Spot the Space Station

[Konadog]

That has to be a before picture. At T+57:40 you start to see tiles fly by, and at T+58:00 on it's mass destruction of the lower hinge area. I don't see any tiles missing in that picture.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

That has to be a before picture. At T+57:40 you start to see tiles fly by, and at T+58:00 on it's mass destruction of the lower hinge area. I don't see any tiles missing in that picture.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, parts were shredding off that flap during decent. Still incredible it functioned but the heat was less as it was coming down.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I can’t find stats on the landing precision for falcon boosters but they seem to be good enough for chopstick catching from videos I’ve seen. View attachment 850306

I agree that the Falcon 9 has great landing capabilities but it has landing legs coming down on a pad/drone ship.

The starship booster needs to be caught between the chopsticks, a much more difficult maneuver. I'm confused if the booster chopsticks catch it at the flaps, the grid fins or those pins in the sides?

 

[day_trippr]

Come to think of it, that picture has to be a "before" as they didn't have an opportunity to get an "after"...

It looks like there are small features just below the booster's grid fins that will catch on the chopsticks. Here's a pretty cool animation...

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Come to think of it, that picture has to be a "before" as they didn't have an opportunity to get an "after"...

It looks like there are small features just below the booster's grid fins that will catch on the chopsticks. Here's a pretty cool animation...

I have noticed those post/pin pieces on the booster but thought they served a different purpose. Still it doesn't seem an easy catch, the booster has to orient itself so those posts line up at the top of the chop stuck arm rails. Not impossible considering all the control it goes through.

I wonder what mechanism the ship has? I'm going have to look closer.

Thanks for the video!

 

[day_trippr]

"Got Scale?"

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Great view of Booster 11 landing softly in the Gulf of Mexico. Spectacular!

 

[day_trippr]

First time I saw that video I nearly screamed "Why did they cut the first angle shot before the nozzles hit the water FFS!"

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

First time I saw that video I nearly screamed "Why did they cut the first angle shot before the nozzles hit the water FFS!"

I felt the same way, they could have showed more to it. It's a little sad since they showed so much but not everything. I'm impressed though SpaceX shared that. I figured they had some way of capturing the water landing. I'm waiting to see what they have for the ship landing.

 

[day_trippr]

The rest of that video has to be out there!

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I did some more searching, nothing yet. Soon more will trickle out after they're reviewed.

 

[Pkrd]

Booster touchdown was in the expected spot, hence drone and surface footage.
Starship was off course a little due to Burny McFlappy having a bad day.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Booster touchdown was in the expected spot, hence drone and surface footage.
Starship was off course a little due to Burny McFlappy having a bad day.

Poor Burny . . . .

 

[day_trippr]

Something completely different! A new star will be born.

‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ explosion will bring a new star to the night sky​

​

 

[day_trippr]

Starliner is a helium sieve

https://www.yahoo.com/news/boeing-starliner-stuck-space-station-141534116.html

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Starliner is a helium sieve

https://www.yahoo.com/news/boeing-starliner-stuck-space-station-141534116.html

I read that this morning. I hope it doesn't cause issues getting home safely when they can leave. As much as I bash Boeing this is a very sad development for them and the safety of the crew. Not a good feeling.

 

[Konadog]

Last nights SpaceX launch view from Long Beach. That's the moon, not the sun.

 

[day_trippr]

So NASA wants to bring the leaking Starliner home on the 26th now.

At this point I think NASA should not bring the two astronauts back on Starliner. Too much bad juju going on.
Plus, the return is intended to demonstrate "dry landing" - which raises the question why that wasn't validated without a crew on board?

https://www.iflscience.com/starline...rompts-speculation-of-space-malfunction-74771

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

It was a bad situation before they even left earth and it certainly hasn't improved. I hope the FAA and NASA are investigating all this and future launches are grounded until the Starliner program can work out these problems. It's getting ridiculous that Boeing is given a pass with their lack of safety.

 

[day_trippr]

It gets worse: Starliner return is delayed indefinitely...

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/...eturn-of-starliner-to-review-propulsion-data/

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

It gets worse: Starliner return is delayed indefinitely...

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/...eturn-of-starliner-to-review-propulsion-data/

What an embarrassment for Boeing, and very justified.

I really want this to end in a good light but it seems doubtful. I hope they can get home safely but it doesn't appear to be on the ship they came in on.

 

[day_trippr]

Meanwhile, SpaceX just keeps doing their thing:

June 25 Falcon Heavy • GOES U
Launch time: 5:16 p.m. EDT (2116 UTC)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
"A SpaceX Falcon Heavy will launch the fourth and final satellite of the next-generation series of geostationary weather satellites for NASA and NOAA. GOES-U will orbit 22,300 miles above the equator to monitor weather conditions across the United States. The satellite will be renamed GOES-19 once it reaches its operational orbit. Delayed from April 30 and May."

Cheers!

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Meanwhile, SpaceX just keeps doing their thing:

June 25 Falcon Heavy • GOES U
Launch time: 5:16 p.m. EDT (2116 UTC)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
"A SpaceX Falcon Heavy will launch the fourth and final satellite of the next-generation series of geostationary weather satellites for NASA and NOAA. GOES-U will orbit 22,300 miles above the equator to monitor weather conditions across the United States. The satellite will be renamed GOES-19 once it reaches its operational orbit. Delayed from April 30 and May."

Cheers!

Yup, I will miss it by a couple days. Tried to schedule my trip to watch it but . . .

 

[Konadog]

Another Falcon 9 tonight if everything goes well. Should be a nice time of night again to put on a show.

 

[day_trippr]

I had that one listed as either yesterday or today. Looks like it's this evening...

"Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for Sunday, June 23, at 8:47 p.m. PDT (11:47 p.m. EDT, 0347 UTC). The first-stage booster, making its 11th flight, will land on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' about eight and a half minutes into the flight."

 

[day_trippr]

And another drone ship landing stuck

 

[Konadog]

I didn't get as much as usual this launch. Had issues operating the phone and holding my beer




This just never gets old!

 

[day_trippr]

Still pretty damned cool!

 

[day_trippr]

Falcon Heavy launch of the GOES satellite appears to have gone off without a hitch.
As always, seeing the side boosters landing together is pretty cool...

 

[Konadog]

If all goes well again, we have another launch to watch tonight. I think that's 3 in 10 days!

 

[day_trippr]

Never sure about coverage for these spook satellite launches...

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=nrol-186

 

[Konadog]

While not as exciting as a later (darker skies) launch, it's still cool to watch.

 

[day_trippr]

^cool^

That was one of the best video'd barge landings I've seen yet. They usually have break-ups in the video but this one is clean from both barge and booster cams...

 

[day_trippr]

Space is hard. Chinese ground test accidently turned into a booster launch

 

[Konadog]

Space is hard! I wonder if they at least got any good test data

 

[Konadog]

Well, they tried twice last night before they scrubbed, maybe tonight we'll get our 4th rocket in as many weeks.
Firefly prepares its Alpha rocket for a second launch attempt of NASA mission following ground systems issue

 

[Konadog]

Well, maybe the fourth try will get it launched.
Firefly to make another attempt to launch Alpha rocket on NASA mission

 

[day_trippr]

Super foggy, but the clock still ticking at T - 22:00
[edit] Appears to have been a perfect launch! Good deal!

 

[Konadog]

Not bad viewing. This flew away from the coast and not down the coast so it was a bit different than the SpaceX launches. Still pretty cool!



If all goes well again, we get another SpaceX launch on the 7th.

 

[day_trippr]

SpaceX's Starship to fly again 'in 4 weeks,' Elon Musk says​

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