I know that "this guy" designed an instrument on Voyager but still. Engineers build to the requirements they're given.

40 years from now people will wonder at what you accomplished with just ones and zeroes. "They hadn't even learned to harness twos yet!"

[jztemple2]

The Artemis Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) is underway, Spaceflight Now has live coverage.

[raydude]

Some things outlive their purpose—answering machines, VCRs, pennies. Not the Voyagers—they transcended theirs, using 50-year-old technology. “The amount of software on these instruments is slim to none,” Krimigis says. “There are no microprocessors—they didn't exist!” The Voyagers' designers could not rely on thousands of lines of code to help operate the spacecraft. “On the whole,” Krimigis says, “I think the mission lasted so long because almost everything was hardwired. Today's engineers don't know how to do this. I don't know if it's even possible to build such a simple spacecraft [now]. Voyager is the last of its kind.”

As impressed as I am with the Voyagers, as someone who write software for spacecraft I am less impressed by this guy's hot take that "today's engineers don't know how to do this".

Yes, I know that "this guy" designed an instrument on Voyager but still. Engineers build to the requirements they're given.

I'm on the flip side. I deal with the output of engineers writing to the requirements they're given and transform it into something scientists can actually use . I kid though. Most of the engineers I deal with are actually good about understanding what the scientists really want vs. what they say they want on the requirements doc. An annoying few hide behind the requirements without using an ounce of brain cells to figure out that's not really what was meant. Or at least asking someone.

[jztemple2]

My favorite Einstein quote, "Scientists investigate that which already is. Engineers create that which has never been"

[jztemple2]

[raydude]

My favorite Einstein quote, "Scientists investigate that which already is. Engineers create that which has never been"

Then there's the dirty little secret: scientists apply for grants and spend them on engineers.

[jztemple2]

A little bit of "back in my day" concerning that report from the Artemis tanking test,

A “small grass fire” near the hydrogen flare stack at pad 39B

When we were re-activating Pad B in 1985 (where Artemis I is right now) we had to test the new flare stacks (there were/are(?) two). Previously from back in Apollo they had used a burn pond (sadly I cannot find an image), which was large square water pond with 1096 bubble caps each where gaseous hydrogen was bubbled from pipes below the water. More details if requested.

Anyway, one of my engineers had submitted a proposal that when we re-activated the hydrogen ground system on Pad B, we switched to using flare stacks, which were common in the petroleum industry. The stacks were duly built and installed. Part of the activation activities required that we give the new flare stacks a stress test to assure that they were able to handle the most difficult venting situations and also to assure that we weren't going to set all the nearby scrub grass on fire

Since this test was hazardous and would shut down all other activation work at the pad, we had to hold it on a Saturday. That particular Saturday was July 6th and I was a bit short of engineers so I volunteered myself to go to the pad and participate. I dressed up in my white fire-resistant coveralls and was present at the LH2 storage area when we pressurized the storage tank in various stages and vented it to the flare stack. After each my NASA counterpart and I would walk out to under the stack and look for any obvious issues.

The final test was to pressurize the storage tank to nearly 90 psi, which was where the relief valve would have unseated, and then vent the tank to the flare stack. After the initial whoosh my NASA counterpart (who was a she by the way) and I actually walked up to the flare stack as it was still vigorously burning and confirmed through instrumentation and our own frail bodies that the heat being generated was by no means excessive.

After that test chains were set up around the flare stacks and no one was and as far as I know is permitted to get close to those stacks when in use. So my NASA counterpart and I are unique in being the only people, as far as I know, who have actually stood close to those stacks while they are in use.

[Zaxxon]

[Unagi]

So my NASA counterpart and I are unique in being the only people, as far as I know, who have actually stood close to those stacks while they are in use.

Super powers ??

[stessier]

Pretty nice demonstration.

[raydude]

Psyche launch delayed until at least July 2023

So bummed. I was planning on bringing the family down to Florida to see the launch this coming September. But, if it does launch next July that would be a nice event to go with my 20th wedding anniversary.

[jztemple2]

Psyche launch delayed until at least July 2023

So bummed. I was planning on bringing the family down to Florida to see the launch this coming September. But, if it does launch next July that would be a nice event to go with my 20th wedding anniversary.

20th? Rookie

In space news, NASA completed an important on the Artemis I stack at the pad, running the booster hydraulic power units (HPU) which were to be tested during the Wet Countdown Demonstration but didn't occur due ending the test at T-29 seconds. The stack will roll back to the VAB at the end of the week to prepare for a return to Pad B with a launch possibly towards the end of August. The leaky T-0 disconnect will be replaced in the VAB, but based on my own experience in Shuttle with leaky disconnects, it will be fingers crossed that the problem will be actually resolved.

Meanwhile, SpaceX moved Super Heavy Booster 7 out of the Mega Bay on June 23. While this is the third time it has rolled out, this time there are 33(!) Raptor 2 engines mounted.

The latest flow inside High Bay 2 also put the finishing touches to the booster’s full launch configuration. The vehicle now has all four grid fins installed, all four chines, and the Hydraulic Power Units (HPUs) are also covered with their respective aerocovers. Teams also appear to have installed debris and heat shields around the engines.

This indicates that this may well be Booster 7’s last trek to the orbital launch site before the long-awaited Starship Orbital Test Flight, which Musk indicated should happen in July. However, this is likely to be delayed, as first-time operations and tests will likely provide some challenges on the path to launch day.

