Science and Souls (for geeks and spiritual explorers)
- Thread starter Bob Loblaw
- Start date
hd_rider
Well-Known Member
I remember when the Space Shuttle Columbia burned up on reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on 02/01/2003.
The night before the shuttle disaster, I remember having an amazingly vivid dream of being on the ground and looking up into a sunny sky and seeing what appeared to be a meteor burning up. Lots of streaks of smoke and color traveling across the sky.
The next morning, I turned on the news and damned if there wasn't news footage of the Shuttle Columbia burning up in the skies over Texas.
I'll never forget the pit I felt in my stomach seeing those images on the television and the images in my head from the dream the night before.
Coincidence? Perhaps.
The night before the shuttle disaster, I remember having an amazingly vivid dream of being on the ground and looking up into a sunny sky and seeing what appeared to be a meteor burning up. Lots of streaks of smoke and color traveling across the sky.
The next morning, I turned on the news and damned if there wasn't news footage of the Shuttle Columbia burning up in the skies over Texas.
I'll never forget the pit I felt in my stomach seeing those images on the television and the images in my head from the dream the night before.
Coincidence? Perhaps.
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
NASA releases Mars recruitment posters . . . 
"Mars needs YOU! In the future, Mars will need all kinds of explorers, farmers, surveyors, teachers . . . but most of all YOU! Join us on the Journey to Mars as we explore with robots and send humans there one day. "
---
---
---
---
---
---
"Mars needs YOU! In the future, Mars will need all kinds of explorers, farmers, surveyors, teachers . . . but most of all YOU! Join us on the Journey to Mars as we explore with robots and send humans there one day. "
---
---
---
---
---
---
I'm joining! Nothing says getting out of dodge like heading for Marsian terra.NASA releases Mars recruitment posters . . .
"Mars needs YOU! In the future, Mars will need all kinds of explorers, farmers, surveyors, teachers . . . but most of all YOU! Join us on the Journey to Mars as we explore with robots and send humans there one day. "
---
---
---
---
---
---
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
I love it when names in the aerospace biz mimic vaporizer names. Some of you may remember the Grasshopper videos from SpaceX I posted a while back. Now we have another entry. Meet the Firefly
The pic below is the first test of an aerospike rocket (Engine Research 1 (FRE-R1)) by Firefly Space Systems. FRE-R1 is a pathfinder for the engines that will power Firefly Alpha, a two-stage small-satellite launcher the company is developing. FRE-R1 operates using liquid oxygen and a refined form of kerosene known as RP-1, but the basic engine design can accommodate methane instead of RP-1, if desired. Aerospikes utilize a differently shaped nozzle from a traditional rocket engine. Designed back in the '60s, Firefly will have the first aerospike engine in production when Firefly Alpha becomes operational in early 2018. There will be 12 of these in total, burning together, on the first stage of their rocket . . .
The pic below is the first test of an aerospike rocket (Engine Research 1 (FRE-R1)) by Firefly Space Systems. FRE-R1 is a pathfinder for the engines that will power Firefly Alpha, a two-stage small-satellite launcher the company is developing. FRE-R1 operates using liquid oxygen and a refined form of kerosene known as RP-1, but the basic engine design can accommodate methane instead of RP-1, if desired. Aerospikes utilize a differently shaped nozzle from a traditional rocket engine. Designed back in the '60s, Firefly will have the first aerospike engine in production when Firefly Alpha becomes operational in early 2018. There will be 12 of these in total, burning together, on the first stage of their rocket . . .
I think maybe someone was a fan of a cult TV show with a single season and a movie.I love it when names in the aerospace biz mimic vaporizer names. Some of you may remember the Grasshopper videos from SpaceX I posted a while back. Now we have another entry. Meet the Firefly
The pic below is the first test of an aerospike rocket (Engine Research 1 (FRE-R1)) by Firefly Space Systems. FRE-R1 is a pathfinder for the engines that will power Firefly Alpha, a two-stage small-satellite launcher the company is developing. FRE-R1 operates using liquid oxygen and a refined form of kerosene known as RP-1, but the basic engine design can accommodate methane instead of RP-1, if desired. Aerospikes utilize a differently shaped nozzle from a traditional rocket engine. Designed back in the '60s, Firefly will have the first aerospike engine in production when Firefly Alpha becomes operational in early 2018. There will be 12 of these in total, burning together, on the first stage of their rocket . . .
Serenity - Firefly class ship
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
ok . . . I know this is short notice, however, in about an hour A 154-foot-long (47-meter) solid rocket booster will be ignited for two minutes Tuesday at a remote test site in Utah.
