SPACE - random thread about space stuff

[jztemple2]

Live coverage: SpaceX to reach 6,000 Starlink satellites on orbit following Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX is set to launch a batch of 23 Starlink satellites on its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission will bring the total number of Starlink satellite to 6,000 satellites in orbit, according to expert orbital tracker and astronomer Jonathan McDowell.

Liftoff of the Starlink 6-58 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 is set for 8:53 p.m. EDT (0053 UTC). This will be SpaceX’s 34th dedicated Starlink launch of 2024.The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, B1073 in the SpaceX fleet, will be making its 15th flight. Among its previous flights, B1073 launched ispace’s HAKUTO-R lunar lander, SpaceX’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-27) mission and the Bandwagon-1 rideshare flight.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1073 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ This will be the 69 booster landing for ASOG and the 307th booster landing for SpaceX to date.

The mission comes amid a weekend of historic solar activity that brought auroras as far south as Florida. On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that at least five coronal mass ejections were observed by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center to that point.

As of Sunday morning, the SWPC said that a “G4 or Greater Watch” remained in effect for May 12, noting the possibilities of “severe to extreme geomagnetic storming is possible again later today.”

In a post on his social media site, X (formerly known as Twitter), Elon Musk said that SpaceX was closely monitoring the impact of the solar storms on the Starlink constellation.

[jztemple2]

NASA's Mars sample return mission is in trouble. Could a single SLS megarocket be the answer?

Boeing has put forward its own idea to help NASA get its Mars Sample Return project back on track and on budget.

NASA issued a solicitation for new ideas to get scientifically invaluable Martian material to Earth after being told the current plan is too expensive (about $11 billion), while also being too complex and facing scheduling issues.

Former NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green presented Boeing's vision for a rejiggered Mars sample return mission concept at the annual Humans to Mars Summit last week.

The concept centers on using NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, for which Boeing is a lead contractor. The giant rocket, which performed well during its first, and so far only, flight — the Artemis 1 moon mission in late 2022 — could carry all the hardware needed to pull off an ambitious, multi-spacecraft Mars sample return mission, according to Green.

[Hrdina]

That must be why they announced May 17 as the earliest launch date.

Yup, on the other hand that means they will launch by the 25th since we'll be home by then

Thanks for taking one for the team.

First crewed flight of Boeing Starliner postponed again

The launch in Florida was scheduled for Tuesday but NASA said it is now planned for May 25 to allow teams to further assess a helium leak linked to the service module, which sits on top of the rocket.

Looks like you called in some favors.

[Hyena]

NASA's Mars sample return mission is in trouble. Could a single SLS megarocket be the answer?

Boeing has put forward its own idea to help NASA get its Mars Sample Return project back on track and on budget.

NASA issued a solicitation for new ideas to get scientifically invaluable Martian material to Earth after being told the current plan is too expensive (about $11 billion), while also being too complex and facing scheduling issues.

Former NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green presented Boeing's vision for a rejiggered Mars sample return mission concept at the annual Humans to Mars Summit last week.

The concept centers on using NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, for which Boeing is a lead contractor. The giant rocket, which performed well during its first, and so far only, flight — the Artemis 1 moon mission in late 2022 — could carry all the hardware needed to pull off an ambitious, multi-spacecraft Mars sample return mission, according to Green.

Is their suggestion just to not put any doors on the ship? Use half as many bolts holding the engines on?

(Too soon?)

[jztemple2]

Maybe not too soon

NASA announces Boeing’s Starliner launch has been postponed

The maiden crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has been postponed with no new liftoff date announced as of yet, NASA stated.

“NASA, Boeing, and ULA are foregoing the Saturday, May 25, launch attempt for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The team has been in meetings for two consecutive days, assessing flight rationale, system performance, and redundancy. There is still forward work in these areas, and the next possible launch opportunity is still being discussed,” NASA stated Tuesday night. “NASA will share more details once we have a clearer path forward.”

[jztemple2]

NASA, Boeing and ULA announce June 1 as new target date for Starliner’s Crew Flight Test

NASA is looking at the start of June for its next attempt to launch its astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, on board Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The announcement came last Wednesday night in a blog post, stating that June 1 will be the earliest that the Crew Flight Test of Starliner can begin.

The new launch date has a T-0 liftoff of 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 UTC). There are also backup opportunities available on Sunday, June 2; Wednesday, June 5; and Thursday, June 6.

