All things NASA & SpaceX. Past, Present & Future.

[renegadeleader1]

Honestly this might be the hardest part for the crew right now. A few controlled burns to get into position, but mostly just a waiting game for most of the next day.

[505thAirborne]

A perfect launch, everything by the numbers it would seem and now it's waiting game to arrive at the ISS. 

Sucks though that the LIVE feed gave out as the boosters were about to land. So far this is the only footage of it. 

 

[jenius]

I laughed, that was like conspiracy theory timing.

[505thAirborne]

12 minutes ago, jenius said:

I laughed, that was like conspiracy theory timing.

Almost every other comment was suggesting the same thing. 

[Jaustin89]

17 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

Almost every other comment was suggesting the same thing. 

It's actually not a coincidence. The feed from the drone ships is relayed by satelite; a multiton rocket landing on the ship rocks it enough to kick the dish out of alignment and interrupt the signal.

[DewPoint]

1 hour ago, renegadeleader1 said:

Honestly this might be the hardest part for the crew right now. A few controlled burns to get into position, but mostly just a waiting game for most of the next day.

My understanding is that they will test out most if not all of the manual controls out before docking with the ISS.  How long that will take, who knows.

[kajnrig]

Yo had to leave for IRL duties. SUCCESS!?!?

[TangledThorns]

Real shame this launch didn't get the attention it deserves.

[kalvasflam]

What this launch hopefully will do is to either spur ULA to better things or just kill ULA altogether.  I'm fine with either result, because if there is one thing Musk has demonstrated, it's that there is no such thing as too high a barrier to entry, especially  if you have grit backed up by some money.

Better yet, if ULA dies, there is a going to be other companies that will pick up the slack.

[JB0]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Y'know, with all of the other advancements this program represents, it seems a bit anachronistic that the American space program continues to prefer water landings instead of a controlled ground landing. The Soviets have been landing on the ground since the beginning of Soyuz, so it's not like there's no precedence. It just seems a step back to me. Moreover, with water landings, there's always the possibility of losing the capsule if it takes on water. Gus Grissom was pissed when his Gemini capsule was lost.

 

Ground landings are harder, no pun intended. You have narrower re-entry windows to hit a viable landing site, and actually setting down safely is much more complicated. There is no need to take on the added challenge if you don't have to.

I'm not sure, but I think there are also weight advantages.

 

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Those vertical rocket recovery landings will never cease to amaze me; it's sci-fi turned real, just an incredible feat of engineering. It's why I made my water recovery statement earlier; if we land a rocket on its tail, why not bring a capsule down on land. but I digress. What was notable to me was how clean the exhaust plume was from the rocket as compared to the Gemini, Apollo, and STS missions, which created huge fireballs and lots of smoke. When they called ignition and liftoff, there was no indication that the engine was firing until Falcon left the pad. Also notable was how stable the view in the Dragon appeared; I'm sure there's some vibration, but looking at the flatscreen from behind the astronauts, there was no discernable difference between prelaunch and flight. Incredible stability.

It's  a great feeling to see that rocket go heavenwards, to see the staging go off without a hitch, to see all those clear views of the ship separating and of course, to see the good Earth in the background. It's a proud day for America. I feel it.

You know, I thought the Falcon rockets used a different fuel than the Saturn V, but... nope, they both burn kerosene and liquid oxygen in the first stage. I guess it is just the difference in how much they're burning.

 

The Space Shuttle most of the soot was from the solid rocket boosters.  The main engines on the shuttle burned liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, which is VERY clean-burning.  But the solid rocket boosters... eeesh. The actual fuel in those was ammonium perchlorate and aluminum powder, but they were about twelve percent synthetic rubber. They were almost literally burning tires.

 

 

 

In conclusion: Heck yeah, NASA isn't a bunch of overglorified hitchhikers anymore!

[Dynaman]

Before I was born we had put multiple men into space.  A few years after I was born we put men on the moon.  Now we, put men into orbit.  I find it hard to get excited, or even care really.  All it really does is show the pathetic state of the country's ambitions in regard to manned space exploration.  

[JB0]

31 minutes ago, Dynaman said:

Before I was born we had put multiple men into space.  A few years after I was born we put men on the moon.  Now we, put men into orbit.  I find it hard to get excited, or even care really.  All it really does is show the pathetic state of the country's ambitions in regard to manned space exploration.  

