The Space Thread

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

Gemini 10

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EEnG22o_K5w

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/ad4484

ESA scientists overviewing some of the Euclid images to have come out recently. first 5-10 minutes is just intro stuff...the main goal of this mission is to get some evidence regarding the dark matter/dark energy questions...i've not seen anything solid yet, but i'm very interested in what all this finds.

more from the site with large photos, shorter video as well: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid

They landed both stages in the sea, in a fairly controlled manner. Superheavy landing at about 0:47 in this video, it hovers above the sea momentarily:

Starship landing at about 1:45 in the video - camera is fucked, fin has half burnt away but the fins are still moving and the engines re-light and it lands itself vertically onto the ocean - pretty amazing to see it survive re-entry and still be able to land itself

Starliner approaching ISS

Jupiter close up

A fluid dynamicist's wet dream.

I recently discovered saturns enormous hexagonal north pole cloud. Looks like a rendering error but its real. Each side of the hexagon is about 9000 miles, greater than the diameter of Earth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn's_hexagon

  On 6/10/2024 at 2:48 PM, zazen said:

I recently discovered saturns enormous hexagonal north pole cloud. Looks like a rendering error but its real. Each side of the hexagon is about 9000 miles, greater than the diameter of Earth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn's_hexagon

 

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BOC IMMINENT 

I don't understand the equations, but the explanation is so good here. I love his videos

https://youtu.be/CbiL0Cj_NhE

  On 6/10/2024 at 8:46 PM, YEK said:

BOC IMMINENT 

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https://phys.org/news/2021-02-backreaction-tank-black-hole-simulation.html

Ariane 6 :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_6
European expendable launch system operated by Arianespace and developed and produced by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Yeah, it's non-reusable, but at least it provides independent space access for Europe...although subsidized.
But it also provides a lot of space R&D for Europe.

It has 2 configurations:


First flight "VA262" :
Flight test carrying a mass simulator plus a number of small cubesats and other experiments as rideshare payloads.
Rocket launched successfully to orbit and upper stage performed a second burn to release cubesats.
But the 3rd burn to to deorbit the upper stage failed, resulting in the upper stage and two reentry capsule experiments staying in space and not returning to Earth immediately.

I wonder if ESA is thinking about developing a reusable launch system.
Maybe they can just copy the SpaceX Falcon 9. ^^
 

    Quote

“Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” said Curiosity’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”

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https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-curiosity-rover-discovers-a-surprise-in-a-martian-rock

Martians are into crystals?

3rd iteration of SpaceX raptor engine

Look at the simplifcation/refinements:

As of 2024 Raptor is the only full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) engine that anyone has managed to get into the air.

Raptor 1 (sea level variant)
Thrust: 185tf
Specific impulse: 350s
Engine mass: 2080kg
Engine + vehicle-side commodities and hardware mass: 3630kg

Raptor 2 (sea level variant)
Thrust: 230tf
Specific impulse: 347s
Engine mass: 1630kg
Engine + vehicle-side commodities and hardware mass: 2875kg

Raptor 3 (sea level variant)
Thrust: 280tf
Specific impulse: 350s
Engine mass: 1525kg
Engine + vehicle-side commodities and hardware mass : 1720kg

  On 8/2/2024 at 1:54 AM, ManjuShri said:

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Why does WASP look like an egg

Cygnus module approaching ISS

USS Enterprise test flight - August 12, 1977