polishgenius Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 21 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said: But has it reached L2? I thought it would take a month. No, got another two weeks before it reaches L2. And another five months of alignment of the mirrors along with cooling of the instruments and setting them up before it's fully operational. But the most risky, sensitive bits of the setup are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Corvinus85 said: But has it reached L2? I thought it would take a month. It’s more than 75% of the way there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 4 hours ago, Corvinus85 said: But has it reached L2? I thought it would take a month. Not at L2 yet, it's most of the way there but it's been continuously slowing down so timewise it's only about halfway--you can check out the status real-time at Where Is Webb? And after it arrives at L2, it has to complete cooling down (it's designed to operate at a ridiculously chilly 40 K (almost -400 °F!!), prepare all the instruments, align the mirrors, calibrate, etc. First data isn't expected until June. But the unfolding was the riskiest and most absolutely mind-boggling engineering challenge, so now that it's done it should (hopefully!!) be smooth sailing from here. 14 hours ago, mcbigski said: I watched several of Nora's Guide to the Galaxy, and your since your posting enthusiasm here largely follows standard punctuation, I 'm sure you're even more excited than you sound. Also check out Nora's youtube. It's obviously a cromulent rec for this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 hmm, big claims here, but the company isn't run by the starry-eyed sort. They've been in stealth mode for years, developed an engine, and raised money from VCs before announcing publicly. Perhaps materials science has advanced enough that it is possible. But why Single-Stage-To-Orbit? On a two-stage system, if both parts are reusable, SSTO isn't needed. The problem is hard, on Earth. Starship might be able to be SSTO too, with a similarly small payload (~5000 lbs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said: hmm, big claims here, but the company isn't run by the starry-eyed sort. They've been in stealth mode for years, developed an engine, and raised money from VCs before announcing publicly. Perhaps materials science has advanced enough that it is possible. But why Single-Stage-To-Orbit? On a two-stage system, if both parts are reusable, SSTO isn't needed. The problem is hard, on Earth. Starship might be able to be SSTO too, with a similarly small payload (~5000 lbs). I would think SSTO might have its uses for space tourism as well as delivering small payloads to orbit / space stations. If you could do take off and landing at a regular airport that would be pretty cool. Dunno if this space plane is intended to achieve that level of convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 49 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said: I would think SSTO might have its uses for space tourism as well as delivering small payloads to orbit / space stations. If you could do take off and landing at a regular airport that would be pretty cool. Dunno if this space plane is intended to achieve that level of convenience. They very specifically say it's not for space tourism, and talk about "other markets". They apparently have deals with some of the private space stations proposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Right, that company might not be up for space tourism, but it seems like a potential use case for SSTO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 Meanwhile, SpaceX gets a contract from the U.S. Air Force to demonstrate technologies for point-to-point Earth travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A True Kaniggit Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I suppose the JWST reached position while I wasn’t paying attention. https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 Pretty cool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Why don't my Zoom videos have the kind of resolution that is achieved from an outer space wi-fi video received from 10s of millions of km away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 They were unable to leave safe-mode and raise their orbits, so are going to re-enter the atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 Starship being stacked on Super Heavy tonight in prep for tomorrow's update from Musk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 9 hours ago, SpaceChampion said: They were unable to leave safe-mode and raise their orbits, so are going to re-enter the atmosphere. There's the high build quality and consistency of performance you expect of Elon Musk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Will the next size up rocket be called the super-duper heavy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 I suspected we'd get an announcement soon when Jarod Isaacman (Inspiration4 commander/funder) made a video in a jet fighter circling Starbase. He's going back up with 3 SpaceX missions, culminating in the first crewed Starship mission. Two of those are SpaceX employees, so effectively begins SpaceX's own priviate astronaut program. Menon's husband was recently selected as a NASA astronaut candidate. https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/02/14/billionaire-plans-three-more-flights-with-spacex-culminating-in-starship-mission/ No doubt some of the price will be recuperated with another Netflix documentary. Certainly SpaceX's launch schedule will shift around as required by circumstances, but here it is the human flights in order more or less (flights past and yet-to-come): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 ugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Northman Reborn Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 On 2/10/2022 at 1:59 PM, polishgenius said: There's the high build quality and consistency of performance you expect of Elon Musk! Ignorant comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 2 hours ago, Free Northman Reborn said: Ignorant comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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