Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Adeldor t1_j9vskyr wrote

Without question, for me it's Starship. If the concept ends up performing anywhere near expectation, this first launch will be a major step toward a revolution in orbital and deep space access, regardless of the flight's outcome.

152

Different-Growth1253 t1_j9vtlwd wrote

Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander launching on its way to the lunar surface. My favorite lander company, by far. Then in 2024, Astrobotic delivering VIPER to the south pole.

12

PersimmonSuperb t1_j9vubax wrote

As much as I’m over musk - starship just speaks of wonder and awe. Can’t wait. Would love Rocketlabs to get their next vehicle going but that isn’t as exciting.

14

Adeldor t1_j9vucpe wrote

Replying to DealCommercial348 (#1,978,071)

I'm envious. I live in central Texas - a six hour drive away. We did visit the first day Remedios Ave was opened. Standing right before SN15 was thrilling. I believe I posted the first such pictures anywhere (for a "civilian," that is), here and here.

PS: Full Reddit post here.

24

alvinofdiaspar t1_j9vw93w wrote

Payload-wise probably JUICE or Psyche

Rocket - Super Heavy-Starship

161

Paksti t1_j9vyrk8 wrote

Starship. I would absolutely love to see it launch.

81

TransManNY t1_j9w4860 wrote

Space X Crew 7, scheduled for August 2023. The commander for the flight is Jasmine Moghbeli, it's her first flight. She will also be the first Irani-American in space.

5

NotAHamsterAtAll t1_j9w644q wrote

Starship, nothing even comes close.

(But some of the new smaller reusable rockets are cool as well, so hope we will see some).

15

jnemesh t1_j9wdwo7 wrote

Starship orbital test flight definitely, and hopefully followed by another flight with a successful landing of both the booster and the main ship!

23

A_Suspicious_Fart t1_j9whfd5 wrote

Starship, but I’m going to take the lazy route and say all of them. There is just so much to be excited for.

5

common_sensei t1_j9whsp8 wrote

Starship for sure, but I'm also hoping Blue Origin surprises us with a New Glenn launch this year. I doubt it will happen but it would be nice to see some competition in reusable launchers.

0

NikStalwart t1_j9wucf1 wrote

> Which space launch are you most excited for in 2023?

Whichever one delivers the first interesting payload. At the moment, that might be Psyche on Falcon Heavy, but things might change.

Don't get me wrong, the first launch of Starship will be inherently epic. However, I have a very pragmatic/utilitarian approach to space: I am less excited by the mere fact of a thing than I am by what that thing can accomplish. The first launch of Starship will provide data. The second launch of Starship might deploy Starlink satellites. But launch data is not immediately impactful for, available to or actionable by the average human. It will take from months to years for the data from the first Starship launch to touch the lives of John Doe or Ivan Petrovich. Deploying Starlink on Starship, while impactful, isn't inherently novel. More than half of SpaceX' 60 launches last year were Starlink payloads. SpaceX has also started deploying "Starlink v1.5" satellites due to the Starship delays. The mere fact of a Starlink v2 deployment from Starship is a good proof of conquest but not inherently revolutionary.

What would get me excited is a truly novel payload that capitalizes on the Starship promise. That promise, as I understand it, is to reduce $/kg to orbit. The direct implications of reducing launch costs are that:

  • You can launch more missions;
  • With greater frequency;
  • With more capabilities; or
  • With less complexity^1.

^1 in that, being less constrained for mass and volume, you can save money by not needing to miniaturise as much.

The first launch of Starship, or, for that matter, Vulcan and New Glenn, is a promise of things to come. But, to use JavaScript terminology, a promise that hasn't yet resolved. To be sure, it is historic, but you are still awaiting the result before you can use it.

I will be most excited for the first non-demonstrator, non-Starlink launch of Starship. Even if that launch is something like a $500k rover developed by some hitherto-unknown undergrad students from an engineering college in Nowhere County. I will be excited by that launch because the promise of Starship would have resolved.

4

niknok850 t1_j9wxu2z wrote

My DNA is finally going to the moon on a Vulcan rocket. Astrobiotic Moon Lander. It was delayed through Covid. I live in Florida and hopefully will have a chance to watch it lift off!

20

CrunchyButtz t1_j9x1kbv wrote

Been waitin on that Minuteman III for a minute.

9

Tonderandrew t1_j9x6a6m wrote

Most likely the one right now the Soviets are sending up right now to rescue the stranded crew.

3

thaexistentialist t1_j9x7kpm wrote

This Butterstuff Indica I just picked up has me targeting the asteroid belt.

10

pikay93 t1_j9xfv3t wrote

Any evening launch. They are beautifully lit up by the sun and get a lot of people interested in this stuff, especially out here in LA where not many know about the space connections here.

2

SoulReddit13 t1_j9xha03 wrote

Top 5

Juicey - mission to explore the icey moons of Jupiter.

Chandrayann-3 India’s lunar lander and rover

SLIM- jaxa’s first lunar lander.

Rocket labs Venus mission.

Xuntian (possibly launching?) The Chinese space station telescope. Same resolution as the Hubble but 350 times larger field of view.

