MetaFilter posts tagged with Space and rocket

belters expanse trajectory: working up the Epstein Drive

kliuless — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:11:41 -0800

How NASA brought the monstrous F-1 "moon rocket" engine back to life - "The story of young engineers who resurrected an engine nearly twice their age."

The question, though, is whether or not the practical side of the equation can balance the romantic. The Advanced Booster competition will run through 2015, at which point a winner will be chosen, solid or liquid. The F-1B could be the engine sending astronauts to Mars—or it could wind up as one more Wikipedia footnote.

also btw... -NASA's Space Launch System -NASA's Space Launch System Advanced Booster -Comparison of orbital rocket engines -Comparison of orbital launch systems oh and How NASA's Nuclear Rockets Will Take Us Way Beyond Mars &c. Almost 40,000 People Have Signed up to Go to Mars—One Way

Kerbal Space Program

thewalrus — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:02:40 -0800

Kerbal Space Program is a cartoon-ish game in which you build rockets from pieces and launch/fly them around in a simulated solar system using basic orbital mechanics. It has an active forum, extensive modifications, a whole site dedicated to plugins and mods, and its own subreddit. This youtube video demonstrates the latest version, 0.18. (This may be counted as a dupe, as there's a post about it from mid 2011, but the program is now substantially different than it was a year and a half ago and has a much larger community behind it).

Scuds on Steroids

Chinese Jet Pilot — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 11:08:33 -0800

Unha-3, Pyongyang's first successful orbital launch vehicle, dropped her first stage into the Yellow Sea after December 12's launch. Analysis of debris salvaged by the South Korean Navy suggests the scud-derived, crudely assembled rocket is actually an ICBM with enough range to theoretically reach the U.S. (should North Korea somehow manage to miniaturize their nuclear weapon technology and develop re-entry ability).

We see the Earth, now.

lazaruslong — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:14:35 -0800

On September 30, 2011 at 11:08am, Derek Deville's Qu8k (pronounced "Quake") launched from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to an altitude of 121,000' before returning safely to earth. Above 99% of the atmosphere the sky turns black in the middle of the day and the curvature of the earth is clearly visible. Direct video links inside. Short Highlights Video. Longer, very detailed video. A whole lot of photos and data.

Jebediah Kerman is unfazed by his impending fiery death.

Lord_Pall — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:38:57 -0800

Fancy yourself a rocket scientist? Want to build rockets and shoot little green guys into space? Comfortable with your rocket flying apart and exploding into a thousand fiery pieces? Able to press the space bar? Try Kerbal Space Program. Link to Download page. QuarterToThree thread. (Be sure to get the part addon pack for even more zaniness)

awwwwwww

DZack — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:04:07 -0800

Crater face: "Astronaut risks life and limb to bring two moon pimples together for love."

Town & Country & Infinity

Chinese Jet Pilot — Mon, 17 May 2010 12:58:41 -0800

Chrysler's recent announcement of a three year technical collaboration with NASA continues the automaker's long involvement with the agency, including production of the historic Redstone, reliable Jupiter, and mighty Saturn launch vehicles, and the design of an unusual Space Shuttle called SERV. Of course this was before we spelled Chrysler "F-I-A-T".

Rocket Shots

Chinese Jet Pilot — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:38:03 -0800

Soyuz rocket rolls to launch pad. A fine photoset of an otherwise routine Russian rocket rollout. I can tell that photographer Bill Ingalls loves rockets. His favs.

Artifacts From A Previously Undiscovered Space Program

mikepop — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:40:29 -0800

So you go to be spaceman. If the space race had taken a few different turns, we might have ended up with a historical exhibit that looked like the one cooked up by the American Dream Technical Institute. Currently on display in Portland, Maine. Stroll on by for a look at the full-size spaceship, advertisements and other ephemera of the non-existent do-it-yourself space movement of the 1950s. All artifacts are helpfully explained by text panels, which (somewhat less helpfully) were taken from a 1959 book on space, translated into Russian with Systran, then pushed back through Systran into English. via SPACE Gallery.

