Octopus Overlords

SpaceX's Crew-6 astronaut mission is still looking good to launch on Monday (Feb. 27).

NASA and SpaceX held a prelaunch teleconference late on Saturday (Feb. 25) to discuss the upcoming mission that will see the Crew Dragon Endeavour launch to the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Earlier this week, the rocket and its spacecraft were rolled out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Liftoff is set for Monday at 1:45 a.m. EST (0645 GMT).

At just over two minutes to go before SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was due to launch a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station early on Monday, the mission was scrubbed due to an issue with igniter fluid.

NASA's Crew-6 mission had been due to take off at 1:45 am ET from Launch Complex 39-A in Florida, at Kennedy Space Center. During the space agency's webcast, the host first mentioned the issue with the TEA-TEB igniter fluid about five minutes before the anticipated liftoff time. Mission operators were not able to clear the technical issue before the instantaneous launch window opened.

The crew was safe on board the Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, the mission commander, and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, its pilot, along with United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, both mission specialists, will egress the vehicle later on Monday morning after propellant is off-loaded from the rocket.

The mission has a backup opportunity early on Tuesday, February 28. But whereas the weather was ideal on Monday morning, it may be less so on Tuesday. Conditions at the launch site should be fine, but forecasters have some concerns about weather along the rocket's track, which would come into play should there be an abort during the launch requiring Crew Dragon to make an emergency return to Earth. NASA and SpaceX have opportunities to launch the Crew Dragon mission on March 2, 3, and 4 as well. (Update: NASA and SpaceX are targeting Thursday May 2, at 12:34 am ET, or 05:34 UTC.)

A powerful solar storm that swept across Earth on Monday (Feb. 27) forced SpaceX to delay a Starlink launch from Florida and temporarily disrupted operations of several Canadian oil rigs as GPS signals were too inaccurate.

SpaceX eventually launched those satellites, the first batch of 21 second-generation Starlink internet spacecraft, at 6:13 p.m. ET (2313 GMT) on Monday after the geomagnetic storm, classified by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a strong G3 storm subsided. Liftoff occurred about 4.5 hours after the originally scheduled launch time.

SpaceX has been cooperating with NOAA since a mishap in February last year, which saw the company lose a batch of 40 satellites after launching them right into a relatively mild geomagnetic storm. When huge amounts of charged solar particles reach our planet, the interactions of these particles with Earth's upper atmosphere cause the atmosphere to swell. When that happens, the density of gases at higher altitudes increases and spacecraft experience more drag. Since SpaceX launches Starlink craft into very low altitudes and then uses the satellite's onboard propulsion to raise their orbit, this additional drag proved too much for the ill-fated spacecraft.

SpaceX, however, was not the only company inconvenienced by the geomagnetic storm. Canadian exploration geologist Chris Mason reported on Facebook that a drilling rig in Saskatchewan, where he is currently deployed, had to temporarily shut down operations due to the solar storm.

"I’ve been a wellsite geologist for close to 30 years, and last night/this morning was the first time that we briefly suspended drilling operations due to a solar storm," Mason said in the post. "The electronics in the tool that tells us which direction and inclination the drill bit is going was receiving so much interference from the storm that its readings were unreliable."

Mason added that multiple rigs in the area were affected.

Commenting on the post on her Twitter account, U.S. solar physicist and space weather expert Tamitha Skov explained that the rigs were affected by the disruption of GPS signals, which they use for precise navigation.

Running three days late because of a last-minute technical glitch, a four-man space station crew, including a Russian cosmonaut and the first Arab to be assigned to a long duration spaceflight, braced for a second launch try early Thursday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Crew-6 commander Stephen Bowen and pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, flanked by cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and United Arab Emirates flier Sultan Alneyadi, planned to strap in for launch at historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 10 p.m. EST Wednesday.

The countdown was timed to hit zero at 12:34 a.m. Thursday. Ideal weather was expected at the launch site, but forecasters were keeping close tabs on winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean along the crew’s flight path just off the East Cast where the spacecraft could be forced to splash down in an abort.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon has space for several astronauts, but how many people can squeeze inside safely?

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft has become a new workhorse for flying NASA astronauts and space tourists to orbit, but the number of people it has carried per flight has varied over it's lifetime. We thought it would be interesting to see how many people can fly on different kinds of trips.

With the next era of lunar exploration on the horizon, scientists have begun to consider how time should be kept on the moon and how lunar missions will fix their own positions independent from Earth.

