Awesome night sky viewing! [Archive] - Page 3

Gnam

09-19-14, 08:55 PM

NASA just awarded SpaceX and Boeing a multi-billion dollar contract to develop a manned space vehicle by 2017. :thumbup:
Not loving the "space taxi" name, though.

http://gizmodo.com/boeings-new-space-taxi-has-the-cleanest-cabin-on-earth-1636368792
http://s2.postimg.org/j9zc6zyp5/jgf97hfbjz0vtoxnaftq.jpg

NASA has awarded Boeing Co. a contract worth as much as $4.2 billion and rival Space Exploration Technologies Corp. a separate pact valued at up to $2.6 billion to develop, test and fly space taxis to carry U.S. astronauts into orbit.

The American-built rockets and spacecraft would replace the Russian systems that currently provide the only access to the international space station. The space taxi is slated to transport its first astronaut to the orbiting laboratory by 2017.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/boeing-and-spacex-share-6-8-billion-in-nasa-space-taxi-contracts-1410904245

KLang

09-19-14, 10:14 PM

We are still doing the Apollo program. :cry:

dando

09-19-14, 11:36 PM

We are still doing the Apollo program. :cry:

Better than flying Putin Air? :irked: A decade too late. :saywhat:

cameraman

09-20-14, 12:41 AM

We are still doing the Apollo program. :cry:

We are doing what is cost effective and what works. These new systems work and work well and they don't break the bank.

Gnam

09-20-14, 01:16 AM

We are still doing the Apollo program. :cry:
Not even. All the systems in the taxi are automated just like von Braun wanted.
The people inside are just along for the ride.
Spam in the can.

cameraman

09-20-14, 01:49 AM

But they still don't fly if the weather sucks.

Updated weather report now is 90% 'no-go' for a 2:14am ET @SpaceX launch.

cameraman

09-20-14, 01:54 AM

Aaaaaaaand the launch has been scrubbed.

Sunday morning's launch opportunity is 1:53 a.m EDT

10-07-14, 11:40 AM

Anyone getting up for the lunar eclipse tomorrow? Might be cool to catch it setting as it's red. :o

Anteater

10-08-14, 02:56 PM

I got up at 2 am to watch the lunar eclipse; it was beautiful!

dando

10-11-14, 01:48 PM

View of the lunar eclipse from Messenger orbiting Mercury.

http://imgur.com/pj0KFEY

indyfan31

10-11-14, 11:19 PM

Note to self, it's really hard to focus at 4 in the morning.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5616/15482462675_2977f29ae2_b.jpg

nrc

10-13-14, 01:15 AM

Very cool pic!

cameraman

10-28-14, 05:33 PM

T-minus 50 minutes or so for folks on the east coast....

6:22 PM eastern time

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1EFs9mCUAAkSd-.jpg

for the launch of this:

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1EHk4SCYAEta4M.png

Online coverage for the rest of us...

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

JoeBob

10-28-14, 05:39 PM

Great coverage here too: http://spaceflightnow.com/2014/10/26/live-coverage-antares-rocket-set-for-launch-monday-from-virginia/

dando

10-28-14, 06:15 PM

Looks like a bottle rocket compared to the shuttle or Sat V. :(

cameraman

10-28-14, 06:24 PM

Holy **** it exploded on launch

About 6 seconds in and the first stage just detonated.

The launch facility is just trashed.

cameraman

10-28-14, 06:34 PM

Amazing how many alarm lights are still functioning after having a rocket dropped on them.

Gnam

10-28-14, 06:35 PM

The NASA tv cameras are still rolling. Lots of little fires.

The ISS crew is eating leftovers tonight. ;)

Gnam

10-28-14, 06:36 PM

Amazing how many alarm lights are still functioning after having a rocket dropped on them.

I think the beach took the brunt of the blast.

cameraman

10-28-14, 06:37 PM

The fire crews have a lot of work ahead of them there are fires throughout the facility.

dando

10-28-14, 06:37 PM

Sonofabitch. :irked:

cameraman

10-28-14, 06:44 PM

It looked like it moved sideways as it released from the clamps, it didn't look normal and then boom.
Damn.

Gnam

10-28-14, 06:55 PM

Awesome night ground viewing!

