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most recent 30 from space.stackexchange.com
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Why don't I find the concept of cosmic velocities in western space-related materials?
Published: June 5, 2026 18:03
One of my earliest contacts with the concept of orbital mechanics was learning about the four cosmic velocities. They were in my primary school handbook. They were referenced in amateur astronomer's guidebook. They appeared during the university lectures.…
On instagram an ASCAN mentioned nine runs in the NBL during candidacy (link in body)
Published: June 5, 2026 13:19
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzFB1N6yvfO/?igsh=MXdubjBiYmR1aDkzdg== What is the focus of each of these or do they all focus on building the same EVA skills progressively? Or is it divided such that each of them is dedicated to different skills?
What happens if an astronaut is hit by a tiny micrometeorite?
Published: June 5, 2026 10:04
A micrometeorite (including space debris in LEO) hitting the metal wall of the ISS would likely cause a shower of secondary high speed fragments. But there are other "softer" materials proposed which would just let the object through without much…
Do the LAGEOS satellites rotate?
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/70585/do-the-lageos-satellites-rotate
Published: June 5, 2026 06:28
The LAGEOS satellites are near-perfect retroreflective spheres in medium Earth orbit. They should have the same mass moment of inertia in all axes and a center of mass coincident with the centroid, although the four germanium reflectors may cause a slight…
What caused these plumes errupting from the 2026 New Glenn rocket explosion?
Published: June 4, 2026 17:55
A static test firing of Blue Origin's New Glenn launch vehicle recently resulted in an explosion, destroying the rocket and its launch pad. The accident is shown in the picture below. There are several plumes streaking from the main fireball of the…
What rocket uses the largest percentage of Fuel/Oxidizer before liftoff?
Published: June 4, 2026 17:52
inspired by this question: How much propellant is used up until liftoff? which asks how much propellant (fuel/oxidizer) a typical rocket uses before liftoff. What has been or is the most non-typical rocket that uses a large percentage of propellant before…
Does Crew Dragon have a quick-release hatch?
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/44360/does-crew-dragon-have-a-quick-release-hatch
Published: June 4, 2026 17:50
After today's Crew Dragon launch was scrubbed, it took the pad ninjas at least ten minutes to open the hatch. One of the major criticisms of the Apollo Block 1 hatch design after the Apollo 1 fire was that opening it was a slow, complicated procedure. …
Issues with setting up Python Interface for GMAT [closed]
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/70576/issues-with-setting-up-python-interface-for-gmat
Published: June 4, 2026 13:08
I am using the 2025 GMAT version and Python version 3.12.10. I have followed the steps in the API_README.txt to the letter, but when I open GMAT I get this error message: Error loading "..\plugins\libPythonInterface_py312": GMAT could not load the Python…
Rocket explosion compared to kT of TNT; has one ever knocked something over at a distance?
Published: June 4, 2026 03:07
The energy equivalent of 1 gram of TNT is about 1 kcal or large Calorie. For reference, 1 gram of carbohydrates gives us almost 4 Calories of energy (if we are lucky enough to use it and not store it). So upon detonation or complete combustion with…
Will a human mission to Mars require artificial gravity?
Published: June 3, 2026 00:12
Elon Musk and SpaceX are planning a manned mission to Mars as early as 2029. The mission timeline is unclear, but one proposal (page 16) from SpaceX, which uses Hohmann transfer orbits for minimum fuel requirement, is for a 919 day mission, with 224 days…
What happened to the Boeing Small Launch Vehicle?
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/70574/what-happened-to-the-boeing-small-launch-vehicle
Published: June 2, 2026 21:42
I just came across the WP article on the BSLV and found that it could use some TLC, apparently. My guess is that the project is deader than the proverbial Dodo, but sources are hard to find. The ever-helpful Grokipedia (...) suggests it has been cancelled…
How Would Salt Dissolve in Water and How Would Water Boil on a Space Station Compared to Earth? [closed]
Published: June 2, 2026 16:33
If we put salt into water and boil water inside a space station, how would these processes differ from what happens on Earth? Would the salt dissolve faster, slower, or in the same way? How would boiling water and the behavior of steam bubbles change in a…
Why are rockets cylindrical?
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/9283/why-are-rockets-cylindrical
Published: June 2, 2026 10:54
What are the drag coefficients for a cylinder, a wedge, etc? I know there are other reasons for a rocket to be cylindrical that aren't related to aerodynamics such as efficiency when mixing the propellants etc… or is that the exclusive reason why they are…
How would a drone work in centrifugal force generated "gravity"?
Published: June 2, 2026 05:58
How would a hovering aircraft such as a drone operate on a rotating spacecraft that creates artificial gravity using centrifugal force? For simplicity, assume it's a drone on a space colony, similar to the render from Blue Origin below. Shown on the bottom…
Why not use a rotorcraft drone or quadcopter using GPS navigation to live stream SpaceX booster landings on the droneship?
