Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.

Postby **Shyster** » Wed Mar 27, 2019 10:48 pm

NASA might not be going it alone. A couple weeks ago NASA floated the idea of launching the Orion capsule on a commercial launch vehicle, which would mean either the Falcon Heavy or Delta 4 Heavy. Given how bloated and delayed the SLS program is, it would certainly be faster for NASA to just hire companies like ULA, SpaceX, or Blue Origin to handle the launches. Heck, IIRC Bezos is already planning on using New Glenn for Moon missions. Just give him the money.

Postby **AuthorTony** » Wed Mar 27, 2019 10:56 pm

Heck, IIRC Bezos is already planning on using New Glenn for Moon missions. Just give him the money.

I think Trump's head would burst free of his neck before he'd bring Bezos on board for anything.

Postby **Shyster** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 5:23 pm

The next SpaceX launch is the second launch for the Falcon Heavy and the first Heavy launch that will be using all Block 5 boosters. The static-fire rehearsal test is scheduled for tomorrow, and if all goes well and the weather cooperates, launch is scheduled for this Sunday, April 7, during a window that spans 6:36-8:35 p.m. EDT. The payload is the Arabsat-6A super-heavy telecom satellite.

In other space news, the uncrewed demo launch of the Bowing Starliner capsule has been delayed to August at the earliest. It appears that Boeing is still working on final assembly and testing for the first Starliner, and it is likely that the first manned Starliner launch will not take place until 2020. SpaceX already had its uncrewed test flight and is still hoping to launch a manned Dragon 2 this year.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 8:35 am

I haven't been following along Shyster, but has SpaceX started using it's Raptor engines, or are they still using the Merlins?

Postby **Shyster** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 6:46 pm

I haven't been following along Shyster, but has SpaceX started using it's Raptor engines, or are they still using the Merlins?

The Falcon 9 will continue to use the Merlin engines on both stages. There were rumbles years ago that SpaceX might switch to a vacuum Raptor as a second-stage engine for the Falcon 9, but I haven't heard anything about that in a long time, and it would require a redesign of the second stage to switch to methalox fuel and the Raptor engine. The "Super Heavy" (the current name for SpaceX's big Mars rocket) will be the one that uses the Raptors, and tests are still in the early stages.

SpaceX has built a "Starhopper" test article for the Super Heavy at its Boca Chica, Texas site, and that test article will be used for hovering and landing tests just like the "Grasshopper" of years ago. It's been fitted with a single Raptor engine, and in the last couple days SpaceX has done several tethered tests in which it briefly hovered a couple feet off the ground at the end of hold-down chains. It will eventually get two more engines for more demanding tests at higher altitudes, but the testing has literally just started. Here's an article on the testing and the current state of development:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04 ... y-updates/

Postby **Shyster** » Fri Apr 05, 2019 5:40 pm

The Arabsat-6A Falcon Heavy static fire was pushed back a day and took place early this afternoon. The Sunday launch has also been pushed back, and will take place NET Tuesday, April 9. The weather forecast for Tuesday is only at a 30% chance of "go," with thunderstorms in the forecast. The weather for Wednesday is supposed to be better. Also, Elon commented on Twitter that SpaceX is being extra cautious because this is the first all-Block-5 Falcon Heavy, so the date could also move if SpaceX wants to do any additional checks or reviews.

Postby **Shyster** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:54 pm

SpaceX has decided to not even attempt a launch today and is aiming for Wednesday instead. Weather forecast is currently 80% go on Wednesday, 90% go on Thursday. The launch window for Wednesday is 6:35–8:32 p.m. EDT. As with all current versions of the Falcon 9, the Heavy uses subcooled propellants, which means that it doesn't really have the ability to "hold" once fueled because the propellants will warm up. So even though there's nominally a two-hour window for the launch, once fueling starts the countdown pretty much has to proceed directly through to launch. Any delay is pretty much an automatic scrub.

Postby **Gaucho** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 11:17 am

https://twitter.com/MIT_CSAIL/status/11 ... 9392920576

Postby **shafnutz05** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:50 pm

https://twitter.com/MIT_CSAIL/status/11 ... 9392920576

This is so fcking cool!! What a moment for science.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:06 pm

Here's the actual scientist, as the photo was being reconstructed: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... permPage=1

She looks like she's 15.

Postby **shmenguin** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:41 pm

What does the glowing ring represent? Some sort of density of stars surrounding it?

Postby **Gaucho** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:53 pm

The ring is apparently the light of gases being distorted by extreme gravity. Don't quote me in this.

Postby **Shyster** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:41 pm

It's the accretion disc around the black hole. Matter being pulled into a black hole gets pulled into a circular rotation, and as it speeds up (think water going faster as it swirls down a drain) the matter heats up and emits x-ray radiation.

Postby **Freddy Rumsen** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:47 pm

It's the eye of Sauron.

Postby **Gaucho** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:49 pm

It's the accretion disc around the black hole. Matter being pulled into a black hole gets pulled into a circular rotation, and as it speeds up (think water going faster as it swirls down a drain) the matter heats up and emits x-ray radiation.

That's what I said.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:16 pm

It's the accretion disc around the black hole. Matter being pulled into a black hole gets pulled into a circular rotation, and as it speeds up (think water going faster as it swirls down a drain) the matter heats up and emits x-ray radiation.

Do we have any idea on how fast it moves?

Postby **Shyster** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:29 pm

The math involved involves all sorts of interesting Greek letters that exceed my capabilities, but my limited understanding is that for black holes, the orbital velocity of matter approaching the event horizon approaches the speed of light, and therefore the motion can only be described by relativity and not by Newtonian physics. So I think it's safe to say that it's haulin' ass.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:43 pm

I will stay away.

Postby **Shyster** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:31 pm

Due to upper-level winds, which are supposed to die down as we get later in the day, SpaceX is now aiming for a launch time closer to the end of the window. Liftoff is now scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EDT.

Postby **Shyster** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 7:27 pm

SpaceX has scrubbed tonight's Falcon Heavy launch attempt due to excessive high-level winds and wind shear. Will try again tomorrow.

Postby **dodint** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 7:58 pm

https://xkcd.com/2135/

Postby **shafnutz05** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 8:00 pm

https://xkcd.com/2135/

Size that we can never even imagine. 55 million light years is about 311 million trillion miles. It is 25 billion miles across. My goodness.

Postby **Shyster** » Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:19 pm

Alas, the Israeli Beresheet spacecraft, built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), appears to have experienced an engine failure of some sort during its lunar landing attempt, and it did not survive the subsequent event of inadvertent lithobraking.

https://www.space.com/israeli-beresheet ... fails.html

Postby **Shyster** » Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:21 pm

Falcon Heavy nearing its second launch:

Postby **tifosi77** » Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:42 pm

The math involved involves all sorts of interesting Greek letters that exceed my capabilities, but my limited understanding is that for black holes, the orbital velocity of matter approaching the event horizon approaches the speed of light, and therefore the motion can only be described by relativity and not by Newtonian physics. So I think it's safe to say that it's haulin' ass.

Still less complicated than an F1 turbo-hybrid V6.