Article on the rocket's payload:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/an-asteroid-mining-company-heads-to-space-for-the-first-time-tonight-17364787

All did not go well.

cameraman

10-28-14, 06:57 PM

jHMmMgdcOSU

That didn't take long.

dando

10-28-14, 07:18 PM

The Orbital Sciences Corp had scheduled the launch of its Antares rocket for 6.22pm Eastern time October 27.
Conditions for the launch were perfect - but as it left the launchpad, the rocket appeared to explode.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2810128/Ready-liftoff-Nighttime-rocket-launch-International-Space-Station-visible-East-Coast.html

Understatement of the year. :saywhat:

chop456

10-29-14, 01:46 AM

It didn't explode for sure until a lawyer or PR person says so.

Elmo T

10-29-14, 08:48 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0SgAU9LXI

nrc

10-29-14, 09:07 AM

Walter Cronkite these guys are not.

JoeBob

10-29-14, 10:37 AM

NASA provides press accreditation to social media followers, which allows you to watch the launch from the press site. That's who is in that video.

The BIG explosion is range safety detonating the rocket. You can clearly see that happen if you look for it at about T+20.

As for the ISS, they've got plenty of supplies. A Russian Progress failed in 2011, with little impact, except to the manifests of the cargo ships to follow. In fact, another Progress launched last night (after Antares cratered) and has already docked with the station. (The Russians have a 4 orbit rendezvous profile for catching the station(!))

Gnam

10-29-14, 01:04 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0SgAU9LXI
I know it wasn't the preferred outcome, but what a great explosion.
From the projectile arcs to the sparks showering down at the end, it was really well done.

Elmo T

10-29-14, 01:59 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zarWT7H9t54

chop456

10-30-14, 07:47 AM

http://adventuresofmanatee.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/5134_99223456865_734631865_1969851_4770470_n.jpg

Someone obviously had to do it.

dando

11-12-14, 03:25 PM

Comet lander hits target and lands, but anchors did not deploy properly.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/12/world/comet-landing-countdown/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Gnam

11-12-14, 04:54 PM

That's no comet. ;)

cameraman

11-12-14, 05:21 PM

That's no comet. ;)

Of course not the whole thing is being filmed out of a secret movie studio in the French wine country.:shakehead:

11-14-14, 10:59 PM

Rock-n-roller scientist gets into fashion trouble, cries.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/11231320/Rosetta-mission-scientist-Dr-Matt-Taylor-cries-during-apology-over-offensive-shirt.html

Not sure what to make of this. :\

cameraman

11-15-14, 02:14 PM

It is a spin off of the whole #gamergate fiasco. The female science and engineering community is throughly fed up males behaving like junior-high jackasses towards women in professional settings and they have taken social media to rip offending folks a new one whenever it happens. This guy with his shirt and "sexy baby" comments about the lander during the official press conference really offended many female (and male) astronomers. They complained on twitter about his poor taste, mostly along the line of "wtf is he thinking wearing that at a press conference?" and they were immediately barraged with profane abuse, rape and death threats from the 4chan-type *******s. It is quite the rolling train wreck.

Tifosi24

11-15-14, 03:02 PM

What made anyone think wearing that shirt to work, let alone a news conference, was a good idea?

dando

11-15-14, 07:22 PM

What made anyone think owning that shirt...was a good idea?

Twitterfied your post. :gomer:

11-15-14, 09:16 PM

It's an original design, made by his girlfriend. (Or girl, who's a friend, depending on who you ask.)

cameraman

11-15-14, 09:43 PM

It still has no place at an international press conference celebrating a decade long space mission. No one else in mission control was dressed like a circus clown.

Andrew Longman

11-16-14, 05:46 PM

It still has no place at an international press conference celebrating a decade long space mission. No one else in mission control was dressed like a circus clown. It is a far cry from Gene Kranz's many vests.;)

cameraman

11-16-14, 06:09 PM

It is a far cry from Gene Kranz's many vests.;)

Um, yeah there is a wee bit of a difference...

http://whizzospace.com/uacc/Vest-1.jpg

Gnam

11-16-14, 07:02 PM

Um, yeah there is a wee bit of a difference...
Tour of Duty generation vs. Greatest generation. :shakehead:

Don't they have 'nerd wranglers' to ride herd on these guys in public?

cameraman

11-16-14, 07:41 PM

Tour of Duty generation vs. Greatest generation. :shakehead:

Don't they have 'nerd wranglers' to ride herd on these guys in public?

