FH is assembledhttps://www.instagram.com/p/Bc62hfJgf8K/
Static fire is expected by end of year, and if there's no issues launch early Jan.
** The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond **
- Thread starter Cosimo
- Start date
FH is assembledhttps://www.instagram.com/p/Bc62hfJgf8K/
Static fire is expected by end of year, and if there's no issues launch early Jan.
Soldato
So, anyone get any spaceflight related Christmas gifts?
Mum bought me Jeff Kluger's book about Apollo 8 - I've had a copy of Lost Moon (the book he wrote with Jim Lovell which the Apollo 13 film was based in part on) for years, and was always hoping that he'd write about other missions. And Apollo 8, even given what else was done back then, is one of the better stories - taking just the Apollo Command/Service module all the way to lunar orbit, no Lunar Module and therefore only one engine.
An engine that had to fire perfectly to get into and back out of lunar orbit.
In only the second manned flight of the programme.
As Gene Kranz would say, 'pretty sporty'
Mum bought me Jeff Kluger's book about Apollo 8 - I've had a copy of Lost Moon (the book he wrote with Jim Lovell which the Apollo 13 film was based in part on) for years, and was always hoping that he'd write about other missions. And Apollo 8, even given what else was done back then, is one of the better stories - taking just the Apollo Command/Service module all the way to lunar orbit, no Lunar Module and therefore only one engine.
An engine that had to fire perfectly to get into and back out of lunar orbit.
In only the second manned flight of the programme.
As Gene Kranz would say, 'pretty sporty'
were getting closer to launch.
Caporegime
Did the ISS go over the UK around 7 o’clock this morning, pretty sure it was that I was looking at
yep 7:10 and viewable for about 3mins
Soldato
John Young - he of Gemini 3, Gemini 10, Apollo 10, Apollo 16, STS-1 and STS-9 - has died aged 87 due to complications from pneumonia 
Godspeed John Young
Godspeed John Young
Oopsies.
The Top-Secret ‘Zuma’ Satellite Launched by SpaceX May Have Been Lost.
The Falcon 9 is a two-stage vehicle, so the payload was still on its way into orbit when the first stage came back down. All we really know for certain is that the Zuma satellite, built by Northrop Grumman, was destined for low-Earth orbit. That’s fairly simple as space launches go. Sources who have spoken confidentially to news outlets suggest the satellite failed to decouple from the second stage, leading to it either breaking up in the atmosphere or crashing into the ocean. SpaceX built the second stage, obviously, and Northrop Grumman built the coupling mechanism for Zuma.
SpaceX refused to comment on the fate of Zuma, which isn’t surprising given the super-secret nature of the launch. However, it said the Falcon 9 “performed nominally.” That could indicate the loss of Zuma had to do with Northrop Grumman’s adapter design rather than a failure of SpaceX’s vehicle. This could also be a tricky way of saying the Falcon 9 booster itself worked well, but maybe something went wrong mechanically with the second stage. The government is reportedly still hashing out the details to determine who was at fault. We might never learn who catches the blame, but we may be able to guess if either SpaceX or Northrop Grumman lose a lot of government business in the near future.
The Top-Secret ‘Zuma’ Satellite Launched by SpaceX May Have Been Lost.
The Falcon 9 is a two-stage vehicle, so the payload was still on its way into orbit when the first stage came back down. All we really know for certain is that the Zuma satellite, built by Northrop Grumman, was destined for low-Earth orbit. That’s fairly simple as space launches go. Sources who have spoken confidentially to news outlets suggest the satellite failed to decouple from the second stage, leading to it either breaking up in the atmosphere or crashing into the ocean. SpaceX built the second stage, obviously, and Northrop Grumman built the coupling mechanism for Zuma.
SpaceX refused to comment on the fate of Zuma, which isn’t surprising given the super-secret nature of the launch. However, it said the Falcon 9 “performed nominally.” That could indicate the loss of Zuma had to do with Northrop Grumman’s adapter design rather than a failure of SpaceX’s vehicle. This could also be a tricky way of saying the Falcon 9 booster itself worked well, but maybe something went wrong mechanically with the second stage. The government is reportedly still hashing out the details to determine who was at fault. We might never learn who catches the blame, but we may be able to guess if either SpaceX or Northrop Grumman lose a lot of government business in the near future.
well zuma is getting odder.
zuma was catalogued so it reached orbit and did at least one full orbit before burning up. but a 1000km orbit does not result in re-entry after 1 day.
DOD usually say if its a success or not*for accountability as its taxpayers money), they wouldn't say anything at all. the only thing they said is ask spacex and spacex says the Falcon rocket worked perfectly.
it would also be odd to de-orbit a satellite after a single day, many satellites have had major issues only for them to find workarounds days or weeks later to save it.
I haven't seen any satellite chasers who have spotted it, so I'm assuming it's not still up there.
on top of that the orbit is a perfect match for ocean radar imaging to track ships, so hardly seems massively secret although I do believe it hasn't be done before.
all very odd why wouldn't they just say yes it was successful or not it failed, like they normally do. i doubt we will ever know.
zuma was catalogued so it reached orbit and did at least one full orbit before burning up. but a 1000km orbit does not result in re-entry after 1 day.
DOD usually say if its a success or not*for accountability as its taxpayers money), they wouldn't say anything at all. the only thing they said is ask spacex and spacex says the Falcon rocket worked perfectly.
it would also be odd to de-orbit a satellite after a single day, many satellites have had major issues only for them to find workarounds days or weeks later to save it.
