The Space Thread

[Zeedox]

NASA to reveal what's inside the asteroid canister: live stream

The space agency is set for the ultimate unboxing as it presents samples taken from asteroid Bennu this Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. ET.

gizmodo.com

NASA will be showing off its first asteroid sample at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on October 11 at 11:00 a.m. ET, and the space agency will be broadcasting the event live so you can get a chance to marvel at the collection of rocks and dust through your screens.

 

[Gomez Adams]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1719810044710076803

 

[Zeedox]

I'd run out of seasonal clothes....


The Uranus rings:

The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977, by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Jessica Mink. William Herschel had also reported observing rings in 1789; modern astronomers are divided on whether he could have seen them, as they are very dark and faint.[1]

By 1977, nine distinct rings were identified. Two additional rings were discovered in 1986 in images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, and two outer rings were found in 2003–2005 in Hubble Space Telescope photos. In the order of increasing distance from the planet the 13 known rings are designated 1986U2R/ζ, 6, 5, 4, α, β, η, γ, δ, λ, ε, ν and μ.

 

[Gomez Adams]

The good news: all the engines worked this time.

The bad news: same issue as last time and had to self destruct.

At least it lasted about twice as long at 8 minutes.

SpaceX’s Starship rocket reaches space but is intentionally destroyed mid-flight

SpaceX launched its second Starship rocket flight on Saturday, with Elon Musk's company pushing development of the mammoth vehicle past new milestones.

www.google.com

 

[Zeedox]

It was a self-destruct....I wondered that. Didn't we figure he gets about 16 of these to play with and then the monies gone?

 

[Gomez Adams]

Each rocket costs about 750 million. The 40 million per launch figure is how much a launch costs of a reusable rocket. If you're blowing them up every time, that's another three quarters of a billion dollars.

The projected budget NASA approved for the project was 4 billion. They've already spent more than that. Elon said they'll spend over 2 billion this year alone and that he thinks it'll take 10 billion to get it done, which is roughly 30% of NASA's entire budget.

I think he's about one more of these failures away from NASA pulling the plug on it and going their own way.

 

[Zeedox]

Still the engines all ignited and stayed lit and the hot separation went well!

 

[Gomez Adams]

Number of unmanned Saturn V test launches: 2
Number of manned Saturn V test launches before we landed on the moon in July, 1969: 3
Number of Saturn V rockets lost: 0

Load capacity to low earth orbit:

Saturn V - 130 tons
Starship - 150 tons

They should have simply upgraded the Saturn V and been done with it at a fraction of the costs. It would have paid for itself by now.

 

[Zeedox]

I'm trying to remember why they can't....wasn't .there was a reaason?

 

[Gomez Adams]

Budget. They thought it would be cheaper for SpaceX to do the development. They were wrong.

 

[Zeedox]

Minor Aurora Storm Watch Issued - Northern Lights Show Possible, November 2023

High Speed Solar Wind Stream or CME Headed towards Earth - Possible Northern Lights Show

cdn.softservenews.com

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a 72 hour magnetic storm watch indicating a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) or a high speed solar wind stream emanating from the Sun may be heading towards Earth. These fast moving charged particles can cause a Northern Lights display.

 

[Gomez Adams]

We've dodged so many bullets when it comes to those things the last 50 years.