I have no clue what the internal culture is like there, from what I've read he is really smart but also a bit of a harmless nut and I guess the folks there are used to it and have developed a blind eye to it. That said somebody there should have noticed but they were just a wee bit distracted...

JoeBob

11-23-14, 11:04 PM

Remember that time Antares blew up in a big way. the accident investigators confiscated all cameras at the site to review them for evidence.

The owners just got them back, and the pictures and videos are online.

http://www.zerognews.com/inferno-over-wallops-a-first-hand-photo-and-video-account-of-antares-launch-failure/

Gnam

11-24-14, 03:51 PM

WOW. That is an impressive amount of fire.

12-04-14, 09:15 AM

They gonna light the Orion off today?

Andrew Longman

12-04-14, 10:34 AM

They gonna light the Orion off today?Ive been trying to follow it. I think the third attempt is in 13 min but they are having trouble with a sensor that's telling there is too much wind. But I need Walter Cronkite to explain it to me.

SteveH

12-04-14, 10:45 AM

delayed to tomorrow at 7:05 am ET

Gnam

12-04-14, 05:15 PM

That Delta IV rocket looks like a flying grain silo.

http://s16.postimg.org/mtqfyy89x/Delta4_746299.jpg

SteveH

12-04-14, 05:27 PM

The two towers on either side of the Orion, does anyone know their purpose? Lightning arrestors?

Gnam

12-04-14, 06:32 PM

Yes. They act as lightning rods.

dando

12-05-14, 08:08 AM

Go, go, go! :thumbup:

Elmo T

12-05-14, 10:08 AM

Glad to see it go - albeit 30 years late.

I watch and think about what my uncle always tells me - he is an Air Force Academy grad who spent years in the aviation industry. Retired from Boeing a few years back. He said our current risk aversion will prevent us from every achieving greatness in space exploration once again.

KLang

12-05-14, 12:47 PM

NASA has been touting Orion as the road to Mars. It just doesn't seem realistic to me to suggest multiple astronauts are going to live in that capsule for months.

Napoleon

12-05-14, 02:12 PM

. . . for months.

Isn't it something like a year trip in each direction, and that may also include a sizable layover at Mars until the plants line up right again.

SteveH

12-05-14, 02:39 PM

NASA has been touting Orion as the road to Mars. It just doesn't seem realistic to me to suggest multiple astronauts are going to live in that capsule for months.

717

cameraman

12-05-14, 02:52 PM

NASA has been touting Orion as the road to Mars. It just doesn't seem realistic to me to suggest multiple astronauts are going to live in that capsule for months.

They don't plan on keeping people in Orion for longer than a couple of weeks.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/ISS-Derived_Deep_Space_Habitat_with_CPS.jpg

It gets towed behind the Winnebago...

Edit, actually it gets pushed in front of the Winnebago. Gotta look at the pictures.

dando

12-05-14, 03:47 PM

I also saw a piece a couple of months ago about NASA looking into hibernation chambers for the journey. IIRC, it's 9 mos.

JoeBob

12-05-14, 04:18 PM

I saw the launch today from about 3 miles away. Quite a show.

It's too bad Orion and SLS have pretty much no missions funded beyond testing.

dando

12-05-14, 06:47 PM

I saw the launch today from about 3 miles away. Quite a show.

It's too bad Orion and SLS have pretty much no missions funded beyond testing.

IMHO, not gonna happen unless it becomes an international effort ala the ISS. Sad. Not getting political, but that's the state of our dysfunctional government these days. W set the goal a decade or so ago, but it didn't gain any traction, and we were still stuck with the space pickup truck. :irked:

JoeBob

12-08-14, 01:11 PM

I talked to a lot of people involved while down there.

This is already international - the service module for Orion is now based on the European Space Agency's ATV Vehicle. Orion is built to have enough life support for a crew of 4 on a 21 day mission. If you're going to go anywhere far, you will need a habitation module - which is currently vaporware. My suspicion is that another International partner will fund and/or build that in exchange for a seat on board a la ISS.