[Kraken]

The ridicule for Starliner is overwhelming amongst the Great Unwashed on Facebook. Boeing deserves some of that, but it's seen as a stunt and another debacle for NASA among those who aren't convinced that the earth is round. Hope the doors don't fall off LOL.

[jztemple2]

SpaceX targeting June 5 for 4th test flight of Starship megarocket

We may be less than two weeks away from Starship's next test flight.

SpaceX announced today (May 24) that it's targeting June 5 for the fourth-ever liftoff of Starship, the giant vehicle it's developing to get people and cargo to the moon, Mars and beyond.

That date is written in pencil rather than pen, however, for SpaceX still needs to secure regulatory approval — specifically, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's acceptance of a Starship launch license modification.

Provided that paperwork comes through and no technical issues arise, Starship will launch June 5 from SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas, during a window that opens as early as 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT; 7 a.m. local Texas time).

[jztemple2]

NASA says Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule can safely fly ‘as is’ with propulsion system helium leak

After nearly three weeks of exhaustive tests and data analysis, NASA managers said Friday they are confident Boeing’s oft-delayed Starliner crew capsule can safely launch “as is” June 1, saying a small helium leak in the ship’s propulsion system does not pose a flight safety concern.

Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said even if a suspect shirt-button-size rubber seal in the plumbing leading to one specific thruster failed completely in flight — resulting in a leak rate 100 times worse than what’s been observed to date — the Starliner could still fly safely.

“Should we be wrong about something, we could handle up to four more leaks,” he said. “And we could handle this particular leak if that leak rate were to grow, even up to 100 times in this one (propulsion module).”

What will now be a nearly one-month-long launch delay was required because “we needed to take the time to work through this analysis, and to understand the helium leak and understand the ramifications of that,” Stich said.

And to give the work force time off over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The Starliner’s two NASA crew members, commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams, plan to fly back to the Kennedy Space Center next Tuesday to prepare for launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station atop an Atlas 5 rocket at 12:25 p.m. EDT June 1.

If all goes well, they will dock at the International Space Station the next day and return to Earth on June 10.

[jztemple2]

[jztemple2]

A billionaire hopes to upgrade the Hubble Telescope on a private SpaceX mission, but could it really happen?

NASA's iconic Hubble observatory still has years of life left in it, and there are ideas in the works to perhaps keep it going for longer — but those proposals may be facing uphill battles.

The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, has been serviced five times by astronauts and remains in good health. But the telescope is aging and slowly falling toward Earth through natural drag from the atmosphere, so billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman helped spearhead a proposal to send a maintenance mission to the telescope for the first time since 2009.

Isaacman — the commander of the private Inspiration4 mission in 2021, which he also financially backed — is also the funder and an astronaut of the Polaris Program. Polaris is a three-mission private astronaut series flying with SpaceX hardware that plans to run the first-ever commercial spacewalk as soon as this year, with Polaris Dawn.

The Polaris Program's Hubble proposal was first made public in 2022, and NASA asked other companies to send in ideas as well in a request for information (ROI) that closed in early 2023. There have been no official updates about the ROI yet, but the matter recently reappeared in the news with a report from National Public Radio. The broadcaster obtained internal NASA emails through a Freedom of Information Act request, showing a range of reactions that included concerns from some people about the risk to Hubble.

[jztemple2]

This is something of a cross-post from the OO Video Games forum. I'm posting it here for the real space nerds in this thread who don't visit that forum. I started a thread over there titled Reentry - An Orbital Simulator (and a lot more!!!). That "game" is really an incredibly detailed sim of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft (including apparently the LM). Missions are recreated in the campaign with you playing the part of the astronaut, throwing switches, turning dials, going through checklists, etc. The sim was released in 2018 but I didn't even know about it till yesterday when I happened to come across a video about it. I'm posting the content of that first post I made so folks here can take a look. I haven't gotten the game yet; I know that twenty or even ten years ago I would be all over it, but having hit seventy I'm not sure I have the mental concentration to enjoy it... who am I kidding? I'll probably buy it

Anyway, here is the content of that post, I've put it in spoiler tags:

Spoiler:

I've come across a game I've never heard of which is weird considering what a space nerd I am:



I've come across several videos done by someone called N9 Gaming, I'll post a few of them here. They are rather long so I recommend just skimming through them at first to get a feel for the game.







