Space Geeks

[CBoukal]

Possible SpaceX launch today with just a satellite or two. Launch window opens at 11:15am CST or in 30 minutes.

Information Link:

Transporter 4 | Falcon 9 Block 5

SpaceX will launch their fourth dedicated SSO rideshare on the Transporter-4 mission from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

everydayastronaut.com

Video Feed Link

SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.

www.spacex.com

T Minus 3.5 minutes in case you want to watch.

 

[ChuckJr]

Something I'd never noticed or thought of before, that 1st stage booster continues to coast upwards for about 50km after separation. The view from the 2nd stage always makes it look like it gets blasted and starts falling back, but only because the 2nd stage moves on out of there. Makes sense, something that big and heavy going that fast (somewhere around 4000km/hr at that point) isn't just going to stop dead in its tracks.

 

[CBoukal]

Something I'd never noticed or thought of before, that 1st stage booster continues to coast upwards for about 50km after separation. The view from the 2nd stage always makes it look like it gets blasted and starts falling back, but only because the 2nd stage moves on out of there. Makes sense, something that big and heavy going that fast (somewhere around 4000km/hr at that point) isn't just going to stop dead in its tracks.

They push away from each other, the 1st stage's engine shuts off. They then light the second stage so that's when it gets some distance between them. If you re-watch the first minute after launch, its cool to see the hole that the rocket burned into the clouds. I don't remember seeing that before.

 

[CBoukal]

Coming up on April 6th (tentative) Musk is going to tell Bezos to "hold his beer". SpaceX is going to launch their new "crew dragon 2" for the first time with 4 space tourists (first time for this also). This mission will dock with the ISS where they will spend 8 days. The total mission time is 10 days, 1 up, 8 getting in the way of the scientists aboard the ISS, and 1 down. I know Dan said above the rumored $250,000+ is the price tag for Blue Origin's 10 minute flight to space. One of the passengers of this SpaceX flight was swinging his balls around and said he paid 50 MILLION for this flight. In comparison, it's worth every penny on what you get with SpaceX verses the Blue Origin's bang for your buck.

Thinking about it, how ingenious is this on the part of SpaceX. Although they don't come out and say it, I assume this is a resupply mission also. So NASA and the Russians are paying SpaceX to bring supply's to the space station. Then Axiom is paying them to bring these tourists up there as well. Both are paying what I assume is full price for the trip up and back.

Here is a link in case you want to learn more, or find out who is traveling into space. This is where you can find the link for the liftoff as we get closer.

Axiom Space Mission 1 | Falcon 9 Block 5

SpaceX is set to launch the first fully private mission to the International Space Station on the Axiom Space Mission 1.

everydayastronaut.com

This is coming up Friday AM now. 10am CST 4-08-22

 

[CBoukal]

T Minus 30 minutes till the first space tourists go to the ISS

 

[CBoukal]

A few housekeeping things to catch up on.
The Space station tourists on Axium-1 (AX-1) are back on earth. You can watch their return here

At around 2:30am CST tomorrow morning a private Chinese company is going to try for a 3rd time to launch a Hyperbola rocket. The last 2 have ended with a bang. Their rocket uses Solid rocket motors for all 3 stages which means once they are lit, there is NO way to stop them.
Information Link:

Hyperbola-1 | Jilin-1 Mofang-01A(R)

The private Chinese company i-Space is attempting to launch their all solid-fueled Hyperbola-1 rocket for the fourth time.

everydayastronaut.com

No live stream link, but you can check the link above closer to lift off to see if he has one.

Also tomorrow at 2:50am CST (30 minutes after the Chinese try and blow up a rocket) SpaceX will be launching another Crew dragon mission. This will bring 4 new people to stay on the ISS for 6 months and allow the people who have been there for 6 months to return home. The AX1 Crew just landed back on earth, a day or two ago. They are using a new version of the Crew dragon for this missing, not the same one they just landed in. This will be the first flight for Crew Dragon C212 “Freedom”
Information Link:

Crew-4 | Falcon 9 Block 5

SpaceX and NASA are about to launch the next set of astronauts to the ISS on the Crew-4 mission on a brand new Crew Dragon capsule.

everydayastronaut.com

Live Stream Link:

 

[CBoukal]

Crew Dragon went off as scheduled. Hyperbola was pushed back 2 days.

 

[CigarStone]

I'll bet you even think we landed on the moon!

 

[kann]

I'll bet you even think we landed on the moon!

