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Gaucho
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Postby Gaucho » Fri Dec 15, 2017 8:24 am

For the first time, eight planets have been found orbiting a distant star,

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/14/us/na ... 134PMStory

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Postby Shyster » Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:10 pm

Neato. All of them are hot and close. That's also the big Google/NASA announcement: NASA used Google's Artificial Intelligence software to discover the planet, which had been previously overlooked.

Good launch today for SpaceX, which was the CRS-13 ISS cargo mission. It was a nice clear morning over Florida, so there's some really nice video of the first stage coming back to land at LZ-1. This was the return-to-service launch for LC-40, which was heavily damaged in the September 2016 AMOS-1 pad explosion. SpaceX took the damage as an opportunity to redo a lot of the pad's plumbing and infrastructure, a lot of which apparently still dated from the pad's prior usage for the Titan III / IV from 1965 to 2005. Among other improvements, the pad has a new TEL (Transporter/Erector/Launcher) with the same rapid-movement "throwback" ability as the TEL at LC-39A, new and improved hold-down clamps and tail-service masts, upgrades to the flame trench to make it more durable for rapid launch cadences, and new plumbing, electrical, and data lines. You can see the new TEL yank backwards at liftoff in the video.

This was the first NASA mission using a reused first stage, and this mission also features a reused Dragon, so the only unflown hardware for this launch was the second stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQ3Y9iPARY

In other news, Rocket Labs has been attempting to launch the second test flight of their Electron light-lift launch vehicle from the their pad on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. The last couple days have been uncooperative when it comes to the weather, with high winds. The attempt on December 12 got down to T-2 seconds and engine ignition, but there was an immediate engine cutoff and abort due to too-high liquid-oxygen temperatures for one of the engines. It was a really warm day, and Rocket Labs determined that they simply needed to do a longer LOX chilldown in order to get everything to the proper temperature before launch. Rocket Labs hasn't yet announced when the next attempt will be. Video of the abort:

https://youtu.be/F_oAGlhFezo?t=16m42s

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Postby Shyster » Sat Dec 16, 2017 5:46 pm

Rocket Labs has announced they're scrubbing the Electron test launch until early January. They've fixed all of the faults, but with only one day remaining in the launch window and many recent days of hard work on multiple scrubbed launch attempts, they decided to send their launch crew home for the holidays and come back rested for an attempt in the new year.

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Postby Kaiser » Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:09 pm

Image

Peter Weyland Elon Musk gives you, the Falcon Heavy.

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Postby Shyster » Fri Dec 22, 2017 5:36 pm

SpaceX is preparing for its last launch of the year. Today's scheduled launch is the fourth launch for Iridium Communications’ second-generation Iridium-NEXT constellation, and it will carry 10 satellites. Liftoff is scheduled for 17:27 Pacific Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdjCwo6d3Q

The launch is using a previously flown booster; this one also launched the second set of Iridium-NEXT satellites back in June. This first stage is an older "Block 3" version of the Falcon 9 first stage, which is an earlier production series. It has been superseded by the "Block 4" version, which is slightly more powerful and needs less repair/refurbishment before reuse. SpaceX also has an upcoming "Block 5" version—supposed to be the ultimate version of the Falcon 9—which is designed to need even less repair/refurbishment between uses. Because SpaceX doesn't really need the older Block 3s any more, no first-stage recovery will be attempted, and the stage doesn't have any landing legs. It is still fitted with grid fins, however, so SpaceX may be using this launch to experiment with steering or something similar.

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Postby Shyster » Sat Dec 23, 2017 12:36 am


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Postby Kaiser » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:30 am

My mother in law told all her friends she saw aliens for the 2nd time in a week.

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Postby columbia » Sat Dec 23, 2017 12:29 pm

Speaking of: where is your other half these days? She was a good poster.

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Postby Kaiser » Sat Dec 23, 2017 2:58 pm

Busy. She maintains a schedule with so many things going on it makes my brain seize. Shes just one of those people.