I haven't seen any satellite chasers who have spotted it, so I'm assuming it's not still up there.
on top of that the orbit is a perfect match for ocean radar imaging to track ships, so hardly seems massively secret although I do believe it hasn't be done before.
all very odd why wouldn't they just say yes it was successful or not it failed, like they normally do. i doubt we will ever know.
Man of Honour
Falcon Heavy static fire has been pushed back yet again to Tuesday 2100-0200 UTC. Quite disappointed as I was looking forward to watching it tonight. If the eventual launch is during the working day I'm pretty sure I'm going to try to get it off. So excited.
Man of Honour
SpaceX launch tonight, launch window opening @ 21:25. Using a re-used first stage to launch a government (Luxembourg) satellite to geostationary orbit. The first stage won't be landing as they use too much fuel getting out to geostationary orbit, so have none for re-entry. Shame, I enjoy rocket landings much more than lift-offs.
Scrubbed for today,they need to swap a sensor out on second stage, next attempt tomorrow. Could be 3 launces in 11 days including falcon heavy.oh and its disposal rather that not enough fuel for first stage.
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Man of Honour
Yesterday's rescheduled launch, 1 minute to launch.
Next stop, Falcon Heavy!
Thanks for that, I had simply assumed it would be like their other geostationary missions! Falcon Heavy is the best reason not to be recovering a first stage
Next stop, Falcon Heavy!
Man of Honour
It turns out the first stage didn't explode upon splashdown...
With the upgraded falcon 9 nearly all gto missions can be flown in reusable config. They are running out of warehouse space and are disposing of block 3 versions of falcon 9.Yesterday's rescheduled launch, 1 minute to launch.
Thanks for that, I had simply assumed it would be like their other geostationary missions! Falcon Heavy is the best reason not to be recovering a first stage
Next stop, Falcon Heavy!
It's funny they manage to land in the sea, where no one else can even land.
Some stunning images courtesy of the Japanese Akatsuki spacecraft.
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2018/0116-a-new-look-at-venus-with-akatsuki.html
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2018/0116-a-new-look-at-venus-with-akatsuki.html
Amateur astronomer discovers lost NASA satellite because of unexplained reboot.
NASA thought it lost its IMAGE satellite 12 years ago, until an amateur astronomer with a hunch discovered it in January.
The agency confirmed Tuesday the satellite detected by amateur astronomer Scott Tilley is indeed the IMAGE, which explored the magnetic fields around Earth, snapping images of particle interactions in near-Earth space.
Tilley, reports the Washington Post, is a 47-year-old from British Columbia, Canada, who regularly searches for hidden satellites in the night using radio equipment.
Tilley made contact with the satellite on Jan. 20 and suspected it might be the IMAGE, which stands for Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration. The discovery prompted an agency inquiry and, eventually, confirmation the satellite had been found.
"By far, it's the most important thing I've discovered," Tilley told the Post.
Read more: Missed the super blue blood moon eclipse? Here's when you'll see the next one.
IMAGE operated from March 2000 to Dec. 18, 2005, when the agency lost contact with it unexpectedly during what was supposed to be a routine pass. A 2007 eclipse failed to reboot the spacecraft, officially ending the mission in the eyes of NASA.
During its run, IMAGE made 40 discoveries related to Earth's magnetosphere, magnetic fields around Earth, and the plasmasphere, an "inner bubble of cold material."
Read more: Using poop to make food could help deep space exploration, study says
Since reuniting with the satellite, NASA has read "basic housekeeping data" from the spacecraft suggesting "at least the main control system is operational."
But NASA isn't quite sure why IMAGE came to transmit signals again, after so many years of silence. However, it announced Friday a 2004 reboot left one side without power, its B side. Satellites, NASA explained, have A and B sides of redundant hardware. Should one side fail, the other can switch into operation. But the side now operating is the A side, meaning, "a reboot in some form has, in fact, occurred," NASA said.
Damned lucky find!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...sentinel-status-959469849792712705/301180002/
NASA thought it lost its IMAGE satellite 12 years ago, until an amateur astronomer with a hunch discovered it in January.
The agency confirmed Tuesday the satellite detected by amateur astronomer Scott Tilley is indeed the IMAGE, which explored the magnetic fields around Earth, snapping images of particle interactions in near-Earth space.
Tilley, reports the Washington Post, is a 47-year-old from British Columbia, Canada, who regularly searches for hidden satellites in the night using radio equipment.
Tilley made contact with the satellite on Jan. 20 and suspected it might be the IMAGE, which stands for Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration. The discovery prompted an agency inquiry and, eventually, confirmation the satellite had been found.
"By far, it's the most important thing I've discovered," Tilley told the Post.
Read more: Missed the super blue blood moon eclipse? Here's when you'll see the next one.
IMAGE operated from March 2000 to Dec. 18, 2005, when the agency lost contact with it unexpectedly during what was supposed to be a routine pass. A 2007 eclipse failed to reboot the spacecraft, officially ending the mission in the eyes of NASA.
During its run, IMAGE made 40 discoveries related to Earth's magnetosphere, magnetic fields around Earth, and the plasmasphere, an "inner bubble of cold material."
Read more: Using poop to make food could help deep space exploration, study says
Since reuniting with the satellite, NASA has read "basic housekeeping data" from the spacecraft suggesting "at least the main control system is operational."
But NASA isn't quite sure why IMAGE came to transmit signals again, after so many years of silence. However, it announced Friday a 2004 reboot left one side without power, its B side. Satellites, NASA explained, have A and B sides of redundant hardware. Should one side fail, the other can switch into operation. But the side now operating is the A side, meaning, "a reboot in some form has, in fact, occurred," NASA said.
Damned lucky find!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...sentinel-status-959469849792712705/301180002/