Space stuff (NASA, UKSA, CSA, ESA, etc)

strawman

strawman

Yep. That was the last thing before a Heavy static fire test. Musk says the static fire test will be this week, and the launch by the end of the month if nothing goes awry:

[DOUBLEPOST=1515430263,1515430200][/DOUBLEPOST]Note that it's no longer vertical, they left it up for a day and took it down again shortly after. It'll have to go vertical again for the static fire test, then down again, then up once they decide to go for launch.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Eriol said:
Some reports that the satellite may be dead. SpaceX says that everything went fine on their end. Because classified though, we may never know.
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Either that or radio silence, I guess. Knowing that it's secret bugs me, and I'm not even involved or impacted (that I know).
Irrespective of the function of the payload, I find myself hoping that none of it was SpaceX's fault.

--Patrick
 
Eriol

Eriol

stienman said:
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-spied-first-static-test-fire/
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I laughed at this statement:
Falcon Heavy will launch a somewhat livelier version of Delta IV Heavy’s boilerplate mass-simulator with the Tesla Roadster, and the main goal is quite clearly to test the vehicle’s ability to send a payload into a trans-Martian injection (TMI) orbit, albeit likely without an actual injection into orbit around Mars at the other end. Even if the payload is somewhat silly, a successful launch to TMI would be the most literal step yet made by the commercial space company along its path to Mars.
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TMI. Hehe.


(I know, really cheap joke, but it's RIGHT THERE)
 
strawman

strawman

The static fire test of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is not expected today, and we have not received a new target date for the hold-down firing at pad 39A.
SpaceX's launch team continues to work through testing of the Falcon Heavy ahead of the first static fire at pad 39A.
Meanwhile, launch preps at nearby pad 41 are underway for an Atlas 5 mission scheduled for liftoff Thursday evening, with rollout of the rocket to the launch pad scheduled for tomorrow. A Falcon Heavy static fire at pad 39A is not expected to occur during the Atlas 5 countdown, a ULA official said today, due to shared safety, security and ground infrastructure between the two adjacent pads.
Based on that, the Falcon Heavy static fire is expected no earlier than Friday, but the target date for the hold-down engine firing remains uncertain, and we'll share information as we confirm it.
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strawman

strawman

Now that the shutdown is over...

The hold-down firing of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is now expected no earlier than Wednesday. The test window opens at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT).
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I'm betting Spacex is going to work like crazy to have the test fire done before the February temporary funding time limit. I'm hoping it happens sooner, and that there's still enough time for a launch before congress gets riled up again!
 
Eriol

Eriol

In reporting about this test-fire, we finally get one piece of Zuma news:
most recently launching a classified satellite known as Zuma.

The mysterious satellite was lost, according to Pentagon sources, possibly because it failed to separate from the Falcon 9's second stage. SpaceX did not build the satellite's attachment mechanism, and the company insists the rocket performed normally.
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This was the piece of information I've been looking for since the initial news. Maybe it's lost, maybe the Pentagon is just throwing wool over everybody's eyes, but for payload separation, who made the mechanism that (may have) failed? Not SpaceX? OK, was their technical data (vibration, G-forces, etc) for what to withstand accurate? Almost certainly yes (easily known, many other launches to compare to, etc). Therefore, not SpaceX's fault in the least. Somebody else's wonky release mechanism.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
Eriol said:
I laughed at this statement:

TMI. Hehe.


(I know, really cheap joke, but it's RIGHT THERE)
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It's really hard not to insert these flaccid jokes into any ready, willing conversation about the Falcon rocket. It stands proud, erect and ready to service us.
 
strawman

strawman

It reads like a pulp fiction novel.

It will have its way with us, no matter what we do. Our task is to figure out how to make it hurt as little as possible.
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As far as the rest of it, the supposition is pretty heavy handed and "worst case scenario". I like the part where it's implied that the decay to zero could happen instantly and catch us unawares, then the sentence that says we could be in that state for a century.

Either it'll happen quickly without warning - and snap back into place or reverse just as quickly - or it'll take a long time to switch and we'll be able to see it coming more clearly.

But it appears that this is written in the "essays and opinion" section, so I guess I can't really complain.
 
strawman

strawman

A satellite that NASA launched in 2000 and lost contact with in 2005 was rediscovered by a radio amateur who likes to track satellites (and was actually searching for the more recently lost ZUMA), and Nasa just verified that it is indeed the same satellite, IMAGE, by interpreting the radio signals it's sending and verifying its ID number in the data payload.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/nasa-image-confirmed

They are now working on cobbling together the software and equipment required to communicate with it, and if successful will turn on its science payloads and see how operational it is. This is not a small task, given that Windows XP wasn't even around (windows NT and 98) when it launched, and linux was on version 2 (it's on version 4 now), and the fastest processors at the time were Intel's Pentium III.

It's like finding a 154 million dollar bill in your coat pocket that you lost over a decade ago.

https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/presskit/2000/image.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAGE
 
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MindDetective

MindDetective

stienman said:
A satellite that NASA launched in 2000 and lost contact with in 2005 was rediscovered by a radio amateur who likes to track satellites (and was actually searching for the more recently lost ZUMA), and Nasa just verified that it is indeed the same satellite, IMAGE, by interpreting the radio signals it's sending and verifying its ID number in the data payload.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/nasa-image-confirmed

They are now working on cobbling together the software and equipment required to communicate with it, and if successful will turn on its science payloads and see how operational it is. This is not a small task, given that Windows XP wasn't even around (windows NT and 98) when it launched, and linux was on version 2 (it's on version 4 now), and the fastest processors at the time were Intel's Pentium III.

It's like finding a 154 million dollar bill in your coat pocket that you lost over a decade ago.

https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/presskit/2000/image.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAGE
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Notably, IMAGE served well past its intended mission parameters. This is an exciting find, and maybe a chance to squeeze more out of an expensive mission, but IMAGE was already a successful mission by any measure.
 
strawman

strawman

MindDetective said:
Notably, IMAGE served well past its intended mission parameters. This is an exciting find, and maybe a chance to squeeze more out of an expensive mission, but IMAGE was already a successful mission by any measure.
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Yes, except for one - successful deorbit to reduce space debris. If they can squeeze more science from it that would be great, but I hope they can at minimum deorbit it.

What gets me is that satellites don't seem to have a "mission failure" routine. If out of contact for a period of time, IMO, they should start deorbit maneuvers.
 
strawman

strawman

'nother spacex launch in about 7 minutes. Here's one live rebroadcast with additional commentary by the everyday astronaut:

[DOUBLEPOST=1517433691,1517433514][/DOUBLEPOST]Nah, nevermind, here's the spacex stream. The EA stream is talking about sponsers and other unrelated stuff.

 
strawman

strawman

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved a launch license for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket set for blastoff Tuesday, giving the U.S. government’s regulatory green light for the heavy-lifter to dispatch Elon Musk’s used electric sports car on a one-way trip into deep space.

Dated Feb. 2, the FAA launch license clears a final regulatory hurdle for the Falcon Heavy’s test launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launch window Tuesday opens at 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) and extends until 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT).

The official weather forecast issued Sunday by the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicts an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions during Tuesday’s launch window.
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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/...launch-license-for-first-falcon-heavy-flight/
 
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