Space stuff (NASA, UKSA, CSA, ESA, etc)

evilmike

evilmike

60 Years ago today, the first passive communication satellite, Echo-1, was launched from Cape Canaveral.






Sadly, it did not have a theme song. That would, of course, have to wait for Telstar in 1962.
 
evilmike

evilmike

NASA sets Oct. 23 as target launch date for first operational Crew Dragon mission


NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; and Mike Hopkins, Crew Dragon commander; and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist

(SpaceflightNow)
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

NROL-44 did not go to space today. But we still got the traditional Delta IV Heavy pre-launch FWOOSH.
 
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evilmike

evilmike

DarkAudit said:
NROL-44 did not go to space today. But we still got the traditional Delta IV Heave pre-launch FWOOSH.
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From my vantage point, about 30 miles away, I saw the rocket motor start, the glow dim, another flare of light, and then nothing. I was pretty sure it was an abort, though I did check my phone right away to make sure it wasn't something worse.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

evilmike said:
From my vantage point, about 30 miles away, I saw the rocket motor start, the glow dim, another flare of light, and then nothing. I was pretty sure it was an abort, though I did check my phone right away to make sure it wasn't something worse.
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The residual hydrogen burn-off happened, then the engines started, then they stopped about 3 seconds before liftoff. They're calling it a hot fire abort.
 
evilmike

evilmike

I would not have minded if they decided to abort at the beginning of the launch window, instead of an hour and a half into it. :)

It was so late, all of the people fishing off the pier had gone home.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

evilmike said:
I would not have minded if they decided to abort at the beginning of the launch window, instead of an hour and a half into it. :)

It was so late, all of the people fishing off the pier had gone home.
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They spent that time investigating a low temperature anomaly with the interstage equipment. They eventually decided it was still okay to launch tonight.
 
evilmike

evilmike

Two SpaceX launches scheduled for tomorrow, 9 hours apart. If they pull it off, it will be shortest time between launches since Gemini 8 in 1966. The weather is potentially a problem, with each of them having roughly a 50/50 shot at acceptable weather.

The first launch is at 10:12 am from KSC. The second is at 7:15 pm from Canaveral. There is also a landing planned at Canaveral. (Space.com)
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

NASA's OGO-1 satellite has finally returned to Earth after 56 years in orbit



Each [of the six] OGO [Orbiting Geophysical Observatory] spacecraft was developed to study the movements of Earth, and determine how our planet interacts with the sun. [sic] The satellites remained stalwart in that mission for a solid five years before NASA shut the project down. Unfortunately, at the time, the agency lacked a reliable way to retrieve satellites from orbit, so for the past 50+ years, we've just been waiting for the satellite to return to Earth of their own accord.
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--Patrick
 
evilmike

evilmike

With the bright sun just off camera and a heavy haze over the launch complex, the shooting conditions were quite challenging this morning. The result was almost monochromatic.
starlink 11.jpg
 
Frank

Frank

www.nytimes.com

Life on Venus? Astronomers See a Signal in Its Clouds (Published 2020)

The detection of a gas in the planet’s atmosphere could turn scientists’ gaze to a planet long overlooked in the search for extraterrestrial life.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

So, basically, there's phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus and under our current understanding that shouldn't be possible without SOMETHING putting it there. Scientists wanna find out what that something is leading to speculation of some sort of microbial life living in the upper atmosphere of Venus.
 
evilmike

evilmike

FYI -- I find one of the handiest ways to keep track of the status of a launch is to check twitter.com/SpaceflightNow
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I wish I could get a picture of the Moon and Mars conjunction tonight. They look amazing from my back porch.

But while my phone is great at taking indoor and food shots, it's taking potato quality photos of the moon
 
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