Stephen Smith 🇺🇦
I am a long-time advocate of space exploration, settlement and commerce. Migrated from @WordsmithFL on Twitter.
Joined Nov 2022
This morning's models still show Beryl heading for the general vicinity of #SpaceX #Starbase in Boca Chica.
If you have FB access, Mike's Weather Page posted this model of projected maximum wave heights. Starbase is at the Gulf tip of Texas on the Mexico border. The roads flood all the time. What will storm surge of 30-35 feet do to Starbase? We may find out on Monday.
The consensus still has it aiming for #SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, but five days to go. The intensity is inconsistent, anywhere from spent to a Category 3.
#Space #NASA selected #SpaceX to develop and build an #ISS deorbit vehicle, circa 2030.
Comment ... There's no guarantee the ISS partnership will deorbit the station in 2030. They could always decide to extend. But the consensus is it's time to move on, with Project Artemis targeting the moon and private companies developing commercial habitats. Deorbiting ISS creates a market for the habitat companies.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-international-space-station-us-deorbit-vehicle/
For those of you with Facebook access, my amateur smartphone video of this afternoon's #SpaceX #FalconHeavy launch of the #NASA #NOAA weather satellite. Be sure to wait for the double sonic booms at the end.
https://www.facebook.com/100000747763996/videos/866972745243312/
#SpaceX is now targeting 5:26 PM EDT / 2:26 PM PDT for the #FalconHeavy launch and landing from #KSC Pad 39A. The payload is a #NASA #NOAA hurricane satellite. Watch live now on the NASA TV YouTube channel. Must see TV!
#SpaceX is targeting 5:16 PM EDT for the #FalconHeavy launch of the #NASA #NOAA GOES-U satellite from #KSC Pad 39A.
Because it's a NASA payload, the NASA YouTube channel will carry the launch, starting at 4:15 PM EDT. You'll want to watch; a Falcon Heavy launch and landing is must-see TV!
Right now, the weather forecast is only 30% favorable, but it's a two-hour launch window.
#SpaceCoast #SpaceX #CCSFS #KSC
A pair of F-22 military jet fighters try to race a #Falcon9 just after launch from Cape Canaveral. A rare view of KSC and the Cape from the air.
(You can see my house as a pixel if you know where to look. 😉 )
#SpaceX called an abort at T-0, don't know why. The engines did ignite, then shut down. The window goes until 8:19 PM EDT if they can solve their problem.
#SpaceX From #SpaceNews:
*****
... [T]he Defense Department plans to add more than 100 of SpaceX’s #Starshield satellites to its future satcom architecture.
Starshield is a militarized version of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites, with enhanced encryption and other security features. And unlike Starlink, which is a commercial service, the Starshield satellites would be owned and controlled by the U.S. government.
https://spacenews.com/pentagon-embracing-spacexs-starshield-for-future-military-satcom/
"... SpaceX, dominant though it may be today, would benefit from some real competition. But space is hard, as veterans of the field like to say, and the legacy aerospace companies, like Boeing, that dominated the Apollo, space shuttle, and ISS era of spaceflight will need deep cultural shifts to compete in the new era of entrepreneurial discovery."
https://www.city-journal.org/article/can-boeing-catch-up-with-spacex
From "Everyday Astronaut" Tim Dodd on Zombie Twitter ... Tim gets more-or-less exclusive interviews with Elon before Starship test launches. (Tim is apolitical and an acquaintance, so no shots please.)
We learn two things from this video:
(1) Elon knew before today's test flight that the flap hinge was a vulnerability, and
(2) Elon has put on a *lot* of weight. Maybe he's stress-eating.
The #CNN report on this morning's #SpaceX #Starship test launch and landing.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/06/science/spacex-starship-launch-fourth-test-flight-scn/index.html
Stephen Smith 🇺🇦
I am a long-time advocate of space exploration, settlement and commerce. Migrated from @WordsmithFL on Twitter.
Joined Nov 2022