What "weed need" is a space mission!

[only_human]

Okay, today's SpaceX interlude:
Pair of Communication Satellites orbited by Falcon 9, First Stage Landing ends in Blaze of Fire
About the two satellites sharing a launch, Boeing has a patent on this stacked configuration. This article has a launch and landing recap including a picture of the returning booster briefly on deck before kablooey.

Wednesday’s mission marked SpaceX’s second dual-payload flight to GTO as the company is less inclined to support multi-customer flights due to schedule risks arising in case of delays with one of the passengers. However, with both satellites from a single manufacturer and delivered as a single-piece stack by Boeing, SpaceX was more or less able to treat the mission as a standard single-payload launch.

Dual-launch capability is an inherent feature of Boeing’s BSS-702SP satellite bus that reduces spacecraft mass to enable customers to share the cost of a single launch vehicle. Boeing developed its own adapter system that joins the two satellites and provides satellite separation when arriving in orbit. The physical adapter remains attached to one of the two nearly identical satellites that have a combined mass of around 4,100 Kilograms.

The BSS-702SP satellites rely on electric propulsion, featuring XIPS-25 ion thrusters for their transition from GEO Transfer Orbit to their high-altitude perch in Geostationary Orbit. Ion thrusters are more efficient but lack the thrust of chemical propulsion system, creating a longer transfer time into GEO, planned to be on the order of half a year for the two satellites.

Here's another picture of the booster on the drone ship deck from a reddit thread reference: http://m.imgur.com/YHBjbco?r

It is obscurred by smoke with difficult to discern details that are reminiscent of the Alien vs Preditor Requiem movie which had such bad lighting that it could have been refilmed starring a screaming trash bag in a dark alley and I wouldn't notice much difference.
Here is a Google search on: alien movies alien vs predator requiem lighting


Elon Musk promised more video. Here are some tweets:

Elon Musk ‏@elonmusk
Landing video will be posted when we gain access to cameras on the droneship later today. Maybe hardest impact to date. Droneship still ok.

Elon Musk ‏@elonmusk
Upgrades underway to enable rocket to compensate for a thrust shortfall on one of the three landing engines. Probably get there end of year.

Elon Musk ‏@elonmusk
Looks like thrust was low on 1 of 3 landing engines. High g landings v sensitive to all engines operating at max.

[only_human]

More Twitter posts with a landing video from some distance.

(video): https://mobile.twitter.com/elonmusk/...653184/video/1

[Dubslow]

One of several motion-stabilized versions of the tweeted video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ilfd6H1Kp0

[only_human]

Watch three astronauts leave the International Space Station tonight
Tim Peake:

He’s also clearly had fun up there, making this cute video about how to get dizzy in space. (Spoiler: you can’t.)

[Mark Rose]

Flight 4 of New Shepard happening right now:

[xilman]

Burn, baby, burn

[jasong]

Originally Posted by xilman

Burn, baby, burn

I know the spot on Jupiter is called the Red Spot(not sure if I should capitalize that), but has the color changed or has it always been an orange spot?

(Googled it, and it's literally[old people literally ;) ] changed color)

Btw, I ask googlable questions because I'm an old dude. It's something I'm continuously having to work on. Don't forget that Google has only been around for about a decade or so.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by jasong

I know the spot on Jupiter is called the Red Spot(not sure if I should capitalize that), but has the color changed or has it always been an orange spot?

[xilman]

In orbit

[Xyzzy]

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/...space-shuttle/

[Spherical Cow]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/...space-shuttle/

Good one- thanks for posting that.

Norm