Falcon Heavy

[jswordy]

Wow, why so much negativity?

NASA estimates that one flight of the (NASA designed, single use) Space Launch System SLS will cost about $1 billion in comparison.

I see you don't have my sense of humor. Guess it'll be great for the third gen from now, those who are infants today, who will have to select who gets to get off a dying planet. Just not a fan of the 21st century's P.T. Barnum, nope.

 

[Boatboy24]

Here's a pic of the Tesla, approximately 5 million kilometers from us.

 

[dcbrown73]

I heard that NASA putting the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion engine back on the table. This is fantastic as it's a sign they are extremely serious about a manned mission to Mars. This type of engine would pretty much be required to keep a margin of safety for the astronauts. These engines would also crease the launch window to Mars by quite a bit. It would also make it where we wouldn't have to "pre-send" return fuel to Mars.

 

[heatherd]

My hubby is working on the solar probe at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab on behalf of NASA, and I have to say it's really exciting to see us putting stuff in space again! We plan to go to the launch.
http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/

 

[Johny99]

Interesting thread as I’m about half way through Failure is Not an Option. It speaks to the amazing work of the 60s. Of course like all maturing technologies, the glamor goes, but good work still needs to be done.

 

[ibglowin]

I have a nephew that went to TX A&M got a degree in Aerospace Engineering a few years ago now. He works for Lockheed Martin in Denver. He is part of the team that is building the new GOES satellites they are putting into orbit. He has been living at the Cape for the last 3 months now as they did final assembly and testing and just this past week they put the payload on top of the Atlas rocket. They are looking at a March 1 liftoff. These are weather satellites that are all incredibly fast and of course all 4K HD images. Needless to say very exciting to watch still to this day.

 

[ibglowin]

GOES has left the VAB. Launch is still tentatively set for tomorrow around 4PM ET

 

[ibglowin]

Yesterday was a good day!

 

[ibglowin]

 

[pgentile]

I'm coming in way late to this conversation. Many of advanced technologies of today sprang from the space program. NASA has never had a proper budget compared to our military. The return on investment has been much greater with NASA, it's really comparing apples to oranges, but being a space junkie myself i would much rather of had much more funding diverted to space than the useless wars of the last 50 years.

It is amazing what our space program has been able to do the last 20 years with an ever decreasing budget. And don't forget we are in an era of anti intellectualism and science.

I also think we are jumping too fast to try and reach mars, we need more experience living in space, a larger more comprehensive space station, more advanced propulsion and a science base on the moon. In the mean time send robotic probes to Europa, Titan and Enceladus.

So much more to say, but I'm at work and people are staring at me, like I should be helping them instead of typing or something.

 

[dcbrown73]

This is the current nor'easter slamming the east coast from NASA's GOES16 satellite.

 

[Boatboy24]

That Nor'Easter is a borderline hurricane. There's practically an eye. And I can say here in N. VA, the winds have been insane today - much worse than the tropical storm I went through in the Outer Banks a couple years ago.

 

[heatherd]

Here too. There are folks without power, and downed trees all over. We're suffering too: our internet is out and I'm using my cell phone as a hot spot.

 

[pgentile]

Wind still severe here in Philly. Sirens going all day & night today, one going by now. Our vehicle is finally un-wedged from the tree, feeling we got a away lucky today.

 

[Boatboy24]

We've been lucky, and haven't lost power. My M-I-L has been here since yesterday afternoon - still no power and no indication of when it'll be back. Same for many friends around here. My sister outside Baltimore has been without it since the wee hours of yesterday morning. I'm whining because I don't want to do my run outside today.