Psyche the runner up.

3

Osiris32 t1_j9xk9hm wrote

Replying to Adeldor (#1,978,308)

Man, I am jealous. Getting that close to those behemoths. The best I've had was visiting Canaveral in 2007 and seeing the Shuttle on the pad from like 2 miles away. And even that was a red letter day.

6

dont_remember_eatin t1_j9xkj3g wrote

Dreamchaser.

Not the most exciting, but hey, space plane! I was a huge fan of the shuttle orbiter, and while DC is way smaller, it'll be neat to see a cargo ship doing a runway landing again.

11

NicTheCapsicum t1_j9xn5a8 wrote

The big boy Starship. If they can get that tin can going it will be a key big step forward.

4

nuts4space65 t1_j9xnqcb wrote

I would like to see Relativity Terran1 and Firefly Alpha do well this year, but the obvious favourite for me is Starship.

10

betterl8thannvr t1_j9xs61l wrote

Terran 1, I'm an avid 3d printing enthusiast so I just think it's cool as hell.

13

Emble12 t1_j9xvcro wrote

I’ve been waiting for Starship OFT for… four years now? It’s crazy to think that’ll just be the beginning.

3

Decronym t1_j9xvtvo wrote

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

|Fewer Letters|More Letters| |-------|---------|---| |CST|(Boeing) Crew Space Transportation capsules| | |Central Standard Time (UTC-6)| |EVA|Extra-Vehicular Activity| |NG|New Glenn, two/three-stage orbital vehicle by Blue Origin| | |Natural Gas (as opposed to pure methane)| | |Northrop Grumman, aerospace manufacturer| |OFT|Orbital Flight Test| |SLS|Space Launch System heavy-lift|

|Jargon|Definition| |-------|---------|---| |Starliner|Boeing commercial crew capsule CST-100| |Starlink|SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation|

^(6 acronyms in this thread; )^(the most compressed thread commented on today)^( has 7 acronyms.)
^([Thread #8613 for this sub, first seen 25th Feb 2023, 10:20]) ^[FAQ] ^([Full list]) ^[Contact] ^([Source code])

2

CaptBaron t1_j9xw7bl wrote

NG-19, as it will transport an cool instrument to the ISS, although i might be bit biased.

7

Vindve t1_j9xxk90 wrote

Ariane 6 first flight, in Q4 2023. European space desesperately needs it, as Ariane 5 production has been stopped. Ariane 6 may not be the perfect rocket (yes I know it's not reusable), but it's a better Ariane 5. 50% cheaper and looking awesome. Currently there is a market for it, it will buy time for Europe to figure out what's next.

4

ootfifabear t1_j9y56pi wrote

JUICE . I can’t wait for the juice to be on the loose. I’m sorry I’m attached to a satellite that doesn’t even exist yet. But there’s just something about those lunchables, man

5

AVLPedalPunk t1_j9y8wvt wrote

Probably dehydrated ice cream. An old favorite but such a classic.

2

hamhead t1_j9ya7x3 wrote

Starship, I guess.

Because I have to sit here and grumble about there being no SLS/Artemis launch this year.

7

andygates2323 t1_j9yd4o1 wrote

Just to be different, I'm keen to see Boeing's Starliner finally complete it'ss crewed flight test in April and enter ISS service. More suppliers are better.

4

rhhkeely t1_j9ypdff wrote

Which ever one blasts an oligarch into the sun

−8

Merky600 t1_j9z0bsh wrote

Replying to danielravennest (#1,994,469)

Talk on the street is that there was a level of management that just kept Elon happy and distracted. He was the “Money Guy.” They even made a “Matrix” like wall display to show “science” on his floor keep him impressed.

−5

Fufrasking t1_j9z0gp0 wrote

None. When i was a kid I was fascinated with the apollo program now, not so much. Same technology put on hold for 50 years and started up again. Fuck Musk, Bezos et al for their rockets. Nothing new just overly rich people playing with their toys with our money. Lets not pretend they are doing something new. Kamen invented booster landing tech 25 years ago. Remember the segway?

Rockets blasting into near earth orbit. Wow. Pinch me. And smaller and less powerful than the Saturn rockets of my youth. Wow.

−6

Orion2033 t1_j9z3irl wrote

Replying to niknok850 (#1,985,135)

Have you seen the roll-in? Why in the world they chose that ballerina paint job on such a great rocket no one can fathom. I was hoping for something tied a little more toward it’s mythological background. None the less Vulcan is my choice too

3

gevans7 t1_j9z3ttm wrote

Are they flying around the moon this year or next?

1

Chiefydawg1 t1_j9zdel2 wrote

Anyone have a brief synopsis of what's on the docket?

1

Cesum-Pec t1_j9zvzul wrote

LYNK Global is launching additional sats this year to enable a future where cell towers will be in space. Texting in some parts of the world will be active this year. As more sats fly, data and voice will begin. It will take 5000 small sats to go full data from any where on earth, but that is going to take a while.

0

pippinator1984 t1_ja0vdxl wrote

Anyone up for a trip to Boca Chica, tx. I would love to see the starship launch . Live near Dallas.

1