This rethink culminated in the agreement, at a meeting of space agencies in November 2022, that an internationally accepted common reference time for the moon is vital. A joint international effort is now being launched in an attempt to achieve this.

To date, each new moon mission has operated on its own timescale, which is related to time here on Earth. This strategy requires deep-space antennas used for two-way communication with mission control to also keep onboard chronometers synched to terrestrial time. This way of keeping time on the moon won't be feasible on some future spacecraft, however, such as NASA's moon-orbiting Gateway space station, which will need to coordinate with a wealth of other lunar and space missions.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:10 pm Of note, one of them, whose name I missed , will be manufacturing their rocket in Cocoa, just down the road from me. A search in Google just kept returning hits on the SpaceX facility on Cidco Road which has since closed. Anyone have more info on this?

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 6:23 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:10 pm Of note, one of them, whose name I missed , will be manufacturing their rocket in Cocoa, just down the road from me. A search in Google just kept returning hits on the SpaceX facility on Cidco Road which has since closed. Anyone have more info on this?

Vaya Space?

The long-retired launch pad where astronaut John Glenn lifted off to become to the first American to orbit Earth is getting a new lease on life.

The U.S. Space Force on Tuesday (March 7) announced it had allocated Space Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) to Stoke Space, a Washington-based company developing a reusable rocket intended to fly daily. In addition to LC-14 being the site where Glenn left the ground in February 1962, the Florida complex also supported the launches of Scott Carpenter, Walter "Wally" Schirra and Gordon Cooper on the three NASA Mercury-Atlas missions that followed.

The NASA Magellan spacecraft captured the images in the early 1990s as it circled our closest planetary neighbor, which is similar in size and composition to Earth.

A new analysis of the orbiter’s perspective of a region near the Venusian equator reveals a volcanic vent that changed shape and increased greatly in size over the span of eight months.

When NASA sends the first astronauts to explore near the lunar South Pole, moonwalkers will wear spacesuits provided by Axiom Space. NASA selected the company to develop the modern suits for the Artemis III mission and participated in activities when the first prototype was revealed Wednesday during an event at Space Center Houston in Texas.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 11:50 am Spacesuit for NASA’s Artemis III Moon Surface Mission Debuts

When NASA sends the first astronauts to explore near the lunar South Pole, moonwalkers will wear spacesuits provided by Axiom Space. NASA selected the company to develop the modern suits for the Artemis III mission and participated in activities when the first prototype was revealed Wednesday during an event at Space Center Houston in Texas.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 12:21 pm

Max Peck wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 11:50 am Spacesuit for NASA’s Artemis III Moon Surface Mission Debuts

When NASA sends the first astronauts to explore near the lunar South Pole, moonwalkers will wear spacesuits provided by Axiom Space. NASA selected the company to develop the modern suits for the Artemis III mission and participated in activities when the first prototype was revealed Wednesday during an event at Space Center Houston in Texas.

I said something about spacesuits a few years ago, that I think it is iffy to have a dark colored suits. I think it is still iffy in this case, even with the orange trim pieces. If you are landing near the south pole there will be more shadows and a downed astronaut in a dark suit in the shadows will be harder to see. Just saying

Max Peck wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 12:34 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 12:21 pm

Max Peck wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 11:50 am Spacesuit for NASA’s Artemis III Moon Surface Mission Debuts

When NASA sends the first astronauts to explore near the lunar South Pole, moonwalkers will wear spacesuits provided by Axiom Space. NASA selected the company to develop the modern suits for the Artemis III mission and participated in activities when the first prototype was revealed Wednesday during an event at Space Center Houston in Texas.

I said something about spacesuits a few years ago, that I think it is iffy to have a dark colored suits. I think it is still iffy in this case, even with the orange trim pieces. If you are landing near the south pole there will be more shadows and a downed astronaut in a dark suit in the shadows will be harder to see. Just saying

.

The caption mentions that while the prototype is dark, because fashion statement presumably, the actual operational suits will likely be white.

Virgin Orbit said Thursday it is pausing all operations amid reports that the company is furloughing almost all its staff as part of a bid to seek a funding lifeline. Virgin Orbit, which is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, was founded in 2017 by British billionaire Richard Branson to target the market for launching small satellites into space. The California-based satellite launch company confirmed it's putting all work on hold, but didn't say how long for.

