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Dumb question about launches - you're essentially firing a small fast moving object (your spacecraft) into and through an environment where there are lots of other small fast moving objects (every satellite and other object that's in orbit). Is there sone sort of global space control that you have to submit your flight path to so they can check you're not going to hit something (that they know about), or do they rely on the fact that space is actually pretty big so the chances of two relatively small things hitting each other is very low. Likewise if you want to park something in orbit do you have to book a slot or is it a free for all, with each control room looking out for itself?
Good question! NASA do track stuff, everything from satellite to debris I think, if it's big enough to see then they track it. I believe certain orbits are getting pretty congested, not afaik it's a free for all and there's no intentional space controlate that issues permits. I've got a lovely image of an astronaut inspector checking permits on satellites and issuing tickets now 🤣
I like reading about the old stuff – Beyond is an absolute belter,
Totally agree. Very well written book and a fascinating tale.
Ahha! The purist I found an answer by chance! 4 mins in, seems space X got a big fine for not providing the data to prove a falcon launch wouldn't hit something
Also send starship isn't going anywhere in march. Booooo!
Relativity rocket launch in 38 minutes https://www.youtube.com/live/9Tv6pbDCmLk?feature=share
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64965767.amp
I'm sure I saw a 'How do they do that?'episode on this the other day
neilnevill
Free MemberWhat do people think of space X trying to catch a returning starship on the pad with the ‘chop sticks’ or arms? It must be harder than landing on legs on a flat pad.
Harder, yep but it's mass on the ground vs in the rocket so that makes a huge difference. Basically this is saying that landing and reusing is pretty much a solved problem, so they can stop trying to make it easy.
There's some other benefits- you don't have a rocket firing at the landing pad from minimum range reducing damage and heat stress, and backwash onto the vehicle, which is going to be really useful for floating platforms since usually the solution is "just use a shit-ton of concrete" And once you can land a rocket at a precise speed on the X, that's not so very different from hovering it near to the grabber arm, especially since the arm could in later versions move, and be higher up. So things like gimballing the arm so that rather than needing calm seas or massive levels of stabilisation, you can have the platform move and the arm compensate.
Yes I agree northwind, it makes sense.
Virgin could be bust before they've got to orbit, hope not.
This is one of the best images I've seen of the sun. Stunning! I would love a print of it.
https://twitter.com/AJamesMcCarthy/status/1638648459002806272?s=20
https://cosmicbackground.io/products/fusion-of-helios
Wow.
Spacex could be looking at a star ship orbital attempt April 20th, ish.
Very impressive CV, surely deserved a better Photoshop job than this.
https://twitter.com/airandspace/status/1640039432890793989
It was I that originally posted the shuttle land vid. I've watched it a few times now and it still entertains.
For me I have a Saturn V obessesion. I don't think it'll even be beaten as just the Goat rocket taking into account the tech available to them at the time. The computers etc are just astonishing and the problems that they had to solve to get the whole thing together were not insignificant.
And then of course ask the launch footage is off the scale for what a rocket launch should look like 🙂
I am not nearly as excited by modern rockets as such but some of the payloads grab my attention.
It seems that the virgin rocket company is laying off most of its staff. Oh dear.
I'm still following various YouTube channels for spacex news. It seems they are busily working on the orbital launch mount and seeking FAA clearance for super heavy to try and reach orbit. A rocket of such magnitude, completely reusable, taking 150 tonnes to LEO, will be something to see!
I'm reading that starship is ready for an orbital launch now, once faa give approval. I'm looking forward to that.
Nasa announced the crew for artemis 2, but since that is still 18-19 months away I'm not so interested currently. It will be utterly awesome when it happens yes, but its just there's not much to see for a while!
It's sad about virgin, that was a promising idea I thought. People seem keen to shit on Branson over it though. It's always amazing how thin the margins between success and failure can be, spacex was literally saved from bankruptcy by a single succesful launch, virgin it seems could easily have been the same.
neilnevill
Free MemberNasa announced the crew for artemis 2, but since that is still 18-19 months away I’m not so interested currently.
Is it not 18 months to the first cancelled launch? I look forward to it flying in about 3 years
See my separate PSA...
Ooh you cynical northy! Let's hope not.
Starship is go! Faa approval granted! Launch could be as early as Monday!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55564448
Lots of details on what we hope will happen released by spacex and explained by Marcus House here
Someone referred to the Hubble Ultra-deep image, which took twenty days to gather the date to produce that image. JWST has just revisited that patch of sky, and taken a twenty hour scan…
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/jwst-surpasses-hubbles-deepest-image/
New starship launch on Thursday 2.30 pm
Oh. 4/20 chief twit's favoured marajuna related date.
Well I'm looking forward to it anyway.
Bollocks.... I may be busy 😫
The launch will take place from southern Texas between 8.28am local time (2.28pm in the UK) and 9.30am (3.30pm in the UK), on Thursday.
The launch will take place from southern Texas between 8.28am local time (2.28pm in the UK) and 9.30am (3.30pm in the UK), on Thursday.
Live stream up and running: Linky
beamers
Live stream up and running: Linky
Thanks for the link, but what a couple of ****s those presenters are. "It's called superheavy because it's super and it's heavy"
Yep. Heatshield tiles. "Curved ones go on the curved bits of the rocket, flat ones on the flat bits."
It's not rocket science. Oh, hang on....
Hmmm, looks like it's lost a few engines
I have been loving various youtube vids of the mars rovers. I find that just incredible.
Lost a bit more!
So looks like it actually lost 6 engines, 1 possibly relit though.
Some of the debris videos are quite impressive/alarming 😮
https://twitter.com/LabPadre/status/1649053476276797440
holy cow!
I wonder what the other side of that Dodge Grand Caravan looks like?
**** a duck! Christ, you’d have thought they might give the area a once-over with a broom before they lit the blue touch-paper!
Pretty much trashed all the kit in the foreground, I wonder what the camera filming was in, to survive that? Didn’t suffer a rapid unexpected disassembly, at any rate… 🤣
I think the lumps of concrete were ripped from the ground beneath the pad structure...as was the sand that followed after.
Poundshop 39A 🤣
My one takeaway from this launch was how slow it left the pad (yes I know the engines were not all lit at the same time) - what happens when it's loaded with 100 tons of "stuff"?!
Marcus House analysis
On the ‘slow’ launch it was still doing around 100 km/h as it cleared the tower
Think people mean slow to move rather than the speed once it had started moving. Must’ve been ~5s of full throttle without really budging?
It dod seem to just sit there for at least that
I just remembered that they were only ever going to run the engines at 90% max thrust this flight.
Scott manley analysis
So I'm sure it's going to take a month or so to find out from spacex what all the problems were, but the damage to the launch pad does suggest they need a rethink there it seems. I'm looking at the pads damage and would think it needs tearing down and rebuilding all over. This time with a lot more water deluge AND a flame diverter trench. The only other thing that comes to my mind is, could it lift off with the engines at significantly lower throttle? Then power up once away from the tower. I believe it used twice the thrust of Saturn v, so I would think even at half throttle it should lift reasonably swiftly, but I've not checked the weights.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if many of the problems were caused by debris from the pad, and perhaps a lower power lift off can be programed quite easily. However its going to take some time to build a new pad. Didn't they take a couple of years building the first? 2 years to build, destroyed in 10 seconds.
I think they may have some repairs to do to the tank farm too.....and somebody's minivan