And all of them have kept their traps shut about the so-called 'landing' for 50 years.It beggars belief how big the Apollo project was - something like 400,000 people working on it at one point.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
A good video on the instability problems for the F-1 engine and the hundreds of injector-baffle designs that were tried to address the problem. James French describes some of these testing procedures in his book, which I mentioned above.
This instability issue is why Soviet rocket engines—many of which are still in use today—were and are more likely to have multiple combustion chambers rather than a single big chamber. The US pretty much brute-forced the instability issue by throwing money and manpower at it; the US tested literally hundreds of different designs. The Soviets didn't have the same level of resources, so they designed engines were a single large turbopump was used to feed multiple smaller combustion chambers that were each individually too small for combustion instability to present much of a problem.
This instability issue is why Soviet rocket engines—many of which are still in use today—were and are more likely to have multiple combustion chambers rather than a single big chamber. The US pretty much brute-forced the instability issue by throwing money and manpower at it; the US tested literally hundreds of different designs. The Soviets didn't have the same level of resources, so they designed engines were a single large turbopump was used to feed multiple smaller combustion chambers that were each individually too small for combustion instability to present much of a problem.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Recent space news:
On the subject of the Apollo anniversary, the Indian space agency a couple days ago successfully launched the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which seeks to land on the Moon and release a small rover for surface research. India is hoping to become the fourth country in the world to land a spacecraft on the Moon, behind the Soviet Union, the U.S., and China.
SpaceX will be attempting again this evening at approximately 6:00 pm eastern time to launch the CRS-18 resupply mission to the ISS. A launch attempt yesterday was scrubbed due to poop weather, and while the weather today is better, it still is only around a 50% chance of "go" for launch time. There are a lot of storms in Florida in the summer.
SpaceX may also be attempting tonight to do the first untethered "hover" test of its Starhopper test vehicle. An attempt last night ran into technical problems and was scrubbed. Starhopper is basically a giant flying water tank; it was actually constructed for SpaceX by a company that manufactures water towers. It's designed to test propulsive landing for the future Starship vehicle in the same way SpaceX's "Grasshopper" test vehicle years ago did the first testing for landing the Falcon 9's first stage. There may be another hop attempt this evening.
A private Chinese company called i-Space recently became the first private company in China to achieve orbit with its Hyperbola-1 launch vehicle, which launched from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, in the Gobi desert. The Hyperbola-1 is a light-launch vehicle that uses four solid stages and a small liquid stage for final orbital insertion. It's capacity is around the same as Rocket Labs' Electron vehicle. While i-Space is nominally a "private" company, it is my understanding that production of many parts of the Hyperbola-1 launcher is contracted out to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which is China's state-run aerospace company. So as with many things in China, the government is still in there somewhere. There are some other Chinese competitors to i-Space developing light-lift launchers, and i-Space is also supposed to be developing a larger Hyperbola-3 launcher that is supposed to have a lift capacity in the neighborhood of 2,000 kg to LEO, which would put it in the same neighborhood as the Vega and Minotaur launchers.
On the subject of the Apollo anniversary, the Indian space agency a couple days ago successfully launched the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which seeks to land on the Moon and release a small rover for surface research. India is hoping to become the fourth country in the world to land a spacecraft on the Moon, behind the Soviet Union, the U.S., and China.
SpaceX will be attempting again this evening at approximately 6:00 pm eastern time to launch the CRS-18 resupply mission to the ISS. A launch attempt yesterday was scrubbed due to poop weather, and while the weather today is better, it still is only around a 50% chance of "go" for launch time. There are a lot of storms in Florida in the summer.
SpaceX may also be attempting tonight to do the first untethered "hover" test of its Starhopper test vehicle. An attempt last night ran into technical problems and was scrubbed. Starhopper is basically a giant flying water tank; it was actually constructed for SpaceX by a company that manufactures water towers. It's designed to test propulsive landing for the future Starship vehicle in the same way SpaceX's "Grasshopper" test vehicle years ago did the first testing for landing the Falcon 9's first stage. There may be another hop attempt this evening.
A private Chinese company called i-Space recently became the first private company in China to achieve orbit with its Hyperbola-1 launch vehicle, which launched from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, in the Gobi desert. The Hyperbola-1 is a light-launch vehicle that uses four solid stages and a small liquid stage for final orbital insertion. It's capacity is around the same as Rocket Labs' Electron vehicle. While i-Space is nominally a "private" company, it is my understanding that production of many parts of the Hyperbola-1 launcher is contracted out to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which is China's state-run aerospace company. So as with many things in China, the government is still in there somewhere. There are some other Chinese competitors to i-Space developing light-lift launchers, and i-Space is also supposed to be developing a larger Hyperbola-3 launcher that is supposed to have a lift capacity in the neighborhood of 2,000 kg to LEO, which would put it in the same neighborhood as the Vega and Minotaur launchers.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
The SpaceX CRS-18 resupply mission launched through a gap in the weather and went off without a hitch, with the Dragon capsule making it to its intended orbit and the first-stage booster landing successfully back at LZ-1 at CCAFS. Starhopper has yet to hop, and a test tonight is looking unlikely.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
After many hours of delay, the Starhopper has made its first hop. Unfortunately, with the dust and exhaust being lit by the Raptor engine, you could just barely see the top of the tank peek out above the cloud of exhaust. It looks like it hovered up maybe its own height and translated maybe 50 meters or so.
