Space Exploration megathread

[DaFace]

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.

[RINGLEADER]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Starship test vehicle under assembly will look similar to this illustration when finished. Operational Starships would obv have windows, etc. pic.twitter.com/D8AJ01mjyR

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 5, 2019

It's really amazing how accurate the art directors on Cat-Women of the Moon were back in 1953...

[Donger]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Honestly, I haven't kept much interest in any of the companies after it turned out everybody was going to continue using old school rocket designs rather than developing newer concepts like aerospikes. I get why (profit, faster time table) but it doesn't really...inspire me, I guess, to pay real close attention. It sort of feels like watching the 60s all over again, which is cool but...it doesn't really feel like we're going anywhere new. Not that I was alive then, of course, but being a child of the 70s, space was always kind of a big deal. Point being that I'm watching launches now (and I do watch sometimes, it's still neat...) that look pretty much like launches I watched forty years ago. Yeah the computer tech is incredibly advanced now and we can land them on ships in the middle of the ocean, but it just feels...old, at a fundamental level to see us still using basically the same kind of engines we had fifty years ago. Or eighty...

Maybe the kid inside 45-year old me just expected us to have a much cooler, much more space-explore-y world than we do at this point in time.

You care more about engine nozzle design more than reusability?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Donger

You care more about engine nozzle design more than reusability?

I get where he's coming from. Things were pretty stagnant for a long time. But what it comes down to is that cost is the barrier to doing crazier stuff, so reusability is as important as the general design.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I get where he's coming from. Things were pretty stagnant for a long time. But what it comes down to is that cost is the barrier to doing crazier stuff, so reusability is as important as the general design.

Yes, agreed. When you look at the cost comparison of a Saturn V launch to BFR, it's insane. Probably a bit of Musk hopeful thinking, but still.

But sure, I'd love to see impulse power and warp drive, too!

Personally, while I loved the shuttle missions, I realized that it was a step forward and a step back. I love this era.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I get where he's coming from. Things were pretty stagnant for a long time. But what it comes down to is that cost is the barrier to doing crazier stuff, so reusability is as important as the general design.

Exactly. It's commercial, so everything comes down to the financial. There's not really anything inspiring there, to me. Which is what I think's been missing since the mid-70's and the end of the Apollo program. Because while I enjoyed the spectacle of the launches and the missions, I didn't like that we wasted an entire generation on the space shuttle, and I'm not sure we're doing much new now. And I don't know what this business version of the space race is going to do for us in terms of space exploration moving forward. Although I think the advances of the Chinese and Indian space programs could spur the US as a nation to do more. Although maybe not with fiscal conservatives in change of the purse strings.

I realize I'm saying this the same week we see the first pictures of Ultima Thule.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Exactly. It's commercial, so everything comes down to the financial. There's not really anything inspiring there, to me. Which is what I think's been missing since the mid-70's and the end of the Apollo program. Because while I enjoyed the spectacle of the launches and the missions, I didn't like that we wasted an entire generation on the space shuttle, and I'm not sure we're doing much new now. And I don't know what this business version of the space race is going to do for us in terms of space exploration moving forward. Although I think the advances of the Chinese and Indian space programs could spur the US as a nation to do more. Although maybe not with fiscal conservatives in change of the purse strings.



I realize I'm saying this the same week we see the first pictures of Ultima Thule.

I think people will start to get more excited if we can get a base going on the moon (and, eventually, boots on Mars). Until then, I totally get why you'd be underwhelmed (though I personally think this is the most exciting time we've had since Apollo).

[DaFace]

I thought this was fun to give a sense of scale to Starship compared to Dragon.

[RINGLEADER]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I thought this was fun to give a sense of scale to Starship compared to Dragon.

That's impressive.

Thanks again to you for keeping this thread going -- it is always interesting and informative.

[RINGLEADER]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I think people will start to get more excited if we can get a base going on the moon (and, eventually, boots on Mars). Until then, I totally get why you'd be underwhelmed (though I personally think this is the most exciting time we've had since Apollo).

I remember being at Cape Canveral right before the Apollo-Soyuz mission and while admittedly the whole West vs East thing added to the story it was indeed exciting because new things were happening that had never been attempted, let alone performed. I think you're right that we need to do new things to get the public to pay attention to space like we did as a nation back then.

[Donger]

Hadn't seen this before today:

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Donger

Hadn't seen this before today:

They're rapidly iterating on the design, so that's even a little out of date, but the basic gist is still the same. Most notably, they're planning for Starship to be made of stainless steel at this point, so it'll be very shiny (and look like something from science fiction for sure).

Elon has alluded to giving a full update in a few months.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

That's impressive.

Thanks again to you for keeping this thread going -- it is always interesting and informative.

Happy to. My hope is that, someday, we can broaden this to include all of the cool things happening in Space (Blue Origin most notably), but for now, SpaceX is the one that gives us the coolest stuff to dream about.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DaFace

They're rapidly iterating on the design, so that's even a little out of date, but the basic gist is still the same. Most notably, they're planning for Starship to be made of stainless steel at this point, so it'll be very shiny (and look like something from science fiction for sure).

Elon has alluded to giving a full update in a few months.

Yeah, it started off with one "fin" IIRC... Ummm, Elon?

And I hope they don't paint it.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Donger

Yeah, it started off with one "fin" IIRC... Ummm, Elon?

And I hope they don't paint it.

I think he said they can't paint it even if they wanted to. I certainly don't understand the physics behind it well, but as I understand it, stainless steel is a good conductor of heat. So the gist is that the entire thing will be one giant heat shield, and they'll have liquid cooling under the surface to move heat around even more.

Or something like that.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I think he said they can't paint it even if they wanted to. I certainly don't understand the physics behind it well, but as I understand it, stainless steel is a good conductor of heat. So the gist is that the entire thing will be one giant heat shield, and they'll have liquid cooling under the surface to move heat around even more.

Or something like that.

Just unneeded weight, anyway!