Semi-related, when I was working at the museum, I got to drive Buzz Aldrin around for the day. I didn't even get punched in the face!

 

[CBoukal]

Updates:
First the cool one, this is launching out of New Zealand. They are going to attempt to catch their stage 1 rocket with........ helicopters... First time trying it.. That shouldn't go smoothly. Current launch window is Sunday at 5pm CST and the launch window will go into the wee hours of the AM. It was suppose to go today so expect delays. Information Link:

There And Back Again | Electron

There and Back Again is Rocket Lab's commercial rideshare mission that will see a mid-air catch of their Electron by a helicopter.

everydayastronaut.com

Streaming link:

Starlink (Elon) is launching another block of satellites today at 4:15pm CST. This will be the fastest turnaround of a booster (21.26 days, prior record was 27.17) Booster will land down range on the Tug Finn Falgout
Information Link:

Starlink Group 4-16 | Falcon 9 Block 5

SpaceX successfully launched 53 Starlink internet communication satellites to low-Earth orbit on the Starlink Group 4-16 mission.

everydayastronaut.com

Streaming Link:

Other quick news:
Russia is going to try a launch in about 20 minutes with no stream. Probably just to screw with the world.
Information Link:

Kosmos 2555 (MKA-R) | Angara 1.2

Russia will launch the Kosmos 2555 (MKA-R), a military radar satellite, atop an Angara 1.2 rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome.

everydayastronaut.com

Also China is suppose to be launching something at about 11pm tonight CST. Very little is known about it but that's common for them

There is a decent chance of 3 rockets launching in a 7.5 hour window. Pretty amazing times we live in.

Stay Geeky!!!

 

[TexasTraveler]

Semi-related, when I was working at the museum, I got to drive Buzz Aldrin around for the day. I didn't even get punched in the face!

I’m guessing you didn’t ask him to swear on a bible.

 

[CBoukal]

They are going to try and catch that booster with helicopters tonight starting at 5:30pm CST (maybe)

Link to stream (this will work once its over also so you can rewatch)

There And Back Again | Electron

There and Back Again is Rocket Lab's commercial rideshare mission that will see a mid-air catch of their Electron by a helicopter.

everydayastronaut.com

Link to stream with commentary from Drew from Everyday Astronaut (Starts 30 minutes earlier)

Watch ULA launch their Vulcan rocket for the first time ever! #Vulcan

This is the first launch for ULA's new Vulcan rocket and will also be the first flight of Blue Origin's BE-4 engines. The payload is the Peregrine lunar land...

www.youtube.com

 

[kann]

Did it work?

 

[xyz123]

Semi-related, when I was working at the museum, I got to drive Buzz Aldrin around for the day. I didn't even get punched in the face!

One of the all-time great videos. I think I remember the DA being asked at the time if they were considering charges and him being like, well.. we didn't really see much there that couldn't be reasonably assumed as self-defense.

I loved it!

 

[CBoukal]

Did it work?

Start watching at 52:30 You can't see it get hooked but you see the booster. They said it worked.

 

[kann]

The company sent a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to rendezvous with the returning stage at 6,500 feet in the air, using a hook on a cable to capture the booster's parachute line. While the catch was a success, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said on Twitter that the pilots weren't happy with the way the booster was hanging below the helicopter and opted to drop it into the ocean. It was eventually retrieved and loaded onto a vessel for transport back to Rocket Lab's HQ for re-flight assessment.

 

[CBoukal]

Boeing is going to try a second attempt to launch a shuttle that is able to carry humans to the ISS and dock with it. This is an unmanned flight for obvious reasons. Their last attempt was a failure. There was an issue with some of the clocks on the shuttle and it threw off the orbit it entered. They burned so much fuel getting it back on course that it didn’t have enough fuel to dock with the ISS. Also another set back for this shuttle is they cannot recover the 1st stage. More waste and more wasted money.

They are WAY behind SpaceX, but that is a common trend for Boeing right now. Here is an interesting article about the failures and HUGE money dump they have going on.
https://arstechnica.com/science/202...-the-savior-of-nasas-commercial-crew-program/

Here is an article about today’s launch

Starliner successfully launches, reaches a stable orbit [Updated]

“The teams are ready. Boeing is ready. ULA is ready.”…

arstechnica.com

One cool think about the shuttle is it lands on the ground not water. After the last failure they brought it back and landed it in New Mexico. They used parachutes to slow it down and airbags underneath to ensure a soft landing. That is very similar to Jeff Bezos’s penis rocket without the airbags. The cost savings vs fishing it out of the ocean has to be dramatic.