The other issue is timing. There's not another flight scheduled for 4 years. Talking to an Operations Manager, the flows in that person's area are typically 6-12 months. Which means that for every year that the workforce is doing something, there's 3 years with not much to do. That isn't sustainable. For this to work, you need to have more launches. But... more launches = more money, and that just isn't there.

Fun Fact: After Constellation was cancelled and "replaced" by SLS, the name Orion stayed for the MPCV because the cost to remove the Orion name from existing documentation and replace it with something else was well into the six figure range.

cameraman

12-18-14, 12:44 PM

Weather forecasts from a million miles away....

akM4WmGJ_j8

dando

01-16-15, 02:26 PM

Beagle 2 has landed...kinda.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/16/world/mars-beagle-lander-found/index.html

SteveH

02-10-15, 10:32 PM

http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn26939/dn26939-1_1200.jpg

Hovering happy face smiles down on us from space (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26939-hovering-happy-face-smiles-down-on-us-from-space.html#.VNq-8YZOKrV)

Elmo T

02-11-15, 09:48 AM

^^^

Thus might be lost on a bunch of you, but this was my first thought:

http://i60.tinypic.com/5d864l.jpg

chop456

02-11-15, 10:00 AM

^ Just when I thought that had been wiped from my brain forever. Thanks. :thumbdown:

Elmo T

02-11-15, 11:23 AM

^ Just when I thought that had been wiped from my brain forever. Thanks. :thumbdown:

That was one of the few Playhouse Disney shows that I actually liked. And Stanley.

YMMV :rofl:

Gnam

02-19-15, 07:35 PM

Watch out for black obelisks.

Mars, Venus and the moon will meet up in a particularly beautiful cosmic display Friday, Feb. 20.

[Looking West shortly after sunset], the three cosmic bodies will form a triangle only 2 degrees across, small enough to fit into a low-power telescope's field of view. Mars and Venus will also be closely paired in the night sky Thursday, Feb. 19.

http://www.space.com/28594-moon-venus-mars-skywatching-friday.html

http://s8.postimg.org/ssdydktfp/mars_venus_moon_february_2015_jpg_1424298668.jpg

Napoleon

03-05-15, 04:29 PM

OK, this is pretty bizarre. So we all know that one of the things that happens as a result of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity is that light bends around objects due to what we call gravity. Well because of that astronomers have been able to observe a star going supernova over 9 billion light years away 4 separate times over the last 50 years (with a predicted 5th rerun in the next 10 years) because of a cluster of galaxies that lie in the way has bent trajectories of multiple images of the event so that they all reach Earth, but at different times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/science/astronomers-observe-supernova-and-find-theyre-watching-reruns.html

cameraman

03-11-15, 05:49 PM

Well that's loud...

Ts9sFtUSeQE

dando

03-16-15, 02:37 PM

Nessie wants to know what's the fuss. ;)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/meteor-over-loch-ness-this-is-how-the-photographer-captured-the-breathtaking-picture-10110765.html

dando

03-17-15, 12:24 PM

Trifecta Friday.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/solar-eclipse-supermoon-spring-equinox-friday-will-see-three-rare-celestial-events-10111592.html

chop456

03-18-15, 02:12 AM

I don't like the sound of that. Just sayin'.

http://www.2001aspaceodyssey.org/BigImages/Jupiter%20Moons%20Monolith.jpg

dando

03-22-15, 09:08 PM

Eclipse from space.

http://www.cnet.com/news/watch-total-solar-eclipse-looks-perfect-from-space/

dando

04-14-15, 04:47 PM

Up, up and away!

http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

Gnam

04-14-15, 05:44 PM

The Falcon 9 did not stick the landing.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched an unmanned Falcon 9 on a resupply mission to the International Space Station but missed again in its attempt to recover the rocket’s first stage.

“Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival,” Musk said in Twitter posts shortly after the launch. “Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/spacex-rocket-lands-too-hard-on-barge-after-successful-launch

PS: "Just Read the Instructions" is the worst name for a vessel, ever. :rolleyes:

http://s3.postimg.org/pqe8g4ydf/1200x_1.jpg

cameraman

04-14-15, 07:23 PM

I've never understood the cost benefit on that one, why not just have it slowly splash down in the water. It would be far simpler.

chop456

04-15-15, 02:22 AM

Because it's fun.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Lunar_Lander.png

Elmo T

04-15-15, 08:12 AM

Because it's fun.

