arstechnica.com Rocket Report: Daytona rocket delayed again; Bahamas tells SpaceX to hold up
A Falcon 9 core has now launched as many times as there are Merlins on a Falcon Heavy.
Alt accounts that are also me:
Posts
2,265
Comments
6,855
Joined
2 yr. ago
We are 29.73% of the way through 2025
🗡️ The Hobbit, Bilbo would be performing riddles in the dark
I wonder if this is the book or the films?
the various datahoarder communities on Lemmy
There are several, aren't there? Is the most active one still on ml?
Edit: Yeah, it looks like it is, but the single mod hasn't been active since the Reddit API debacle. I wonder if it would be worth migrating to another instance, perhaps dbzer0?
Oh, I didn't realize one could do it from anywhere!
Awesome! Are you planning to copy the rules from the sidebar as well, or start from scratch?
Buran's current situation is a bit sad. She belongs in a museum, not a rotting warehouse!
Can't wait to see the new flame trench in action
Rocket Report: Daytona rocket delayed again; Bahamas tells SpaceX to hold up
- When Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket will fly again?
- Phantom Space delays Daytona launch, again.
- It appears the Minotaur IV rocket still exists.
- French launch firm gets some funding runway.
- RFA gets a new CEO.
- Blue Origin launches all-female mission.
- Bahamas to SpaceX: Let's press pause.
- NASA will fly on Soyuz for a while longer
- Falcon 9 sets reuse record.
- The real story behind the Space Shuttle legislation.
Trump official to Katy Perry and Bezos’ fiancée: “You cannot identify as an astronaut”
arstechnica.com Trump official to Katy Perry and Bezos’ fiancée: “You cannot identify as an astronaut”
It turns out the FAA now takes no role in identifying who is an astronaut.
The bottom line is that there is no relevant federal definition of an astronaut. Duffy's own agency certainly doesn't claim responsibility for making that designation.
Regardless, it's not really his call. You may not like Perry's music or her association with Dr. Luke. But if she wants to call herself an astronaut, there's no one who can tell her she's not. Personally, I'm happy to call her one, along with the many other amazing women who have only reached space in the last few years because of the suborbital space tourism vehicles developed by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. The more the merrier.
I find it much better to live in a world where space tourism is actually happening, rather than one in which it is not.
Starbase activities (2025-04-18):
- Apr 17th addenda: Roundabout construction (Gisler and reconfiguration of the SpaceX LR11000 crane continues (Planatus666, Gisler).
- Build site: Highbay demolition continues. (Gisler 1, Gisler 2, cnunez)
- S39 nosecone in Starfactory. (cnunez)
- Launch site: RGV Aerial post a flyover photo of Pad B with the flame diverter installed.
- Pad B gantry construction continues. (Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3, Gisler 4, Gisler 5, Gisler 6, cnunez 1, cnunez 2)
- Plumbing work for the Pad B deluge system continues. (Gisler 1, Gisler 2)
- Relevant thread from Killip: Apr 13 #1, Apr 13 #2, Apr 13 #3, Apr 17.
- Both Pad B and Pad A chopsticks undergo testing. (NSF 1, NSF 2)
- The first support column for the Pad B launch mount arrives. Bolt pattern matches the supports seen at Sanchez, and suggests that launch mount B will be interchangeable. (Killip 1, Killip 2, Golden 1, Golden 2) Roundabout construction continues. (cnunez)
Oh, just this post, nothing fancy.
If a Redditor has questions or signup issues with the dbzer0 instance, someone can tag u/No_Measurement_6680 and/or u/Dbzer0 to provide assistance.
Oh, it's you! :)
I've added you to the list as a point of contact for the dbzer0 instance.
I like the size of Lemmy at the moment
Lemmy is just big enough to keep me entertained, but I wouldn't mind if the userbase were to double in size. Many of my niche interests are still missing or inactive.
The former.
@[email protected] or @[email protected] would need to comment "!whitelistsilver" in this thread on [email protected] to add the community.
It really is!
The first critical engine burn, on March 18, lasted 1,200 seconds. It raised their apogee from 134,000 to 240,000 kilometers. What followed, as detailed in earlier reporting, was the DRO-A and DRO-B satellites carrying out four further orbital maneuvers, gravity assists and additional trajectory corrections over the next four months to get the spacecraft on course for their intended lunar orbit.
The efforts ended on July 15, 2024, with the satellites safely in their predetermined orbits, having traveled around 8.5 million kilometers. The satellites appear to have traveled as far as over one million km from the Earth, allowing a low-energy capture and insertion into lunar orbit.
With the satellites in a lower orbit than expected and limited delta-V, they calculated a new trajectory to get the sats to the intended orbit, and it worked.
Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system.
Yeah, if the searchers are only allowed to "look", but not disassemble anything, the challenge is easy, as long as bills aren't visible. If the searchers are allowed to tear my home apart, I'm handing over the 10k as soon as they arrive, and wishing them good day.
Alternative history #5
Credit to u/DoctorSov in The Other Place.
