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.

[GeorgeZimZam]

Just offering @FAANews some tea 🤣🤣 https://t.co/R3PnZjzQHc

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 5, 2024

[philfree]

It is so weird to look up in the late night/early morning sky and see these bright stars that are really satellites. Those things look really close. Go outside and look!

[GeorgeZimZam]

Originally Posted by GeorgeZimZam

Teams encapsulated @NASA 's Europa Clipper spacecraft into Falcon Heavy's fairing earlier this week ahead of next week's Falcon Heavy launch from pad 39A in Florida pic.twitter.com/ZPJnEvHfMV

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 4, 2024

The last time the spacecraft will be seen in person...😢
Travel well, friend! https://t.co/5zpRZsKvg0

— NASA Europa Clipper (@EuropaClipper) October 4, 2024

Next week, a journey of 1.8 billion miles begins.

All about our mission to explore Jupiter's intriguing moon Europa: https://t.co/KX1yfEbQD2

The launch period opens on Oct. 10. Here's how to watch: https://t.co/x4XNEuvKXs pic.twitter.com/DCjUpaP3yV

— NASA Europa Clipper (@EuropaClipper) October 3, 2024

NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Oct. 10 launch attempt of the agency’s #EuropaClipper mission due to anticipated hurricane conditions in the area.

The next launch opportunity will be assessed after Hurricane Milton passes.

More: https://t.co/n0P0KPmxMn pic.twitter.com/9ALCNOcmv4

— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) October 6, 2024

[GeorgeZimZam]

Originally Posted by GeorgeZimZam

First stage booster returning to earth never gets old. Cannot wait for Starship Flight 5, and attempted Mechazilla "catch" of the Super Heavy booster! (And it sounds like it will be happening earlier than "Late November," after all...perhaps the weekend of Chiefs' week 6 bye; i.e. 2 weeks from today!)

Starship’s fifth flight test is preparing to launch as soon as October 13, pending regulatory approval → https://t.co/hibmw2lVv1 pic.twitter.com/Suw1kKLHiE

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 7, 2024

[Fish]

Originally Posted by GeorgeZimZam

Just offering @FAANews some tea 🤣🤣 https://t.co/R3PnZjzQHc

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 5, 2024

Suck em, China!

[GeorgeZimZam]

Spoiler!

UPCOMING
STARSHIP'S FIFTH FLIGHT TEST



Starship's fifth flight test could launch as soon as October 13, pending regulatory approval.

A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app. The launch window will open as early as 7:00 a.m. CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned to our X account for updates.

Flight 4 was a tremendous success. A fully successful ascent was followed by the first ever booster soft-landing in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship making it through a https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1798792222743122164, before its own landing burn and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The fifth flight test of Starship will aim to take another step towards full and rapid reusability. The primary objectives will be attempting the first ever return to launch site and catch of the Super Heavy booster and another Starship reentry and landing burn, aiming for an on-target splashdown of Starship in the Indian Ocean.

Extensive upgrades ahead of this flight test have been made to hardware and software across Super Heavy, Starship, and the launch and catch tower infrastructure at Starbase. SpaceX engineers have spent years preparing and months testing for the booster catch attempt, with technicians pouring tens of thousands of hours into building the infrastructure to maximize our chances for success. We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right.

Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria must be met prior to a return and catch attempt of the Super Heavy booster, which will require healthy systems on the booster and tower and a manual command from the mission’s Flight Director. If this command is not sent prior to the completion of the boostback burn, or if automated health checks show unacceptable conditions with Super Heavy or the tower, the booster will default to a trajectory that takes it to a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

The returning booster will slow down from supersonic speeds, resulting in audible sonic booms in the area around the landing zone. Generally, the only impact to those in the surrounding area of a sonic boom is the brief thunder-like noise with variables like weather and distance from the return site determining the magnitude experienced by observers.

Starship will fly a similar trajectory as the previous flight test with splashdown targeted in the Indian Ocean. This flight path does not require a deorbit burn for reentry, maximizing public safety while still providing the opportunity to meet our primary objective of a controlled reentry and soft water landing of Starship.

