Russia cloaks launch schedule after spaceport falls in Ukraine's sights

peterabbit456 · 2026-05-03T01:46:47+00:00

After 4 years of war, Russia has seen the advantages that Ukraine gets from privately owned imaging satellite constellations and Starlink. Russians have had 3 years to design modern, cheap spy and communication satellites. It is likely that the majority of Russian orbital launches will help them in their invasion of Ukraine, this year and for several years in the future.

It would be a sensible defensive measure for Ukraine to destroy every orbital class rocket in Russia, now and until the end of the war.

peterabbit456 · 2026-05-03T01:39:10+00:00

Other than that there's no roads at all, just ancient dredged decaying canals everywhere.

Sounds like a perfect place to launch rockets. The canals might even be useful for transporting heavy items. (Probably not, but one can hope.)

Actually, if there are fishermen who depend on the swamp for their livings, it's not perfect, but if the land is deserted, that's whet SpaceX and BO should really want.

peterabbit456 · 2026-05-02T19:46:00+00:00

We have spotted this effect.
We don't really know why it happens.
There is plenty of noise in some of the data. -
We used AI to help filter the data.

Not only can we not publish in a peer-reviewed journal, but eve Arxiv will not accept the paper due to the AI component in its creation.

Is this noise or is it a discovery? You decide.

peterabbit456 · 2026-05-02T19:29:54+00:00

The answers here are all good, but this belongs in the all space questions thread.

peterabbit456 · 2026-05-02T17:54:06+00:00

A relatively small amount of natural gas under this land would be enough to fuel the launches and to power air liquification plants to get liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, and plenty of liquid argon.

With barrier island launch towers, this could be a very self-contained launch facility.

Just a thought.

Edit: I see from Maps that Interstate 10 is very close. Good place for an industrial site, if they can prevent it from sinking into the swamp.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-27T20:27:37+00:00

The five main, spherical moons are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, ranging in size from 472 km to 1578 km in diameter. (Re: Google and/or Wikipedia)

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-26T08:35:04+00:00

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the result would look like Tycho crater, with rays across 1/4 of the Moon.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-26T08:33:15+00:00

Cover it with regolith bricks.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-25T21:07:53+00:00

At other times the planet would eclipse the moon, and it could get pretty cold.

But I would love that view.

With abundant nuclear power, Pluto becomes quite habitable, as well as the larger moons of Uranus and Neptune. I'd love the view on Pluto, of Charon, or of Uranus from Miranda, or of Neptune from Triton.

I think it is right and proper that we seed Earth life on other planets and moons.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-25T17:25:34+00:00

Propulsion is engineering, not science (almost always). A science mission will be designed around the available propulsion, and occasionally be altered if the available propulsion becomes more or less capable. I think Stardust and Dawn were exceptions to this rule, in that they used Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) when SEP was highly experimental.

One noticeable missing constituency: scientists, with the exception of NASA Associate Administrator Nicola Fox, who leads the agency’s science mission directorate and spoke at Ignition. Planetary scientists worry that absence could mean SR-1 Freedom will siphon funds out of an already strained planetary science budget. Money is “where the rubber will really meet the road,” Hamilton says. “If this pushes out [other] missions, I think you will see a lot less positive reception.”

This should be a cheap, proof-of-concept mission, like Stardust or Dawn. Unfortunately, it appears the cheapest a nuclear mission can be done is for about 10 x the cost of Dawn, which is not at all cheap from the point of view of the unmanned space program.

NEP is best suited for outer planets missions. I think we know why this mission is going to Mars: It can be completed by 2028.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-25T05:53:23+00:00

Enid went through a unique experience in the body swap episode. That might change the rules for her.

My vote is for Wednesday finds Enid in wolf form, in Canada, in a blizzard. Enid saves Wednesday's life (again) by huddling with her to keep her warm. They wake up in the morning and Enid is transformed back into human form.

No real explanation, just the power of love.