Published: June 2, 2026 05:56
In droneship landings of SpaceX boosters, many times in live streaming, the video has stopped because of vibration in the droneship caused by the 1st stage landing of a Falcon 9 rocket. Would it be possible to film this event with a rotorcraft drone or…
ISRO’s decision not to participate in the International Space Station Program
Published: June 2, 2026 05:47
ISRO has a well-established and successful space program, with many notable achievements to its credit. However, despite its capabilities and expertise in the field of space exploration, ISRO did not participate in the International Space Station (ISS)…
Can we use drones in planetary exploration?
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/23537/can-we-use-drones-in-planetary-exploration
Published: June 2, 2026 05:45
Can we use drones for planetary exploration. Rovers have the inherent problem of getting stuck in terrain. and have limited range. why have space agencies not considered the use of drones for exploring a planet.
Would space exploration benefit by sending small drones instead of huge rockets?
Published: June 2, 2026 05:42
For e.g. if we want a telescope in space, can't we assemble it in space? Send the constituent assembly parts up there (unmanned). Have the individual units, assemble (unmanned) to constitute the actual thing. The assemblies themselves constitutes a small…
Has a rocket ever detonated before?
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/70561/has-a-rocket-ever-detonated-before
Published: June 1, 2026 13:25
In the aftermath of the AMOS-6 failure, Elon Musk pointed out that it was "really a fast fire, not an explosion". Most rocket failures are similar, involving a rapid but subsonic combustion of the fuels involved. The recent failure of a New Glenn booster,…
Who was the first person to see the far side of the moon?
Published: June 1, 2026 10:17
Didn't every Apollo CSM pass the far side of the moon during lunar orbit? Therefore the Artemis II crew are not the first to see it?
Was launch pad 110R ever used again after being obliterated on 3 July 1969?
Published: May 31, 2026 03:07
A few weeks before the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Soviets attempted the second unmanned launch of their own lunar launch vehicle, the N1. This occurred at pad 110R (also called 110/38) of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Although slightly shorter than the…
Is it possible to increase the thrust of an ion engine? [duplicate]
Published: May 28, 2026 16:13
Ion engines are really efficient and have ridiculously high Isp (on the order of 10^3 s), but also have really low thrust compared to more conventional chemical engines. Is it possible to increase the thrust of an ion engine without compromising Isp, or,…
Shuttle main engines RS-25, material damage on parts that needed replacement/refurbishment
Published: May 26, 2026 04:47
Since other members wrote, that my my original question here Shuttle main engines RS-25 refurbishment/material damage was too broad I modified it to asked just one thing, while the other questions I will asked later. There was some thread here on Space…
Has a space mission ever failed due to an incorrect understanding of physics?
Published: May 26, 2026 04:42
I just watched the excellent 3Blue1Brown video series with Terence Tao explaining how we learned about sizes and distances of objects in our solar system and beyond. The fact that we’re able to send space probes to planets, moons, and asteroids serves as a…
What is the full set of spacecraft that performed urine dumps in space?
Published: May 26, 2026 04:32
Recently I saw a clip with Reid Wiseman talking about watching the urine dumps in space from Artemis II. This reminds me of the scene in Apollo 13 where Tom Hanks (as Jim Lovell) refers to the cloud of urine droplets as "constellation u-rion" (Note: I can…
Shuttle emergency landing location question
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/61357/shuttle-emergency-landing-location-question
Published: May 26, 2026 04:11
There are lists of airports identified as emergency landing locations, many on the east coast. Some are military, some are public airports. Has anyone ever seen procedures on how this would be handled? It doesn't appear these airports were on any sort of…
From which NASA publication originates/where can I find a higher resolution version of this SSME flow diagram?
Published: May 26, 2026 04:01
This came up when I was taking a look at Endeavour over in LA. Where can I find a readable version of this full flow diagram (valves, control systems, and everything)?
Space Shuttle and SSME Servicing Procedures for Re-Launch
Published: May 26, 2026 03:36
There's been a lot of discussion about SpaceX's ~30% price reduction from re-use of the first stage, which got me to wondering: why exactly was the Space Shuttle so expensive to service and prep for re-launch? I'm mostly interested in the actual…
What is the geometric dimensions of turbo pumps present in SSME?
Published: May 26, 2026 03:33
Here is a really well documented and detailed explanation of the SSME engine. Looking through this, one can notice that there are no details of the dimensions. I would like to know about the geometric dimension of the turbo pumps present in SSME, like …
How does the Space Shuttle's SSME engine's thrust vary after ignition?
Published: May 26, 2026 03:25
After writing the question Do Blue Origin's BE-3 engines need to run for 7 seconds to “warm up”?, I took a look at the YouTube video SSME ignition sequence (found in What are the small gas jets at the rims of the Space Shuttle Main Engines?) showing the…