# 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:** 76
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1502 "2024-08-10T22:34:06Z")
> [@K364](#): > > or _Lost in Space_ My reference was to an element of the series _For All Mankind_, where alt-history astronauts living on the moon had a few tapes of _TBNS_ to watch over and over. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gd0U9Draac8/maxresdefault.jpg "For All Mankind — Hi, Bob | Apple TV+") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd0U9Draac8) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1503 "2024-08-10T23:21:08Z")
Hi Bob! ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1504 "2024-08-12T00:35:21Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The electric pumps were clever and simple in a way, but had an entirely new set of unknown risks. Unknown unknowns instead of known unknowns, as it were. Well, they got off the ground okay today, but with a new configuration on the 2nd stage. They now have two battery systems and discard one (eject it from the vehicle) half-way through and hot-swap to the other battery. It now has one successful launch, so we’ll see. SpaceX aborted with about 40 seconds to go. Apparently, the strong arm had an issue and wouldn’t retract properly. I think this is at least the 2nd time they’ve had to scrub due to strongarm malfunction. Might need to look at adjusting the PM specs there. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1505 "2024-08-15T20:28:45Z")
In the process of watching it, but Everyday Astronaut got a tour with Jeff Bezos at the Blue Origin facility: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rsuqSn7ifpU/maxresdefault.jpg "First Look Inside Blue Origin's New Glenn Factory w/ Jeff Bezos!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsuqSn7ifpU) Good to see Bezos actually getting involved with BO again. He’s obviously a capable person. The hands off approach wasn’t working. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1506 "2024-08-15T22:06:10Z")
The Royal Institution is uploading this wonderful series of Christmas lectures by Carl Sagan in 1977 - the 150th anniversary of the Christmas lectures by Michael Faraday where he demonstrated electricity. It’s fascinating to realise how much we’ve learnt in the intervening years. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aAxvxIOwnWM/maxresdefault.jpg "The earth as a planet - Carl Sagan's 1977 Christmas Lectures 1/6") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAxvxIOwnWM) It was gthe 150th anniversary ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1507 "2024-08-15T23:15:30Z")
It’d be totally cool if they had a vid of some re-enactor delivering Faraday’s, and later Maxwell’s, speeches to a period-costumed audience in a period-appropriate venue. We have indeed come a vast distance since. The complete set of those almost 200 lectures to date would represent a truly fascinating time-lapse glimpse at one of capital-H Humanity’s greatest collective accomplishments. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1508 "2024-08-17T15:49:12Z")
SpaceX plans to launch 4 civilians into the first manned polar orbit, for the lulz. > **[SpaceX Unveils Historic Polar Orbit Mission Backed by Crypto Magnate](https://www.flyingmag.com/modern/spacex-unveils-historic-polar-orbit-mission-backed-by-crypto-magnate/)** > > The Fram2 mission will send four astronauts to the north and south poles, where no crewed spacecraft has ever flown. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1509 "2024-08-17T21:19:35Z")
At least according to 1960s science fiction, doing that during heavy aurora activity could cause the crew to land back in time, in another dimension or inside the hollow Earth. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1510 "2024-08-19T14:55:48Z")
This just came up in my news… [Exclusive: Boeing, Lockheed Martin in talks to sell rocket-launch firm ULA to Sierra Space | Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-lockheed-martin-talks-sell-ula-sierra-space-2024-08-16/) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1511 "2024-08-20T04:16:28Z")
> **[Starliner spacesuits not compatible with SpaceX Dragon](https://boingboing.net/2024/08/19/starliner-spacesuits-not-compatible-with-spacex-dragon.html)** > > Two months into what was scheduled to be an eight-day mission, we learn that spacesuit compatibility problems are also keeping NASA's astronauts stuck in space. I missed something in the… ---
**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:** [August 20, 2024, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1512 "2024-08-20T04:21:11Z")
I suppose that not everyone has gotten the message yet, but that’s been known and expected since the beginning of the Commercial Crew program. For better or worse, there’s no common interface between suit and spacecraft for Boeing and SpaceX (or Soyuz or anyone else). Probably worth pursuing one day, but it’s not true today. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1513 "2024-08-20T06:26:06Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > For better or worse, there’s no common interface between suit and spacecraft for Boeing and SpaceX (or Soyuz or anyone else). Sounds like a breakdown by NASA. They could have standardized the suit-ship interface and required anyone building a crewed capsule to build to that standard. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2024, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1514 "2024-08-20T06:37:11Z")
They certainly could have. The docking port adapter is standardized and allows any of Dragon, Soyuz, or Starliner to dock at the same port. So there’s precedent. Still, one might argue that the progress in private spaceflight is such that you don’t want to constrain the design too much in advance. Wait a bit until the private companies work out some different approaches, then pick the best one. Sorta like they did with EV charging adapters. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1515 "2024-08-20T20:16:17Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > It’s going to be used on the Polaris Dawn mission–a private mission with an EVA session. Coming up soon. Set to launch Aug 26. Doritos, for their part, is contributing to the scientific effort with space-safe tortilla chips: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVbsRzNboAAMfGP?format=jpg&name=900x900) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVbsRzNboAAMfGP?format=jpg&name=900x900) Hoping to avoid _this_ near-disaster: [![](https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q80/uploads/2022/10/minissimpsons-800x450.jpg) ](https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q80/uploads/2022/10/minissimpsons-800x450.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1516 "2024-08-21T02:40:07Z")
I tremble when I think of what could’ve happened without that blessed Inanimate Carbon Rod ---
**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:** [August 23, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1517 "2024-08-23T20:50:04Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > They still have to decide if Starliner is safe or not. Just rumors, but: > We’ll find out for sure tomorrow. There’s still the question of how to safely undock the capsule from the station. If the thrusters are a risk to the occupants, they’re also a risk to the ISS itself. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1518 "2024-08-23T22:18:16Z")
I don’t even know what to say about this. It isn’t April 1st. Is it real? Is anything real? > **[Reflect Orbital](https://www.reflectorbital.com/lighting)** > > Sunlight after dark [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/dBRbWhj.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/dBRbWhj) The thing is, it’s almost plausible. You actually could make large, orbiting film reflectors that beam light to the ground. They could even be pretty cheap if made in large quantity. It’s still totally ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1519 "2024-08-23T23:11:54Z")
The environmental concerns alone would spark lawsuit after lawsuit. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1520 "2024-08-23T23:19:49Z")
It’s not clear they’d have any basis. As far as I know, there is no regulation of light pollution from space. It’s all voluntary at the moment. It’s also just a spot beam. It only affects the target. And they’re the ones that ordered it, presumably. I guess I might face a lawsuit if I ordered it to literally keep my enemies awake at night. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1521 "2024-08-24T00:23:38Z")
Be great for thinning out the vampire population. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=75) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=77)