Space and Science BS Thread

Updated Private Astronaut Rules….
https://sam.gov/opp/23b1521f8c154f1caa2f3b2b0e551f28/view

Looks like all future missions (to ISS?) must be led by former NASA astronauts.

 

Im at Boeing staring at Starliner today, if I thought they had any clue about that I'd ask but I doubt they do here on the ground.

 

No offense to the Starliner folks but it seems they’re doing all they can just to keep up with the existing NASA contract and won’t have excess capacity for a while.

 

I wonder if something happened up on the ISS that forced the change to the ISS CoC?

 

I think there are some indicators that was the case- insufficient time to adjust to weightlessness, too much structured activity, impeding the performance of the professional astronauts… I need to dig in a bit deeper but that’s what I saw when I first skimmed it.

 

Yeah, my mind's eye kind of saw a bunch of "kids" cavorting through a serious work environment and being annoying.

 

More pics from my time working on Artemis and a couple more recent...
Inside the VAB looking down at the lox and lh2 tail service masts and the platforms the vehicle is serviced from. Transfer aisle on right.

My partner doing system torques on our pipe after first cold cryo flow to the vehicle. Everything tethered always.

First time the full bird left the cage

Hyper loading on the aft skirts

 

Model rocket propulsive landing (modeled off Falcon 9)

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article...ing-self-landing-spacex-replica-after-7-years

 

I cannot imagine the shitstorm that would ensue if a torque wrench were dropped say from near the top of the vehicle, rattling all the way down.

 

I see a torque multiplier too. Can you share what the final torque was on those flange studs?

 

By all accounts a spectacular Atlas V launch this morning:
https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1555206513492463619?s=21&t=BCkB7ndzDyHMFGQHrw63dg
https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1555150961701683203?s=21&t=BCkB7ndzDyHMFGQHrw63dg
https://twitter.com/launchphoto/status/1555233647254437888?s=21&t=BCkB7ndzDyHMFGQHrw63dg
Click for full pics.

 

565-595 ft, multiplier makes that job much easier.

 

Upcoming known Falcon Heavy launches:
USSF-44
USSF-52
ViaSat-3
NASA Psyche
USSF-67
Inmarsat-6B
Astrobotic Griffin/NASA VIPER
Lunar Gateway PPE/HALO
Dragon XL GLS-1
Dragon XL GLS-2

Just sayin…

 

And none this year.

 

It has happened, look up the Damascus Event, a Titan missile in Damascus Arkansas

 

WATCH LIVE: KPLO MISSION

SpaceX is targeting today, August 4 for launch of KPLO to a ballistic lunar transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 7:08 p.m. ET (23:08 UTC), and a backup launch opportunity is available on Friday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET (23:00 UTC).

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Arabsat-6A, STP-2, COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2, and two Starlink missions. After stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

You can watch the live launch webcast starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.

 

https://twitter.com/nasa_sls/status/1555292861138100224?s=21&t=zWeDCG8Y3K8mceRXT-iszw

 

Nope nope nope. Nooooooooooope. Nope

 

Grommit would have got my vote, he does a nice face palm which might be a necessary communication tactic for a critter that doesn’t speak and rides an Orion capsule.

 

And the creme de la creme: