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**DaFace** · 06-01-2014, 09:40 AM

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.

Lists of Upcoming Missions

Spoiler!

How to Watch a Live Launch

Spoiler!

Where to Learn More

Spoiler!

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.

**DaFace** · 05-30-2020, 01:36 PM

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.

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

I use the app "ISS Detector."

I'm hoping that Dragon might be bright enough to catch it trailing behind...

TLO · 05-30-2020, 01:38 PM

Quote:

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.

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

I use the app "ISS Detector."

I'm hoping that Dragon might be bright enough to catch it trailing behind...

Hope the clouds clear out here!

That was amazing to watch. I don't have the proper words.

**Donger** · 05-30-2020, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamwallet

With all the terrible things going on is it bad I shed a couple tears watching this? It was ****ing amazing!

You weren't alone.

Fish · 05-30-2020, 01:38 PM

This high resolution video of everything is so cool compared to the old pixelated space footage we got in the past.

LiveSteam · 05-30-2020, 01:39 PM

I do.

America. Home of the brave.

**DaFace** · 05-30-2020, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

This high resolution video of everything is so cool compared to the old pixelated space footage we got in the past.

Just imagine what it'll be like when we get 4K shots from the moon (and eventually, hopefully Mars).

**Bowser** · 05-30-2020, 01:40 PM

We needed this today.

TLO · 05-30-2020, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kman34

The booster coming back to land is the coolest thing...

Quote:

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

amazing on the rocket landing

Incredible

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamwallet

With all the terrible things going on is it bad I shed a couple tears watching this? It was ****ing amazing!

I still have the feels.

Sorry · 05-30-2020, 01:42 PM

incredible accomplishment for mankind.

**mlyonsd** · 05-30-2020, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLO

Hope the clouds clear out here!

That was amazing to watch. I don't have the proper words.

Back in the day the timing was just right one summer night when the space shuttle had just finished it's mission to the ISS and had backed away but still fairly close. We could see both of them flying together.

jd1020 · 05-30-2020, 01:44 PM

That rocket parked itself on the drone ship better than some people can park their cars at the grocery store.

POND_OF_RED · 05-30-2020, 01:49 PM

That was ****ing awesome! Nicely done nerds!!!

Hog's Gone Fishin · 05-30-2020, 01:51 PM

FWIW my father was a zoo veterinarian at one time and took care of miss able before she got her ass launched. Independence Kansas.

True story.

Delano · 05-30-2020, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jd1020

That rocket parked itself on the drone ship better than some people can park their cars at the grocery store.

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.

Hamwallet · 05-30-2020, 01:53 PM

Quote:

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.

If they can do what they just did I am sure they have that covered.

06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	Space Exploration megathread 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. Lists of Upcoming Missions Spoiler! General lists: https://nextspaceflight.com/ http://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/ SpaceX specific list: https://spacexnow.com/upcoming.php How to Watch a Live Launch Spoiler! SpaceX: https://www.youtube.com/user/spacexchannel ULA: https://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedLaunchAlliance RocketLab: https://www.youtube.com/user/RocketLabNZ NASATV will also cover some launches (primarily ISS resupply missions): https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision Where to Learn More Spoiler! Some cool pics... https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/ https://www.instagram.com/spacex/?hl=en Twitter feed is usually interesing... https://twitter.com/SpaceX https://twitter.com/elonmusk The SpaceX sub is a great source of info... https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/wiki/index And for a more forum-style discussion board... http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php#c17 And there are plenty of YouTube channels with great content... Joe Scott - Lost of "future" discussion. Some about rockets and space. Much that goes beyond. Scott Manley - Super smart dude (engineer) who reviews a lot of major events in space exploration. Frazer Cain (Universe Today) - Podcast-style videos that go in-depth into space topics. 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. Last edited by DaFace; 12-10-2020 at 03:36 PM..
Posts: 51,772

05-30-2020, 01:36 PM	#2926
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	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. https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ I use the app "ISS Detector." I'm hoping that Dragon might be bright enough to catch it trailing behind...
Posts: 51,772	2 0

05-30-2020, 01:38 PM	#2929
Fish Ain't no relax! Fish's Avatar Join Date: Sep 2005	This high resolution video of everything is so cool compared to the old pixelated space footage we got in the past.
Posts: 47,522	1 0

05-30-2020, 01:39 PM	#2930
LiveSteam The Constitutional Choo choo LiveSteam's Avatar Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: homeof43conferencetitles	I do. America. Home of the brave.
Posts: 44,293

05-30-2020, 01:40 PM	#2932
Bowser sorta mod-ish Bowser's Avatar Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North	We needed this today.
Posts: 100,675	2 0

05-30-2020, 01:42 PM	#2934
Sorry Banned Join Date: Dec 2018	incredible accomplishment for mankind.
Posts: 1,605

05-30-2020, 01:44 PM	#2936
jd1020 In Search of a Life Join Date: Nov 2010	That rocket parked itself on the drone ship better than some people can park their cars at the grocery store.
Posts: 24,322	1 0

05-30-2020, 01:49 PM	#2937
POND_OF_RED The talking stonehead POND_OF_RED's Avatar Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Blue Springs, MO	That was ****ing awesome! Nicely done nerds!!!
Posts: 5,692

05-30-2020, 01:51 PM	#2938
Hog's Gone Fishin Fish are scared of me Hog's Gone Fishin's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2001	FWIW my father was a zoo veterinarian at one time and took care of miss able before she got her ass launched. Independence Kansas. True story.
Posts: 40,354	1 0