One of the key upgrades on Starship ahead of flight was a complete rework of its heatshield, with SpaceX technicians spending more than 12,000 hours replacing the entire thermal protection system with newer-generation tiles, a backup ablative layer, and additional protections between the flap structures. This massive effort, along with updates to the ship’s operations and software for reentry and landing burn, will look to improve upon the previous flight and bring Starship to a soft splashdown at the target area in the Indian Ocean.

With each flight building on the learnings from the last, testing improvements in hardware and operations across every facet of Starship, we’re on the verge of demonstrating techniques fundamental to Starship’s fully and rapidly reusable design. By continuing to push our hardware in a flight environment, and doing so as safely and frequently as possible, we’ll rapidly bring Starship online and revolutionize humanity’s ability to access space.

COUNTDOWN

All Times Approximate

HR/MIN/SEC EVENT
01:15:00 SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load
00:49:50 Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway
00:48:40 Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway
00:40:40 Booster fuel load underway
00:34:03 Booster LOX load underway
00:19:40 Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship
00:03:20 Ship propellant load complete
00:02:50 Booster propellant load complete
00:00:30 SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch
00:00:10 Flame deflector activation
00:00:03 Raptor ignition sequence begins
00:00:00 Excitement guaranteed



FLIGHT TEST TIMELINE

All Times Approximate

HR/MIN/SEC EVENT
00:00:02 Liftoff
00:01:02 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:33 Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off)
00:02:41 Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation)
00:02:48 Super Heavy boostback burn start
00:03:41 Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown
00:03:43 Hot-stage jettison
00:06:08 Super Heavy is supersonic
00:06:33 Super Heavy landing burn start
00:06:50 Super Heavy splashdown if no catch attempt
00:06:56 Super Heavy landing burn shutdown and catch attempt
00:08:27 Starship engine cutoff
00:48:03 Starship entry
01:02:34 Starship is transonic
01:03:43 Starship is subsonic
01:05:15 Landing flip
01:05:20 Landing burn
01:05:34 An exciting landing!

https://www.spacex.com/launches/miss...rship-flight-5

[DaFace]

It's curious that SpaceX is hyping up that launch when the FAA has very directly said they aren't going to clear it to launch until late November. Guess we'll see who blinks.

[GeorgeZimZam]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's curious that SpaceX is hyping up that launch when the FAA has very directly said they aren't going to clear it to launch until late November. Guess we'll see who blinks.

A updated issued statement by the FAA does no longer mention the late November target date. pic.twitter.com/nmE9wEhNj3

— Adrian Beil (@BCCarCounters) October 8, 2024

[GeorgeZimZam]

SpaceX may receive FAA license for next Starship launch in time for Sunday attempt https://t.co/dr0CS3ndMf

— CNBC (@CNBC) October 8, 2024

Spoiler!

• The Federal Aviation Administration may issue SpaceX its next Starship license in time for a Sunday launch attempt, CNBC has learned.
• Despite previously expecting that its license review could take until “late November,” a person familiar with the matter told CNBC the FAA’s process has sped up, opening the door for earlier approval.
• SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have been vocally critical of the FAA in recent weeks, alleging the company faces difficulties from “the current regulatory environment.”

SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft, atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket, lifts off on its third launch from the company’s Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. March 14, 2024.

The Federal Aviation Administration may issue SpaceX its next Starship license in time for a Sunday launch attempt, CNBC has learned.

SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have been vocally critical of the FAA in recent weeks, urging the federal regulator to speed up its license review for Starship’s fifth test flight. As recently as last week, the FAA said it did not expect to issue the license before “late November.”

Despite the ongoing review, SpaceX issued a statement Monday saying that the fifth Starship spaceflight “could launch as soon as October 13, pending regulatory approval.” The company did not indicate whether it expected to receive its license by Sunday.

But a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday that SpaceX’s seemingly aggressive target is possible because the FAA’s review process has sped up.

The regulator and partner agencies involved in the process conducted assessments more quickly than anticipated, the person told CNBC, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the final stages of completing a review for the FAA. The person, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the ongoing federal review, noted that it’s also possible any snags this week could take a Sunday attempt off the table and push approval to later this month.

