SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by Kraken »

Yeah, why did they rush this thing through at 2 a.m.? They were obviously hoping nobody would notice. What are you trying to hide, NASA?
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Trump was on board. Shhhhh!!!
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by jztemple2 »


NASA celebrates successful Artemis 1 launch by cutting ties

Snipping neckties after a successful liftoff is a tradition, and Artemis 1 launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson was happy to continue it.
I call bullshit on this being a tradition. I was in the firing room (active or management) for 135 Shuttle launches and there was never any tie cutting that I saw.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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NASA's daring Artemis 1 'Red Crew' saved the day for the launch to the moon. Here's how.

The unsung heroes were able to pull off the daring repair, and just hours later Artemis 1 was on its way to orbit around the moon. 

Trent Annis, one of the Red Crew members, said that although it was terrifying being beneath the fueled rocket, his team remained focused on the job at hand. 

"I'd say we were very focused on what was happening up there," Annis told NASA TV after the launch. "Just making sure we knew what was happening. Because the rocket is, you know, it's alive, it's creaking, it's making venting noises, it's — it's pretty scary. So on zero deck, my heart was pumping. My nerves were going but yeah, we showed up today."
"daring"? "terrifying"? "my heart was pumping"?

Heavens, I did a red crew back in Shuttle. Right up next to a fully fueled vehicle. It was interesting and a unique experience, but not daring, terrifying or heart pumping. Sheesh
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by Isgrimnur »

Not everyone has your unruffled-flamingo-like demeanor.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by jztemple2 »

Isgrimnur wrote: Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:59 pm Not everyone has your unruffled-flamingo-like demeanor.
True, it is rare to see a ruffled flamingo :wink:
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Things going well for Artemis I... Flight Day Four: Testing WiFi Signals, Radiator System, GO for Outbound Powered Flyby
Image

On Saturday, Nov. 19, the Mission Management Team polled “go” for Orion’s outbound powered flyby past the Moon. NASA will cover the flyby live on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app starting at 7:15 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 21. The burn is planned for 7:44 a.m. Orion will lose communication with Earth as it passes behind the Moon from 7:25 a.m. through 7:59 a.m., making its closest approach of approximately 80 miles from the surface at 7:57 a.m.

During flight day four, flight controllers moved each solar array to a different position to test the strength of the WiFi signal with the arrays in different configurations. The Integrated Communications Officer, or INCO, tested the WiFi transfer rate between the camera on the tip of the solar array panels and the camera controller. The goal was to determine the best position to most efficiently transfer imagery files. Teams learned that having multiple cameras on at once can impact the WiFi data rate, and therefore, future solar array wing file transfer activities will be accomplished from one solar array wing at a time to optimize transfer time.

The Emergency, Environmental, and Consumables Manager, or EECOM, tested Orion’s radiator system. Two radiator loops on the spacecraft’s European Service Module help expel excess heat generated by different systems throughout the flight. Flight controllers are testing sensors that maintain the coolant flow in the radiator loops, switching between different modes of operation and monitoring performance. During speed mode, the coolant pumps operate at a constant rate. This is the primary mode used during Artemis I. Flow control mode adjusts the pump speed as needed to maintain a constant flow through the system. The flight test objective is to monitor system performance and the accuracy of flow sensors to characterize the stability of this mode of operation. Each loop is monitored in flow control mode for 72 hours to provide sufficient data for use on future missions.

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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Image

This is the farthest any human-rated spacecraft has ever been from Earth.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Kraken wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 12:10 am This is the farthest any human-rated spacecraft has ever been from Earth.
Well, sure, in this century :wink:
Enlarge Image

Very cool picture however. I'm sure everyone is now forgetting the trials and tribulations leading up to the Artemis I launch, or at least NASA hopes so.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Now put some humans on it.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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jztemple2 wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 12:55 am I'm sure everyone is now forgetting the trials and tribulations leading up to the Artemis I launch, or at least NASA hopes so.
TBH, I think 90% of Americans are either oblivious or uninterested. But it's glorious if you're paying attention.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by jztemple2 »

SpaceX gets permission to deploy 7,500 next-generation Starlink satellites
SpaceX just got permission to begin building out the next generation of its Starlink internet megaconstellation.

On Thursday (Dec. 1), the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved SpaceX to deploy 7,500 Starlink 2.0 satellites in low Earth orbit.
The ruling is just a partial victory for SpaceX, however; the company had applied for permission to deploy 29,988 Starlink 2.0 satellites around Earth. The FCC is deferring a decision about the rest of the envisioned spacecraft.

The FCC granted just the limited approval "to address concerns about orbital debris and space safety," agency officials wrote in Thursday's decision document. These and other issues were raised by "interested parties" regarding the Starlink 2.0 application, which SpaceX filed in 2020.

"We also adopt requirements that require SpaceX to report mitigation actions taken to avoid collisions in space, coordinate and collaborate with NASA to ensure continued availability of launch windows and on other matters and pause deployment of new satellites if satellite failures exceed a certain threshold," the FCC document states.
Starlink 2.0 satellites will be much larger and more capable than their predecessors, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has said. The new craft will tip the scales at about 1.25 tons (1,130 kg) and will be able to beam service directly to cellphones. Indeed, a few months ago, SpaceX announced plans to do just that starting in 2023, via a partnership with T-Mobile.

SpaceX plans to loft the lion's share of the new Starlink satellites using Starship, its huge new Mars and moon rocket. Starship is still under development, but the enormous vehicle could launch on its first orbital test flight in the coming weeks.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by Defiant »

A mysterious and incredibly intense blast of visible light that came towards Earth came from a black hole that is pointing straight at us, astronomers have said.
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/bla ... 38451.html

This sounds disturbingly like a premise of a Doctor Who story from 50 years ago. :ninja: :wink:
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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NASA's new moon lander contest heats up with Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman

The latest NASA moon lander competition round saw a huge team shakeup.

In the second-ever Human Landing Systems (HLS) bidding process, former collaborators Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin are now on different teams vying for future astronaut moon transportation in the Artemis program. And this time, SpaceX is not among the bidders.

The $10 billion HLS contract that closed Tuesday (Dec. 6) aims to provide a means for astronauts to land on the moon's surface. NASA has already secured transportation from SpaceX for Artemis 3 and Artemis 4, but is asking other companies to participate in future landings following direction from the U.S. Senate.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Here's how NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft will splash down to end its moon mission in 8 not-so-easy steps
In its last few minutes in space, the Orion spacecraft has a big job to do.

The Artemis 1 mission launched the NASA Orion capsule safely into deep space on Nov. 16, and after a nearly month that saw it fly around the moon, it's time for the vehicle to come home.

Returning on Sunday (Dec. 11) won't be easy. Orion will do an unprecedented "skip" off the atmosphere of Earth before returning to our planet in earnest. Then it must deploy a series of parachutes to make a safe ocean splashdown within reach of U.S. Navy recovery ships.
Also,
The Artemis 1 Orion is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific on Sunday off the western coast of Baja California at 12:40 p.m. EST (1740 GMT) to wrap a 26-day mission that began with a predawn launch on Nov. 16. You can watch the Artemis Orion splashdown live online for free via a NASA TV livestream that will begin at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT).
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by $iljanus »

The first of two blackout periods has started. I'm fascinated by the skip reentery method and hopefully they pull it off!
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Orion returns to Earth during successful splashdown
The Orion spacecraft returned to Earth in a successful splashdown Sunday after its 25-day mission to the moon and back.

From lifting off at Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, Orion splashed down off the coast of Baja California on Sunday, Dec. 11, at around 12:40 p.m. EST, just one minute later than anticipated.

