Look like we are going to get part of the future that science fiction said we would get. It not a rendering but an actual test article that will do VTOL tests in SpaceX's Texas launch facility.
Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2019
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
One of those days.....
Every have one of those days and then something happens that just puts a smile on your face.
Congrats to everybody at SpaceX for a hell of an achievement
Congrats to everybody at SpaceX for a hell of an achievement
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Google maps arrives for the Solar System
Google Maps now covers many planets and moons in the Solar System. Before they had Mars and the Moon and now it been greatly expanded. Pretty good especially for those who run near future Expanse style science fiction campaigns.
They even have the International Space Station.
They even have the International Space Station.
Monday, December 21, 2015
As God and Heinlein intended.....
SpaceX launched several Orbcomm Satellites in their return to flight today. And SpaceX added a little something special.
Landing video
A rocket today landed on its tail as God and Robert Heinlein intended.
Congrats to everybody at SpaceX.
Additional Note:
One valuable thing about this is that by being able to return the first stage to land, the engineers will be able to examine the rocket without it having been dunked in seawater. Seawater is highly corrosive so this will be a big boost for SpaceX and others in improving the quality and performance of rockets.
Landing video
A rocket today landed on its tail as God and Robert Heinlein intended.
Congrats to everybody at SpaceX.
Additional Note:
One valuable thing about this is that by being able to return the first stage to land, the engineers will be able to examine the rocket without it having been dunked in seawater. Seawater is highly corrosive so this will be a big boost for SpaceX and others in improving the quality and performance of rockets.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Why Gagarin and not Shepard
So why was Yuri Gargarin the first man in space? Just as important why was he the first man to orbit the earth?
Since the launch of sputnik both the United States and the Soviet Union were in various races. The race to launch the heaviest satellite, a race to reach the moon first by satellite and the race to launch the first man into space.
Alan B Shepard missed being the first main in space by inches. The reason was that during Ham the chimpanzee suborbital flight test the Redstone rocket didn't perform as expected. Chris Kraft, Robert Gilruth and the rest of NASA Langley felt that performance issues were minor and that they could go with the next flight with the rocket design as is. Werner von Braun of NASA Marshall wasn't as confident. He insisted that that one more test flight of the Redstone was needed to verify the fixes and got his way. That flight launched in March 24th 1961. Then on April 12th, Gargin lifted off on the R-7 rocket in the Vostok capsule and made one orbit of the earth. Alan Shepard followed a couple of weeks later in May with the launch of Freedom 7.
Until the day he died Alan Shepard and rest of NASA Langley felt they could have been first if von Braun would have been bolder. The situation is ironic because several years earlier von Braun was able to launch a satellite well before Sputnik using the Jupiter-C missile he was developing for ballistic nosecone re-entry tests. Indeed before one launch a general personally inspected the rocket to make sure that von Braun didn't slip an extra stage to accidentally launch the payload into orbit.
Sputnik was launched, Vanguard failed, and finally the US called on von Braun to launch the Explorer satellite on the Jupiter-C.
But even if Alan Shepard would been the first man in space, Gargarin would been the first man to orbit the earth. The reason lie back in the early 1950 during the development of the Hydrogen Bomb. Due to work of Teller and Ulam the initial weight estimate for the American Hydrogen bomb came in way lower than expected. This came at a crucial time during the development of the ICBM. Since less weight means a cheaper rocket to develop the developers of the Atlas and other rockets eagerly used the new weights for their design.
In contrast the Soviets had to loft a lot more mass for their bomb so Korolev's R-7 was designed to lift a much bigger payload. Eventually the Soviets developed a lightweight hydrogen bomb but now they had the prefect rocket in which to support their space program. This meant the American had to use less powerful rockets for the Mercury capsule until the upgraded Atlas was ready. The Soviets launched their first flight into orbit and Gagarin became the first man into space. That same rocket, the R-7 Semyorka, has been used in the launch of Sputnik and all russian manned flights including the Soyuz flights to the International Space Stations.