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Postby BigMck » Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:11 pm

Rocket in the Sky plus Accident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff7wbSwTuEk

Inattentive SoCal drivers... of course.

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Postby Shyster » Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:39 pm

The SpaceX Zuma mission is on target for a launch on this Friday, January 5th, during a two-hour window that opens at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The weather forecast for Friday looks good, with conditions forecast for a 90% chance of "go" at launch time. Once Zuma is up and away, we should get a better idea of when the Falcon Heavy static fire and launch may take place. SpaceX had the FH vertical on the pad last week in order to conduct fit checks and make sure all of the electrical and plumbing connections line up like they're supposed to. It's now back in the assembly building.

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Postby Shyster » Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:56 pm

The SpaceX Zuma launch has been pushed back and is now NET Sunday. The weather on the ground is fine, but the recent storm that hit the east coast has apparently produced some excessive high-altitude winds. Weather for Sunday is forecast to be 80% favorable, with better upper-level winds.

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Postby Kaiser » Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:10 pm

So the Zuma launch went off without a hitch, according to SpaceX, while the govt is saying that maybe their super secret spy satellite didnt make orbit and ablated on reentry. :roll:

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Postby Shyster » Mon Jan 08, 2018 8:16 pm

SpaceX says its vehicle performed nominally, and I would think that if anything had gone wrong with the Falcon 9, SpaceX would be standing down in the Falcon Heavy launch prep (and other future launches) to address the failure. The FH uses the same second stage as the F9, so a second-stage failure would impact it as well. SpaceX is proceeding apace, however, so that tells me SpaceX doesn't think anything went wrong on their end. That leaves other options:

1. Zuma was responsible for raising or adjusting its own orbit after initial deployment, and that process failed, so it reentered and burned up.

2. Zuma suffered a problem after separation, which left it dead in space. The rumors of reentry are incorrect, but it's dead in orbit.

2. Zuma is alive and well, and the rumors of a failure are a diversion. The US government has in fact staged a fake satellite "failure" in the past. See, for example, https://www.space.com/637-anatomy-spy-satellite.html. The rumors of a failure could just be an effort to "disappear" the payload.

3. Zuma was never designed to stay in orbit, and the failure rumors are subterfuge to hide that fact. For example, Zuma could have been a test of a hypersonic reentry vehicle. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_Falcon_Project. Notably, we know Zuma was paid for my Northrop Grumman, and NG was heavily involved in the DARPA project described in the above link. Also, to add a bit of spice to this option, as pointed out by poster "andrewsdanj" on nasaspaceflight.com, "Zuma" is a song by the dance/electronica band "Hypersonic."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biTmszuYyWo

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Postby Kaiser » Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:32 am

A bunch of nerds discovered through Juno's data that Jupiter not only has a core, it is very, very large compared to earlier estimates.

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Postby Shyster » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:00 pm

Totally neat on the Jupiter stuff. The images Juno has been sending back are positively stunning.

ULA launched a spy satellite (NROL-47) for the US National Reconnaissance Office today using a Delta IV rocket, which was flying in the Medium+ (5,2) configuration with a five-meter payload fairing and two strap-on SRBs. The launch was from Vandenberg. The launch was scrubbed yesterday due to a couple minor technical problems, but it went off successfully today. The hazard areas published for mariners do not correspond to any orbit that has previously been used by the NRO, so this may be a new type of spy satellite. The rocket flew in a south-westerly direction after departing Vandenberg, which means the payload was headed to a retrograde orbit. It's fairly uncommon for satellites to orbit in the opposite direction of the Earth's rotation.