During a mission briefing on Thursday, Judd Frieling, an ascent and entry flight director for Artemis 1 mission, explained that Orion was originally going to land off the coast of San Diego, but due to weather constraints, the new splashdown location was moved 300 nautical miles south, off Guadeloupe Island, which is off Mexico’s Baja California.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by jztemple2 »

Who owns the moon?
The flags of two countries hang unfurled — not by any breeze but by metal wiring — over the desolate, eerily still surface of the moon. One is the stars and stripes of the United States; the other, the crimson of China. But if you ask any official from these countries, they will tell you that these flags do not represent a property claim of any kind. They're more like extraterrestrial graffiti.

But if planting a flag on the moon doesn't count as a property claim, then what does? And when you get down to it, can anyone actually own the moon?
But of course, those of us old enough know "The moon belongs to everyone..."

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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by Kraken »

So we're Go for Artemis 2? I understand that Artemis 1 had some minor anomalies, but no show-stoppers AFAIK.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by Isgrimnur »

Space
The launch date is tentatively set for 2024, providing that all data from Artemis 1 indicates that Artemis 2 is ready for flight. Assuming Artemis 2 completes everything successfully, the first landing mission (Artemis 3) may be as soon as 2025.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Kraken wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 4:24 pm So we're Go for Artemis 2? I understand that Artemis 1 had some minor anomalies, but no show-stoppers AFAIK.
I've been following the NASA Artemis I blog and it seems they have been making every milestone and achieving everything they have been looking for. There is still a lot of data to sift through no doubt but the indications are very positive. The teams have already reviewed the SLS data and everything there performed very well.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Isgrimnur wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 4:41 pm Space
The launch date is tentatively set for 2024, providing that all data from Artemis 1 indicates that Artemis 2 is ready for flight. Assuming Artemis 2 completes everything successfully, the first landing mission (Artemis 3) may be as soon as 2025.
Ars Technica has a piece in this and those dates are fairy tales. 2 could go in 2025 but even that is a stretch. 3 will be lucky to go before 2030.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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stessier wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 8:55 pm
Isgrimnur wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 4:41 pm Space
The launch date is tentatively set for 2024, providing that all data from Artemis 1 indicates that Artemis 2 is ready for flight. Assuming Artemis 2 completes everything successfully, the first landing mission (Artemis 3) may be as soon as 2025.
Ars Technica has a piece in this and those dates are fairy tales. 2 could go in 2025 but even that is a stretch. 3 will be lucky to go before 2030.
Beat me to it. This was a great mission, but Artemis is now on the shelf for years.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Russian engineers assessing leak from Soyuz crew spacecraft
A Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship docked to the International Space Station spewed particles of an unknown substance, presumably coolant fluid, into space Wednesday night, forcing two Russian cosmonauts to call off a planned spacewalk as engineers on the ground scrambled to determine the source and the effects of the leak.

Mission controllers first observed the leak around 7:45 p.m. EST Wednesday (0045 GMT Thursday), according to Rob Navias, a NASA spokesperson providing commentary on NASA TV. The leak occurred as Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin prepared for a spacewalk to help relocate a radiator from outside of the Russian Rassvet module to the Nauka science module on the space station.

But before the cosmonauts could head outside, Russian ground controllers near Moscow noticed “significant leaking of an unknown substance from the aft portion of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the Rassvet module on the International Space Station,” NASA said in a brief statement Wednesday night.

Navias said Russian ground teams noticed a warning tone indicating a drop in pressure in an external cooling loop on the Soyuz spacecraft when the spray of snow-like particles were first observed streaming away from the capsule.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Uh-oh, Soyuz capsule leak could strand 3 astronauts on space station, raising safety concern, expert says
Footage of the spectacular coolant leak from the Russian Soyuz spaceship that took place on Wednesday (Dec. 14) convinced a leading spaceflight safety expert that the craft is most likely no longer flightworthy. And that is a huge safety risk for the inhabitants of the International Space Station.

