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Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 6:24 pm
by Shyster
This morning's SpaceX Starlink launch lifted off from Florida and took a launch azimuth that took it up the coast. The timing was right for a whole lot of the east coast to get a backlit view of the second stage and its exhaust plume. You often see this when a launch takes place right before local sunrise or right after local sunset.
SpaceX landed the booster for the mission for a record ninth time.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 3:17 pm
by Gaucho
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 11:52 am
by tifosi77
Ingenuity Mars helicopter prepares for the first flight on another planet
Humanity's first Wright Brothers moment on another planet will happen in April. The Ingenuity Mars helicopter will attempt the first powered flight on Mars no earlier than April 8, according to NASA.
It's fitting that the mission, an experimental companion to the Perseverance rover, is carrying a piece of history. A postage stamp-size piece of muslin fabric that covered one of the wings from the Wright Brothers' Flyer is attached to a cable beneath the helicopter's solar panel.
The first powered, controlled flight on Earth took place near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, when Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the Flyer 120 feet for 12 seconds in December 1903.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:03 pm
by Shyster
The verdict is in on what caused the SN11 RUD. According to Elon, "A (relatively) small CH4 leak led to fire on engine 2 and fried part of avionics, causing hard start attempting landing burn in CH4 turbopump." He didn't say whether the flight-termination system activated or whether SN11 blew up totally on its own from the hard start.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... r-BB1fkuRJ
The next vehicle up for testing is SN15, which reportedly incorporates "hundreds" of upgrades, so many that SpaceX decided to scrap SN12, SN13, and SN14.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:17 am
by Freddy Rumsen
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:02 pm
by shafnutz05
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:26 pm
by scb147
Geez, almost been 6 years since New Horizons zoomed past Pluto?
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:09 pm
by shafnutz05
Geez, almost been 6 years since New Horizons zoomed past Pluto?
That was my thought too. And 15 years since they launched the craft.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 7:04 pm
by tifosi77
In 117 years, we as a civilization have gone from the first powered heavier-than-air flight of an aircraft, to an autonomous rotorcraft operating from the surface of another world.
Ingenuity ftw
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 9:31 pm
by shafnutz05
In 117 years, we as a civilization have gone from the first powered heavier-than-air flight of an aircraft, to an autonomous rotorcraft operating from the surface of another world.
Ingenuity ftw
Dude...dude. This is awesome.
https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8923/nasas-i ... st-flight/
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:37 am
by tifosi77
So one of the JPL engineers working on Ingenuity is the brother of one of Mrs Tif's coworkers. They had him on a Zoom conference this morning, and he was apparently quite energetic. lol
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:56 am
by DigitalGypsy66
I really like that Ingenuity had a piece of the Wright Brothers' plane wing fabric in it. Nice touch.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:26 am
by shafnutz05
Michael Collins may have been my favorite Apollo astronaut. Without his sure hand on the command module while Buzz and Neil were on the surface, they never would have made it home.
Not to mention he experienced what it is like to be on the other side of the Moon, indescribably alone and cut off from communication with any other human. He never got the big press but was always a joy in whatever interview he did.
Godspeed General Collins.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:27 am
by shafnutz05
“I don’t mean to deny a feeling of solitude. It is there, reinforced by the fact that radio contact with the Earth abruptly cuts off at the instant I disappear behind the moon. I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God only knows what on this side. I feel this powerfully ― not as fear or loneliness ― but as awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation. I like the feeling. Outside my window I can see stars — and that is all. Where I know the moon to be, there is simply a black void; the moon’s presence is defined solely by the absence of stars. To compare the sensation with something terrestrial, perhaps being alone in a skiff in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a pitch-black night would most nearly approximate my situation.”
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 12:13 pm
by relantel
Wonder how many Apollo astronauts will still be alive when the first Artemis mission lands on the moon.
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 6:43 pm
by Shyster
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:45 am
by shafnutz05
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 6:53 am
by shafnutz05
For those of you interested in checking out the Starlink satellite constellations.
https://findstarlink.com/
Also, this is happening tomorrow night. Should hopefully clear out in time.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:24 am
by relantel
making progress toward Artemis 1:
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 4:21 pm
by tifosi77
I get notifications for Starlink overflights all the time from the ISS Detector app, but I've never tried to eyeball them. Are they as readily visible as ISS to the naked eye?
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 9:02 pm
by Willie Kool
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 6:14 am
by shafnutz05
I get notifications for Starlink overflights all the time from the ISS Detector app, but I've never tried to eyeball them. Are they as readily visible as ISS to the naked eye?
Typically second magnitude... So think Polaris or so.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 1:12 pm
by tifosi77
I don't know what that means! But thank you, sir.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 1:28 pm
by shafnutz05
I don't know what that means! But thank you, sir.
Sorry... Nerding out.
The brightness of the Starlink constellation is comparable to the brightness of the North Star in terms of magnitude.
Shyster's thread of Spaaaace.
Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 1:31 pm
by tifosi77
I was just goofing on ya, buddy, I know what it means. lol
