Hey, we're going back to the moon again

[servodude]

From the NASA/Artemis Twitter account...:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrackArtemi ... htag_click

Very Voldemort (assuming we can mention his name these days )

[XFool]

NASA’s oft-delayed Artemis 1 lunar test flight finally got off the ground at 1:47 a.m. EST (0647 GMT) Wednesday with the inaugural blastoff of NASA’s huge Space Launch System moon rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The unpiloted demonstration mission will pave the way for future human missions to the moon.

Possibly. But, for now, it's: "One small step for a human, it's a giant leap for lambkind."

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Imag ... sion_patch

[88V8]

I just watched the no-longer-live feed.... and heard that the main engines were burning fuel at over 2 tons per second.
In 2 min 43 secs the whole bangshoot had halved in weight.
I bet it would have been more economical in a Tesla.

V8

[kiloran]

Orion splashing down at 17:39 GMT today (if the new heatshield survives(
Live TV https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

--kiloran
edit... Orion? Which Orion?
Any Orion, any Orion, any any any Orion
Sorry

[ursaminortaur]

Orion splashing down at 17:39 GMT today (if the new heatshield survives(
Live TV https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

--kiloran
edit... Orion? Which Orion?
Any Orion, any Orion, any any any Orion
Sorry

Splashed down successfully.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... ule-return

Fifty years to the day after astronauts last walked on the moon, Nasa’s uncrewed Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific on Sunday at the end of a mission that should clear the way for a possible lunar landing of astronauts by 2025.

The US space agency rejoiced in a near-perfect re-entry of the capsule which splashed down to the west of Mexico’s Baja California near Guadalupe Island. Though it carried no astronauts, the spacecraft did contain three test dummies wired with vibration sensors and radiation monitors to divine how humans would have fared.

[XFool]

Return of the Hero!

Hero's return for astronaut Shaun the Sheep

BBC News

It was a giant leap for lamb-kind, but now he's baa-ck.

"Shaun the Sheep has returned to Britain after taking part in the US space agency's (Nasa) epic mission to the Moon last year."

[Tedx]

The biggest ever rocket is set to launch this afternoon.

The most powerful rocket ever developed is about to attempt a maiden launch.

The vehicle, known as Starship, has been built by the American entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX company.

It stands almost 120m (400ft) high and is designed to have almost double the thrust of any rocket in history.

SpaceX will try to get Starship airborne at 08:00 local time (13:00 GMT; 14:00 BST).

Ultimately, Musk wants to take us to Mars, but in the interim he sees it establishing a moonbase and with a capacity of 100 brave souls, flying people point to point across the globe (I guess in a similar fashion to an ICBM )

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65294084

[ReformedCharacter]

The biggest ever rocket is set to launch this afternoon.

The most powerful rocket ever developed is about to attempt a maiden launch.

The vehicle, known as Starship, has been built by the American entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX company.

It stands almost 120m (400ft) high and is designed to have almost double the thrust of any rocket in history.

SpaceX will try to get Starship airborne at 08:00 local time (13:00 GMT; 14:00 BST).

Ultimately, Musk wants to take us to Mars, but in the interim he sees it establishing a moonbase and with a capacity of 100 brave souls, flying people point to point across the globe (I guess in a similar fashion to an ICBM )

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65294084

Live coverage here:

https://spaceflightnow.com/2023/04/17/s ... us-center/

and here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5QXreqOrTA

RC

[Tedx]

Looks like the launch has been called off

[ReformedCharacter]

Starship orbital launch take 2. Thursday 20th April 14:28 UK time.

RC

[Tedx]

T Minus 10 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/live/-1wcilQ58hI?feature=share

[88V8]

10,000,000 lb of fuel.... 4,450 tons.... caramba...
Reached >2000km, rotated a few times, did not separate, exploded.
But at least it got off the ground.

[Tedx]

Apparently it suffered a 'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly'

[pje16]

Apparently it suffered a 'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly'

fancy words for a crack

[ReformedCharacter]

Looks like 7 engines failed on the way up and then perhaps more. Engine reliability may take a take a while to resolve, so I'd guess that it may be a while before another attempt is made.

RC

[Tedx]

Apparently it suffered a 'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly'

fancy words for a crack

It somehow reminded me of classic Blackadder

Lieutenant George : Oh, sir, if we should happen to tread on a mine, what do we do?

Captain Blackadder : Well, normal procedure, Lieutenant, is to jump up 200 feet into the air and scatter yourself over a wide area.

[Tedx]

A view from the launchpad....who parked their car there?

https://youtu.be/thA8jlgcJ-8

[odysseus2000]

A view from the launchpad....who parked their car there?

https://youtu.be/thA8jlgcJ-8

Fascinating!

Presumably the launch tower is bolted to bed rock & most of this exhaust could be sent into water deluged tunnels to keep the dust & such down.

I watched a shuttle launch & it was fast & impressive with far less debris. I also saw several engine tests at Huntsville that created Great clouds of steam.

Regards,

[ReformedCharacter]

Excellent analysis of the Starship launch from Scott Manley:

SpaceX's Massive Rocket Explodes Due to Rapid Unscheduled Digging

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8q24QLXixo

RC