alphagusta

alphagusta t1_j5su55e wrote

Reply to comment by __WanderLust_ in Rocket Lab launches 3 satellites in first mission from U.S. soil by Robb4848

Rocketlab has the advantage right now in terms of experience

Astra seems to be middling around, their main rocket has been an abysmal flop, its launch failure rate is high in terms of 1960's launches, never mind the 2000's

Firefly has had a 1:1 fail success so far

Relativity has good vision and a good goal with a functional vehicle ready to go.

The rest are still stuck in a perpetual state of testing engines, making test articles and asking for funding

27

alphagusta t1_j5ctjw1 wrote

Reply to comment by MetaSatakOz in TIL Bob Hoover, an American Spitfire pilot in WW2, was shot down over occupied France and captured but was able to escape from the POW camp 16 months later, steal a German fighter, and fly it from northern Germany to friendly territory in Holland. by MetaSatakOz

Probably not that stupid in hindsight

It's entirely likely that the Germans could have killed as many as they could before the liberation if a few different orders were given, like has happened at other locations.

36

alphagusta t1_j4vbzll wrote

Reply to comment by alilsus83 in Sweden opens mainland Europe's first spaceport. ESA says it will host, 'Themis', its reusable rocket development initiative there by lughnasadh

No

It helps, but also hinders.

It can make low inclination launches more efficient

It can make high inclination/polar launches more inneficient

Really though rockets are very good nowadays, it will still have its affects but modern launch vehicles have more than enough tollerances to launch from almost anywhere now, its not like the 60's anymore.

2

alphagusta t1_j4h34fc wrote

Reply to comment by 7ECA in The Stratolaunch Roc, the largest aircraft ever flown, has just completed a 6-hour test flight. It aims to be a platform to launch reusable hypersonic craft from an altitude of 10 km by lughnasadh

It had a good answer to start off with

The initial development of it was to airlaunch a variant of the now worlds leading current launch vehicle Falcon 9

SpaceX then decided it would focus purely on the logistical needs of its ground launched Falcon 9 as the 2 versions were quickly becoming vastly more different in design to make it feasible

Stratolaunch then had other rocket concepts that it could take but none of them stuck.

It's a victim of competition, its biggest rival is Virign Orbit with its much more feasibly converted 747 instead of a brand new aircraft

51

alphagusta t1_j31ioh2 wrote

Reply to NASA And SpaceX Consider Daring Plan To ‘Reboost’ The Hubble Space Telescope by aureliamachiavelli

What's the lifespan on Hubble looking like?

Its hardware is already showing ware and some stuff has shut down entirely

I'd like to see its mission continue but at some point it's just going to die.

A refurbishment of some of its equipment would probably help if possible, like changing its Reaction Wheel systems that have broken

41