R.I.P. Scout26
StarBoySAR @StarboySARWhen asked at a hearing what the "Chinese are doing on the backside of the moon" ‐ NASA administrator Bill Nelson demonstrates his incompetence by bizarrely claiming that the far side of the moon is always dark (which it isn't) and that the US is not planing to go there. When asked why the US isn't going there and what would be the benefit of doing so, Nelson responded; We don't know what is on the backside of the moon, it's for the Chinese to discover However, as for the United States, our decision is that it's more profitable for us to go to the South Pole of the moon, because we think that's where the water is. When asked why, do you think they (the Chinese) made that decision? Nelson said; I have no idea...
https://twitter.com/StarboySAR/status/1782705737086689587WATCH: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Shows He Needs Remedial Astronomy Classeshttps://twitchy.com/aaronwalker/2024/04/23/watch-nasa-administrator-bill-nelson-shows-he-is-clueless-about-the-moon-n2395434
Tyler Gray@TylerG1998·2hS/C sep for #Shenzhou18, which should arrive at Tiangong for docking in around 7 hours.Updated orbital launch count as of Apr. 25:Earth 🌎 — 78/79USA 🇺🇸 — 48/48China 🇨🇳 — 18/18* (1 partial failure)Russia 🇷🇺 — 6/6Japan 🇯🇵 — 2/3Iran 🇮🇷 — 2/2India 🇮🇳 — 2/21/3Show moreImageTyler Gray@TylerG1998·2hOrbital launches by organization:🇺🇸 — 41 SpaceX, 5 Rocket Lab, 2 ULA🇨🇳 — 14 CASC (1 partial failure), 2 CASIC, 1 OrienSpace, 1 CAS Space🇷🇺 — 5 RKTs-Progress, 1 Khrunichev🇯🇵 — 2 MHI, 1 Space One ❌🇮🇳 — 2 ISRO🇮🇷 — 1 IRGC, 1 ISA2/3Tyler Gray@TylerG1998Launches by spaceport:🇺🇸 — 21 CCSFS, 13 Vandy, 9 KSC, 1 Wallops🇨🇳 — 6 Xichang, 6 Jiuquan, 3 Wenchang, 2 offshore, 1 Taiyuan🇳🇿 — 4 Māhia🇷🇺 — 3 Baikonur, 2 Vostochny, 1 Plesetsk🇯🇵 — 2 Tanegashima, 1 Space Port Kii🇮🇳 — 2 Satish Dhawan🇮🇷 — 1 Shahrud, 1 Semnan
Tyler Gray@TylerG1998Launches by spaceport:🇺🇸 — 21 CCSFS, 13 Vandy, 9 KSC, 1 Wallops🇨🇳 — 6 Xichang, 6 Jiuquan, 3 Wenchang, 2 offshore, 1 Taiyuan🇳🇿 — 4 Māhia🇷🇺 — 3 Baikonur, 2 Vostochny, 1 Plesetsk🇯🇵 — 2 Tanegashima, 1 Space Port Kii🇮🇳 — 2 Satish Dhawan🇮🇷 — 1 Shahrud, 1 Semnan
Missing the Boca launch of Starship.
I assume they're not counting that one since no payload was actually put into orbit.
The Boeing Crew Flight Test mission is the first flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft with humans onboard. The crew is composed of Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams.Launch on May 6th at 10:34:14PM EDT (02:34:14 UTC on the 7th)Mission: Atlas V launch with Starliner Calypso to the International Space StationLaunch location: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Earth.Target orbit: Low Earth Orbit; 72.91-by-181.53 kilometers 51.62 degree inclinationBooster: AV-085Configuration: N22 - No fairing, 2 solid rocket motors, and 2 RL10 engines on the Centaur upper stage. "Body Guard"Capsule: Spacecraft 3 (Calypso); 1597d 14h 35min 21s turnaroundCapsule history: OFT-1Rocket trajectory: Northeast hugging the east coast of the United StatesMission Commander: Butch Wilmore - 3rd spaceflightMission Pilot: Sunita Williams - 3rd spaceflightStats: · ULA's 161st launch overall and its 3rd launch of the year · Atlas V's 100th launch, 3rd launch in N22 configuration · ULA's 75th launch from SLC-41, 83rd launch of Atlas V from SLC-41 · 3rd orbital flight of a Starliner spacecraft and 1st human spaceflight by Boeing · This mission will bring up to 2 the total of people sent by Boeing to orbit
Hoping the door doesn't blow out ULA Atlas V Launches Starliner Crew Flight Test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI1u80rw5LY
Looks like a static fire of S30 is in the cards for today. S30 is pegged for flight test 5Suppose to go line ~10:00SpaceX Static Fires Ship 30 in Preparation for the Fifth Starship Flight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7Ialipbgw4
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/05/the-surprise-is-not-that-boeing-lost-commercial-crew-but-that-it-finished-at-all/Well, I certainly hope the Starliner's first crewed flight is successful.
A few months later, NASA publicly announced its choice. Boeing would receive $4.2 billion to develop a "commercial crew" transportation system, and SpaceX would get $2.6 billion. It was not a total victory for Boeing, which had lobbied hard to win all of the funding. But the company still walked away with nearly two-thirds of the money and the widespread presumption that it would easily beat SpaceX to the space station.
But at least SpaceX was in its natural environment. Boeing's space division had never won a large fixed-price contract. Its leaders were used to operating in a cost-plus environment, in which Boeing could bill the government for all of its expenses and earn a fee. Cost overruns and delays were not the company's problem—they were NASA's. Now Boeing had to deliver a flyable spacecraft for a firm, fixed price.Boeing struggled to adjust to this environment. Regarding complicated space projects, Boeing was used to spending other people's money. Now, every penny spent on Starliner meant one less penny in profit (or, ultimately, greater losses). This meant that Boeing allocated fewer resources to Starliner than it needed to thrive.
Chris Bergin - NSF@NASASpaceflightShip 31 appears to have suffered an issue during its cryo testing at Masseys.