In an updated statement to CNBC on Tuesday, the FAA removed its prior November estimate.

“In mid-August, SpaceX submitted new information for its proposed Starship/ Super Heavy Flight 5 mission. The FAA is continuing to review this information. The FAA will make a licensing determination once SpaceX has met all licensing requirements,” the FAA said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service referred CNBC to the FAA in response to a request for comment.

On Sept. 10, SpaceX issued a lengthy blog post saying the FAA was delaying Starship’s fifth launch over “superfluous environmental analysis,” alleging that the extended review was “for unreasonable and exasperating reasons” that represent difficulties in “the current regulatory environment” for companies seeking launch licenses.

The post in part criticized reports that SpaceX violated environmental regulations by using the Starship launchpad’s water deluge system in Texas without authorization. However, SpaceX settled fines levied by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency regarding unauthorized water discharge.

Reuters first reported the FAA may approve a license as soon as this month but did not specify whether that could come as soon as Sunday.

An ambitious fifth launch

The sun sets behind the SpaceX Starship ahead of its fourth flight test at Boca Chica beach on June 05, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas.

SpaceX aims to push development of its mammoth Starship rocket further with its fifth flight. It’s seeking to build on the progress of June’s fourth Starship test flight — which traveled halfway around the world for an intentional splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

As part of SpaceX’s effort to make Starship fully reusable, the company plans to attempt to return and catch the rocket’s 232-foot-tall booster.

After launching and separating from the upper Starship section of the rocket, the Super Heavy booster is expected to fly back to the launch site and land between a pair of so-called “chopsticks” on the tower. SpaceX emphasized that the catch attempt requires “thousands” of criteria to be met, or else the booster will divert from the return trajectory to instead splashdown off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

“We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right,” SpaceX said in a statement describing the flight.

The window on Sunday opens at 8 a.m. ET for the fifth Starship launch from the company’s facility near Brownsville, Texas.

Starship is both the tallest and most powerful rocket ever launched. Fully stacked on the Super Heavy booster, Starship stands 397 feet tall and is about 30 feet in diameter.

The Starship system is designed to be fully reusable and aims to become a new method of flying cargo and people beyond Earth. The rocket is also critical to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon. SpaceX won a multibillion-dollar contract from the agency to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander as part of NASA’s Artemis moon program.

http://archive.today/pFoeV

[GeorgeZimZam]

Work on installing Booster 12 FTS explosives has begun! A major pre-launch milestone.

10/9/24 pic.twitter.com/jMCxykS56J

— Starship Gazer (@StarshipGazer) October 9, 2024

Pls no scrub!

So excited—this time around I'll get to attend the flight test at Starbase. Will be watching from along the Rio Grande and the perimeter of the exclusion zone.

[GeorgeZimZam]

FYI: If everything stays the same, SpaceX Starship IFT-5 and Falcon Heavy Europa Clipper will both launch on Sunday!

IFT-5 = 7:00 a.m. CT

FH Europa = 12:12 p.m. ET pic.twitter.com/NXnkAWVtD6

— S.E. Robinson, Jr. (@SERobinsonJr) October 9, 2024

RocketLaunch.Live: The Europa Clipper mission is designed to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which is believed to harbor an ocean beneath its thick ice shell. This NASA mission will investigate whether Europa has the necessary conditions to support life by performing nearly 50 flybys of the moon. Equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, the spacecraft will gather data about the moon’s surface, ice structure, and potential water plumes. These observations will help scientists understand Europa’s composition and its potential for harboring life beneath its ice-covered ocean​.

Europa Clipper's payload includes a range of scientific tools such as ice-penetrating radar, spectrometers, and thermal imaging systems, which will help reveal the moon’s internal structure and composition. The spacecraft will be protected from Jupiter’s intense radiation by a specially designed vault to shield its electronics. With its enormous solar arrays, the spacecraft is also one of the largest NASA has ever built for a planetary mission​.

The launch date is currently targeted for Sunday, October 13, 2024 at 4:12 PM (UTC).