The dev has also posted some tutorial videos. Check out the thirty-four minute video on how to do an orbital burn


Or a simpler, twelve minute video on how to charge your batteries on the Apollo spacecraft.


Finally a last video from N9 Gaming, where the host experiences an on-ascent abort (NOT planned)

[Isgrimnur]

Stephen H. Coester

We were doing a CDDT, Countdown Demonstration Test, a simulated countdown including fueling the rocket to show we could do it right on the Apollo 13 launch day. The day was overcast, not a breath of wind and the humidity and temperature were just right. On that day the pure oxygen draining into the ditch next to the road did not dissipate. It just sat in the ditch. You have all heard the stories of what happens in a hospital oxygen tent if you light a cigarette. In a 100% oxygen atmosphere it almost explodes it burns so fast.

The Security Police manned the guardhouse at the entrance to the launch pad. Just before we started loading the launch vehicle with fuel and oxidizer the pad was officially cleared, except for the police who did a final sweep of the Pad. They would get in their patrol cars and drive around the pad perimeter road with red lights flashing and loud speakers blaring, "Clear the Pad." They would then report to the test conductor that the pad was officially clear for propellant loading and launch and exit the Pad through a gate near the LO2 facility. That day as we followed the patrol cars around the pad and out the gate on our console television monitors, they entered a fog bank where the dirt road was near the ditch. Normally this would have been condensed moisture from the humid air caused by the cold oxygen gas, but for Apollo 13 it evidently was pure oxygen. As the patrol cars drove though the cloud the hot grease on the engines caught fire. We saw the Security Police jump out and run to safety. A second car and then third followed and exploded in flame. No one knew what the heck was happening. We watched as the patrol cars burned with the oil, grease and gasoline acting as the fuel and the pure oxygen. The vehicles melted down to the engine blocks. Fortunately all of the patrolmen escaped. Once the excitement died down we resumed the simulated countdown. Never again did the police use that Pad exit!

[jztemple2]

Stephen H. Coester

We were doing a CDDT, Countdown Demonstration Test, a simulated countdown including fueling the rocket to show we could do it right on the Apollo 13 launch day. The day was overcast, not a breath of wind and the humidity and temperature were just right. On that day the pure oxygen draining into the ditch next to the road did not dissipate. It just sat in the ditch. You have all heard the stories of what happens in a hospital oxygen tent if you light a cigarette. In a 100% oxygen atmosphere it almost explodes it burns so fast.

The Security Police manned the guardhouse at the entrance to the launch pad. Just before we started loading the launch vehicle with fuel and oxidizer the pad was officially cleared, except for the police who did a final sweep of the Pad. They would get in their patrol cars and drive around the pad perimeter road with red lights flashing and loud speakers blaring, "Clear the Pad." They would then report to the test conductor that the pad was officially clear for propellant loading and launch and exit the Pad through a gate near the LO2 facility. That day as we followed the patrol cars around the pad and out the gate on our console television monitors, they entered a fog bank where the dirt road was near the ditch. Normally this would have been condensed moisture from the humid air caused by the cold oxygen gas, but for Apollo 13 it evidently was pure oxygen. As the patrol cars drove though the cloud the hot grease on the engines caught fire. We saw the Security Police jump out and run to safety. A second car and then third followed and exploded in flame. No one knew what the heck was happening. We watched as the patrol cars burned with the oil, grease and gasoline acting as the fuel and the pure oxygen. The vehicles melted down to the engine blocks. Fortunately all of the patrolmen escaped. Once the excitement died down we resumed the simulated countdown. Never again did the police use that Pad exit!

I knew Steve quite well, we worked together for years during the Shuttle program. If you look towards the bottom of the article you can see me in one of the pictures

[jztemple2]

Watch the skies, everywhere! Keep looking. Keep watching the skies! - Ned "Scotty" Scott

Space debris from SpaceX Dragon capsule crashed in the North Carolina mountains. I had to go see it

On May 22, groundskeeper Justin Clontz and his father were performing maintenance on a trail at the scenic Glamping Collective, a 160-acre luxury camping property offering private dome-style cabins on a mountaintop with panoramic views of the surrounding Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests.