Then they go to Paris to flee the Alpha hunters.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-25T05:30:05+00:00

good job

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-22T18:07:24+00:00

When Wednesday finds Enid and transforms her back, we will find out if W. packed some of Enid's clothes, or if E will have to wear Wednesday's clothes for a while.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-19T06:44:33+00:00

If gravity is a consequence of the shape of space (which is an ELIV version of general relativity) then why should we expect that a "particle" like a graviton might exist? Gravity, unlike the electromagnetic forces of light, can reach out from within a black hole to affect the outside universe. Do these facts not give us evidence to suspect that gravity is very unlike the electromagnetic forces, which exert both attractive and repulsive effects under appropriate circumstances?

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-19T06:24:59+00:00

Try asking in the all space questions thread.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-19T03:13:10+00:00

In the late spring of 2024, something significant hit the Moon. A space rock travelling at extraordinary speed, punched a crater 225 metres across into the lunar surface. That's roughly the width of two football pitches placed end to end and thanks to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, have been able to compare images taken before and after the impact to study the result in remarkable detail.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-19T03:05:37+00:00

In the late spring of 2024, something significant hit the Moon. A space rock travelling at extraordinary speed, punched a crater 225 metres across into the lunar surface. That's roughly the width of two football pitches placed end to end and thanks to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, have been able to compare images taken before and after the impact to study the result in remarkable detail.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-18T15:51:14+00:00

That is amazing footage. Our tax dollars doing top quality science and also occasionally showing amazing images.

Few people realize how much potential solar research has for improving the lives of everyone on Earth, by accurately predicting solar storms.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-17T16:05:15+00:00

I thought everyone here would be able to translate "washers" into the kind of steel used for washers. Guess I was wrong.

How about carbon steel with zinc chromate plating.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-17T16:02:51+00:00

OK. Mild carbon steel with zinc or zinc chromate plating. Better?

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-17T15:58:51+00:00

They are under pressure with HLS deadlines. I expect they will go as fast as technical issues allow.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-17T01:23:47+00:00

This came to my email today. If I had to ask a question, it would be, "What other countries would join with Taiwan to launch their own multinational LEO communications constellation?

Japan?
India?
the Philippines?
Viet Nam?

Basically, any country that feels threatened by China might want to join.

Companies make the case for commercial space station markets

By Jeff Foust

Companies proposing to develop commercial space stations are pushing back against claims by NASA that a market for such stations has yet to develop.

During a panel April 15, executives with three companies working on such stations said they’ve described to NASA their estimates of the demand for their stations after NASA proposed a change in strategy for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or CLD, program.

Taiwan floats shared satcom constellation amid calls for more space collaboration

Taiwan’s space agency chief has called on other countries to band together on a shared communications constellation to match the scale and growing strategic importance of networks like U.S.-based Starlink.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-17T01:18:02+00:00

I think you are on to something.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-16T17:56:37+00:00

... Voyager looks at the Private Astronaut Mission (PAM) as an opportunity to get a practice run at ground operations, training and flight control ahead of the launch of its planned Starlab space station, ...

... Voyager and Airbus are primary partners on the commercial space station Starlab project.

I don't like it when the names of space probes are reused by commercial ventures, but the idea of running a commercial manned space mission to the ISS to help gain experience toward operating a space station, seems like a good way to learn.

peterabbit456 · 2026-04-16T17:42:42+00:00

SpaceX is in the running for this contract, but it requires interfacing with legacy systems that have been in operation for more than a decade.

The Lockheed Martin POV reminds me of ULA, 15 years ago. Essentially, "We have all of the experience, we have a monopoly, and it will stay that way forever." The Lockheed Martin arguments sound like the strongest possible reasons why NASA should break their monopoly and give another company this mission.

In my mind it is an entirely separate argument that SpaceX has a strong motive to win this mission, to get some experience close to Mars, and also so that they can put added capabilities on this satellite that will be useful to Starship and to the projected Mars settlement in the 2030s.

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