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The Space Thread

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February 1, 2015 - 3:18am

For all things in, or going to space.

There has always been enough of a general interest among members to share and discuss space related news and events, and as we head into a busy year for both government and private programs alike, I wanted to be sure we have a place to keep posted.

Not a week from today on February 7th, SpaceX will finally be launching the DSCOVR: Deep Space Climate Observtory after multiple delays.

The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, will maintain the nation's real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities
which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA's space weather alerts and forecasts. Without timely and accurate warnings, space weather events like the geomagnetic storms caused by changes in solar wind have the potential to disrupt nearly every major public infrastructure system, including power grids, telecommunications, aviation and GPS.

While the payload is certainly interesting if anything, the real highlight for me is seeing it launched on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.  Replacing rockets has always been way more expensive than buying the fuel to load it, and with this level of reusability LEO deliveries begin to look real affordable.  Here is an animation demonstrating the planned capabilities of the heavy variant.

Even more upcoming SpaceX  launches to follow.

On March 6th NASA's probe Dawn will be reaching Ceres, already capturing crude images on its slow approach.

During its nearly decade-long mission, the Dawn mission will study the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, celestial bodies believed to have accreted early in the history of the solar system. The mission will characterize the early solar system and the processes that dominated its formation.

And following that around July is the highlight of their New Horizon mission to fly by Pluto.

Point being is that space is becoming a somewhat busy place, so if you aren't already interested or at least curious, now is a cool time to be. Feel free to add upcoming events or dump anything interesting you find on the web, the only real aim is to bring space to the people who may not otherwise search for it, hoping to entice an interest for what has got be this species' coolest joint effort.

 

February 1, 2015 - 12:28pm
 please continue to post relevant topics in here Lahey, absolutely fascinated by these posts, will dive into it more myself.
February 1, 2015 - 4:29pm
February 1, 2015 - 5:22pm

I am very intersted in deep space and interstellar space. I will post a few of the missions and spacecrafts I have found the most interesting. 

 

Voyager 1 and 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vo...

after completing their original missions, these spacecrafts, which were launched in the late 70's, will forever float in the milky way. it is known that the voyager 1 has reached interstellar space, which is defined as 'Interstellar space is the physical space within a galaxy not occupied by stars or their planetary systems.' the voyager 1 is the furthest man made object from the earth, further than 6 billion miles away. the famous 'pale blue dot' photo was taken from this spacecraft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot)

 

(^ the small green/blue speck you see in the beam of light to the right is the earth, as seen from voyager 1, as it approached the very edge of our solar system)

the sputnik 2 was the first spacecraft to attempt to send an animal into space. in 1957, Laika was recruited, trained, and subsequently sent into orbit above the earth. the dog did not last long into the mission due to complications with the insulation caused the cabin temperature be too much for the dog to survive. this mission was before the time where technology developed to a point where spacecraft de-orbit and planet re entry was possible, the dogs life was always meant to be sacrificed in order to see how a living animal reacts to the process of sending a spacecraft into space. 

 

 

the korabl-sputnik 2 was the first craft to send animals into space and return them safely: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korabl-Sputnik_2

 

first saturn orbiter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens

first jupiter orbiter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_spacecraft

first mars flyby + high res pics of mars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_4

first mercury flyby: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_10

launched in january of 2006, this craft is set to perform the first flyby of pluto in july of this year , allowing us to see its surface up close for the first time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons

first jupiter flyby: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10

first venus orbiter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Venus

 

and of course, the voyager 2, responsible for Jupiter flyby + Saturn flyby + first flybys/images of Neptune and Uranus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2

 

i'll definitely be back

February 2, 2015 - 10:46am

the spacecraft that set the record for maximum speed by a spacecraft, traveling 157,078 miles an hour, or an astonishing 43.6 miles a second

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_(spacecraft)

February 2, 2015 - 9:25pm

I've been thinking about aliens a lot lately

 

goatzeus  u okay

February 3, 2015 - 2:56am
Did they create a Sims On Mars yet? 
In reply to mike
February 3, 2015 - 3:15am
mike said in The Space Thread

I've been thinking about aliens a lot lately

 

goatzeus  u okay

they treat me a ok. hopefully...just got to watch what i say consciously, or im considered...well...

