Beyond the Mysterious Beyond > Hobbies and Recreation
Space Exploration Thread
gutza1:
I took a look around the Hobbies board and noticed there was no thread dedicated to ongoing space exploration. As a lifelong follower of it, this obviously must be corrected!
To start, I wanted to discuss the launch of Artemis I, risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the Shuttle and Constellation. I remember following the latter program when I was a kid, only to be hit with disappointment when Constellation was cancelled and the new presidential administration made no concrete plans for manned deep space exploration. However, the renewed interest in the Moon that resulted in the beginning of the Artemis program has granted NASA much-needed direction that it lacked for decades, and I see a bright future ahead. Unless Elon Musk's antics screw it all up, of course, but I'd rather not think about that.
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1592772202289430528
Last week, NASA took its first concrete step towards returning humans to the Moon with the launch of Artemis I, an unmanned test flight of the superheavy-lift Space Launch System and deep space Orion capsule that has launched the latter towards the Moon. I had the privilege of witnessing the launch in person at Kennedy Space Center, and I can say that it was a childhood dream come true for me.
https://twitter.com/NASA_Orion/status/1594852542097154048
Presently, Orion has just completed a powered flyby of the Moon and is about to enter a distant retrograde orbit, where it will stay for about two weeks before flying by the lunar surface a second time and returning back to Earth. So far, all systems have performed at or exceeding expectations - a remarkable accomplishment given the surprisingly troubled history of both Apollo and SLS' development. Artemis II, a manned flight to lunar orbit, is scheduled to launch in early 2024, depending on the results of Artemis I. TCombined with the activation of the James Webb Space Telescope last July, 2022 has shaped up to be a big year for space exploration.
The Chronicler:
I've always been fascinated with astronomy and space exploration for as long as I can remember. I just never bothered starting any topics here on such a subject because I didn't think anyone around here was seriously interested in talking about it.
While I'm hardly obsessed with following all the latest developments, I did pay close attention to the James Webb Space Telescope for approximately a year now (the last few delays before it was finally launched, the entire deployment process in the months that followed, and finally those spectacular first images that were released last summer and several more that have come out since then). I also occasionally keep up with recent discoveries made by active robotic missions throughout the solar system, such as the rovers on Mars, or the Juno orbiter around Jupiter.
gutza1:
--- Quote from: The Chronicler on November 26, 2022, 09:10:40 PM ---I've always been fascinated with astronomy and space exploration for as long as I can remember. I just never bothered starting any topics here on such a subject because I didn't think anyone around here was seriously interested in talking about it.
While I'm hardly obsessed with following all the latest developments, I did pay close attention to the James Webb Space Telescope for approximately a year now (the last few delays before it was finally launched, the entire deployment process in the months that followed, and finally those spectacular first images that were released last summer and several more that have come out since then). I also occasionally keep up with recent discoveries made by active robotic missions throughout the solar system, such as the rovers on Mars, or the Juno orbiter around Jupiter.
--- End quote ---
That's great to hear! Yeah, I loved watching The Universe on History Channel around the same age as I was originally watching LBT. It completely blew my mind and introduced me to a lot of physics concepts I'm interested in writing stories about. You'll definitely see some of that in The Lands Beyond. I think space exploration is one of the few bright spots in our modern world, especially now that we've gotten superheavy-lift rockets coming online that can launch significantly more massive deep space probes on faster trajectories.
In other news, Orion just entered a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon yesterday:
https://twitter.com/NASAArtemis/status/1596290736965574656
It'll stay in it until Dec. 1, when it will burn to perform another flyby of the Moon on the 5th before splashing down on the 11th.
gutza1:
It appears things are quiet here. Is this just a niche topic few people here are interested in? Ah, whatever.
https://twitter.com/NASA_Orion/status/1597387686926589972
gutza1:
Orion will do a second flyby of the Moon tomorrow before heading back to Earth:
https://twitter.com/NASA_Orion/status/1599483477296021504/photo/1
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