"Virgin Orbit is initiating a company-wide operational pause, effective March 16, 2023, and anticipates providing an update on go-forward operations in the coming weeks," the company said in a statement. It said the move was "to conserve cash while the company continues to evaluate all available options." The company declined to comment on reports that all but a small number of workers will be temporarily put on unpaid furlough.

Virgin Orbit, which is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, was founded in 2017 by British billionaire Richard Branson to target the market for launching small satellites into space. Its LauncherOne rockets are launched from the air from modified Virgin passenger planes, allowing the company to operate more flexibly than using fixed launch sites.

In January, a mission by Virgin Orbit to launch the first satellites into orbit from Europe failed after its rocket's upper stage prematurely shut down. The failure was a disappointment for Virgin Orbit and British space officials, who had high hopes that the launch, which took off from Cornwall in southwest England, would mark the beginning of more commercial opportunities for the U.K. space industry.

The company said last month that an investigation found that its rocket's fuel filter had become dislodged, causing an engine to become overheated and other components to malfunction. The nine small satellites it carried fell back to Earth and landed in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Our investigation is nearly complete and our next production rocket with the needed modification incorporated is in final stages of integration and test," Virgin Orbit said in its statement Thursday.

The company has said that its next launch will take place from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for a commercial customer. It hasn't provided a date.

Virgin Orbit has completed four successful satellite launches so far from California for a mix of commercial and U.S. government defense uses. Other than the U.K., it also has ambitions to expand its operations to mainland Europe and South Korea.

Footage of China’s most recent Long March 3B Y90 rocket launch appeared last week. Aside from the high terrain of the launch site, which really looks like a scene out of You Only Live Twice, what is impossible to miss is the sinister-looking billowing bright reddish plume that engulfs the rocket as it lifts off. It certainly doesn’t look like something you would want to breathe.



As it turns out, that is all too true.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 6:21 pm Fun fact... the Space Shuttle program used hypergolic fuels and oxidizers.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:19 pm About six minutes to the latest launch attempt of Terran 1:

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:35 pm 2. They're a buncha goddam hippies.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:00 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:35 pm 2. They're a buncha goddam hippies.

Everything would have gone great if most of them were white guys in white short sleeve shirts and black ties . Suit or company jacket optional:

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:00 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:35 pm 2. They're a buncha goddam hippies.

Everything would have gone great if most of them were white guys in white short sleeve shirts and black ties . Suit or company jacket optional:

raydude wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:07 am When I gave presentations to elementary school classes on Career Day the white short sleeve and black tie was my "aerospace engineer" uniform.

SpaceX’s next two missions will revert to launching older versions of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, instead of new second-generation Starlink platforms as originally planned, while ground teams work out unspecified problems with the first batch of upgraded Starlinks launched in February.

The next two SpaceX launches with Falcon 9 rockets will each carry more than 50 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, beginning with the scheduled liftoff of a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:33 a.m. EDT (1533 UTC) Friday. Another Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral is tentatively scheduled for next Wednesday, March 29, at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 UTC).

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:35 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:19 pm About six minutes to the latest launch attempt of Terran 1:

1. There are fewer than 20 people in their control center.
2. They're a buncha goddam hippies.
3. The second stage apparently didn't ignite, but they "achieved our mission objectives" of getting as far as stage separation. Aim low!

The Meal wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 8:59 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:35 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:19 pm About six minutes to the latest launch attempt of Terran 1:

1. There are fewer than 20 people in their control center.
2. They're a buncha goddam hippies.
3. The second stage apparently didn't ignite, but they "achieved our mission objectives" of getting as far as stage separation. Aim low!

They freaking 3D printed a giant rocket ship that made it through MAX-Q, on the first try.

I'm impressed.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:00 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:35 pm 2. They're a buncha goddam hippies.

Everything would have gone great if most of them were white guys in white short sleeve shirts and black ties . Suit or company jacket optional:

Max Peck wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:16 am There also needs to be a light haze of smoke. Tobacco smoke.

Sometime next month, SpaceX will likely try to launch the largest rocketship ever flown, known as the Starship. If successful, this flight will herald a new space age, as humanity opens the solar system. This begs the question: Will it fail or will it succeed? And if it fails, what will it mean?

Anyone familiar with space movies, or who has visited a NASA gift shop, knows the phrase "Failure is not an option." Actually, it is. In truth, if one is to win at anything, failure is a requirement. We only learn by what we learn from making mistakes. That is if — and this is an important "if" — we accept the learning we gain from the failure and apply it to our future endeavors.

The exploration and development of space are no exceptions. Or rather, they highlight the rule.