Sitting horizontally at a test cell at Orbital ATK’s rocket propulsion manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, the solid rocket motor will fire at 10:05 a.m. EDT (1405 GMT) for slightly more than two minutes.
Burning 5.5 tons of powdered aluminum fuel, oxidizer and binding agents per second, the rocket motor is a test unit of a booster that will help power the Space Launch System off the ground.
Engineers predict the booster will generate about 3.3 million pounds of thrust at cold temperatures, down from the 3.6 million pounds of thrust produced during the hot test last year.
This should be good, will post video if I can . . . you can watch here:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public
Annnd of course the computer sequencer is having troubles . . . test fire on hold, hopefully resolved soon.
Things look good for the test in 20 minutes . . .
Sitting horizontally at a test cell at Orbital ATK’s rocket propulsion manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, the solid rocket motor will fire at 10:05 a.m. EDT (1405 GMT) for slightly more than two minutes.
Burning 5.5 tons of powdered aluminum fuel, oxidizer and binding agents per second, the rocket motor is a test unit of a booster that will help power the Space Launch System off the ground.
Engineers predict the booster will generate about 3.3 million pounds of thrust at cold temperatures, down from the 3.6 million pounds of thrust produced during the hot test last year.
This should be good, will post video if I can . . . you can watch here:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public
Annnd of course the computer sequencer is having troubles . . . test fire on hold, hopefully resolved soon.
Things look good for the test in 20 minutes . . .
Last edited:
h3rbalist
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too
Mission on hold... coverage resumes in 8 hours.ok . . . I know this is short notice, however, in about an hour A 154-foot-long (47-meter) solid rocket booster will be ignited for two minutes Tuesday at a remote test site in Utah.
Sitting horizontally at a test cell at Orbital ATK’s rocket propulsion manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, the solid rocket motor will fire at 10:05 a.m. EDT (1405 GMT) for slightly more than two minutes.
Burning 5.5 tons of powdered aluminum fuel, oxidizer and binding agents per second, the rocket motor is a test unit of a booster that will help power the Space Launch System off the ground.
Engineers predict the booster will generate about 3.3 million pounds of thrust at cold temperatures, down from the 3.6 million pounds of thrust produced during the hot test last year.
This should be good, will post video if I can . . . you can watch here:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public
Annnd of course the computer sequencer is having troubles . . . test fire on hold, hopefully resolved soon.
Things look good for the test in 20 minutes . . .
Great link.
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
I think its set for 20 minutes from now although I could be mistaken but I think thats what she said.Mission on hold... coverage resumes in 8 hours.
Great link.
h3rbalist
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too
No. More likely i am mistaken as I have no idea of the time zone difference.
Cheers.. I'll be tuned in.
h3rbalist
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
Its pretty good . . . love the dramatic music . . .
Edit: VaaaaaVooooom . . .
---
---
Last edited:
h3rbalist
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too
'NASA's Juno Spacecraft Getting Close to Jupiter
NASA's Juno mission, launched nearly five years ago, will soon reach its final destination: the most massive planet in our solar system, Jupiter. On the evening of July 4, at roughly 9 p.m. PDT (12 a.m. EDT, July 5), the spacecraft will complete a burn of its main engine, placing it in orbit around the king of planets.
During Juno's orbit-insertion phase, or JOI, the spacecraft will perform a series of steps in preparation for a main engine burn that will guide it into orbit. At 6:16 p.m. PDT (9:16 p.m. EDT), Juno will begin to turn slowly away from the sun and toward its orbit-insertion attitude. Then 72 minutes later, it will make a faster turn into the orbit-insertion attitude.
At 7:41 p.m. PDT (10:41 p.m. EDT), Juno switches to its low-gain antenna. Fine-tune adjustments are then made to the spacecraft's attitude. Twenty-two minutes before the main engine burn, at 7:56 p.m. PDT (10:56 p.m. EDT), the spacecraft spins up from 2 to 5 revolutions per minute (RPM) to help stabilize it for the orbit insertion burn.
At 8:18 p.m. PDT (11:18 p.m. EDT), Juno's 35-minute main-engine burn will begin. This will slow it enough to be captured by the giant planet’s gravity. The burn will impart a mean change in velocity of 1,212 mph (542 meters a second) on the spacecraft. It is performed in view of Earth, allowing its progress to be monitored by the mission teams at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, via signal reception by Deep Space Network antennas in Goldstone, California, and Canberra, Australia.
After the main engine burn, Juno will be in orbit around Jupiter. The spacecraft will spin down from 5 to 2 RPM, turn back toward the sun, and ultimately transmit telemetry via its high-gain antenna.