Video and audio from jettisoned solid rocket boosters, STS-124

not_on_display — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:26:21 -0800

Video and audio from a camera mounted on one of the side solid rocket boosters during the launch of STS-124. As the camera is initially facing the main booster, there's not that much to see (except water vapor collecting on the lens and interesting-looking changes in the main booster's surface) until around 1:50, when the booster rocket is jettisoned. After that, enjoy the ride from space to splashdown, but watch out for flying debris! Here's the view from the other booster, without sound. More onboard STS cameras, previously. [N.B. -- Adjust volume accordingly, it gets loud! Looks even better in high-quality and full-screen modes.]

More was Lost than Just the Rocket

Chinese Jet Pilot — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:26:51 -0800

Lost with yesterday's third failure of Space Exploration Technologies' Falcon 1 rocket were the ashes of actor James "Scotty" Doohan, who, along with astronaut Gordon Cooper and over two hundred other cremains, attempted to reach orbit not once, but twice.

Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, 1914-2008

Chinese Jet Pilot — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:54:10 -0800

Before developing exotic space propulsion systems like the ion engines on deep space probes, he developed guidance systems for Nazi Germany's ballistic missile, the V2. As Dr. Werner von Braun's Chief Scientist, he was one of the brilliant minds that founded the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and sent astronauts to the moon atop MSFC's Saturn V rocket. Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, one of the last surviving rocket scientists extracted from Nazi Germany in Operation Paperclip, died today at 94.

Cryogenic Venting

brownpau — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:42:32 -0800

Light Reflection: a brilliant fan of cryogenics venting from a relief valve on STS-122 Atlantis' ET (external tank) post-separation. Also see this handheld video of the ET, with money shots at 2:15 and 3:55. Atlantis just landed yesterday, completing the delivery and installation of Columbus. Next up, STS-123 Endeavour delivers Kibo.

HobbySpace

Upton O'Good — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:22:33 -0800

HobbySpace hosts an exhaustive collection of information and links about space-related hobbies, including amateur astronomy, satellite design, and rocketry for both beginners and experts.

N1 Scale Model Launch

Chinese Jet Pilot — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 08:56:09 -0800

The Soviet Union’s answer to Saturn V, the massive, complex, and top-secret N1 rocket, failed win the moon race after four disastrous launch explosions between 1969 and 1972. In 2004, Polecat Aerospace had much better luck launching their 1/16 N1 scale model.

"All guilty had been punished already."

Alison — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:53:03 -0800

The Nedelin disaster remains the most fatal catastrophe in the history of rocketry. On October 26, 1960 an R-16 ICBM designed by Mikhail Yangel accidentally ignited killing over 100 within moments. The incident remained in strict secrecy for thirty years until it was unearthed by James Oberg. The true casualty rate remains a mystery and Kazakhstan still sees more than its fair share of rocket mishaps.

Virtual tour of Cape Canaveral.

loquacious — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 07:04:58 -0800

A fairly comprehensive tour of what's left of the historic Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Video from Mars rocket launch

stevengarrity — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 19:41:15 -0800

Video of Nasa's Delta II rocket launch (RealVideo) The camera was mounted on the rocket facing down towards earth and the resulting footage is amazing. There's a Windows Media version at MSNBC.

The engine canna take any more, captain!

dwivian — Tue, 25 Jun 2002 10:48:38 -0800

The engine canna take any more, captain! So, we're going to ground the fleet. I guess our friends in the space station are just going to have to wait until NASA is done checking under the hood.

Start saving!

stew560 — Wed, 13 Mar 2002 12:47:23 -0800

Start saving! US Airways announces that for just 10 million frequent flyer miles, you can get a free trip to space! "There's just one catch: The rocket and the launch pad don't exist. So don't ask for time off quite yet."