Since the launch of sputnik both the United States and the Soviet Union were in various races. The race to launch the heaviest satellite, a race to reach the moon first by satellite and the race to launch the first man into space.
Alan B Shepard missed being the first main in space by inches. The reason was that during Ham the chimpanzee suborbital flight test the Redstone rocket didn't perform as expected. Chris Kraft, Robert Gilruth and the rest of NASA Langley felt that performance issues were minor and that they could go with the next flight with the rocket design as is. Werner von Braun of NASA Marshall wasn't as confident. He insisted that that one more test flight of the Redstone was needed to verify the fixes and got his way. That flight launched in March 24th 1961. Then on April 12th, Gargin lifted off on the R-7 rocket in the Vostok capsule and made one orbit of the earth. Alan Shepard followed a couple of weeks later in May with the launch of Freedom 7.
Until the day he died Alan Shepard and rest of NASA Langley felt they could have been first if von Braun would have been bolder. The situation is ironic because several years earlier von Braun was able to launch a satellite well before Sputnik using the Jupiter-C missile he was developing for ballistic nosecone re-entry tests. Indeed before one launch a general personally inspected the rocket to make sure that von Braun didn't slip an extra stage to accidentally launch the payload into orbit.
Sputnik was launched, Vanguard failed, and finally the US called on von Braun to launch the Explorer satellite on the Jupiter-C.
But even if Alan Shepard would been the first man in space, Gargarin would been the first man to orbit the earth. The reason lie back in the early 1950 during the development of the Hydrogen Bomb. Due to work of Teller and Ulam the initial weight estimate for the American Hydrogen bomb came in way lower than expected. This came at a crucial time during the development of the ICBM. Since less weight means a cheaper rocket to develop the developers of the Atlas and other rockets eagerly used the new weights for their design.
In contrast the Soviets had to loft a lot more mass for their bomb so Korolev's R-7 was designed to lift a much bigger payload. Eventually the Soviets developed a lightweight hydrogen bomb but now they had the prefect rocket in which to support their space program. This meant the American had to use less powerful rockets for the Mercury capsule until the upgraded Atlas was ready. The Soviets launched their first flight into orbit and Gagarin became the first man into space. That same rocket, the R-7 Semyorka, has been used in the launch of Sputnik and all russian manned flights including the Soyuz flights to the International Space Stations.
Yuri's Night
Today is the fiftieths anniversary of Yuri Gargarin's orbit around the Earth in Vostok I. It is also been 30 years since the the Space Shuttle Columbia launched for the first time in STS-I with John Young and Robert Crippen on board. Yuri's Night was begun in 2001 to celebration mankind achievements in space and honor those risked their lives in the exploration of space.
For many this is a bittersweet anniversary because of the two last shuttle flights coming up. With the United States mired in a budget crunch and recovering from a severe recession many wonder if there will ever be any human space flight from the US again.
I have no worries in this regards as we are on the verge of a new golden age of space. Elon Musk of SpaceX just recently announced the Falcon Heavy which, for the first time, will offer a cost into orbit of less than $1,000 per pound. This is a major breakthrough.
Then there are a variety of other companies like XCor, Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space, Bigelow and Virgin Galactic all in serious development of various space development. Thanks to Armadillo and Masten we now have practical and affordable rockets that can lift off, fly, and land on their tail.
I end this post with a link to this inspiring song called a Fire In the Sky. There are more at this website
For many this is a bittersweet anniversary because of the two last shuttle flights coming up. With the United States mired in a budget crunch and recovering from a severe recession many wonder if there will ever be any human space flight from the US again.
I have no worries in this regards as we are on the verge of a new golden age of space. Elon Musk of SpaceX just recently announced the Falcon Heavy which, for the first time, will offer a cost into orbit of less than $1,000 per pound. This is a major breakthrough.
Then there are a variety of other companies like XCor, Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space, Bigelow and Virgin Galactic all in serious development of various space development. Thanks to Armadillo and Masten we now have practical and affordable rockets that can lift off, fly, and land on their tail.
I end this post with a link to this inspiring song called a Fire In the Sky. There are more at this website
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