Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
And I think tonight there's another SpaceX launch from Vandenberg on the schedule. It's pretty windy today (complete with NWS warnings and such), gusting into the 60 mph range. So we'll see if it actually happens; the window opens at 7:15 pm or, so if it goes up it should look pretty rad to ground observers such as myself.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Loud noises.
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Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Solid fireball!
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Weather delay for Rocket Lab:
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Another weather delay for Rocket Lab.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
A Soyuz docked to the ISS has sprung a coolant leak on its service section. It's not clear yet what impact this may have on ISS operations, or whether the Soyuz will still be able to operate. That Soyuz was launched in September and wasn't planned to return until early next spring. If it needs to be undocked and disposed of, that would leave three astronauts without a lifeboat in the event of an emergency. The ISS is maintained such that there are always enough seats on the docked vehicles such that everyone has a seat if its necessary to "abandon ship."
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
The inaugural launch of the Arianespace Vega-C rocket was tonight. The Vega-C is an substantially updated version of the European Vega light-lift rocket with a new first stage, updated second stage, an updated fourth stage, and a larger payload fairing. The third stage is a carryover. The first three stages are solid rockets (the P120C, Zefiro 40, and Zefiro 9) and the fourth AVUM+ stage uses hypergolic liquid fuels. Unfortunately, the flight ended in a failure and the two Pléiades Earth-imaging satellites aboard were lost. It looks like the Zefiro 40 second stage failed maybe 30 seconds or so into its burn.
Vega has launched nine times in the last four years and has failed on three of those launches. The first of those three failures in 2019 was also due to a second-stage failure.
Vega has launched nine times in the last four years and has failed on three of those launches. The first of those three failures in 2019 was also due to a second-stage failure.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Not a good last 48 hours or so. First, Virgin Orbit was attempting a launch of its two-stage LauncherOne rocket, which is carried and air-dropped by a modified Boeing 747. The mission originated from Spaceport Cornwall in the UK and would have been the first orbital launch to come from the UK. There was some sort of failure during the second stage's burn, and there's video of the vehicle burning up over the Canary Islands. The payload was a number of cubesats for UK private customers and the UK government. No reports yet on the exact nature of the failure.
Second, ABL Space Systems attempted the first launch of its new RS-1 rocket from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The RS-1 is capable of carrying up to 1,350 kilograms to low Earth orbit, which puts it right in the neighborhood of the Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket. The nine engines on the RS1 rocket’s first stage shut down simultaneously shortly after launch. The rocket subsequently hit the launch pad and was destroyed on impact. There is no video of the launch attempt or anomaly, but there are some pictures out there from residents of Kodiak Island showing a decent mushroom cloud rising over the spaceport. There are also "my brother works for ABL" type posts saying that the damage to the pad and support infrastructure is pretty extensive.
Third, the Russians have decided that the Soyuz MS-22 docked to the ISS that sprung a coolant leak cannot fly back with crew and will have to return empty, which means that the Soyuz that was slated to carry up the next Russian crew will have to fly up empty on autonomous mode and carry back the three astronauts currently in orbit. This will extend the mission of those astronauts by something like six months while they wait for a new ride home, and it will also delay the next Russian crew.
Space is hard.
Second, ABL Space Systems attempted the first launch of its new RS-1 rocket from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The RS-1 is capable of carrying up to 1,350 kilograms to low Earth orbit, which puts it right in the neighborhood of the Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket. The nine engines on the RS1 rocket’s first stage shut down simultaneously shortly after launch. The rocket subsequently hit the launch pad and was destroyed on impact. There is no video of the launch attempt or anomaly, but there are some pictures out there from residents of Kodiak Island showing a decent mushroom cloud rising over the spaceport. There are also "my brother works for ABL" type posts saying that the damage to the pad and support infrastructure is pretty extensive.
Third, the Russians have decided that the Soyuz MS-22 docked to the ISS that sprung a coolant leak cannot fly back with crew and will have to return empty, which means that the Soyuz that was slated to carry up the next Russian crew will have to fly up empty on autonomous mode and carry back the three astronauts currently in orbit. This will extend the mission of those astronauts by something like six months while they wait for a new ride home, and it will also delay the next Russian crew.
Space is hard.
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Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
One of my favorite times of year for stargazing. No humidity, cold nights, and some of the brightest constellations/deep sky objects currently up.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Kudos to ABL Space Systems for releasing their preliminary report into the failure of the first launch of their RS-1 rocket. There was a complete power failure that caused the electrically-operated valves in the propellant lines to close, and that shut down all engines and led to the rocket falling back near the pad. The telemetry indicates that there might have been an onboard fire that impacted the avionics bay and caused the loss of power.
Very refreshing to see this openness, because not all space companies share this philosophy. For example, Blue Origin had an engine failure months ago on an unmanned flight of its New Shepherd space-tourist vehicle, and there's been zilch released to date as to any possible cause or when New Shepherd might fly again.
Very refreshing to see this openness, because not all space companies share this philosophy. For example, Blue Origin had an engine failure months ago on an unmanned flight of its New Shepherd space-tourist vehicle, and there's been zilch released to date as to any possible cause or when New Shepherd might fly again.
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Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
It's not the most exciting thing, but SpaceX is in the process of conducting a "wet dress rehearsal" for the Booster 7 + Ship 24 stack of Starship and Super Heavy. This is the first time that both stages will be filled with fuel and oxidizer at the same time in the same stack. They're both about 40% frosty right now. Starship and Super Heavy together hold more than 10 million lbs of liquid oxygen and methane, so pumping that massive amount of very cold liquid up into the vehicle is a huge task in itself.
If this test is successful, the next test will be a full 33-engine static fire for the Super Heavy booster, and after that will be the first orbital launch attempt.
If this test is successful, the next test will be a full 33-engine static fire for the Super Heavy booster, and after that will be the first orbital launch attempt.
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Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Comet ZTF makes its closest approach to Earth tonight. May even be visible with the naked eye from dark areas.
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