In keeping with my desire to be “that guy” addressing the cult like nature of SpaceX fans, I thought today would be a good day to look at comments on a SpaceX post on Facebook today regarding (as of the time of this writing) an update Elon Musk will provide regarding the Interplanetary Transport System; …
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Category:Science
One Year Ago I Discovered The Cult Of SpaceX
If you had asked my opinion of SpaceX on Septmeber 26th, 2016, I would have told you that I loved them, and that I was excited and happy to see posts relating to their projects, launches, and the like. If you ask me today, I’ll tell you I still like the company, and some of …
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NROL-42 Launch Highlights
As always, United Launch Alliance has produced a launch highlights clip for their most recent launch, NROL-42. This classified military payload was launched via an Atlas V booster from Vandeberg Air Force Base in California. The launch highlights clip follows the traditional format of showing the preparation of the booster, rollback of the service towers, …
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NROL-42 Successfully Launches On An Atlas V Booster
Another United States military payload launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base this morning – NROL-42. What is it? A classified reconnaissance satellite. What launched it? An Atlas V booster – in this case, the Atlas 541 configuration using 4 solid rocket motors. Why am I typing this post like this? Because there isn’t much to …
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Tianzhou 1 Ends Its Mission And Disintegrates In The Atmosphere
Tianzhou 1, a Chinese prototype space freighter launched back in April, finally ended its mission successfully on September 22nd by burning up in the Earths atmosphere. This, of course, is a standard method of disposal for such craft (the Russian Progress cargo vehicle is a fine example) so that they don’t become typical space debris. …
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OSIRIS-REx Passes By Earth For A Gravity Assist To The Asteroid Bennu
Today, September 22nd, 2017, the OSIRIS-REx mission passed by the planet Earth, just a little over a year since its launch, for a gravity assisted trajectory change to send it on its way to its target, the asteroid Bennu. Gravity assists are used often in missions as a method of fuel conservation. Traveling around the …
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Goodbye Cassini – NASA Film
One last Cassini related post today, we have a short NASA film simply titled “Goodbye Cassini.” It’s just that, too – a short, sweet goodbye to one of the most successful missions in space history. I know, I’ve posted quite a bit already in regards to Cassini today, so this will be the last post …
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The End Of Cassini
At 7:55 AM Eastern Time NASA’s Deep Space Network captured the last signals from the Cassini spacecraft. The vehicle, 83 minutes earlier, had dived into the atmosphere of Saturn. As planned, Cassini did its absolute best to keep its antenna pointed towards Earth, sending all the data it could before aerodynamic stresses finally pushed it …
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Farewell, Cassini…
At the time of this articles publication, the Cassini spacecraft should no longer exist – at this point in time it should have vaporized in the atmosphere of Saturn, the planet it was built to study and always destined to be a part of. This is happening quite early in my time zone – a …
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Soyuz MS-06 Successfully Launches And Docks With The International Space Station
A few days ago on September 12th, The Soyuz MS-06 Spacecraft launched, carrying another crew of 3 to the International Space Station. This, of course, coming a little over a week since the landing of Soyuz MS-04, as is normal in crew replenishment on the space station. 6 hours later, the crew docked with the …
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Cassini: Diving Into History
We’re reaching the last moments of the Cassini mission. September 14th, 2017 marks the last full day of Cassini operations. Today, it will take it’s final photos, send the last bit of recorded data, prepare for “real time” data transmission, and then, about 29 hours from when I write this article, it will finally make …
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NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft: A Journey’s End
The Cassini Spacecraft has just 6 days left of it’s mission around Saturn. Really 5 considering it will be early morning on the 15th when it begins its final dive into the planet. This video highlights just a fraction of the amazing images Cassini has taken over the past 13 years around Saturn, as well …
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SpaceX Successfully Launches The X-37B For Its OTV-5 Mission
Yesterday SpaceX successfully launched the military’s X-37B space-plane into orbit for another mission to do… well, we really don’t know. It’s somewhat a mystery what it does – we know it “hosts experiments” and is built for long duration flight (literally over a year in orbit on its last mission) as well as high maneuverability, …
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The Final Week Of Cassini
As of the writing of this article, the Cassini mission around Saturn has 9 days 14 hours or so remaining. On September 15th, 2017, the probe will descend into the atmosphere of Saturn, burning up as it plummets into the gaseous mass of the plant it has spent over a decade studying. (Sure, it’s a …
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40 Years Ago: The Launch Of Voyager 1
40 years ago today, on September 5th, 1977, Voyager 1 was launched from Launch Complex 41 on the final Titan III-E booster to fly. Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, on a trajectory which put it ahead in its encounters of Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 1 would later begin flying up and away from …
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