The Space Thread

It's launch day!

It goes down at 4:33 EST. I'm excited. Hope everything goes well.

Here is one of many places where it will be streamed, NASA's youtube page.



My aunts and uncle can clearly see the takeoff from their homes in Melbourne. Back during the Space Shuttle I could even see it from Boca when they launched at night. SpaceX uses much small tanks so I doubt they will be visible down here anymore which is a bummer.

I even posted a pic of it back in 2010 when we were doing the photo contests:


View attachment 6255

It has that stupid photobucket watermark on it now but you can still see what I'm talking about. This was from my dad's place in Boca...176 miles away from the Kennedy Space Center.

Melbourne is only 35 miles from it.

I had forgotten that you could see the launches before.
That's cool.
 
45 minutes to takeoff! Right now they just said they are go for weather. Hopefully that holds up. My aunt tells me it's pouring in Melbourne right now.
 
The TV countdown was off by 20 something seconds.
I glanced away for a second and the thing was up in the air. The audible countdown was still at 5 seconds.
Fortunately, the Mrs was watching the NASA feed on her iPad which was delayed enough that I could still see the liftoff.
It's amazing that the video feeds are worse than they used to be 20 years ago.
 
This is a feel good story:


I had no idea about the Jags backup QB and I also had no idea about Leland Melvin was also a player. I was watching him for a good 3+ hours today and a few days ago when the launch was scrapped.

BTW/those pics of Leland with his dogs really are great.
 
That's pretty cool.
Re the displays, I know how often my iPad locks up when I try to open my email while the web browser is open.
I hope they have AppleCare and an extra charger up there.
 
ok. i need to discuss this more. so somehow since like the 50's we have managed to strap people to giant gas tanks and shoot them out of earth? i barely know how planes work. i know it has a lot to do with the way the wings are shaped and that gets them to liftoff. but how the f does iss work? there is no human air, it's moving like 16k miles per hour and it's either like 250 + or - degrees on whatever side...yet we manage to get humans/more importantly...americans there all the time and they don't die very often.

once again. crazy town banana pants.

science is cool.
 
but how the f does iss work?
Within that stream of consciousness, I gathered that this is your question. I'm not sure what you're asking about specifically, but these are things I know:
- It's in space, above our atmosphere, but within the earths gravitational pull. So it's a satellite, just like uh, SiriusXM satellites, or the moon.
- It's powered by solar panels, which gets unobstructed sunlight.
I'm not sure what else?

P.S. - Rocket fuel is not "gas".
 
hmm. i don't think i knew that. but thinking of it all those things on the sides of it are clearly solar panels.
 
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