Tommaso Sgobba is the president of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) and a former head of spaceflight safety at the European Space Agency (ESA). Now formally retired, the veteran aerospace engineer who worked for years on Europe's human spaceflight program spoke to Space.com about the Soyuz coolant leak. His conclusions are rather damning. The Soyuz spacecraft, Sgobba believes, is "damaged beyond repair" and will not be able to take the three space travelers it brought to the space station in September back home.

What is worse, for the first time in its history, the International Space Station (ISS) lacks the capability to evacuate all of its occupants in case of a serious incident.

"From what I saw from the pictures, this was a massive loss of coolant," Sgobba told Space.com. "I have to assume that the active coolant system of the Soyuz spacecraft was compromised and therefore, the Soyuz is no longer available for operation. It's my personal feeling, but if it's true, we have a big problem on the space station. We are missing the crew escape system."
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by Hrdina »

Yeah, I think someone is going to need to launch an empty ship ASAP.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Hrdina wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:52 am Yeah, I think someone is going to need to launch an empty ship ASAP.
...and you know who will come to the rescue, assuming a Crew Dragon can dock at a Russian port. I'm sure it's physically possible, but we're kind of almost at war so it might get complicated.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by jztemple2 »

Kraken wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:45 am
Hrdina wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:52 am Yeah, I think someone is going to need to launch an empty ship ASAP.
...and you know who will come to the rescue, assuming a Crew Dragon can dock at a Russian port. I'm sure it's physically possible, but we're kind of almost at war so it might get complicated.
There has been a continuing spirit of cooperation regarding ISS operations, especially with the new head of Roscomos, so I don't see this as much of an issue. I might be wrong however... just ask my wife :roll:

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Watch SpaceX rocket launch on record-setting 15th mission Saturday
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch for an unprecedented 15th time on Saturday (Dec. 17), and you can watch the record-breaking action live.

A Falcon 9 topped with 54 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Saturday at 4:32 p.m. ET (2132 GMT). It will be the 15th launch for this Falcon 9's first stage, setting a new reusability mark for SpaceX.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by Hrdina »

Kraken wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:45 am
Hrdina wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:52 am Yeah, I think someone is going to need to launch an empty ship ASAP.
...and you know who will come to the rescue, assuming a Crew Dragon can dock at a Russian port. I'm sure it's physically possible, but we're kind of almost at war so it might get complicated.
Yes, unless there is a Soyuz already ready to go I would expect the only viable option would be a Dragon lifeboat. It's not like Boeing could help...

They wouldn't necessarily need to dock at a Russian port, no?

Also I thought the ISS had universal docking ports, but I could be wrong about that.

I don't really know how many ships can be docked/berthed with ISS simultaneously.

From what I've seen, as of 3 December there were 6 visiting vehicles, 3 on the US side (Crew Dragon, Cargo Dragon, and Cygnus) and 3 on the Russian side (Soyuz and two Progress). How many vacant ports are there right now? Not that they couldn't undock something to make room.

I'm pretty sure that Crew Dragon has the capacity to hold up to 7, but I doubt they launched Crew-5 with empty seats.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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The 12 biggest rocket failures of 2022 show why spaceflight is still hard
Rockets need thousands of things to go right to reach space, but just one issue can bring things back down to Earth with a bang. This year has seen a record number of launch attempts, and so it is unsurprising that sometimes, things went wrong.

Despite the number of historic launches that did go well this year, there were of course those that either never made it to space or failed to deploy their payloads once they got there.

Below is a list of some of the biggest space mission failures suffered in 2022.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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SpaceX begins launching Starlink second generation constellation
SpaceX is set to launch a batch of 54 Starlink internet satellites – Starlink Group 5-1 – into low Earth orbit (LEO) this Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. Liftoff is scheduled to occur at 4:40 AM EST (09:40 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.

