# The Space Exploration Thread



## MauroPantin (Mar 30, 2021)

Hi folks! 

Just wondering if anyone else here is interested/excited/curious about this topic in particular. Thought I'd start a thread to discuss news and all that, since I couldn't find anything around in the forum and a lot of great advancements are being made in this area. 

There are several relatively new rocket companies, like NZ's RocketLab, some more experienced players like SpaceX and, of course NASA, are all aiming for different targets. It all seems incredibly exciting to me. I'm 33 right now, and have always felt a little envy for my parent's generation because, as crude as it was, they got the chance to watch people walking on the moon live. 

The events of Apollo ushered a lot of sci-fi literature and pop culture, films that we love, etc... and then that momentum kind of stopped. It was the turn of the millennium and all we had were pop boy bands and a cultural worry of computers not being able to handle 4 digit dates... Not what was promised, at all. It seems great to me that things are looking like they are "back on track" in that sense. Just this morning SpaceX blew up another Starship test vehicle in the middle of a fog haze, which made it visually boring but sonically... oh boy. That was a great source for sound design booms. 

It seems nuts, but things are looking like in a decade or two space tourism and travel will become much more accessible (still prohibitive for the common man, perhaps, but not a crazy idea). I am very much looking forward and excited to seeing that version of the future.


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## doctoremmet (Mar 30, 2021)

MauroPantin said:


> I am very much looking forward and excited to seeing that version of the future.


Complete space nut here. Love your post ❤️


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## SupremeFist (Mar 30, 2021)

I like space!


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## cuttime (Mar 30, 2021)

Space is my porn. Personally I think manned Mars missions are kind of pie in the sky; the technology just does not exist yet to get a human there without near fatal doses of radiation. Any human that does make it to Mars is likely to die a cold miserable death. As much as I love the robotic Mars missions, I think ample time has passed that signs of life would have been spotted by now. My money for life detection is on Europa and the Clipper missions. Very exciting stuff! Subsurface oceans are much more common than previously thought, and there will be much to explore.

As far as manned missions go, a lunar base and orbital platform would be far easier to do, and to sustain, and would make a Mars mission much more feasible in the future. I'm still sick that we abandoned that goal. Now we have to reinvent the wheel again, but still, is doable and likely. We'll see how the Artemis program shakes out. Political will is everything, and if the Chinese make a permanent presence on the moon, you can bet that we'll be there, too. I'm probably too old to make it there, but it is still within the realm of possibility.

Have you seen Apollo 11? A very lovely film, but somewhat oversold IMHO. The 70mm footage is indeed spectacular, but was not enough to sustain a feature length movie, and it made the non-70mm footage look much worse by comparison. The best 70mm shots were close ups of the crew: all very business-like, but you could see the faintest glimpses of fear behind their eyes. Michael Collins was my favorite member, as it seems he had the best sense of humor.


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## SupremeFist (Mar 30, 2021)

I trust we have all read the Three-Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu? Properly mind-blowing.


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## zolhof (Mar 30, 2021)

I have hundreds upon hundreds of hours in Elite: Dangerous and No Man's Sky... does that count? 






o7


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## tf-drone (Mar 30, 2021)

SupremeFist said:


> I trust we have all read the Three-Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu? Properly mind-blowing.


only the first book so far, the second is in the waitung list. Don't know if the third is already available in german. Should be.

EDIT: it is, just ordered it.


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## doctoremmet (Mar 30, 2021)

SupremeFist said:


> I trust we have all read the Three-Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu? Properly mind-blowing.


Listened to the first two on Audible.


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## MauroPantin (Mar 30, 2021)

@cuttime Europa Clipper is #1 on my list as the coolest planetary science mission planned yet. Its hard to stay patient with these things, though. They take so many years to actually happen. I am also eager for the James Webb Space Telescope to launch, at some point.

Regarding Mars, my bet is that SpaceX will make it happen, somehow. Musk is a super weird dude, but he's got ample resources and is clearly on a mission. What those guys are doing is nuts. I totally agree on the radiation challenges, though. But they seem to find a way to make it happen. Still, I don't think they are going to fit the schedules he keeps announcing. It's always "one or two years"... I don't know as much as him or any engineer but just... no. As much as I'd love to see that, it's too optimistic.

The Moon will happen sooner, thankfully. SLS and Gateway, hopefully. I have to say that I don't really follow the Chinese program, but then again there's not that much "outreach" by them or at least I haven't come across it. So I don't know what their current timeline is.

Apollo 11 was lovely. It inspired me to pick up a game called Re-Entry, which is basically a flight sim for the entire Apollo experience (and Mercury and Gemini, too). It follows the actual checklists to the letter and after playing that... man. The courage of those dudes, it created a new appreciation for the engineering and bravery that getting to the Moon required. 



SupremeFist said:


> I trust we have all read the Three-Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu? Properly mind-blowing.