Juno starts its tour of Jupiter in a 53.5-day orbit. The spacecraft saves fuel by executing a burn that places it in a capture orbit with a 53.5-day orbit instead of going directly for the 14-day orbit that will occur during the mission's primary science collection period. The 14-day science orbit phase will begin after the final burn of the mission for Juno’s main engine on October 19.
JPL manages the Juno mission for NASA. The mission's principal investigator is Scott Bolton of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The mission is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, managed at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft.
Learn more about the June mission, and get an up-to-date schedule of events, at:
http://www.nasa.gov/juno
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/junotoolkit
Follow the mission on social media at:
http://www.facebook.com/NASAJuno
http://www.twitter.com/NASAJuno
For NASA TV streaming video and schedules, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv '
NASA's Juno mission, launched nearly five years ago, will soon reach its final destination: the most massive planet in our solar system, Jupiter. On the evening of July 4, at roughly 9 p.m. PDT (12 a.m. EDT, July 5), the spacecraft will complete a burn of its main engine, placing it in orbit around the king of planets.
During Juno's orbit-insertion phase, or JOI, the spacecraft will perform a series of steps in preparation for a main engine burn that will guide it into orbit. At 6:16 p.m. PDT (9:16 p.m. EDT), Juno will begin to turn slowly away from the sun and toward its orbit-insertion attitude. Then 72 minutes later, it will make a faster turn into the orbit-insertion attitude.
At 7:41 p.m. PDT (10:41 p.m. EDT), Juno switches to its low-gain antenna. Fine-tune adjustments are then made to the spacecraft's attitude. Twenty-two minutes before the main engine burn, at 7:56 p.m. PDT (10:56 p.m. EDT), the spacecraft spins up from 2 to 5 revolutions per minute (RPM) to help stabilize it for the orbit insertion burn.
At 8:18 p.m. PDT (11:18 p.m. EDT), Juno's 35-minute main-engine burn will begin. This will slow it enough to be captured by the giant planet’s gravity. The burn will impart a mean change in velocity of 1,212 mph (542 meters a second) on the spacecraft. It is performed in view of Earth, allowing its progress to be monitored by the mission teams at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, via signal reception by Deep Space Network antennas in Goldstone, California, and Canberra, Australia.
After the main engine burn, Juno will be in orbit around Jupiter. The spacecraft will spin down from 5 to 2 RPM, turn back toward the sun, and ultimately transmit telemetry via its high-gain antenna.
Juno starts its tour of Jupiter in a 53.5-day orbit. The spacecraft saves fuel by executing a burn that places it in a capture orbit with a 53.5-day orbit instead of going directly for the 14-day orbit that will occur during the mission's primary science collection period. The 14-day science orbit phase will begin after the final burn of the mission for Juno’s main engine on October 19.
JPL manages the Juno mission for NASA. The mission's principal investigator is Scott Bolton of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The mission is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, managed at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft.
Learn more about the June mission, and get an up-to-date schedule of events, at:
http://www.nasa.gov/juno
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/junotoolkit
Follow the mission on social media at:
http://www.facebook.com/NASAJuno
http://www.twitter.com/NASAJuno
For NASA TV streaming video and schedules, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv '
h3rbalist
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too
Meet Atlas from Boston Dynamics . . .
Both amazing and scary.
They've developed that rather quickly from it's tethered prototype.
I wonder how long it's battery lasts?
grokit
well-worn member
So it's official now?I've heard of dwarf stars, now we have a "dwarf planet".
New dwarf planet discovered out past Neptune
Astronomers have found a new dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt,
with one of the largest orbits of any dwarf planet.
The orbit of RR245
A new dwarf planet has joined the solar system's ranks. Discovered by an international team of astronomers, the planet, named 2015 RR245 for now, is apparently just 700 kilometres in diameter, although more accurate measurements will need to be taken to gauge its exact size. And it's really far away, roughly 120 times Earth's distance from the sun, with a single orbit taking 700 years.
For comparison, Pluto has a diameter of 2,374 kilometres, and completes an orbit of the sun every 248 years.
"Finding a new dwarf planet beyond Neptune sheds light on the early phases of planet formation," said Brett Gladman of the University of British Columbia. "Since most of these icy worlds are incredibly small and faint, it's exciting to find a bright one that is easier to study, and which is on an interesting orbit."
RR245 is the first dwarf planet discovered as part of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey, and is one of potentially over 100 dwarf planets in the solar system. The next step will be refining its orbit, after which it will be given an official name.
http://www.cnet.com/news/new-dwarf-...090e536&bhid=24898254996313152992832785708124
t-dub
Vapor Sloth
Behold the first picture from Juno of Jupiter and some of its moons. The image was taken from almost 3 million miles away, which accounts for its fuzziness. Expect much better pictures when the spacecraft dips down close in late August.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA20707
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA20707