Coming around a bend in the trail that day, Clontz and his father stumbled upon an odd piece of junk lying on the ground, not far from the path at all. Roughly 3 feet by 3 feet (1 meter by 1 meter), the debris consisted of shredded carbon fiber composite and scorched metal, with exposed metal bolts and plates poking out of it. It had a faint smell, similar to ozone.



As it turned out, the piece of debris likely came from the reentry of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station, which returned to Earth on March 12, 2024, according to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "This definitely looks consistent with being a bit of the Crew-7 Dragon's trunk which reentered on a path right over this location on Tuesday," McDowell wrote on X after news of the debris began circulating.

The astrophysicist also posted a map tracking the reentry path of the piece of Crew-7's trunk suspected to be responsible for the debris, which shows the spacecraft hardware passing directly over Canton, NC — right where Clontz found the specimen (and, unsettlingly, also almost directly over my house).



The "trunk," as SpaceX refers to it, is the unpressurized tail section of the company's Dragon spacecraft, what other aerospace manufacturers would call a service module. This section carries cargo or small satellites, is fitted with solar panels that power Dragon when the vessel is in flight or docked to the ISS, and has fins for aerodynamic control during emergency aborts.

While Dragon capsules make their way back to Earth safely in controlled descents that are ultimately slowed by parachutes, the spacecraft's "trunk remains attached to Dragon until shortly before reentry into Earth's atmosphere," SpaceX writes on its website, after which it is jettisoned.

Further, it appears that, not only can these trunks remain in orbit for weeks longer than their host capsules, but large pieces of them can also remain intact after their fiery reentries into Earth's atmosphere.

[jztemple2]

As SpaceX Completes Second Starship WDR, FAA Closes Safety Investigation Into Flight 3

SpaceX is clearing the final milestones before launching the Starship vehicle for the fourth time. The FAA has completed its safety investigation into Flight 3 of Starship and has deemed it non-dangerous for the public. Additionally, the company successfully completed the second wet dress rehearsal (WDR) of the full stack consisting of Booster 11 and Ship 29, which went smoothly, according to the company.

[jztemple2]

1st annual space piracy conference will examine threats of orbital crime and smuggling

Eye-patches on! Practice your best "grrr." Plop down pieces of eight, doubloons and cue "Captain" Jack Sparrow!

Get ready for the First Annual Space Piracy Conference, set for early next year. Held by the Center for the Study of Space Crime, Policy, and Governance (CSCPG), the conference is a "two-day, invite only symposium that brings together experts prepared to review crime, piracy, and smuggling in space," according to its website.

"Be among the first to discuss mitigating space crime and piracy, from the perspectives of investment, space law, space policy, intelligence, and the military," notes the group.

The CSCPG asks: What are the risks of piracy in space and solutions to this potentially devastating economic and legal problem?

"Now is the time to start thinking and talking about mitigating the threat of piracy in space," said Marc Feldman, Executive Director of the CSCPG. "As we like to say, and please forgive me, Leon Trotsky, but you may not be interested in space piracy, but space pirates are interested in you…"

Feldman, who has worked in the space venture sector for years, is co-author, with Hugh Taylor, of the soon-to-be published book "Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit."

[jztemple2]

The Boeing Starliner launch is scheduled for less than an hour from now.

[Zaxxon]

The Boeing Starliner launch is scheduled for less than an hour from now.

Fingers crossed.

[jztemple2]

The Boeing Starliner launch is scheduled for less than an hour from now.

Fingers crossed.

And launch has been scrubbed

[Isgrimnur]

An automatic hold triggered by the ground launch sequencer, or the computer that launches the rocket, stopped the countdown clock at 3 minutes and 50 seconds ahead of launch.

The cause of the automatic hold is not clear, but mission teams estimate a 24-hour turnaround time, according to the NASA broadcast.

[jztemple2]

NASA foregoes Sunday launch, delaying Starliner takeoff to at least Wednesday

The seemingly star-cross Boeing Starliner — within minutes of its long-delayed blastoff on the spacecraft’s first piloted test flight — was grounded again Saturday when one of three redundant computers managing the countdown from the base of the launch pad ran into a problem, triggering a last-minute scrub.

Engineers initially were told to set up for another launch try Sunday, at 12:03 p.m. EDT, assuming the problem could be resolved in time. But NASA later announced the team would pass up the Sunday opportunity to give engineers more time to assess the computer issue.

