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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** · 01-07-2018, 07:14 PM

So...this seems a little crazy to say, but the next launch on the calendar is...

Falcon Heavy.

(Though it's certainly possible that another launch will leap frog it if it gets delayed.)

Scooter LaCanforno · 01-07-2018, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Well, I'm giving this webcast a D. Not a lot of effort on the visuals for this one. Oh well. [/spoiled]

Sorry to hear the webcast sucked. I watched this one from my back balcony. One of the coolest launches I've seen in years.

**Donger** · 01-07-2018, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Yeah, true. They usually just show state 2 telemetry, but on these classified launches, apparently they want to have SOMETHING to show.

It didn't seem to add up, honestly. After the re-entry burn ended, the speed was decreasing rapidly. Why? I get the atmosphere is getting thicker but it was sloughing off speed like crazy well beyond the landing burn.

Molitoth · 01-07-2018, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

So...this seems a little crazy to say, but the next launch on the calendar is...

Falcon Heavy.

(Though it's certainly possible that another launch will leap frog it if it gets delayed.)

**DaFace** · 01-07-2018, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

It didn't seem to add up, honestly. After the re-entry burn ended, the speed was decreasing rapidly. Why? I get the atmosphere is getting thicker but it was sloughing off speed like crazy well beyond the landing burn.

Atmospheric drag most likely.

**Donger** · 01-07-2018, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

So...this seems a little crazy to say, but the next launch on the calendar is...

Falcon Heavy.

(Though it's certainly possible that another launch will leap frog it if it gets delayed.)

Wood... I simply cannot wait.

**Donger** · 01-07-2018, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Atmospheric drag most likely.

Yeah, I wrote that. But it just seemed wrong. Way too much. Gravity wins.

siberian khatru · 01-07-2018, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

So...this seems a little crazy to say, but the next launch on the calendar is...

Falcon Heavy.

(Though it's certainly possible that another launch will leap frog it if it gets delayed.)

I'm really looking forward to that one. I can watch these launches from my front yard.

**DaFace** · 01-07-2018, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Yeah, I wrote that. But it just seemed wrong. Way too much. Gravity wins.

Yeah, that stuff is definitely beyond me. I know they try to use the atmosphere to slow it down in order to save fuel, but that's about as far as I can get.

**DaFace** · 01-07-2018, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

I'm really looking forward to that one. I can watch these launches from my front yard.

Color me jealous. I'd fly down and try to catch it if it weren't for the high likelihood that it will get delayed multiple times.

Scooter LaCanforno · 01-07-2018, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

So...this seems a little crazy to say, but the next launch on the calendar is...

Falcon Heavy.

(Though it's certainly possible that another launch will leap frog it if it gets delayed.)

They want to launch it this month. No day and time yet.

**Donger** · 01-07-2018, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Yeah, that stuff is definitely beyond me. I know they try to use the atmosphere to slow it down in order to save fuel, but that's about as far as I can get.

I'd love to see the numbers again and compare from the re-entry burn deceleration until the landing burn. I honestly thought that they were fake...

Not turning into TJ... It's okay!

**DaFace** · 01-07-2018, 07:21 PM

Actually, now that I think about the velocity thing, it's both a vertical and horizontal velocity, so conceivably it's already basically falling at terminal velocity, but it's losing horizontal velocity?

**DaFace** · 01-07-2018, 07:23 PM

**Donger** · 01-07-2018, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Actually, now that I think about the velocity thing, it's both a vertical and horizontal velocity, so conceivably it's already basically falling at terminal velocity, but it's losing horizontal velocity?

The graphic showed "speed" and "altitude." But yes, maybe? Love it.

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

01-07-2018, 07:14 PM	#1426
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	So...this seems a little crazy to say, but the next launch on the calendar is... Falcon Heavy. (Though it's certainly possible that another launch will leap frog it if it gets delayed.)
Posts: 51,772

01-07-2018, 07:21 PM	#1438
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	Actually, now that I think about the velocity thing, it's both a vertical and horizontal velocity, so conceivably it's already basically falling at terminal velocity, but it's losing horizontal velocity?
Posts: 51,772

01-07-2018, 07:23 PM	#1439
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land
Posts: 51,772