BATSHIT INSANELY CRAZY

AHHHHHHHHHH

February 3, 2015 - 10:12am
http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/nasas-europa-missi...

Just read through this today. Thankfully NASA got the boosted government budget to further pursue this project. 

It would be weird to create a lifeform that is founded on extracting energy through chemosynthesis rather than photosynthesis. I guess that is assumed how bacteria on earth was first able to obtain and maintain life. Through the hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.
February 8, 2015 - 11:18am

Welp, today is a big day for SpaceX. Hopefully they loaded that thing with plenty of hydraulic fluid this time around. The rocket is the Falcon 9, the payload is the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) which will monitor solar winds in real-time from the L1 lagrangian point, superceding NASA's ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer). After the first stage ascends into a suborbital trajectory, the second stage separates from the interstage that connected the two and punches into orbit. The first stage booster will then perform a series of small burns to land on a drone ship some 370 miles off the Florida coast, a second try for SpaceX. In the first attempt, the landing suffered a last minute failure due to running out of hydraulic fluid, which controlled the guiding fins stabilizing the rocket in decent. While a second stage return like the first was planned, SpaceX has decided the money is better spent elsewhere. In the previous missions after payload delivery, the second stages have been left to decay in GTO (Geostationary transfer orbit) where none remain today given the decay rate, or left in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) to stay indefinitely. However in this mission, after delivering the DSCOVR payload, the second stage will continue on to a solar, or heliocentric orbit, another first for SpaceX.

This landing will also be considerably more difficult than the last, failed attempt. Returning from an insertion path into LEO is shallower than this heliocentric insertion. In  this steeper decline, the first stage can only make 2 corrective burns instead of 3, relying more on the hydraulic powered guiding fins to control the decent. Hold on to your butts.

Launch is at 6:10 EST, watch it live here.

Same deal here, just with the payload fairing configuration instead of the Dragon capsule.

EDIT: Sitting on the pad.

Photo credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

In reply to The Big Lahey
February 8, 2015 - 4:41pm
Bumping for launch in 30 minutes, weather is 100% go, ustream link here. Who's ready to see a rocket land after launching for the first time ever?
February 8, 2015 - 4:46pm
Was the launch delayed? I thought it was scheduled for Sunday morning.
In reply to Dante
February 8, 2015 - 5:04pm

Dante said in The Space Thread
Was the launch delayed? I thought it was scheduled for Sunday morning.

I don't know about reschedules earlier in the week, but there hasn't been any within the last couple days. 5 min to go! Although the real highlight comes ~30 minutes after launch, when they will attempt to land the booster stage on the unmanned barge out in the Atlantic.

In reply to The Big Lahey
February 8, 2015 - 5:05pm
The Big Lahey said in The Space Thread

Dante said in The Space Thread
Was the launch delayed? I thought it was scheduled for Sunday morning.

I don't know about reschedules earlier in the week, but there hasn't been any within the last couple days. 5 min to go! Although the real highlight comes ~30 minutes after launch, when they will attempt to land the booster stage on the unmanned barge out in the Atlantic.

Assuming of course the other stages go smoothly.
In reply to Dante
February 8, 2015 - 5:08pm
Dante said in The Space Thread
The Big Lahey said in The Space Thread

Dante said in The Space Thread
Was the launch delayed? I thought it was scheduled for Sunday morning.

I don't know about reschedules earlier in the week, but there hasn't been any within the last couple days. 5 min to go! Although the real highlight comes ~30 minutes after launch, when they will attempt to land the booster stage on the unmanned barge out in the Atlantic.

Assuming of course the other stages go smoothly.

The only thing that would stop this attempt is if they didn't stage period. Once separated, the second stage will have no impact on the first.