It is a step forward from how crappy things have been.  We're putting men into orbit instead of asking the russians to put men in orbit for us.

 

I was in kindergarten when Challenger blew up. I was unaware this had happened at the time. It might've affected my desire to be an astronaut.

[Dynaman]

Not mooching off the Russians to get to orbit is a good thing but our manned space exploration budget it still pathetic.  You don't get anywhere on the cheap.

[505thAirborne]

21 minutes ago, JB0 said:

I was in kindergarten when Challenger blew up. I was unaware this had happened at the time. It might've affected my desire to be an astronaut.

I was in 4th grade when the Challenger exploded. We watched it live that morning in school, the teachers & staff were either in shock or tears, most of us weren't really old enough to fully comprehend what just happened but it was a really strange day. 

When I came home from school, my mom who was a teacher and as a kid always dreamed of being an Astronaut was in total tears, that's when it hit me something bad had happened. The appreciation & respect that I have for the Space program & Astronauts grew after that. Columbia was another reminder of just how dangerous it is out there. 

And yes, today was a step forward again and in the right direction. Between NASA & SpaceX working together it will pave the way for better & more successful missions. Not just to orbit, the ISS or even back to the Moon. Give it a decade or so and we'll be on Mars, we did the Moon in the 1960's with a slide ruler and machines barely worthy the title of a computer. with what we possess now it is possible... dangerous as all hell but possible. 

[DewPoint]

3 hours ago, kalvasflam said:

What this launch hopefully will do is to either spur ULA to better things or just kill ULA altogether.  I'm fine with either result, because if there is one thing Musk has demonstrated, it's that there is no such thing as too high a barrier to entry, especially  if you have grit backed up by some money.

Better yet, if ULA dies, there is a going to be other companies that will pick up the slack.

There is a very big difference in how you develop equipment when under government contract and when developing equipment in house for yourself.  ULA and NASA need to plan/design the entire project, submit for review, build, test, review, etc. all the while hope your lobbyist keep the politician happy so your project doesn't get cancelled so you can get paid and keep your sub-contractors/partners paid.  SpaceX doesn't have to play those games.  They design and build like we think everyone should.

[M'Kyuun]

To be fair, the Gemini and Apollo missions were far more about ideological and political oneupmanship than science. Of all the Apollo missions, only the last carried a scientist, Jack Schmitt, a geologist, and there was a bit of a concerted effort by scientists to get him in the lineup. Most of the astronauts, including his commander-to-be, Gene Cernan, felt that only highly qualified pilot astronauts should go. But, the effort to have Schmitt go paid off, and he proved to be an astute student, learning to be a pilot, learning the LM's systems, and becoming a trusted member of Cernan's crew. But politics was was really at the forefront of Apollo, and after kicking enough sand in the Soviets' faces, and with public interest after Apollo 11 and 13 waning to nigh zero,  the moon just wasn't a cost effective goal. Moving into the Shuttle age, national security was at the heart of that program, with all the science and technology that followed becoming a healthy boon to our economy and way of life. But yeah, pure science seems to interest few politicians, and NASA's budget was always the victim of cuts. And, as Dewpoint mentioned, as a federal agency, they're at the mercy of various politicians wanting this or that program at the fore, or they demand changes to a program at the risk of pulled funding. A civilian company is far freer to develop a project as envisioned, without the interference of political bias. They only have to answer to their stockholders and customers. And stay within federal regulations, of course. To that end, I think the current relationship between NASA and SpaceX holds the greatest promise of actualizing some of the dream projects , like going back to the moon, or putting humans on Mars, that have been percolating and inspiring scientists, engineers, and future astronauts since the 60s. Von Braun had his eyes on Mars back then. It just wasn't to be. But now, with enthusiasm seeming to build for humanity to become spacefarers once again, and with SpaceX making good strides, and with Boeing also working on a space vehicle program, there's some solidarity to the hope of putting boots on another planet within a decade. 2024 is the goal for the next moon mission- not far off. I'm excited to see it. I was too young to appreciate the awesomeness of the accomplishment the last time a human stood on the lunar surface, so I'm stoked to see it happen once again when I can more fully appreciate the achievement.

Edited June 10, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[Dynaman]

The problem with Commercial space exploration is that there has to be profit somewhere down the line - and not very FAR down the line either.  Yes government budgets are at the mercy of politicians wanting some other program but corporate ones are at the mercy of quarterly results being king.  That has led to satellite launch vehicles being produced, quite well too, and may eventually be leveraged into platforms to go to other planets - but I'm not betting I'll be around to see it. 