I spent so much money on that game I could have bought my own lunar lander. :rofl:

KLang

04-15-15, 09:11 AM

I've never understood the cost benefit on that one, why not just have it slowly splash down in the water. It would be far simpler.

Pretty sure the booster would be less reusable after being immersed in sea water. Plus I'm sure the goal is a landing on land.

Andrew Longman

04-15-15, 02:19 PM

Pretty sure the booster would be less reusable after being immersed in sea water. Plus I'm sure the goal is a landing on land.i believe the shuttle external tanks and solid fuel boosters were recycled and they landed at sea. YMMV

KLang

04-15-15, 03:32 PM

i believe the shuttle external tanks and solid fuel boosters were recycled and they landed at sea. YMMV

I don't claim to be rocket scientist ;) but I'm pretty sure there is a huge difference between the shuttle's solid boosters and the liquid fueled Merlin engines on the Falcon 9.

cameraman

04-15-15, 06:15 PM

I don't claim to be rocket scientist ;) but I'm pretty sure there is a huge difference between the shuttle's solid boosters and the liquid fueled Merlin engines on the Falcon 9.

Oh come on what is the worst that could happen when dunking incandescently hot unobtanium alloys into sea water:D

04-16-15, 12:04 AM

I've got a stupid question - what are the rules of salvage in international waters? Could the first boat that reaches a spacecraft at sea claim ownership or demand payment for "rescuing" it?

Insomniac

04-16-15, 12:28 PM

I've got a stupid question - what are the rules of salvage in international waters? Could the first boat that reaches a spacecraft at sea claim ownership or demand payment for "rescuing" it?

Jeff Bezos located Apollo F-1 engines. NASA's stance:

“I would like to thank Jeff Bezos for his communication with NASA informing us of his historic find. I salute him and his entire team on this bold venture and wish them all the luck in the world.

“NASA does retain ownership of any artifacts recovered and would likely offer one of the Saturn V F-1 engines to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington under long-standing arrangements with the institution as the holder of the national collection of aerospace artifacts.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/mar/HQ_12-102_Bolden_Bezos_Ap_Eng.html

But legally, it seems very murky. Think treasure hunters.

Napoleon

04-16-15, 12:44 PM

04-16-15, 02:36 PM

But legally, it seems very murky. Think treasure hunters.

I thought that it really is not as murky as you would think and that the basic rule was that you continue to own it. In the last decade or so I swear I have read this coming up relative to Spanish ship wrecks 100s of years old where Spain has been successful in asserting they own the gold.

Doing a quick look around the ol' Wikipedia, it is a strange and murky tale.

The salvage laws are very old, and were designed to reward seafarers for lending assistance to ships in trouble.

The "captain goes down with the ship" is apparently part of this - the Captain is the last one off, before it goes down, so that he can negotiate rescue terms and payments to passing vessels. Otherwise, a healthy ship could wait until it's abandoned, then take all the cargo.

The rescue payments are normally pretty high to encourage assistance, and avoid plunder.
how to keep your boat (http://www.wavetrain.net/techniques-a-tactics/492-salvage-law-when-do-get-to-keep-an-abandoned-boat)

The Spanish gov't DID successfully retain ownership of the "Black Swan" gold recently. And they slapped the salvagers with some insult to go with their injury.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/odyssey-marine-ordered-to-pay-spain-1-million-in-black-swan-case/2144658

Anyway, I'm wondering if you could hang out in the Pacific with a fast boat and a tow rope and catch falling spacecraft. Beats squatting on website names, and you only need to get lucky once. :)
(I'm losing faith in the Lottery as my retirement plan. ;) )

Gnam

04-16-15, 05:20 PM

The Spanish gov't DID successfully retain ownership of the "Black Swan" gold recently. And they slapped the salvagers with some insult to go with their injury.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/odyssey-marine-ordered-to-pay-spain-1-million-in-black-swan-case/2144658
That's bull****. Ownership should transfer to the salvage crew for hauling it out of Davey Jones' locker.

The treasure hunters should have dumped it back in the ocean. Let the Spanish swim for it.