February 8, 2015 - 5:09pm
Aborted :(
February 8, 2015 - 5:10pm
Sigh.
February 8, 2015 - 5:15pm
Tracking issue, that seems like something that should have been cleared way before we got the rocket into launch prep.
February 8, 2015 - 5:15pm

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/564562686478807043

 

GG AF

February 9, 2015 - 9:34am
In reply to Dante
February 9, 2015 - 9:38am
Dante said in The Space Thread

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/564562686478807043

 

GG AF

hey fuck u

In reply to Muhzzy
February 9, 2015 - 9:48am
Muhzzy said in The Space Thread
Dante said in The Space Thread

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/564562686478807043

 

GG AF

hey fuck u

<3

February 9, 2015 - 3:25pm

https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/564892472393072640

 

February 10, 2015 - 4:33pm
Stream link again. T-Minus 32 minutes.
February 10, 2015 - 4:49pm
Upper level air speeds are currently too high, I'll be sad if this gets pushed another day. One more weather balloon to find out.
February 10, 2015 - 4:56pm

FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU-

Scrubbed until tomorrow. 6:03pm EST

In reply to Dante
February 10, 2015 - 5:04pm

Come back from a shower to this?! God dammit.
 

2/11/15 EDIT: Launch is still on for today at 6:03 PM EST, but given some extreme weather at sea the Falcon 9 will not attempt a landing on the barge. Don't know if I will even tune in at this point, that was the highlight for me. Another day I suppose.

February 11, 2015 - 4:28pm

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/565636516551352321

 

So are they doing a controlled splashdown in a similar method to landing it on the drone platform?

February 11, 2015 - 5:24pm

SUPER SOLAR FILAMENT: It is, arguably, the second biggest thing in the solar system. A filament of magnetism almost 1,000,000 km long is stretching across the face of the sun. Only the sun itself is bigger.

This is a solar filament, a tendril of plasma held suspended above the surface of the sun by magnetic forces. Filaments appear on the sun all the time, but this one is unusually large, 5 to 10 times longer than ordinary filaments. If it becomes unstable and erupts, it could hurl parts of itself into space. Pieces of the filament falling back to the solar surface would explode upon impact, sparking a Hyder flare.

http://spaceweather.com/

In reply to Dante
February 11, 2015 - 5:36pm

Dante said in The Space Thread

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/565636516551352321

 

So are they doing a controlled splashdown in a similar method to landing it on the drone platform?

Dunno man, it's a mega storm. Safety not guaranteed.

February 11, 2015 - 6:27pm
In reply to gotzeus
February 11, 2015 - 7:18pm
gotzeus said in The Space Thread

SUPER SOLAR FILAMENT: It is, arguably, the second biggest thing in the solar system. A filament of magnetism almost 1,000,000 km long is stretching across the face of the sun. Only the sun itself is bigger.

This is a solar filament, a tendril of plasma held suspended above the surface of the sun by magnetic forces. Filaments appear on the sun all the time, but this one is unusually large, 5 to 10 times longer than ordinary filaments. If it becomes unstable and erupts, it could hurl parts of itself into space. Pieces of the filament falling back to the solar surface would explode upon impact, sparking a Hyder flare.

http://spaceweather.com/

That is terrifying.

In reply to Dante
February 11, 2015 - 7:34pm

Dante said in The Space Thread

WWWWOOOO! I can't wait until we have reusable rockets. Can't fuckin' wait. I can't wait until 'spaceports' are a common thing.

In reply to Wugums
February 11, 2015 - 11:53pm
being that its the longest filament ever recorded...maybe.
February 26, 2015 - 1:59pm

Strange lights on dwarf planet Ceres have scientists perplexed

A dwarf planet is shining two bright lights at a NASA spacecraft right now, and our smartest scientists are unsure what they are.

As bizarre as that sentence sounds, that's the situation with Ceres — the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, officially designated as a dwarf planet (the same category as Pluto).

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is approaching Ceres ahead of a March 6 rendezvous. The picture above was taken February 19, from a distance of just under 29,000 miles, and shows two very shiny areas on the same basin on Ceres' surface.

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