Starlink Group 5-1 is the first flight dedicated to the second generation (Gen 2) Starlink constellation. Previous flights have been filling the first generation (Gen 1) Starlink constellation, which SpaceX began launching in May 2019.

The official weather forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron at CCSFS calls for a greater than 90% chance of favorable weather conditions on the primary launch day and a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions on the next day. For additional risk criteria, the forecast shows a moderate risk of bad weather conditions for booster recovery on the primary launch day.
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The booster will fire its engines for the two-and-a-half minute ascent into near space, after which B1062 will shut down its engines and separate from the second stage. After separation, it will attempt a landing on SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship A Shortfall Of Gravitas which is located 660 km downrange east of The Bahamas.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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The first rocket launch from the Cape in 2023: SpaceX launches 114 satellites and nails rocket landing in its landmark 200th flight
SpaceX is off to a flying start in the new year.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched into a brilliant blue sky this morning (Jan. 3) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying 114 satellites to orbit — the second-most spacecraft ever lofted on a single mission. 

Today's flight, called Transporter-6, is notable for another reason as well: It marked the 15th mission for this particular Falcon 9's first stage, tying a reusability record that SpaceX set just last month. It was also SpaceX's 200th flight and the company's 161st successful rocket landing.
I was shaving when it launched and it was pretty noisy, shaking the walls a bit. A few minutes later I was in the garage when the big ka-boom! arrived from the booster landing at the Cape. Humidity was up today, explaining why the sound carried so well.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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I got a look at the payload manifest. Lots of good missions along that batch.
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Florida Starship pad construction ramps up with arrival of chopsticks carriage
The next piece of SpaceX’s growing Starship infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center arrived at Launch Complex 39A on Friday. A carriage apparatus for the Starship pad’s mechanized chopstick arm system rolled to the complex for installation on the launch pad tower.

The chopstick system will move up and down the nearly 500-foot-tall Starship launch tower. The chopstick carriage departed SpaceX’s Roberts Road construction site at Kennedy overnight and rode a transporter for the 7-mile journey, passing by the Vehicle Assembly Building and the Kennedy Space Center press site on the way to pad 39A. 

SpaceX will later transfer the two chopstick arms to the launch pad for attachment to the carriage, which will move up and down the Starship launch pad tower on rails. In recent days, crews at the launch pad were seen assembling a support frame at pad 39A to connect up the various parts of the mechanized arm system.
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Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

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jztemple2
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Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA

Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by jztemple2 »

Old NASA satellite falling from sky this weekend, low threat
A 38-year-old retired NASA satellite is about to fall from the sky. NASA said Friday the chance of wreckage falling on anybody is “very low.” Most of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) satellite will burn up upon reentry, according to NASA. But some pieces are expected to survive. The space agency put the odds of injury from falling debris at about 1-in-9,400. The science satellite is expected to come down Sunday night, give or take 17 hours, according to the Defense Department.

The California-based Aerospace Corp., however is targeting Monday morning, give or take 13 hours, along a track passing over Africa, Asia the Middle East and the westernmost areas of North and South America. The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, known as ERBS, was launched in 1984 aboard space shuttle Challenger. Although its expected working lifetime was two years, the satellite kept making ozone and other atmospheric measurements until its retirement in 2005. The satellite studied how Earth absorbed and radiated energy from the sun.

The satellite got a special sendoff from Challenger. America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride, released the satellite into orbit using the shuttle’s robot arm. That same mission also featured the first spacewalk by a U.S. woman: Kathryn Sullivan. It was the first time two female astronauts flew in space together. It was the second and final spaceflight for Ride, who died in 2012.
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My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
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jztemple2
Posts: 11545
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA

Re: SPACE - random thread about space stuff

Post by jztemple2 »

The second Falcon 9 launch of the year, just before midnight tonight. Again with a planned booster landing back at the Cape with a big boom :D



Also, anticipating a Falcon Heavy launch at the end of this week, with two boosters landing back at the Cape :D
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
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