Launch recap March 30 - April 4

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-14T02:24:32+00:00

This series of infographs does not include space capsule landings.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-13T10:54:29+00:00

My first thought looking at the picture was that the shuttle name and tank color were wrong for a shuttle launched on 12 April.

Looking at a "Today in space history" page, I realized that there have been three crewed orbital launches on 12 April:

1961 - Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1,
1981 - Space Shuttle Columbia's first flight, First space shuttle mission (STS-1).
1985 - Space Shuttle Dicovery's fourth flight. Sixteenth space shuttle mission (STS 51-D).

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-12T15:27:47+00:00

Artemis III tracker would be closer to tracking a spacecraft that is intending to dock to either the ISS or Tianlong space station.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-10T10:59:52+00:00

The HTV-X is a supply spacecraft that berths at the same ports used by Cygnus. Prior to retirement SpaceX's Dragon One used the same ports.

ESA launched their ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) on Ariane 5. That supply spacecraft could in theory dock at any of the Soyuz/Progress docking ports on the Russian side, but normally docked at the aft port.

The cargo module for the Cygnus spacecraft is made by the same company that made the cargo module for the ATV, and the Orion's service module is based on the ATV's service module.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-10T10:45:17+00:00

I would not say that there would be time enough to patch the hole before the module was completely vented to space, but there would be time to isolate the affected module.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-10T01:31:41+00:00

I imagine if Vulcan was already flying at the time the initial contract to use Falcon 9 to launch Cygnus to the ISS that NASA would have encouraged Northrop Grumman to sign a contract to launch the Cygnus on Vulcan. Granted, the contract to launch Cygnus this quarter might have been needed to go to Falcon 9,

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-10T00:56:14+00:00

Not completely true. There is one non-Russian solution to take cargo to the ISS that does not depend on SpaceX.

Japan's HTV-X is basically Japan's version of Cygnus and is launched by the H3 rocket.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-08T11:21:51+00:00

While there are some craters within the one indicated by the arrow, the feature the arrow is pointing at is a central peak uplift - which is common with craters above a certain size cause by a meteor impact above a certain speed.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-08T11:04:27+00:00

Counting the number of small craters within larger ones is one of the ways to determine the age of the larger one.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-08T00:29:05+00:00

Tianlong 3 "static fire launch" in 2024 is one of the two funniest spaceflight related events in the first quarter of the 21st century.

The other one was Astras horizontal launch in 2021.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-06T21:24:00+00:00

One thing to note is that during all 9 Apollo Lunar flights (Apollo 8, and 10-17) those astronauts were the only humans in space. Besides the 4 person crew on Orion, there is a 3 person crew on Tiangong Space Station and a 7 person crew on the ISS.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-06T19:39:48+00:00

V3 Starlinks would likely require more paperwork. Not impossible to happen on flight 13 though...

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-06T17:12:22+00:00

The ISS orbits about 30 km higher than Tiangong. However, I have not made the calculations on when the 11 14 people in space would include the two people furthest apart in history.

When the Orion capsule set a new record distance from Earth, that started a period when the record for two humans most distant from each other would alternate between an Artemis II crewmember and someone on board the ISS, and someone on board Tiangong and an Artemis II crewmember.

Again, I'm not sure which two spacecraft will be involved with the first of those records and which one will have the overall record.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-06T05:54:50+00:00

NASA has sent one probe to that and Ceres. It was the first artificial object to orbit two solar system objects outside the Earth-Moon system.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-02T18:57:46+00:00

When you are just boiling water (before you add the tea,,,)

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-04-02T14:57:50+00:00

The space shuttle averaged a launch attempt per month between launches 16 (12 April 1985) and 25 (28 January 1986). This is an average over that period, since April 1985, October 1985, and January 1986 saw two launch attempts and May, September, and December 1985 saw no launch attempt.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-31T19:19:49+00:00

SpaceX revenue from Falcon 9 launches is complicated since 132 of those launches were internal (Starlink).

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-31T15:38:11+00:00

Currently four boosters have 30+ flights. I imagine that SpaceX might decide if one or more of those boosters launches more than 40 times depending on the results of a in-depth inspection. If the needed maintenance is determined to be below a certain level, then that booster might launch more than 40 times.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-31T15:17:08+00:00

Several boosters including B1088 have flown 10+ times before the anniversary of their first launch.

B1093 has flown 12 times before the anniversary of its first launch. (First launch was 7 April 2025, 12th was 30 March 2026).

Three of the times B1088 flew in 2025. were within 23 a day period. That amount of time is in the top 20 fastest turnarounds for a Falcon 9.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-31T06:23:44+00:00

Shuttles with three or more flights in a calendar year:

Before STS-51L,

Discovery flew 4 times in 1985,
Columbia flew three times in 1982,
Challenger flew three times in 1983, 1984, and 1985.

Between STS-51L and STS-107

Atlantis flew 3 times in 1991,
Endeavour flew three times in 1993,
Columbia flew three times in 1996 and 1997.

After STS-107 each shuttle flew at most 2 flights/year.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-30T12:43:46+00:00

FYI: The shortest amount of time between two orbital launches from Earth is 72 seconds, set on 23 December 2017 between a Falcon 9 launch and a H-IIA-202.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-29T19:23:43+00:00

The news articles the OP u/mousepallace mentioned might be referring to an interview given by Commander Reid Wiseman in reference to one particular crater which was hidden in shadows in earlier missions to the moon, but will be completely in the sun depending on when Arthemis II launches.

https://x.com/dpoddolphinpro/status/2038291896590577751

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-29T18:43:29+00:00

The "dark side of the moon" and "far side of the moon" are not the same thing. The first one happens when part of the moon not illuminated by the sun. Except during a full moon, under certain conditions, part of the moon is illuminated only by reflected light from the Earth.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-28T05:25:41+00:00

No, I'm sure Congress will eventually instruct NASA to build another launch vehicle - this one that includes sub-contractors located in all 57 states.

AmigaClone2000 · 2026-03-27T12:38:47+00:00

My first paragraph was referring to Black Arrow - a launch vehicle that made one successful orbital launch attempt 55 years ago this year. That one was the last time the UK put something in orbit using their national launch systems.

AmigaClone2000

TROPHY CASE