# 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:** 34
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/662 "2023-03-09T19:28:21Z")
Did anyone post why the lunar trip is so much longer with Artemis than Apollo? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/663 "2023-03-09T19:43:22Z")
Looks like they were trying some daring orbits around the moon, including a “distant retrograde orbit” that took 6 days alone. But I’ll wait for someone more knowledgeable to comment. > **[Artemis 1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_1)** > > Artemis 1, officially Artemis I and formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis 1 marked the return of the agency to lunar exploration originally begun as the Apollo program decades earlier. It was the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.\[note 1\] Its main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft, especially its heat shield, in prep The Orio... I just want to know why why the SLS boosters were orange 🙂 , a feature shared with other boosters I’ve seen in photos, like Delta IV Heavy. SLS: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Artemis_1_SLS_Rollout_%28cropped%29.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Artemis_1_SLS_Rollout_%28cropped%29.jpg) Delta IV Heavy: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/NROL-71_Wide_%28cropped_alt%29.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/NROL-71_Wide_%28cropped_alt%29.jpg) Is the orange paint like the red paint on a muscle car, makes it go faster? 😆 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/664 "2023-03-09T20:19:51Z")
Is that primer, to save the weight of white paint? The only thing I could find googling about the path some time ago, was that it used less fuel. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/665 "2023-03-09T20:21:32Z")
After posting, I eventually googled up with some difficulty that the orange is the color of the spray-on insulation they put on the cryo stages ---
**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:** [March 9, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/666 "2023-03-09T20:28:10Z")
Yep. And in this case, “cryo” means “liquid hydrogen”. Liquid oxygen is relatively warm and doesn’t typically demand extra insulation. But liquid hydrogen kinda needs it. The Shuttle external tank, SLS, the Delta IV, Japan’s H3 (above), and some others all use this orange spray-on insulation. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/667 "2023-03-09T20:30:43Z")
Thanks. Any comment on @carnivorousplant’s question about the Artemis mission profile? Nudging because I’d bet you know offhand. Thanks. ETA: the wiki article isn’t helpful really. > [@](#): > > The Orion spacecraft spent approximately three weeks in space, including six days in a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) around the Moon. It came within approximately 130 km (80 mi) of the lunar surface (closest approach) and achieved a maximum distance from Earth of 432,210 km (268,563 mi). It doesn’t really say _why_ it was doing all those things for three weeks. I’m curious too. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/668 "2023-03-09T20:43:14Z")
Cool. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/669 "2023-03-09T20:51:44Z")
I’m not sure I have a much better answer than that they were supposed to be different. The Apollo missions started with a “free return trajectory”, which basically meant that if there was some later failure, the craft would swing around the moon and head back to Earth. That was famously used by Apollo 13 to return the astronauts to Earth. It’s a quick there-and-back again trajectory that just swings around the Moon once. The whole point is to return the astronauts as quickly as possible given a total propulsion failure. Artemis I was intended to prove out its systems in a long-duration flight, so it used a different orbit with some wide and slow manuvers. I don’t have the details on exactly what it was doing, but Orion is supposed to handle much longer-duration missions than Apollo was capable of, so I anticipate that they were just trying to test its systems for longer than a free-return trajectory would provide. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/670 "2023-03-09T21:06:20Z")
Fair enough, and thanks for the detailed reply ---
**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:** [March 11, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/671 "2023-03-11T19:30:14Z")
Relativity Space trying again shortly (~5 min): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9Tv6pbDCmLk/maxresdefault.jpg "[SCRUB] Terran 1: Launching The World’s First 3D Printed Rocket (Pt. 2)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tv6pbDCmLk) ---
**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:** [March 11, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/672 "2023-03-11T19:37:51Z")
Wayward boat caused a range violation at T-1:09. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/673 "2023-03-11T19:43:30Z")
Soooo close. Abort at 0:00 after ignition. That’s almost certainly a scrub, right? ---
**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:** [March 11, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/674 "2023-03-11T19:45:39Z")
Seems likely, but I think their launch window is open for a while longer, so it’s not impossible that they could recycle. I don’t know enough details about their ground support systems to say if that’s possible. Announcer just implied that it wasn’t impossible. ETA: Still, not a bad looking static fire, if that’s all it proves to be. The methane engines looked clean. Probably just didn’t ramp up their thrust to acceptable levels (within the expected time, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/675 "2023-03-11T20:12:00Z")
Annnd the countdown is running again, with an updated estimated launch time of 15:55 EST. Did anybody catch the reason for that last-second abort? ---
**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:** [March 11, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/676 "2023-03-11T20:58:07Z")
Sorry, didn’t hear anything specific about the abort. They did say something but I forget what it was exactly–it was vague. Just about 2 minutes to launch! ---
**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:** [March 11, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/677 "2023-03-11T21:00:51Z")
Ahh, scrub for today. I think this was the end of their launch window for today, so no chance for a recycle. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/678 "2023-03-16T00:42:59Z")
Lots of news coming from the Satellite 2023 conference. A few tidbits: Another SpaceXer thinks Starship is going to fly _real soon now_: > They’re already at 15+, so I’d guess this means 30+ is not unreasonable: > This does not sound good for Virgin Orbit, but is also unsurprising: > Also unsurprising. I wonder what their insurance has to say about it: > ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/679 "2023-03-16T17:34:13Z")
Some more info on Virgin Orbit shutdown: > **[Virgin Orbit pauses all operations](https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/03/virgin-orbit-pauses-all-operations/)** > > The company's financial woes worsened in the wake of failed January launch. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/680 "2023-03-17T10:35:15Z")
Active volcanoes on Venus! > **[Venus: proof of active volcanoes – at last](https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/03/we-finally-have-proof-of-active-volcanoes-on-venus/)** > > Decades old images reveal that a volcano erupted on Venus in 1991. Brian ---
**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:** [March 17, 2023, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/681 "2023-03-17T11:01:14Z")
That’s pretty cool (or hot). Amazing that 30 years later scientists are still making new discoveries from Magellan data. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=35)