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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** · 09-09-2016, 09:03 AM

Whatever happened - it was really weird. Oh, and fuel for the conspiracy theorists:

@ashwin7002 @NASA @faa @AFPAA We have not ruled that out.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2016

**Donger** · 09-09-2016, 09:11 AM

**DaFace** · 09-27-2016, 12:03 PM

It's just an illustration of the concept, but here's the plan for Mars.

Elon's talk is supposedly being broadcast here at 1:30pm CT.

http://www.spacex.com/Mars

unlurking · 09-27-2016, 04:06 PM

Will watch tonight, didn't get a chance today.

Start of the talk is ~20 minutes in...

https://youtu.be/A1YxNYiyALg?t=20m50s

**Donger** · 10-03-2016, 02:22 PM

http://www.popsci.com/spacex-investi...xploded-rocket

After reviewing footage of the explosion, WaPo reports that SpaceX noticed an "odd shadow, then a white spot" on the roof of a nearby building owned by United Launch Alliance, an old-school rocket-launching company that competes with SpaceX on military contracts. The building has a clear line of sight to the launchpad where SpaceX's rocket exploded, WaPo notes.

Hydrae · 10-03-2016, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

http://www.popsci.com/spacex-investi...xploded-rocket

After reviewing footage of the explosion, WaPo reports that SpaceX noticed an "odd shadow, then a white spot" on the roof of a nearby building owned by United Launch Alliance, an old-school rocket-launching company that competes with SpaceX on military contracts. The building has a clear line of sight to the launchpad where SpaceX's rocket exploded, WaPo notes.

Let the conspiracy theories begin!

eDave · 10-03-2016, 03:06 PM

Stop this shit. It's very likely that they've got a root cause analysis tree for realized risks that has "sabotage" as one of its branches. As all the other possible root causes get crossed off the list, you've got to take a serious look at it at some point.

I HIGHLY doubt this is sabotage.

**DaFace** · 10-04-2016, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eDave

Stop this shit. It's very likely that they've got a root cause analysis tree for realized risks that has "sabotage" as one of its branches. As all the other possible root causes get crossed off the list, you've got to take a serious look at it at some point.

I HIGHLY doubt this is sabotage.

This.

eDave · 10-23-2016, 02:37 PM

Elon Musk AMA at 3:00 Pacific

https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comme...uestions_in_a/

RINGLEADER · 10-23-2016, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eDave

Elon Musk AMA at 3:00 Pacific

https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comme...uestions_in_a/

Money to anyone who asks him why Andy Reid is such a sh*t play-caller when the Chiefs have the lead.

eDave · 10-23-2016, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

Money to anyone who asks him why Andy Reid is such a sh*t play-caller when the Chiefs have the lead.

I would but I got banned for saying the play-by-play girl was hot.

AMA has started. Slow answers so far: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comm...ut_becoming_a/

eDave · 10-23-2016, 05:45 PM

ITS compared to Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy:

And the rest:

**DaFace** · 10-23-2016, 09:46 PM

They've got a long way to go, but I think I'd take a vacation to Florida to try and watch that thing launch.

aturnis · 10-23-2016, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

They've got a long way to go, but I think I'd take a vacation to Florida to try and watch that thing launch.

Fer Sher

88TG88 · 10-31-2016, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 88TG88

This might have been mentioned already, but they erected Falcon 9 in front of their hq. Its tall af, I'll take a pic and post it.

check 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.spacex.com/launches/ 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; 10-13-2024 at 07:17 AM..
Posts: 52,505

09-09-2016, 09:03 AM	#796
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	Whatever happened - it was really weird. Oh, and fuel for the conspiracy theorists: @ashwin7002 @NASA @faa @AFPAA We have not ruled that out. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2016
Posts: 52,505

09-09-2016, 09:11 AM	#797
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W
Posts: 186,857

09-27-2016, 12:03 PM	#798
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	It's just an illustration of the concept, but here's the plan for Mars. Elon's talk is supposedly being broadcast here at 1:30pm CT. http://www.spacex.com/Mars
Posts: 52,505

09-27-2016, 04:06 PM	#799
unlurking MVP unlurking's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2003	Will watch tonight, didn't get a chance today. Start of the talk is ~20 minutes in... https://youtu.be/A1YxNYiyALg?t=20m50s Last edited by unlurking; 09-27-2016 at 04:16 PM..
Posts: 10,620

10-03-2016, 02:22 PM	#800
Donger "Think BOOM!" Donger's Avatar Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W	http://www.popsci.com/spacex-investi...xploded-rocket After reviewing footage of the explosion, WaPo reports that SpaceX noticed an "odd shadow, then a white spot" on the roof of a nearby building owned by United Launch Alliance, an old-school rocket-launching company that competes with SpaceX on military contracts. The building has a clear line of sight to the launchpad where SpaceX's rocket exploded, WaPo notes.
Posts: 186,857

10-03-2016, 03:06 PM	#802
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013	Stop this shit. It's very likely that they've got a root cause analysis tree for realized risks that has "sabotage" as one of its branches. As all the other possible root causes get crossed off the list, you've got to take a serious look at it at some point. I HIGHLY doubt this is sabotage.
Posts: 53,803

10-23-2016, 02:37 PM	#804
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013	Elon Musk AMA at 3:00 Pacific https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comme...uestions_in_a/
Posts: 53,803

10-23-2016, 05:45 PM	#807
eDave Banned Join Date: Jan 2013	ITS compared to Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy: And the rest:
Posts: 53,803

10-23-2016, 09:46 PM	#808
DaFace Kind of a mod DaFace's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land	They've got a long way to go, but I think I'd take a vacation to Florida to try and watch that thing launch.
Posts: 52,505