Space Launch System - Orion

[annodomini2]

SpudLink said:

Kes Arevo said:

I always thought it was something they had some control over.

It’s one of the joys of these threads. A chance to learn.

They have thrust vectoring, so they have some steering capability.

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

Don't know for sure but that was the first thing I thought of. Also, on ignition the solids go from nothing to instant full thrust, so there are multiple suopersonic shock waves generated in an around the pad. You can see them rippling through the exhaust smoke. It was the same with the Shuttle. I bet most of the damage comes from that.

Maybe they should use the liquid fuel engines to get the thing up a bit, then hit the solid fuel boosters? But maybe they don't have the grunt.

So what happened to the idea of a space station, to which you'd send smaller rockets, then assemble something bigger for a Mars mission? Maybe just sending one huge fker straight off the deck is cheaper.

[Beati Dogu]

Sky News thinks the Orion capsule will re-enter nose first, without ditching the command module first and the parachutes come out the bottom. .



And they wonder why people don’t listen to journalists any more.

https://youtu.be/jRa9f2yMIcE

[Eric Mc]

That’s showing splashdown, not re-entry. Although it’s still wrong of course.
And I think you meant service module, not command module.

[Beati Dogu]

Watch the video; They show it re-entering nose first.

Everyone knows it’s pointy end up, flamey end down.


Anyway here’s a pic of Pad 39b taken after the launch:



The extensive brown areas around the centre are scorched grass.

[Turtle Shed]

Maybe already mentioned but I can't help feeling a little let down by all of this. I was hoping for live video in amazing quality from both ends of the thing.

[Kes Arevo]

Turtle Shed said:

Maybe already mentioned but I can't help feeling a little let down by all of this. I was hoping for live video in amazing quality from both ends of the thing.

Don't mention that, you'll get berated.

[Simpo Two]

Turtle Shed said:

Maybe already mentioned but I can't help feeling a little let down by all of this. I was hoping for live video in amazing quality from both ends of the thing.

Shows you how times change.

Apollo: 'Wow that's bloody amazing!' The whole world watches in awe.
Orion: 'The pictures are st, I'll watch Eastenders instead'.

Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 19th November 16:43

[Eric Mc]

By Apollo 13, that summed up the TV viewers atitude to the Apollo missions too. The live TV show broadcast from Apollo 13 to earth (just before the explosion that crippled the mission), wasn't taken up by any of the US TV networks.

At least nowadays those of us who want to folllow missions have lots of routes through which we can keep up to date.

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

At least nowadays those of us who want to folllow missions have lots of routes through which we can keep up to date.

True indeed.

Should space exploration be governed by how interesting the public finds it? I don't think so.

[Leithen]

Simpo Two said:

Eric Mc said:

At least nowadays those of us who want to folllow missions have lots of routes through which we can keep up to date.

True indeed.

Should space exploration be governed by how interesting the public finds it? I don't think so.

Ultimately it is being paid for by the public though. Broadcast technology is now so hugely advanced and cheaper than the Apollo missions. Not taking advantage of this is a failure.

[ChocolateFrog]

hidetheelephants said:

ChocolateFrog said:

Rockets should be subbed out. Stick to building satellites, enormous space telescopes, space stations etc.

They are; NASA don't build them, just sticks the stages together and lights the blue touch paper. NASA don't build many of those other things either.

True but it's NASA's rocket, which just means a blank cheque and 20 years to all the contractors.

I'm surprised it's passed through all the political hurdles to get this far.

[Smiljan]

Dog Star said:

Smiljan said:

Some great comments on the thread again after the muppets moaning about poor camera blah

You really are an odious little troll. Anyone who doesn’t share your pov is a “muppet”?

I’d love you to call me that to my face…. I suggest you wind your neck in. Anyway, this isn’t the forum for personal insults; as stated by another poster in response to your attitude: take it to NPE.

.

Priceless, I step away from the thread for a few days because busy and come back to see someone threatening me with violence over a perceived insults. I did not in fact insult you at all personally but I’m sorry you have insecurities and apologise that a hand puppet word used in general would be perceived as a personal insult.

Think I’ll step away for a while longer. Thanks to the others for some insightful posts.

Again I apologise for anyone offended by the word muppet,

[MiniMan64]

Turtle Shed said:

Maybe already mentioned but I can't help feeling a little let down by all of this. I was hoping for live video in amazing quality from both ends of the thing.

The vast majority of the public probably wouldn’t give a st even if it was broadcasting all the fancy pictures it could

[Simpo Two]

Leithen said:

Simpo Two said:

Should space exploration be governed by how interesting the public finds it? I don't think so.

Ultimately it is being paid for by the public though.

It is, but are 'the public' fit to make decisions of national or global importance? Pander too much to them and you'd just end up with a giant TV gameshow where they text yes/no for what they want. You'd just end up with pop groups and popcorn.

[Leithen]

Simpo Two said:

Leithen said:

Simpo Two said:

Should space exploration be governed by how interesting the public finds it? I don't think so.

Ultimately it is being paid for by the public though.

It is, but is 'the public' fit to make decisions of national or global importance? Pander too much to them and you'd just end up with a giant TV gameshow where they text yes/no for what they want. You'd just end up with pop groups and popcorn.

The representatives of the public (USA) ultimately decide whether the $23 Billion so far and $4 Billion per launch is something their voters are prepared to stomach. Perhaps if enough jobs are bought across enough constituencies, everyone is happy.

But it doesn't really work like that. NASA need to fight for budgets and they need good PR to win their case. They can have a number of congressmen arguing for them for what ever reasons. But if the administration is needing to find money for other needs, NASA is an easy one to take from. There are countless examples of projects that have been canned, mothballed, delayed etc because of this.

Toss in the success of outside launch partners and the case for SLS levels of spend become even more difficult.

So you would think that they would have had the foresight to have hundreds of cameras recording every possible bit of footage to make America proud and keep the dollars coming. But apparently not. It is a real puzzle.

[jingars]

Smiljan said:

... I apologise for anyone offended by the word muppet

[Beati Dogu]

Piiiiiigs in Spaaaaaaace!


Lockheed Martin published this photo of Orion, taken from a camera at the end of a solar array:

[Eric Mc]

Watching the live progress on You Tube, it is interesting to see that Orion is currently 228,953 from earth and 59,700 miles from the moon. Its speed relative to earth has dropped down to a mere 589 mph. At some point quite soon, it will enter the moon's "sphere of influence" and the speed will start picking up again.

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

Watching the live progress on You Tube, it is interesting to see that Orion is currently 228,953 from earth and 59,700 miles from the moon. Its speed relative to earth has dropped down to a mere 589 mph. At some point quite soon, it will enter the moon's "sphere of influence" and the speed will start picking up again.

Have you read 'From the Earth to the Moon' by Jules Verne? He describes the same phenomenon; indeed much is made of whether they have enough velocity to cross the mid-point or will fall back to Earth. The one thing he got wrong was that only at that point did the crew become weightless. In many other respects Mr Verne did remarkably well for the time.