Space stuff (NASA, UKSA, CSA, ESA, etc)
- Thread starter strawman
- Start date
On Monday, NASA revealed the identities of the four-person crew for the Artemis 2 mission: NASA astronauts Victor Glover, who will serve as pilot for the mission, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman as mission specialists, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen as mission commander. The four astronauts will ride on board the Orion capsule for a trip to the Moon scheduled for sometime in 2024.
(Gizmodo)
(Gizmodo)
GasBandit
Staff member
"I hate spacewalks." - Jeremy "Francis" Hansen
SpaceX launched a test flight of the Starship on top of the super-heavy booster this week.
It did not end as well as they might have hoped:
That being said, much like the recent test launch of the Relativity Terran 1, the system was able to get past "Max Q", the point of maximum dynamic pressure on the rocket. That means that even though both flights ended in explosions, they are still considered successful tests of the vehicles in question.
-----------
I have been meaning to make this offer for a while now. If you are visiting central Florida and want some local intel on watching a rocket launch, feel free to ask. If you give me a time frame, I'm happy to provide updates on what is going when. Fair warning -- I can not guarantee that the rockets will launch when they are supposed to, but I can at least provide probabilities.
It did not end as well as they might have hoped:
That being said, much like the recent test launch of the Relativity Terran 1, the system was able to get past "Max Q", the point of maximum dynamic pressure on the rocket. That means that even though both flights ended in explosions, they are still considered successful tests of the vehicles in question.
-----------
I have been meaning to make this offer for a while now. If you are visiting central Florida and want some local intel on watching a rocket launch, feel free to ask. If you give me a time frame, I'm happy to provide updates on what is going when. Fair warning -- I can not guarantee that the rockets will launch when they are supposed to, but I can at least provide probabilities.
It fell victim to the lost Mars orbiter.
During its inaugural flight, SpaceX’s wayward rocket did not immediately respond to an automated self-destruct command as it began spiraling in the skies... During a Twitter audio chat on Saturday night, Musk said that 40 seconds had passed before the self-destruct command actually worked (Gizmodo)SpaceX launched a test flight of the Starship on top of the super-heavy booster this week.
It did not end as well as they might have hoped:
That being said, much like the recent test launch of the Relativity Terran 1, the system was able to get past "Max Q", the point of maximum dynamic pressure on the rocket. That means that even though both flights ended in explosions, they are still considered successful tests of the vehicles in question.
All things considered, I am glad this project is not being tested at Kennedy or Canaveral.
GasBandit
Staff member
I don't get to post in this thread much but this seems like it should go here
popularmechanics.com
Astronomy 2.0
BREAKING: Scientists Find the Gravitational Wave Background, Ushering in Astronomy 2.0
It's literally a whole new way to look at the universe.
popularmechanics.com
Astronomy 2.0
A Lunar Selfie
Michael Ranger took the original image taken by Neil Armstrong of Buzz Aldrin...
and processed the reflection in Aldrin's visor to turn the photo into a selfie:
(Astronomy Picture of the Day)
Michael Ranger took the original image taken by Neil Armstrong of Buzz Aldrin...
and processed the reflection in Aldrin's visor to turn the photo into a selfie:
(Astronomy Picture of the Day)
I finally saw the Dragon capsule transiting the sky en route to a splashdown in the Atlantic. I wasn't sure I would be see anything as this wasn't using the Canaveral splashdown zone, but I managed to walk out at exactly the right moment. I was even able to get an impromptu picture with my cellphone. (Next time, I'll set up a real camera.)
Annular solar eclipse. The “ring of fire” type. Not going to the “zone” I’ll have about 80% occlusion locally. I will be going into the totality path for the total solar eclipse in April of next year.Solar Eclipse today, visible in North America:
Just about ready
I'm in the zone and it is fully overcast. We're seeing nothing.
I'm planning to be in Cleveland, as it's an easy flight, even though Texas has better probability for good weather. Hopefully the hotel won't cancel my reservation to price gouge people like I know happened in 2017.
Yesterday, SpaceX used a Falcon Heavy to launch the Psyche probe for NASA. That meant that there was not only a launch, but two landings as well. I was able to get relatively close to both the rocket launch (within 14 miles) and the booster landings (within 6 miles). After the launch, before the landing, and with the rocket obscured by cloud cover, I did the only reasonable thing and switched to taking pictures of birds. As it happened, there were several magnificent frigate birds flying along the channel into the port -- right in front of me. I had just enough time to shift my attention, get a few pictures, and then return to rocket photography.