Probably one of the best space related trilogies of the last 20 years. It's right up there with Foundation by Asimov, IMO.


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## SupremeFist (Mar 30, 2021)

MauroPantin said:


> Probably one of the best space related trilogies of the last 20 years. It's right up there with Foundation by Asimov, IMO.


Stephen Baxter's Manifold trilogy is up there too for me! 🤘🏻


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## tcollins (Mar 31, 2021)

Grew up with the earlier manned space program and delighted to see things happening again, especially from the private sector.


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## MauroPantin (Apr 1, 2021)

So, here's an interesting video that came up for me today. It's a cool analysis. I've never heard some of those thoughts as to why it would have been impossible to fake it.


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## Michel Simons (Apr 1, 2021)

SupremeFist said:


> I trust we have all read the Three-Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu? Properly mind-blowing.


I am reading the second book at the moment. (Well, not actually at the moment, of course.  )

I am going to check out the Manifold trilogy.


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## MauroPantin (Apr 16, 2021)

SpaceX has won the contract for the Artemis human landing system. Those Starship tests just got even more interesting now!


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## cuttime (Apr 28, 2021)

Michael Collins RIP:









Michael Collins, ‘Third Man’ of the Moon Landing, Dies at 90 (Published 2021)


Orbiting dozens of miles above the lunar surface, he kept solitary watch of the Apollo command module as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin embarked for the moon.




www.nytimes.com


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## MarcusD (Apr 28, 2021)

When funeral services start offering Star Cremations, Space Ejections, Astroid Burials and Black Hole ceremonies - you'll know we've made it in space.

Although, the possibility of a real life Wayland Yutani emerging, is very probable. Space = unlimited resources and a whole lot of money for business that can start harvesting those precious materials. Just think, probably in my lifetime we'll witness the first person to purchase a whole planet..


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## MauroPantin (Apr 28, 2021)

cuttime said:


> Michael Collins RIP:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Someone mentioned today on Twitter or (somewhere else, can't remember) that it would be cool if the gateway lunar station was called "Collins Station". I think that has a nice ring to it.


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## mikeh-375 (May 5, 2021)

SupremeFist said:


> Stephen Baxter's Manifold trilogy is up there too for me! 🤘🏻


aaahh...one of the greats is Baxter. Rivalled by Greg Bear I might add.


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## MauroPantin (May 5, 2021)

Starship SN15 might lift off today, for anyone who's interested in watching live, they might nail it this time. And if not, it is always a great show. Numerous people cover these events but my fave so far has been Tim Dodd (aka Everyday Astronaut). I'll add another message to this thread if it's actually happening to let you guys know.


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## MA-Simon (May 5, 2021)

I wish it was possible to buy SpaceX stocks yet.


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## MauroPantin (May 5, 2021)

MA-Simon said:


> I wish it was possible to buy SpaceX stocks yet.


If it were possible, you'd have a drawback. Something to the effect of:

SCENE. Board meeting room. We see a long table, now empty because of COVID. Two figures are distinguishable, one at the right of the table, one at the left. It's Gwynne Shotwell and Elon Musk. They are on their quarterly call with investors and board members. Elon's taking advantage of the audio-only meeting to tweet memes about Dogecoin and make fun of the SEC. He says it's an acronym and the E stands for "Elon's" (that's a true one, btw).

_Cash devouring demon:_ You are trying to tell us that you blew up, uh, let me get this straight... ANOTHER prototype!? And all of our profits are going there!? Are you serious!!!!?

_Woman with 5 boats to maintain: _Why can't you do this slow and steady like Bezos?

_Old dude on his 7th marriage who just lost his house in the Hamptons to his last ex:_ We need better management!! 

So while I support their mission and love the engineering, I very much want them to continue to be private. There are other great companies out there if one is looking to make money.


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## MauroPantin (May 5, 2021)

Heads Up: Apparently, Space X has a stream starting in roughly 20 mins with the test of Starship SN15. So this thing is reaching T-0 today (or just about) at the very least.


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## Stringtree (May 5, 2021)

I saw the Challenger's last flight while in school. I'm completely captivated by the current (and highly successful) earth-space traffic. Nerdybits: to ready myself for sleep, I cover myself with the blanket and imagine traveling somewhere in the universe, usually near Saturn.


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## MauroPantin (Jul 20, 2021)

So, Blue Origin just did it, and Virgin Galactic a few days ago. I am absolutely ecstatic that private space travel is moving forward, and looking forward to maybe in 20-30 years when it becomes somewhat affordable.

Having said that (and not to argue semantics) I do not like that these companies are calling their clients Astronauts. I mean, the balls, people! To put Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Armstrong, Gagarin, Tereshkova et all at the same level as these flight crews is just wrong. Nothing against them, personally, but that's a title money can't buy IMHO. I've been on a plane and I don't go around calling myself a "Pilot" for crossing an arbitrary altitude. 