ULA sniper stays busy by practicing on Northrop Grumman
apnews.com A building is destroyed in an explosion at Northrop Grumman's rocket test site
An explosion at Northrop Grumman’s remote rocket testing site in northern Utah has destroyed a building.
spacenews.com Mission team details complex rescue of Chinese lunar spacecraft
A team behind the rescue of two lunar satellites left stranded by a launch anomaly have revealed the challenges they faced in salvaging the mission.
spacenews.com NASA safety panel warns of increasing risks to ISS operations
Members of a NASA safety panel said they were “deeply concerned” about the safety of the aging International Space Station, citing long-running issues and funding shortfalls.
During a public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) April 17, members expressed concerns about growing risks as the station nears its projected end in 2030.
“The ISS has entered the riskiest period of its existence,” said Rich Williams, a member of the panel, arguing there were “increasing risks” to the station.
Some of those risks are problems the station has been facing for years, such as leaks in a vestibule of the station’s Zvezda module called PrK. Russian and American experts have been investigating small cracks seen in PrK for several years, with no resolution on their cause or how to best address them.
Williams said officials from NASA and Roscosmos are scheduled to meet later this month in Moscow to update efforts to mitigate risks on the cracking. In the meantime, he said ISS managers have implemented procedures such as limiting repressurization of the vestibule, which links a docking port to the rest of the station. “The panel has considere
spacenews.com Multilateral coordination will be needed for commercial space stations
Even as NASA and its partners on the ISS shift to commercial space stations, NASA’s former deputy administrator believes there will still be a role for multilateral coordination.
It really does! Repurposed ICBMs tend to do that... :)
There’s a secret reason the Space Force is delaying the next Atlas V launch
arstechnica.com There’s a secret reason the Space Force is delaying the next Atlas V launch
The Space Force is looking for responsive launch. This week, they’re the unresponsive ones.
Tory Bruno, ULA's president and CEO, wrote on X that questions about what is holding up the next Atlas V launch are best directed toward the Space Force. A spokesperson for ULA told Ars the company is still working with the range to determine the next launch date. "The rocket and payload are healthy," she said. "We will announce the new launch date once confirmed."
One possibility is a test of one or more submarine-launched Trident ballistic missiles, which commonly occur in the waters off the east coast of Florida. But those launches are usually accompanied by airspace and maritime warning notices to ensure pilots and sailors steer clear of the test. Nothing of the sort has been publicly released in the last couple of weeks.
Maybe something is broken at the Florida launch base. When launches were less routine than today, the range at Cape Canaveral would close for a couple of weeks per year for upgrades and refurbishment of critical infrastructure. This is no longer the case
Starbase activities (2025-04-17):
- Quiet day, nothing major reported.
- Apr 16th addendum: Starship Gazer posts miscellaneous 4k video.
- Reconfiguration of the SpaceX LR11000 crane continues. (Planatus666).
Confirmation of 22 satellites by Jonathan McDowell: https://bsky.app/profile/planet4589.bsky.social/post/3ln2gzr77zc2t
Now confirmed from Space-Track data that the Apr 12 Starshield launch had 22 satellites and the Apr 16 Minotaur launch had 2 payloads
Video from NSF: https://bsky.app/profile/nasaspaceflight.com/post/3lmzvomntgs2p
Confirmation of two payloads by Jonathan McDowell: https://bsky.app/profile/planet4589.bsky.social/post/3ln2gzr77zc2t
Alternative history #4
Credit to u/DoctorSov in The Other Place.
Humans on New Shepard: Astronaut or not?
spacenews.com Minotaur IV rocket launches spy payloads for National Reconnaissance Office
The mission, designated NROL-174, lifted off at 3:33 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8) at Vandenberg.
Why are two Texas senators trying to wrest a Space Shuttle from the Smithsonian?
arstechnica.com Why are two Texas senators trying to wrest a Space Shuttle from the Smithsonian?
This seems like a smart use of taxpayer money.
Alternative history #3
Credit to u/DoctorSov in The Other Place.
Highbay is dead. Long live Gigabay!
NROL-174 launch thread!
Welcome everyone! Been a while since we've had one of these!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2025-04-15 19:33 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | 2025-04-16 12:33 (EDT) |
| Launch site | SLC-8, Vandenberg SFB, California, USA |
| Launch vehicle | Minotaur IV |
| Launch provider | Northrop Grumman |
| Customer | National Reconnaissance Office |
| Payload | NROL-174 |
| Mission success criteria | Successful launch and deployment of payload into LEO |
Livestreams (none)
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Northrop Grumman | https://www.youtube.com/@northropgrummanmedia/streams |
| NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/@NASASpaceflight/streams |
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V9Ghq23BcA |
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/@Spaceflig |
spacenews.com Rocket Factory Augsburg replaces CEO
German launch vehicle startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has replaced its chief executive as it works towards a second chance for its first launch.
www.nasaspaceflight.com D-Orbit sets course to expand beyond space transportation services - NASASpaceFlight.com
Italian company D-Orbit has been launching customer payloads aboard its Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTVs) for…
