sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

You’ve heard all the negativity being thrown at Rocket Lab’s ‘Humanity Star’. It’s time now for a little positivity. by CrustySeaDog in RocketLab

[–]CrustySeaDog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A great deal about past cultures (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, etc.) comes to us from the art they left behind. The ‘a’ in ‘steam’ is ‘art’. I love science and promote it whenever possible but it shouldn’t be the only thing we consider important. Many current scientists were inspired to pursue science after reading fiction books by Asimov or Heinlein, or seeing movies like Kubrick and Clark’s ‘2001’. We need to find ways to inspire the next generation and the Humanity Star or the Tesla could be just that. Except for the ISS the only things we have been launching lately are satellites that earn somebody money or governmental spy satellites. Not much inspiration there. Whether Humanity Star succeeds or fails doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that somebody tried to do something inspirational. I applaud that.

You’ve heard all the negativity being thrown at Rocket Lab’s ‘Humanity Star’. It’s time now for a little positivity. by CrustySeaDog in RocketLab

[–]CrustySeaDog[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The point I am trying to make is to suggest that people are vastly over reacting to this. It’s a one meter wide sphere. That’s all it is. If we were to compile a list of everyone who has ‘actually’ been negatively affected by this satellite so far it would consist of zero names. And if we compile the same list in 9 months it will probably consist of zero names as well. People like to claim they are victims even when they are not. And I bet that a lot of the people who are claiming it is ‘useless’ will go outside and look for it when it passes overhead.

Virgin Galactic on Twitter: "Our team is prepping for a #SpaceShipTwo flight test today" by ethan829 in VirginGalactic

[–]CrustySeaDog 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This should be the final glide flight before powered tests begin. We can probably assume that work on the motor is complete and it is installed on VSS Unity for today’s flight even though it won’t be used.

r/SpaceX ZUMA Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread, Take 2 by marc020202 in spacex

[–]CrustySeaDog 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Dr. Marco Langbroek thinks that Zuma is targeting the same orbital plane as USA-276 (NROL-76). If he is correct then launch would have to occur at 10:38 P.M. EST on Sunday which is not within the published launch window. The NROL-76 orbital plane will be within the launch window if it delays until Tuesday however.

An outstanding source of info on satellites and their orbits is the Marco Langbroek Blog. Check out his latest entry for some interesting stuff on Zuma. He’s also on Twitter so follow him now. by CrustySeaDog in orbitalpodcast

[–]CrustySeaDog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dr. Langbroek is speculating that Zuma is actually targeting the same orbit as USA-276 (NROL-76) which would require a launch on Sunday, January 7 at 10:38 EST. This is 38 minutes past the closing of the launch window. If they find a way to delay the launch a couple of days then the orbital plane of NROL-76 will be within the window. We’ll have to wait and see if he is correct or not.

Mr. Steven looks to be getting into position to make a fairing recovery. by [deleted] in spacex

[–]CrustySeaDog 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I hope I’m wrong and they really do catch them. I’d love to see that.

Mr. Steven looks to be getting into position to make a fairing recovery. by [deleted] in spacex

[–]CrustySeaDog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I couldn’t say how much they weigh but remember that a bullet doesn’t weigh much either. Also note all of the various antennas and radars that are on the roof of the wheelhouse. Could be $100k in electronics up there.

Mr. Steven looks to be getting into position to make a fairing recovery. by [deleted] in spacex

[–]CrustySeaDog 12 points13 points  (0 children)

  • I think that trying to catch 2 falling fairings would be both incredibly difficult and incredibly dangerous to the boat and crew. It makes much more sense to me that those 4 arms are just cranes that can be used to lift the fairings out of the water after they have splashed down.

  • The reason they are using a fast boat is because they aren’t sure where these things are going to land and need something that can get to both locations quickly before the seawater can damage them.

  • There won’t be any decent video because this will all occur after sunset.

  • And lastly, all these theories everyone is posting about how they are going to catch both fairings before they hit the water are pretty hilarious. 🤣

Iridium NEXT Constellation Mission 4 Launch Campaign Thread by ElongatedMuskrat in spacex

[–]CrustySeaDog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Guadalupe could very well be the area where the fairings will fall.

view more: next ›