The Starliner’s test flight includes rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. Based on the lab’s orbit and the Starliner’s ability to to catch up, the next two launch opportunities after Sunday are Wednesday, at 10:52 a.m. EDT, and Thursday, at 10:29 a.m. NASA said the agency would provide an update Sunday.

And wouldn't you know it, Wednesday at 10:52am I'll be over in Orlando getting ready for my physical therapy appointment.

Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, builder of the Atlas 5 rocket, said the issue Saturday involved one of three networked computer racks in a building at the base of the launch pad. Each rack features multiple systems, including identical circuit boards that operate together as a “ground launch sequencer,” managing the final steps in a countdown.

The GLS computers manage events like the retraction of umbilicals and the firing of explosive bolts that free the rocket from the pad for takeoff, and all three have to be in perfect agreement for a countdown to proceed.

During Saturday’s launch attempt, the countdown ticked down to T-minus 4 minutes and then entered a planned four-hour hold. When the countdown resumed four minutes prior to blastoff, one of the three GLS circuit boards took longer than expected to synch up with the other two. That was enough to trigger an automatic hold at the T-minus 3-minute 50-second mark.

Engineers planned to begin troubleshooting after draining the Atlas 5 of its liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants and gaining access to the computer room. A decision on how to proceed depended on isolating the problem, replacing and testing any suspect components.

[Unagi]

Probably a door plug issue.

[jztemple2]

This story was apparently posted three days ago, just before the Saturday Starliner launch attempt, but just showed up in my news feed. It is still interesting...

The ISS has a urine pump problem. Boeing's Starliner astronaut launch will flush it out.

Adding to the prelaunch drama, a recent anomaly aboard the ISS created a last-minute manifest change ahead of tomorrow's liftoff: A malfunctioning pump in the station's urine processor assembly has halted the ability to convert the ISS crew's urine back into drinkable water. A replacement for this part was already scheduled to launch on the next Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo mission in August, but the pump's unexpected failure has necessitated an expedited delivery, NASA officials announced on Friday.

"We're in a position where we have to store urine onboard Station," Dana Weigel, NASA's ISS program manager, said during Friday's press conference. "We've got bags and tanks that we've got up there for this purpose, but we've got limited inventory."

With the imminent arrival of two new astronauts to the station — Wilmore and Williams on CFT — NASA made the decision to get the needed part on orbit ASAP. But a small sacrifice had to be made.

To maintain a consistent mass for Starliner's mission, cargo roughly equal in weight to the replacement part — about 140 pounds (64 kilograms) — needed to be removed. In this case, Wilmore's and Williams' luggage took the hit, leaving the pair without spare clothes once they reach the space station. Thankfully, they won't be entirely without a change of attire.

"We do have a lot of generic contingency clothes on board. So, not an issue," Weigel said.

[jztemple2]

Japanese billionaire cancels private flight around the moon on SpaceX's giant Starship

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa won't shoot for the moon on SpaceX's Starship after all.

Maezawa, who booked a private trip around the moon on SpaceX's Starship megarocket in 2018, has now scrapped the project — which he called dearMoon — after the rocket wasn't ready to fly him and eight hand-picked artists in 2023.

"I signed the contract in 2018 based on the assumption that dearMoon would launch by the end of 2023," Maezawa said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). "It's a developmental project so it is what it is, but it is still uncertain as to when Starship can launch."

[jztemple2]

SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites on 14th anniversary of the first Falcon 9 launch

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday night, 14 years to the day when the rocket made its launch debut from the same pad. Since that day, SpaceX launched more than 340 Falcon 9 rockets, 285 of which were using previously flown boosters.

And a reminder, the Boeing Starliner is still on schedule to launch tomorrow (Wednesday) with an instantaneous launch at 10:52 am ET.

Also, the FAA has cleared SpaceX for the next Starship launch, which is currently anticipated for Thursday morning, probably at 9am ET, 8am CT.

[em2nought]

Kinda scary watching the ice coming off as she goes up, and then some kind of bracket or something too?

[jztemple2]

I watched but didn't notice the bracket. Good that the mission is finally underway.

[jztemple2]

Update on tomorrow's Starship launch:

SpaceX is targeting an 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) launch for its Starship Flight 4 test flight of the Starship and Super Heavy megarocket from the company's Starbase facility in South Texas. While that time could change a bit ahead of launch, it's a great target to time your watch party.

SpaceX will offer a free live webcast of the Starship Flight 4 launch beginning at about 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT).