# The Great Ongoing Space Exploration Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [November 16, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703 "2020-11-16T12:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/262 "2021-12-17T16:44:38Z")
It’s probably already been discussed in this thread, but what are 'dopers thoughts on Starlink or other similar plans? Was going to start a separate thread, but this one seems to be a good place to ask. To me, this sort of system will really help a lot of rural communities. I’ve been trying to get into the beta program so we can test it as a government entity for recommendation and use by our own public in the state, but so far I can’t even get someone to talk to me from the company…and they are the only ones with anything up and working at this point. IF this system works, however, it would save millions (really, 10’s or 100’s of millions) in trying to build out a traditional broadband infrastructure for rural communities to get connected. We could save that money for other things, even subsidizing rural and poor communities with the hardware needed to bring it into their homes. Anyway, thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/263 "2021-12-17T16:59:26Z")
> [@XT](#): > > IF this system works, however, it would save millions (really, 10’s or 100’s of millions) in trying to build out a traditional broadband infrastructure for rural communities to get connected. To the extent that it is available, it seems to work. I know that Frasier Cain uses it exclusively now, and he uses it for live streaming and interviews. Ever since there was an internet, I kept hearing rumors of one company or another looking into creating an actual usable satellite internet system, but for various reasons, it was never quite the right time (mostly due to launch costs). > [@XT](#): > > but so far I can’t even get someone to talk to me from the company…and they are the only ones with anything up and working at this point. I haven’t messed with them at all, so I have no idea what their customer service is like, but there _are_ people who are using it right now, so they must have some. If you go to their website ([starlink.com](http://starlink.com)), then it lets you put in your address to check for availability, and then I assume it proceeds from there. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/264 "2021-12-17T17:04:51Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I haven’t messed with them at all, so I have no idea what their customer service is like, but there _are_ people who are using it right now, so they must have some. If you go to their website ([starlink.com](http://starlink.com)), then it lets you put in your address to check for availability, and then I assume it proceeds from there. Yeah, that’s the website I’ve had my staff look at. The trouble is, it’s for residential only…and you have to use a credit card, not a PO. I need to actually talk to a human from StarLink to discuss what we need to do the testing we want to do in order to see if it’s a solution we can endorse going forward. To do that StarLink needs to change their terms for commercial/government as well as allow us to use a PO (and a bunch of other things I’d need to discuss with them about their contract, no doubt). I wish they had someone who was thinking about this aspect of it and had a way to interact with state and local government agencies who I think would be interested in testing this out with an eye towards their own rural populations. In my state I think this could be huge…and save a ton of money currently being spent on things like private 4G LTE networks, which I don’t think to give as much bang for the buck and STILL are going to entail getting each household a bridge while taking years to build out. Something like StarLink could be transformational wrt the digital divide…if I could only get someone to talk to me. 😛 ETA: Thanks for the reply though…appreciate it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/265 "2021-12-24T18:45:30Z")
Hmm, the launch of the James Webb Telescope is at lunchtime in the UK tomorrow. Might end up missing it! ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/266 "2021-12-25T12:48:04Z")
James Webb Launch is go. And it’s off. Textbook launch. Early maneuvers include precisely positioning the exposed satellite to optimize the temperature of sensitive parts. I never knew that. JWST is now completely separated from the Ariane stages. On its own. Now the short trip to the LG point. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/267 "2021-12-25T18:50:58Z")
Here in the UK the JWT separated just before lunchtime and I JUST caught the release before having to leave to go for Christmas dinner at my brother’s. Great start to the afternoon… ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/268 "2022-01-26T12:49:08Z")
Looks like a SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage is going to hit the moon on March 4. It won’t be visible from Earth, since it’ll hit the far side. > **[Seven years after it launched, a SpaceX rocket is about to collide with the moon](https://www.techspot.com/news/93134-seven-years-after-launched-spacex-rocket-soon-collide.html)** > > In February 2015, SpaceX launched its first interplanetary mission from Florida, sending a weather satellite more than 1 million miles away from the Earth. Following the Falcon... ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/269 "2022-01-26T22:07:05Z")
I’m not going to link to the article so as not to encourage such clickbait trash, but The Guardian published an article on that with this subject: _Out-of-control SpaceX rocket on collision course with moon_ Ugh. The Guardian does some okay stuff, but when it comes to anything Musk related you can see their bias showing. Jonathan McDowell (respected astrophysicist) tweeted this: > And wrote this (search for DSCOVR upper stage): > **[Jonathan's Space Report - Latest Issue](https://planet4589.org/latest.html)** > > Jonathan's Space Report | Latest Issue Lots of good detail in this latter link. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/270 "2022-01-27T02:29:30Z")
Anyone know if the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or any other orbiters could get into a position to record the impact? This is a golden opportunity to get another window into what’s under the surface on the Moon. There have been many surprises in this area, and we are still trying to figure out things like how much water might be under the near surface. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/271 "2022-01-27T03:02:10Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > not to encourage such clickbait trash The Guardian is hardly the only clickbait trash on this event. I did my best to find an article that was not so yellow-journalistic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/272 "2022-01-27T08:06:28Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I did my best to find an article that was not so yellow-journalistic. I thank you for that! Not only is the title written neutrally, but the byline correctly notes the possible scientific benefits (and I see quotes McDowell as well). I’m impressed that Bill Gray’s software even models light pressure. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Anyone know if the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or any other orbiters could get into a position to record the impact? The article that **dtilque** linked to says it’s possible: > It’s believed that satellites currently orbiting the moon, including NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India’s Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, will be able to gather valuable data from the impact crater and revealed material. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/273 "2022-01-27T13:47:44Z")
In what way is “a weather satellite more than 1 million miles away from the Earth” an “interplanetary mission” ? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/274 "2022-01-28T04:17:30Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > In what way is “a weather satellite more than 1 million miles away from the Earth” > an “interplanetary mission” ? > . I didn’t really think about that. Why would a weather satellite go any further away than geosynchronous orbit? I have a feeling it wasn’t a weather satellite. Maybe it was actually space weather it was studying, which is something totally different. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/275 "2022-01-28T04:22:20Z")
It’s the DSCOVR satellite: > **[Deep Space Climate Observatory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Climate_Observatory)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR; formerly known as Triana, unofficially known as GoreSat) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) space weather, space climate, and Earth observation satellite. It was launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle on 11 February 2015, from Cape Canaveral. This is NOAA's first operational deep space satellite and became its primary system of warning Earth in the event of solar mag... And yes, space weather. However, because it is sitting at the L1 Lagrange point, it also gets a nice view of the Earth in constant sunlight (sorta the opposite of the JWST), and hence does some Earth observation as well. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/276 "2022-02-01T03:16:06Z")
Video of SpaceX launching the Cosmo-Skymed (CSG-2) satellite. Of particular note is the video they got of the main engine cutoff (MECO) and separation of the first stage. I’ve never seen real-time video that clear of this happening (considering it happens at such high altitude). Really cool. Video below has been queued to start just before launch but you can jump to the MECO part @ 33:30. Some other pretty cool live shots in there too (seeing the second stage engine glowing and so on). Not to mention the first stage landing back on earth (which is almost old news now but, for me, it never gets old…so cool). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mJh9qQbdux0/maxresdefault.jpg "Watch SpaceX launch and LAND their Falcon 9 for CSG-2") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJh9qQbdux0) ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/277 "2022-02-01T03:20:31Z")
> > > Jaylee Hoss @joss\_haylee ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/278 "2022-02-01T03:29:15Z")
[![](https://compote.slate.com/images/7bebd458-dfe9-4c35-beee-da10caaaa99b.jpg) ](https://compote.slate.com/images/7bebd458-dfe9-4c35-beee-da10caaaa99b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/279 "2022-02-01T06:49:38Z")
Beat you to it 🙂 > [@Continuing discussion of SpaceX launches \[edited title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-discussion-of-spacex-launches-edited-title/741048/1185): > > Nothing particularly special about this mission, but they had some great ground photography this time: [[COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 Mission] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBxHrNIzp9w) I can’t recall ever seeing stage separation from the outside with that level of clarity. Normally you just get a few overexposed pixels. Unfortunately, they cut away the outside shot at the moment of fairing deploy, but you do get to see the fairing halves spinning off. The photography was amazing this time. I’ve never seen MECO from the outside with that level of clarity. I did see a launch at Vandenberg, just after dusk, with amazing shots of the plumes–including the rapid-fire pulsing of the RCS thrusters on the booster stage, and then the plume from the boostback. But the stages themselves were just points. If you look carefully, you can see the stabilization ring on the second-stage engine fly off a few moments after ignition. You can always spot this from the on-board cam, but never from a ground camera. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2022, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/280 "2022-02-13T03:03:55Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Looks like a SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage is going to hit the moon on March 4. It won’t be visible from Earth, since it’ll hit the far side. Turns out it’s not a Falcon 9 stage after all; it’s from a Chinese launch: > **[Astronomers now say the rocket about to strike the Moon is not a Falcon 9](https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/actually-a-falcon-9-rocket-is-not-going-to-hit-the-moon/)** > > It's probable that the impact object comes from a Chinese rocket launched in 2014. Will all those that badmouthed SpaceX/Musk post corrections and apologize? I won’t be holding my breath. It is still a fat nothingburger, of course. Except for the potential scientific benefits to observing the impact. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/281 "2022-02-16T15:45:19Z")
I guess SpaceX is planning to do 3 manned missions, one of which will be an EVA, though it sounds like it will be a stripped-down version. I don’t think their current suits are suited to EVA so perhaps they plan to do a redesign? Regardless, the 3rd mission is a manned mission for their new Starship, so that should be interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=15)