It's also set some of the grass on fire, which is slightly disturbing, although the grass fire seems to be moving away from the test site.
This test wasn't all that impressive to see, but this a significant step—a small step, but significant step nevertheless—in the long series of steps that will hopefully result in a vehicle capable of carrying humans to other planets.
It's also set some of the grass on fire, which is slightly disturbing, although the grass fire seems to be moving away from the test site.
This test wasn't all that impressive to see, but this a significant step—a small step, but significant step nevertheless—in the long series of steps that will hopefully result in a vehicle capable of carrying humans to other planets.
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robbiestoupe
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And into the cow pasture. Looks like Spacex will be hosting a bbq soonSource of the post It's also set some of the grass on fire, which is slightly disturbing, although the grass fire seems to be moving away from the test site.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
The inevitable winnowing-out of small-launch startups appears to have claimed its first victim. Vector Launch, which was developing two light lift launchers (the smaller Vector-R, and the larger Vector-H) has canned its CEO and suspended operations due to what it is calling a "major change in financing."
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08 ... l-trouble/
There are a fair number of private startup companies out there trying to build small orbital rockets, such as Relativity Space, Firefly, and Orbex. To date, the only one that's flown is the Rocket Labs Electron. While there is still a lot of growth in the smallsat industry, there just isn't enough business to go around. Established companies like SpaceX and Arianespace are also offering smallsat launch services in the form of rideshares, and the state space agencies of China and India are also developing (or funding the development of) dedicated small launchers, such as the Indian Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. This isn't going to be the last failure.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08 ... l-trouble/
There are a fair number of private startup companies out there trying to build small orbital rockets, such as Relativity Space, Firefly, and Orbex. To date, the only one that's flown is the Rocket Labs Electron. While there is still a lot of growth in the smallsat industry, there just isn't enough business to go around. Established companies like SpaceX and Arianespace are also offering smallsat launch services in the form of rideshares, and the state space agencies of China and India are also developing (or funding the development of) dedicated small launchers, such as the Indian Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. This isn't going to be the last failure.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
In recent space news, Rocket Labs successfully conducted its eighth launch of the Electron Rocket, which placed four smallsats into orbit.
Rocket Labs has also announced that they will be attempting to recover the first stages of their Electron rockets using a parachute system and mid-air helicopter recovery. They also mentioned an up-rated version of the first stage, which I believe would be necessary in order to offset the mass of the parachutes. The Electron is only a light-lift rocket, and in the absence of a significant increase in thrust, the added weight of parachutes would really eat into the payload. IIRC, one of the main reasons that SpaceX went with propulsive landing is that the parachutes necessary to slow a Falcon 9 would have been heavy enough to seriously erode the vehicle's payload abilities. It will be really interesting to see if Rocket Labs can pull this off.
Finally, the Chinese launched the ChinaSat 18 civilian telecom satellite on board a Long March-3B/G2 rocket. The Long March-3B/G2 is the version of the tried-and-true Long March-3 family that is dedicated to launching heavy GEO communications satellites. The usual announcement of a successful deployment has yet to published by State media, however, and it's been quite a while since launch. There are rumblings that the ChinaSat 18 satellite made it to the proper transfer orbit, but that the satellite's solar panels might not have deployed, or the satellite is otherwise malfunctioning or not responding.
Rocket Labs has also announced that they will be attempting to recover the first stages of their Electron rockets using a parachute system and mid-air helicopter recovery. They also mentioned an up-rated version of the first stage, which I believe would be necessary in order to offset the mass of the parachutes. The Electron is only a light-lift rocket, and in the absence of a significant increase in thrust, the added weight of parachutes would really eat into the payload. IIRC, one of the main reasons that SpaceX went with propulsive landing is that the parachutes necessary to slow a Falcon 9 would have been heavy enough to seriously erode the vehicle's payload abilities. It will be really interesting to see if Rocket Labs can pull this off.
Finally, the Chinese launched the ChinaSat 18 civilian telecom satellite on board a Long March-3B/G2 rocket. The Long March-3B/G2 is the version of the tried-and-true Long March-3 family that is dedicated to launching heavy GEO communications satellites. The usual announcement of a successful deployment has yet to published by State media, however, and it's been quite a while since launch. There are rumblings that the ChinaSat 18 satellite made it to the proper transfer orbit, but that the satellite's solar panels might not have deployed, or the satellite is otherwise malfunctioning or not responding.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
This morning saw the final launch of the single-core version of the ULA Delta IV rocket. It was carrying the GPS III SV-2 mission for the U.S. Air Force. From here on, the only remaining launches of the Delta IV are for the three-core Heavy version.