Set to Launch at 6pm CST today (Thursday 5-19-22)
Live Stream

 

[CBoukal]

Today @ 1:20pm CST SpaceX will launch a "transporter" which is basically their ride share service for paying customers. Chances are really good that nothing exciting will happen during the launch, however if you want to watch it you can below

One cool thing that is happening is one of the customers is a student built satellite from Norway.

SELFIESAT​

SelfieSat-1 is the first operational student satellite from Norway, built entirely in-house from off the shelf parts. Its bus contains a Raspberry Pi which serves as the payload computer for the satellite. The 1.8 kg satellite will, once deployed, extend a “selfie stick” which has a Raspberry Pi camera mounted on the end. Pointed back at the satellite, which has an LCD screen mounted on it, the camera will image the screen, satellite, and Earth.

Prior to launch, students in schools from around Norway submitted various images of themselves, pets, and friends to be stored on the satellite prior to launch. About one week after launch when teams in Norway have made contact with the satellite, the LCD screen will begin to display the stored images, take pictures of them, and beam the results back to Earth. Operations will be conducted from Trondheim, Norway with the team’s own ground station and radio tower.

One of the most critical components is the LCD screen. No LCD screen has ever been put in such harsh conditions; in a vacuum, in microgravity, and unfiltered sunlight. The SelfieSat team has spoken with NASA about the potential outcomes for the LCD screen, which will help NASA perfect the technology ahead of the Artemis program. This program could feature spacesuits or other instruments with externally mounted LCD screens.

Eventually, anyone from Norway and around the world will be able to upload their own images and, in return, received a picture of their image in space. SelfieSat will be able to survive 12 years in its 535 km Sun-synchronous orbit before reentering Earth’s atmosphere, but electrical components will fail before then. However, the public will enjoy the idea of bringing space down to Earth for as long as possible.

Full Article about all customers including the Student Satellite

Transporter-5 | Falcon 9 Block 5

SpaceX will launch their fifth dedicated rideshare mission, Transporter 5, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

everydayastronaut.com

 

[xyz123]

Did anyone watch last night's 60 Minutes about the Mars rover Perseverance and the helicopter Ingenuity? Not to mention the Boston Dynamics robots piece?

I'll wait to see if anyone watched it before talking and referencing it. Any space geek will want to catch it minimally for the never-released audio & video alone.

 

[CBoukal]

There are typically at least 2 launches every week anymore. None of them have been overly exciting.

However on Monday 9-26, NASA is going to slam a rocket into an asteroid in hopes that it can alter its orbit. This would be very valuable in a situation where there is an asteroid that is headed for earth. The collision will be live streamed. It could take months before we actually know if it worked.

Here is some cool info and times

Set a calendar alert: NASA to broadcast first asteroid redirect on Monday

The DART spacecraft will smash into a small asteroid to alter its orbit.

arstechnica.com

Because I am already posting, here are the next few Launches

Delta IV Heavy **Saturday Sept 24th**

NROL-91 | Delta IV Heavy

United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launch the NROL-91 payload to a currently unknown orbit from Space Launch Complex 6.

everydayastronaut.com

Also on Saturday Falcon 9 will launch more Starlink satellites ( no link )

Maiden flight of the RS1 **Monday Sept 26th **
This is a very cool company. They made their rocket small and able to be taken apart and shipped in containers. They use a KISS approach to rocket building which allows them to rebuild a stage 2 in just 3 days.

Maiden Flight | RS1

ABL Space Systems is preparing for the maiden flight of its RS1 rocket that will launch from the Pacific Spaceport Center, Alaska.

everydayastronaut.com

Artemis Launch **Friday Sept 30th **
NASA is set to launch the Orion spacecraft to a distant retrograde lunar orbit atop the Space Launch System (SLS) for its maiden launch. Launching from Launch Complex 39B, at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, the Artemis I mission will certify both Orion and the SLS Block 1 rocket for crewed spaceflight; its next mission–aptly named Artemis II–will be crewed, and bring a yet-announced crew to lunar orbit (but will not land on the lunar surface).

Artemis I | SLS Block 1

NASA successfully launched the SLS Block 1 rocket on the Artemis I mission. This mission was the first launch of the Space Launch System.

everydayastronaut.com