It would be awesome to get a new word or maybe use the one they seem to avoid so much which is "Tourist"; there's nothing wrong with that one.


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## marclawsonmusic (Jul 20, 2021)

Hi Mauro!

I watched the Blue Origin flight just a while ago and it was amazing. I was so worried something would go wrong with all those live cameras, but it was smooth as glass.

I agree with your comment on the word 'astronaut'. The 18 year old kid whose dad paid for that flight isn't in the same league as those legends.

Really fascinating times we live in!


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## Jay Panikkar (Jul 23, 2021)

The privatisation of aerospace will be one of the highlights of this decade. However, there wasn't as much hype as I'd hoped, presumably because most of the general public haven't yet grasped the implications; COVID obviously factors into it as well.

We're heading into the next generation of aerospace.

The International Space Station is set to be decommissioned by 2025. The core technologies powering the ISS are Russian, but they have declined to maintain it because Russia is already developing the next generation space station with China. Meanwhile, China has been building their own independent space station; iirc, some of the initial modules were launched only a few weeks ago.

The development of aerospace tends to feed off of advancements in energy and military technologies—for example, Russia's miniaturised nuclear drones and China's "artificial sun"—and a lot of it has utility at the civilian level. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of new industries will be created from these developments.

Recently, both nations have announced development of a joint moon base. This is the project I'm most interested in. A habitable structure on the moon will be a revolutionary leap in aerospace. Next generation satellites and telescopes are on the schedule as well.

Interesting times, indeed!



MauroPantin said:


> Having said that (and not to argue semantics) I do not like that these companies are calling their clients Astronauts. I mean, the balls, people! To put Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Armstrong, Gagarin, Tereshkova et all at the same level as these flight crews is just wrong. Nothing against them, personally, but that's a title money can't buy IMHO. I've been on a plane and I don't go around calling myself a "Pilot" for crossing an arbitrary altitude.


I completely agree.


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## Begfred (Sep 12, 2021)

I think this VR documentary serie might interest you. I’ve done the music for it. And the show just won an Emmy award last night.
You’ll need a VR headset to watch it tough.


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## marclawsonmusic (Sep 12, 2021)

Begfred said:


> I’ve done the music for it. And it just won an Emmy award last night.


Congrats, @Begfred! You must be very proud.


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## Colin66 (Sep 12, 2021)

Begfred said:


> I think this VR documentary serie might interest you. I’ve done the music for it. And it just won an Emmy award last night.
> You’ll need a VR headset to watch it tough.



Congratulations!


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## Begfred (Sep 12, 2021)

Thank you! Just to be clear, the serie won an Emmy for outstanding interactive program, not specific to the music, even though I’m proud of the job I’ve done. Just wanted to share this here for the space exploration enthusiast.


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## Trash Panda (Sep 12, 2021)

I’m all about space exploration, but I can’t muster up excitement for these billionaire joy rides into lower orbit. That was impressive 60+ years ago and we already have shuttles that could fly to the moon and back, we’re just choosing to not use them.

It’s not like there’s even the nationalism rah rah USA aspect because these are global corporations running the show.


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## Colin66 (Sep 13, 2021)

Trash Panda said:


> I’m all about space exploration, but I can’t muster up excitement for these billionaire joy rides into lower orbit. That was impressive 60+ years ago and we already have shuttles that could fly to the moon and back, we’re just choosing to not use them.
> 
> It’s not like there’s even the nationalism rah rah USA aspect because these are global corporations running the show.


I think it's called willie waving.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Sep 13, 2021)

Space exploration is boring. There's nothing out there. They already pretty much know that. What's the appeal?

I'd be more interested in deep sea exploration. It's crazy that we know more about the endless nothingness out there than our home planet. Plus, we KNOW there's life down there, but who knows what's really doing on all the way down. It might actually be incredibly important for truly understanding how shit on Earth really works.

Plus, Chtulu is down there, still in his deathlike slumber, and he hates us all.


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## Colin66 (Sep 13, 2021)

Jimmy Hellfire said:


> There's nothing out there. They already pretty much know that.


This made me laugh! "They" know next to nothing about the Universe.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Sep 13, 2021)

Colin66 said:


> This made me laugh! "They" know next to nothing about the Universe.


Who cares! They know there's fucking nothing there. At least not in the part of space that's more or less traversable for us and would be of any interest. There's monsters beneath the sea. What's more interesting, mosters or nothingness?


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## Michel Simons (Sep 13, 2021)

Jimmy Hellfire said:


> Who cares! They know there's fucking nothing there. At least not in the part of space that's more or less traversable for us and would be of any interest. There's monsters beneath the sea. What's more interesting, mosters or nothingness?


There could be monsters under the ice of Europa.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Sep 13, 2021)

Michel Simons said:


> There could be monsters under the ice of Europa.


There's a bunch of monsters in Europe, who cares about those on Europa!


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