Space stuff (NASA, UKSA, CSA, ESA, etc)
- Thread starter strawman
- Start date
I hadn't realized how secretly brilliant this was until I started watching the launch feed.
Hopefully everything lines up Saturday or Sunday. Though, the weather isn't looking great on either day.
I just watched the launch. It was extraordinary to watch live. Can someone explain one thing to me? There was a piece that broke off just before they completed the first stage of the mission (where they said the astronauts would go to sleep for about 8 hours before the docking procedure with the ISS). What happens to that piece? I think it was one of the launchers. Does it become space debris or is it recycled like the launcher that returned back to Earth?
My guess is that it's the second stage of the rocket, which SpaceX has not found a way to recycle yet. It should end up in a degrading orbit and eventually burn up in the atmosphere.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft will likely return to Earth in August to wrap up a test flight to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, a senior space agency official said Tuesday.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft that launched with Hurley and Behnken was certified to fly in space for up to four months. The limiting factor on the spacecraft’s endurance is the degradation of the ship’s power-generating solar arrays in the harsh environment of low Earth orbit. (SpaceflightNow)
The Crew Dragon spacecraft that launched with Hurley and Behnken was certified to fly in space for up to four months. The limiting factor on the spacecraft’s endurance is the degradation of the ship’s power-generating solar arrays in the harsh environment of low Earth orbit. (SpaceflightNow)
RocketLab did not go to space today. Or rather, they did go to space, but they stay was much briefer than intended.
Rocket Lab satellite launch fails before reaching orbit – Spaceflight Now
spaceflightnow.com
The Space Station has a number of bright flyovers of the US* this week.
If you're interested in trying to see it, go to Heavens-Above, set your viewing location, and then check the link for the ISS.
* Looks like there are good views available to Europe, Taiwan, and Hawaii too. The viewing times may not be as convenient as ~9pm.
If you're interested in trying to see it, go to Heavens-Above, set your viewing location, and then check the link for the ISS.
* Looks like there are good views available to Europe, Taiwan, and Hawaii too. The viewing times may not be as convenient as ~9pm.
Neat site!
Kennedy even specifically called out that second step “...and return him safely to Earth.”
—Patrick
YEEEEHAAAAAW!, even