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Ever seen a flying water tower?
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Can I borrow your towel? My car just hit a water buffalo.
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robbiestoupe
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Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Big deal, we already knew R2D2 had the capability to fly.
In all seriousness, that's pretty cool. I'll have to see if my brother attended this one (he was there for Grasshopper)
In all seriousness, that's pretty cool. I'll have to see if my brother attended this one (he was there for Grasshopper)
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
The committee investigating the July failure of the Vega VV15 flight, which was carrying the Falcon Eye-1 satellite, has released its initial findings. The vehicle launched, staged, and ignited its second stage normally. Approximately 14 seconds into the burn of the second stage, which is powered by the Zefiro 23 solid motor, the motor experienced a sudden and violent event via a “thermo-structural failure in the forward dome,” which rapidly resulted in vehicle breakup. Basically, it sounds like the front of the solid motor blew open so that it was blowtorching from both ends, and that produced the rapid breakup of the vehicle. No mention of what led to the structural failure.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/09 ... ond-stage/
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/09 ... ond-stage/
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ISRO this afternoon was attempting the landing of the Vikram lunar lander for the Chandrayaan-2 moon mission. About two minutes before landing, in the final braking phase, there was a clear deviation from the planned trajectory being shown on the monitors, followed by a loss of signal. Unfortunately, while ISRO doesn't yet know what happened, it looks like the moon just acquired a new Vikram-sized crater. 
Space is hard.
Space is hard.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
JAXA, the Japanese space agency, was preparing this morning to launch a resupply mission to the ISS using its HTV transfer vehicle and its HII-B rocket. Several hours before launch during fueling operations, there was a fire on the pad. It was put out by the pad water-suppression systems, and the vehicle didn't explode or anything, but it's not clear at this point what if any damage the vehicle might have sustained from the fire.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Is it possible to see the ISS from the Earth (say, in the greater Los Angeles area) unaided? I saw something very bright and very high-altitude moving quickly across the sky last night, and it definitely was not an aircraft or meteor.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Annnnnnnnd not only did I just learn that yes you can see it with the unaided eye, NASA operates a website that tracks its orbit in real time so you know where to look.
https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/tracking_map.cfm
https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/tracking_map.cfm
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Not just the ISS, but a fair number of other satellites can be seen with the unaided eye. The ISS would be one of the brightest, though.
This is actually one of the objections for the various proposed LEO satellite constellations, such as SpaceX's Starlink broadband network. Those LEO satellites will be frequently visible from the ground. Put up a couple of those huge networks, and they might fundamentally change the way the night sky looks, with little moving dots everywhere over the background of fixed stars.
This is actually one of the objections for the various proposed LEO satellite constellations, such as SpaceX's Starlink broadband network. Those LEO satellites will be frequently visible from the ground. Put up a couple of those huge networks, and they might fundamentally change the way the night sky looks, with little moving dots everywhere over the background of fixed stars.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
The recent space news is no news. There's no official information yet from the Japanese space agency as to how much if any damage the HII-B sustained from the pad fire, or how long it might be before another launch attempt. There's no more information on how exactly the Vega rocket failed. And while the Indian space agency has said that their orbiter took photos of the crash site for the Vikram lander on the Chandrayaan-2 moon mission, they haven't released any of the pictures.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Stupid question?Not just the ISS, but a fair number of other satellites can be seen with the unaided eye. The ISS would be one of the brightest, though.
This is actually one of the objections for the various proposed LEO satellite constellations, such as SpaceX's Starlink broadband network. Those LEO satellites will be frequently visible from the ground. Put up a couple of those huge networks, and they might fundamentally change the way the night sky looks, with little moving dots everywhere over the background of fixed stars.
Why do they have to have lights on them?
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
They don't have lights on them, but they do have fairly large reflective surfaces, such as solar panels. They wouldn't be visible all night long, because once in the Earth's shadow there wouldn't be any sunlight to reflect. But they would be able to catch and reflect sunlight before dawn and after dusk when the Earth's surface is in shadow but objects at high altitudes are still in sunlight. That's when they would be most visible.Why do they have to have lights on them?
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Speaking of sunlight at high altitudes, that reminded me to post this video from the Atlas V AEHF-5 launch last month. The launch took place before dawn in Florida, but around the 2:00 minute mark it gets high enough to be in sunlight. At that point, you can see the shadow of the rocket itself on the exhaust plume, and you can even see the shadow of the payload fairing deploying. Pretty neat.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Ah, OK, makes sense.They don't have lights on them, but they do have fairly large reflective surfaces, such as solar panels. They wouldn't be visible all night long, because once in the Earth's shadow there wouldn't be any sunlight to reflect. But they would be able to catch and reflect sunlight before dawn and after dusk when the Earth's surface is in shadow but objects at high altitudes are still in sunlight. That's when they would be most visible.Why do they have to have lights on them?
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