[Thom]

I was in first grade when Challenger happened. I was walking past the school office and I can still here some voice on the TV in there talking about maybe seeing a parachute.

Anyway, it is great seeing us putting our own people back into space. We were paying a lot for the Russians to taxi us around, and now we finally got our own hot rod again. Great job Musk and SpaceX!! Here's to hoping the push stays on and we do go back to the Moon and beyond, and please do it before I die!!

[JB0]

42 minutes ago, Thom said:

Anyway, it is great seeing us putting our own people back into space. We were paying a lot for the Russians to taxi us around, and now we finally got our own hot rod again.

Russia's upset that we won't be paying their grasping markups anymore. They liked being the only way to get to space.

They shot off a press release wensday complaining about SpaceX and NASA firing rockets off too cheaply, and how they were being forced to reduce Soyuz bills by 30% to compete.

 

[renegadeleader1]

They've docked with the ISS right now. The camera is being switched off so they can change out of the space suit.

 

[renegadeleader1]

So to sum up what is going on right now...

 

We are about an hour from hatch opening, so Doug & Bob are grabbing a snack as well as cleaning up the module of things like food or empty water bottles.

Edited May 31, 2020 by renegadeleader1

[kalvasflam]

14 hours ago, DewPoint said:

There is a very big difference in how you develop equipment when under government contract and when developing equipment in house for yourself.  ULA and NASA need to plan/design the entire project, submit for review, build, test, review, etc. all the while hope your lobbyist keep the politician happy so your project doesn't get cancelled so you can get paid and keep your sub-contractors/partners paid.  SpaceX doesn't have to play those games.  They design and build like we think everyone should.

That’s true, and I for one am glad that SpaceX is out there.  They tend to get a lot of press for their failures,but that’s what ultimately allows them to succeed, rapid and repeated experimentation.  After all, their starship rocker blew up again on Thursday, and  how many rockets were lost before they succeeded on their first landing in the ocean.

They are still beholden to Government money after a fashion because that’s what keeps the lights on.  But the earlier stages was largely funded in private I believe.

[renegadeleader1]

Here we go they're opening!

[505thAirborne]

8 hours ago, renegadeleader1 said:

Here we go they're opening!

That was a wonderful sight to see the Dragon & ISS crews greet each other with a hearty handshake & hug. 

I love how the Nose-cone on the Dragon opens up to reveal the hatch. 

[M'Kyuun]

Yeah everything about Dragon's design is efficient. I like how the 4 reverse maneuvering thrusters with docking hatch at the center are hidden beneath a retractable nose cone fairing. Just good engineering. It's leaps and bounds over the designs from yesteryear, where stuff was just jettisoned off the spacecraft once they were expended or no longer pertinent. The new design philosophy is greatly cutting down on the amount of space junk floating around up there- literally hundreds if not thousands of pieces and parts from various nations' spacecraft, not to mention stuff that's been intentionally blown up.

It was a long wait from successful docking to the actual boarding, due to numerous checklists for safety and functionality needing to be completed, but I enjoyed seeing Doug's and Bob's happy reunion with old friends aboard. A lot of people were watching this , so it makes me happy that there's so much interest in the space program again. I hope it continues, as the technology going forward is really impressive, and I'm looking forward to seeing the establishment of a moon base in my life time, and then Mars. Good stuff.

[505thAirborne]

Some how I missed this video, it's an older one but you have to love the way sound travels!! 

 

[505thAirborne]

 

[505thAirborne]

Time to come home! 

[Hikuro]

I thought they’d come back tomorrow not today from the email I was given this afternoon.

i did however watch the river launch. I dunno about you guys but I took part in their engraving event last year and put my family and I names on it. Thus I get to tell people I got my ass to mars.

[renegadeleader1]

About 15-20 minutes until splash down. They mentioned the first shots of the re-entry are going to be taken by one of NASA's remaining WB-57 Canberra's which is pretty cool if you ask me.

[505thAirborne]

Almost there!!! 

[505thAirborne]

SPLASH DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[renegadeleader1]

13 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

SPLASH DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

That was AWESOME!

[derex3592]

'Merica!!!

[renegadeleader1]

There we go the hatch is open! Doug and Bob have officially returned!