The Space Thread - Launches, Events, Live Streams, Governments, Corporations, drama in Spaaaaaaaaaaaace

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moocow said:
Neither did the space shuttle. Did Orion? Does this thing? Does Boeing's alternative?
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Apparently the idea was floated to either have ejection seats in the shuttle, or have the entire crew compartment separate from the rest of the vessel in the event of a malfunction, but the use case for such a system was so narrow that it wasn't even worth bothering with. It basically only would have helped in a very short window given the typical mission profile. Plus spaceplanes are a different beast from capsules, I don't really see any reason why an LES [launch escape system] can't be added to Starship, it's just extra insurance against losing the crew.

But the shuttle really didn't have any use for an abort mode in 90% of situations where the shuttle itself was compromised, it wouldn't have done dick for the crews of Challenger or Columbia. Basically with the shuttle, to make an abort mode actually useful, whatever malfunction happened would have had to happen in a perfect cascade to make it a wise choice. That's besides the 'abort modes' after reentry which would have just involved ditching it in the water or redirecting to another landing site. During launch, though, aside from jettisoning the boosters, the shuttle had little use for abort modes. Orion does have an LES, which are typically jettisoned once the vessel reaches space. The LES basically separates the capsule from the rest of the launch vehicle and fires solid rocket motors to rip it away from the boosters, to try and prevent the capsule from becoming part of whatever explosion or conflagration has occurred beneath it, or to separate the capsule from a doomed booster in the event that an engine doesn't fire or isn't producing enough thrust.

It is the pointy tower that looks like an antenna which you see above the capsule here:

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I'm hoping this goes well, I want to see another fucking lunar landing in my lifetime. Mars would be cool as shit of course but at this point, given where aerospace tech is at the moment and NASA's risk aversion after Challenger and Columbia, I don't view it as terribly feasible. The margins on a manned mission to Mars are so fucking razor thin, I'm not convinced NASA is willing to go for it. I think it could be done right now if NASA decided to YOLO it, but I really don't think they're willing to undergo that much risk anymore. Spaceflight of any kind of a risky endeavor, everyone knows that, but Mars? Odds are very much against you if ANYTHING goes wrong, even minor shit.
 
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Green Man said:
Apparently the idea was floated to either have ejection seats in the shuttle
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There were ejection seats in the shuttle for the top deck pilot seats. It would have been impossible for the crew situated on the mid deck without a weight penalty so egregious as to make it unworkable. As a result, they were removed from the top deck since ride-and-die together was preferable for morale.
 
Lian Xing said:
There were ejection seats in the shuttle for the top deck pilot seats. It would have been impossible for the crew situated on the mid deck without a weight penalty so egregious as to make it unworkable. As a result, they were removed from the top deck since ride-and-die together was preferable for morale.
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Only Enterprise and Columbia had ejection seats, and the seats on Columbia were removed after its 4th flight when the crew went from two test pilots to a full crew of seven, and because of the reasons you mentioned. They were the same seats used in the SR-71.
 
Seems like they are being a little smarter and not filling until right before they are ready to go. The thermal shock of adding cryogenic propellant is bad for any rocket. If it can handle it thats one thing but this thing is pretty rickety
 
geckogoy said:
Seems like they are being a little smarter and not filling until right before they are ready to go. The thermal shock of adding cryogenic propellant is bad for any rocket. If it can handle it thats one thing but this thing is pretty rickety
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Actually they started fueling this morning and finished up a couple of hours ago. Now they're just topping off the full tanks to replace the fuel that boils off. They have a system that pre-chills the tanks and plumbing to mitigate thermal shock.
 
Wahgonga said:
Actually they started fueling this morning and finished up a couple of hours ago.
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They didn't finish filling until a couple hours before launch, thats 'right before'

Wahgonga said:
They have a system that pre-chills the tanks and plumbing to mitigate thermal shock.
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Yeah its still bad for it and I think at this point well known to not be a particularly resilient design
 
I'm so torn on this launch, i want nasa to fail and for the rocket to blow up on launch raining nigger mince all over the dumb cattle who went to watch it in person, but i also want a launch that's not fake and gay to succeed for humanity unlike the last moon landing.
This could be really interesting though with the war in space going extra hot recently. (if you know, you know)
I am placing my bet on the chinese pot-shotting the capsule with an attack sat after it leaves orbit.
 
Is there a just the mission control audio stream I can't take the official stream anymore
 
Tyrannosaurus rex said:
I'm so torn on this launch, i want nasa to fail and for the rocket to blow up on launch raining nigger mince all over the dumb cattle who went to watch it in person, but i also want a launch that's not fake and gay to succeed for humanity unlike the last moon landing.
This could be really interesting though with the war in space going extra hot recently. (if you know, you know)
I am placing my bet on the chinese pot-shotting the capsule with an attack sat after it leaves orbit.
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If you are hoping to watch people die and such, I would recommend doing some self evaluation on that. I would also recommend church and logging off for a mental break. Its not healthy to be excited and want people to die!


Random nonsense aside. Super excited! I can't wait for this and future space missions.
 
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