Space stuff

[pechelman]

Been thinking about starting this thread for a while given the few comments I've noticed from others about their interest in space, launch, and the industry in general.

There are lots of amazing things going on, more than ever, with also lots of interesting science/capability/engineering coming from it, so hopefully this becomes an interesting thread.

First up for me personally is hopefully a successful launch of the first crewed Starliner mission on Atlas in a couple of days.

https://flic.kr/p/2pKGhqB

[endo]

@pechelman cool threat! was always into space stuff

[pechelman]

Thanks @endo ! It's really an exciting time, been working in space launch for 20 years and there's never been this much public excitement, engagement, and interest in it which is great to see.

Hopefully the few people I noticed talking about space stuff contribute and encourage other closet space nerds to come out.

[tody]

Not too much of a nerd here, but before choosing law, I thought about studying something technical. Gave this field of aerospace some serious consideration...

[FlavourFade]

@pechelman great thread! Love everything about space. I read the Trisolaris trilogy if that's familar for anyone, it's scifi but with a lot of cool ideas of how technology could change. Too bad that a lot of budget cuts in the space sector are happening.

[mclaincausey]

I love space stuff too though don’t know much about exploration and associated tech. I do think it’s one of the most important endeavors our civilization can undertake.

I’m fascinated by cosmology, astronomy, and physics. Anything underpinning and explaining existence and how things came to be is of interest to me.

@FlavourFade thats a great series. So great I’m now hesitant to watch the adaptation on Netflix. It definitely is more “Fi” than “Sci.” I’m a bit puzzled as to how it achieved a reputation for being “hard” Sci Fi. Other than the character Luo Ji, my favorite achievement of the series is the Dark Forest hypothesis. I think it’s an unlikely solution to the Fermi (non-)Paradox, but as a literary device it is genius in that in brings a pragmatic form of cosmic horror into a work of sci-fi that is credible within the world of the series.

[mclaincausey]

Very cool black hole simulation from NASA

https://science.nasa.gov/supermassive-black-holes/new-nasa-black-hole-visualization-takes-viewers-beyond-the-brink/

Some other good ones here:

[pechelman]

added these all to watch later @mclaincausey
thanks!

[endo]

Are you professionally involved in rocket launches @pechelman and if so, what are you doing (if you may speak about it)?

[pechelman]

I can generally talk about it @endo, been working on rockets since 2004. The Starliner launch is personally significant because I did the mechanical design from the very beginning (along with a small team of ~4 others) for the structure that supports it on top of the rocket for nearly 7 years. It's mostly visible in that picture above with the large ring and white looking struts (which are remove before flight protective covers). I since left that position ~7 years ago and have been working on another large rocket, but I'd rather leave any names and specifics out of it for now to ensure I don't overstep terms of employment.

[endo]

fascinating @pechelman what can you say about the postponing of the Starliner launch?

[pechelman]

This is a pretty good summary of the situation. There's a valve on the launch vehicle causing some concern.
https://spacenews.com/rocket-issue-scrubs-launch-of-starliner-crewed-test-flight/

[FlavourFade]

@mclaincausey i think hard sci fi is defined by a lot of explanation and not by how realistic it is but you are right, there's a lot of stuff going on that's a bit Fantasy like. But I loved all the political stuff and what he thought could happen to humanity in case of contact with aliens.

The Netflix show is okay but I think they rushed a bit and it's a lot different from the book which I don't mind but when you watch it I would try to see it as a separated thing

[Matt]

@FlavourFade said in Space stuff:

@mclaincausey i think hard sci fi is defined by a lot of explanation zero gravity pegging.

[mclaincausey]

next to impossible without a system of harnesses, grips, and pullies that would make the most extreme domiatrix blush.

[FlavourFade]

@Matt I like the way you think

[Eza]

Has anyone watched "For All Mankind" on Apple+ ?

[AdamJ]

@Eza Yes, just started watching it, it's awesome. Also quite funny how in S1 they joke about having missiles/armed forces on the moon, when that's almost certainly a conversation had by the powers that be in the past

[Eza]

@AdamJ another excellent series which is not space related but technology related and it flew under the radar is "Halt and Catch Fire".

[mclaincausey]

I want to watch that one too.

How about a debate: what should be the stacked ranking of space exploration objectives? Here’s a try that isn’t super well thought out:

1. survival: I think we need to eventually be able to live off world and colonize the solar system to de-risk a number of threats to our civilization

2. scientific discovery: I think that a lot of answers that could help with technological advancements will come from understanding our universe. So this includes experiments and instruments in space, and then the ancillary tech advancements that enable and accompany space exploration. This includes things like manufacturing in space free of the constraints of gravity, which overlaps with:

3. commercial concerns: there is money to be made and each nation and alliance will benefit from being ahead of the game; in this sense this is also a national security concern