[Unagi]

Psyche launch delayed until at least July 2023

So bummed. I was planning on bringing the family down to Florida to see the launch this coming September. But, if it does launch next July that would be a nice event to go with my 20th wedding anniversary.

Just the mission name alone should give one pause to plan for its timely launch.

[jztemple2]

NASA, SpaceX push back CRS-25 launch for further inspections

On Tuesday, NASA announced that it and SpaceX are pushing back the CRS-25 launch due to ongoing inspections prompted by the discovery of a propellant leak. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was going to launch the company’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, carrying with it several experiments, earlier this month. However, when the propellant fuel was being loaded into the Dragon spacecraft during a pre-launch test days before the Friday, June 10 launch, officials say elevated vapor readings of mono-methyl hydrazine were detected.

This illustrates a reason why NASA is continuing with the Boeing Starliner in spite of its issues, instead of relying solely on Crew Dragon.

[Daehawk]

[raydude]

Psyche launch delayed until at least July 2023

So bummed. I was planning on bringing the family down to Florida to see the launch this coming September. But, if it does launch next July that would be a nice event to go with my 20th wedding anniversary.

Just the mission name alone should give one pause to plan for its timely launch.

Nice!

[jztemple2]

Trash bag jettisoned from space station in waste-management first

There's been a lot of trash-talking about the International Space Station (ISS) recently.

Roughly 172 pounds (78 kilograms) of garbage was ejected in a specialized trash bag from the station's commercial Bishop Airlock on July 2, Nanoracks, the company that built and operates the airlock, announced (opens in new tab) in a press release on Wednesday (July 6). The operation was a test of Nanoracks' new orbital waste-disposal tech, and it went swimmingly, company representatives said.

The trash bag contained used foam, packing materials, cargo transfer bags, office supplies, crew hygiene products and crew clothing, Nanoracks representatives said. The company added that is considering using a similar disposal system on its planned commercial space station, called Starlab, which is scheduled to fly in 2027.

"This is the first use of an airlock trash bag ejection system on the ISS," tweeted Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks re-entering objects like this trash bag. (When the bag will re-enter Earth's atmosphere has not yet been disclosed.)

[jztemple2]

From the NASA Artemis blog, Mission Team Determines Cause of Communications Issues for NASA’s CAPSTONE

After a thorough review, teams have determined what led to CAPSTONE’s communications issue that began on July 4.

During commissioning of NASA’s CAPSTONE (short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) spacecraft, the Deep Space Network team noted inconsistent ranging data. While investigating this, the spacecraft operations team attempted to access diagnostic data on the spacecraft’s radio and sent an improperly formatted command that made the radio inoperable. The spacecraft fault detection system should have immediately rebooted the radio but did not because of a fault in the spacecraft flight software.

CAPSTONE’s autonomous flight software system eventually cleared the fault and brought the spacecraft back into communication with the ground, allowing the team to implement recovery procedures and begin commanding the spacecraft again.

So... a human error caused the original fault, and then bad code exacerbated it? Should I be waiting for my phone to ring? I used to do coding you know

By the way, in case you were wondering What is CAPSTONE?, you can, well, click the link or read below:

A microwave oven–sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds will serve as the first spacecraft to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit as part of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE). As a pathfinder for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit.

[dbt1949]

Did you ever notice how bright the pictures taken from Mars are? The sky is blue which I gather has to do with the camera filters but with Mars being so much farther from the sun how is it so bright on the surface. Is that too because of camera filters?

[Zaxxon]

[stessier]

From last night - more coming today.

Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground

[jztemple2]

Uh-oh. Explosion during engine run of Starship booster.

[Zaxxon]

From last night - more coming today.

Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground

Today's are awesome, but man--this puts last night's image into perspective. All those galaxies, each containing billions of stars, and then... *zooms out*

https://web.wwtassets.org/specials/2022/jwst-smacs/

[jztemple2]

Today's are awesome, but man--this puts last night's image into perspective. All those galaxies, each containing billions of stars, and then... *zooms out*

Now you know what you'll see if you enter the Total Perspective Vortex

[Daehawk]

Beautiful.

[Jaymann]

Today's are awesome, but man--this puts last night's image into perspective. All those galaxies, each containing billions of stars, and then... *zooms out*

Now you know what you'll see if you enter the Total Perspective Vortex

Some guy gave a lecture on how we are in a simulation like No Man's Sky - nothing is rendered until someone looks at it.

[Zaxxon]

Today's are awesome, but man--this puts last night's image into perspective. All those galaxies, each containing billions of stars, and then... *zooms out*

Now you know what you'll see if you enter the Total Perspective Vortex

Some guy gave a lecture on how we are in a simulation like No Man's Sky - nothing is rendered until someone looks at it.

It's possible that the JWST is causing some cosmic entity to need to upgrade their GPU, then, eh? I like it.

[Pyperkub]

Today's are awesome, but man--this puts last night's image into perspective. All those galaxies, each containing billions of stars, and then... *zooms out*

Now you know what you'll see if you enter the Total Perspective Vortex

Some guy gave a lecture on how we are in a simulation like No Man's Sky - nothing is rendered until someone looks at it.

It's possible that the JWST is causing some cosmic entity to need to upgrade their GPU, then, eh? I like it.

Nah, that was for galaxycoin mining!

[Isgrimnur]

Uh-oh. Explosion during engine run of Starship booster.

Whoa!