Outer space thread

[Vrede too]

Created a new topic since The Most Honest 3 Minutes in Television feels vague to me. Folks are free to use either, though.

Who Will Buy the International Space Station?
The future's uncertain, but here are a few companies who might bid.

[rstrong]

Who Will Buy the International Space Station?

The article is mostly fantasy.

First, the image isn't ISS; it's Mir.

As for the Russian plan to abandon the International Space Station and fly off with their own section, don't hold your breath.

The main Russian segments, Zvezda and Zarya, are the oldest part of the station and already past their design life. Zarya is paid for and owned by the United States (and is largely retired, used for storage.)

But mostly the problem is funding: The space station plan is like many previous Russian plans for new spacecraft, lunar missions, Mars missions, solar power satellites, etc: The plans are entirely real, and the designs for new hardware are real. What they aren't is funded.

Much of their funding for life of ISS - and the last few years of Mir - has come from the United States. But America will be launching crew on its own spacecraft as early as next year. And in a few years the US will no longer be dependant on Russian RD-180 engines for its Atlas V launcher.

And those new space station plans came BEFORE the Russian space budget was slashed. (It's been said that Russia doesn't so much have an economy as it has an it has an oil industry that pays for everything. And now oil prices are at rock bottom and are expected to stay there for a few years.)

Even in the article I just linked to, "However, works continue on a spaceship that might make flights to the Moon in the future." comes with qualifiers: "Works continue" means designing, not bending metal. And the "flights to the moon" don't mean landing. The funding for the lunar orbit or free-return trajectory flight would come from a rich space tourist.

In any case, if Russia buggered off with their section, it wouldn't be the end of ISS. The US would probably pull the Interim Control Module out of storage, already built in case the Zvezda launch failed. (It was designed for Shuttle launch, but maybe they could adapt it.) SpaceX could probably adapt a Dragon to take over Zvezda functions.

And if ISS is still in good condition in 2024, the plan doesn't seem to be to sell it, rather to rent space to private industry. There's talk of attaching a Bigelow Aerospace B330 once the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module is detached.

[Vrede too]

Ah, thanks. I guess that's what happens when finance guys write about space. Darn, what will I start saving up for now?

[Seth Milner]

All satellites orbiting the earth right now

[rstrong]

From XKCD:

[Vrede too]

SpaceX Explosion Destroys Satellite, Sets Back Facebook's Internet Push in Africa



Bummer for SpaceX and rural Africa, though I won't grieve for Facebook.

[rstrong]

Bummer for SpaceX and rural Africa,

Also for Spacecom shareholders. They had an agreement to sell the company to Beijing Xinwei Technology Group contingent on Amos-6 successfully being placed into service.

[rstrong]

I was expecting that an engine rapidly disassembled itself during the test burn. Video shows otherwise.

They weren't firing the engines at the time. The initial explosion happened near the TOP of the rocket, just below the payload, where it appears the second stage was venting off hydrogen and oxygen.

[Vrede too]

Dramatic Video Captures SpaceX Rocket Explosion at Launch Site

Whoa.

On the bright side, the gantry was pretty well built.

[rstrong]

Never let Mythbusters in the control room, even during testing.

[Vrede too]

There’s an asteroid named after Freddie Mercury and that’s pretty awesome

[Vrede too]

A UFO causing the SpaceX rocket explosion is the best conspiracy on the internet

[Vrede too]

Tonight and Monday night:

Stop stressing and stare at the closest supermoon we've seen in 69 years

No clouds here, but smoky.

[Vrede too]

Surprise: Earth has two moons

[rstrong]

John Glenn has died.

[billy.pilgrim]

John Glenn has died.

I remember him as just another crooked politician who closed put his senate campaign with plenty of money, but refused to pay him long time friend a couple hundred thousand for printing. The man had a small print shop and was seriously hurt by glenn's greed

Posted from memory. Please feel free to enlighten me if I'm wrong

[Mr.B]

[Vrede too]

Groundbreaking UFO (with chemtrail) Video Just Released By Chilean Navy

:-0?>

[Boatrocker]

Groundbreaking UFO (with chemtrail) Video Just Released By Chilean Navy

:-0?>

That's almost blurry and indecipherable enough to make it to Ancient Aliens.

[Vrede too]

Ancient Aliens didn't have 10 minutes of expert video, the Chilean Navy and a 2 year supposedly respected government investigation behind it. I do wonder why the helicopter didn't fly towards it and why jets weren't scrambled.