ULA is retiring all versions of the Delta IV except the three-core heavy version, and this was the final launch of the (5,2) variant.
There are two more single-core launches remaining (both in 2018)—one each of the (5,4) and (4,2) variants. The last launch is scheduled for November. One of the characteristics of the Delta IV is that the ignition sequence of its hydrolox-burning RS-68A main engine farts out a huge cloud of excess hydrogen, the burning of which scorches the insulation on the outside of the first-stage tank. It's not uncommon for the Delta IV to lift off with its insulation on fire. The core on this launch ended up looking especially toasty. One of the posters on nasaspaceflight.com made this GIF from the launch stream:

Image

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Postby tifosi77 » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:04 pm

It doesn't seem right that someone would design a rocket that does this on purpose, but I'm just a tourist here.


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Postby Shyster » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:31 pm

I've always wondered the same thing about the RS-68. The fire looks dramatic, but the Delta IV and the pad have been designed to deal with it. It crisps up the insulation, but from what I understand the insulation is only needed to prevent excessive ice buildup on the super-cold hydrogen tank during the countdown. Once the rocket lifts off, I don't think it matters what condition the insulation is in.

IIRC, the design goal for the RS-68 was to create a hydrolox engine with greater thrust than the Space Shuttle's main engines but at the same time be cheaper and simpler to build—to the point where it could be expended on a single launch. My understanding is that the flatulent fuel-rich ignition is one of the tradeoffs that was made to make the engine much cheaper to manufacture. (It still ended up being fairly expensive to build; cost is the main reason why ULA is retiring the Delta IV).

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Postby Shyster » Mon Jan 15, 2018 5:19 pm

To add to the above discussion, Scott Manley just did a video on the Delta IV and its flatulent RS-68 engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-zmptK7PDE&t=0s

SpaceX is still working towards the first static fire of the Falcon Heavy. The static fire could have taken place as early as last Wednesday, but it's been pushed back multiple times. The fire will not supposedly take place tomorrow during a window that opens at 4 p.m. eastern time. SpaceX has said they are in no hurry and want to thoroughly test everything, so further delays are possible. The goal is to launch by the end of the month, so plenty of time remains.

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Postby Shyster » Tue Jan 16, 2018 6:50 pm

The Falcon Heavy static fire was scrubbed for today. ULA is scheduled to launch the U.S. military’s fourth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite (SBIRS GEO 4) from CCAFS on Thursday, and that launch takes precedence over SpaceX's tests, so the next opportunity for a static fire is now NET this Friday—assuming the ULA launch goes off on schedule. The SBIRS series of satellites provide space-based early-warning missile detection. The final orbit is probably classified, but I have a feeling SBIRS GEO 4 will end up somewhere over the Pacific.

The SBIRS GEO 4 launch will be on an Atlas V flying in the unusual-looking and asymmetrical 411 configuration, which uses a single strap-on SRB.

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Postby Shyster » Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:22 pm

Thus far tonight we've had one successful launch. ULA launched the SBIRS GEO 4 mission tonight after a 24-hour scrub/delay on Thursday due to a sticky ground valve.

Electron Labs is currently trying to conduct the second test launch of their Electron light-lift rocket. The countdown was just scrubbed at less than a minute remaining because a wayward ship blundered into the downrange exclusion zone. They've recycled to T-20 minutes, and we're waiting for Captain "Notice to Mariners? What's a Notice to Mariners?" to get the eff out of where he's not supposed to be. A livestream link is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K9PVmjjI_c

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Postby Shyster » Sat Jan 20, 2018 9:12 pm

Rocket Labs went to space today! Successful liftoff, staging, orbit, and payload deployment for Rocket Labs on their second "Still Testing" launch of the Electron light launch vehicle. Some firsts for this launch: first orbital launch of an all-composite rocket; first orbital launch of a vehicle using battery-powered fuel pumps, and first orbital launch from New Zealand.

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Postby Shyster » Sat Jan 20, 2018 9:17 pm


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Postby Kaiser » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:06 pm

Finally got to the Apollo exibit at the museum of flight, and will post some of my crappy phone pics later.

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