Category: Fun & Curios

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• Picked up by Pookie’s Toons

Routine
Return to Launch Site (RTLS) Stg-1 landing and pretty Earth views, so great video

Things to watch for:
• After Stg-1&2 separate, Stg-1 flips and ignites to return to the Cape
• Fairing half being left behind illustrates Stg-2 acceleration
• Landing-burn startup transient (green flame of starting chemicals, TEA-TEB + LOx) @T+7:23
• Satellite deployment vid @T+1:29:45 to 1:35:30

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• Cultural ref

CREW-6 Launch

APPROACH/DOCKING with ISS

STARLINK from Vandenberg
(Bullseye on a sunny California Friday with great views of Mother Earth as well as the space-geek stuff)

Sunset Launch
Oooh, preeetyyy (definitely full-screen worthy, definitely)

Interesting things to watch:
• Stage separation, as usual
• Fairing separation, first time looking aft
• Ice particles dynamics as Stg-1 rotates to tail-first
• Stg-1 shadow on thruster plumes
• Stg-1 decelerates as it rises to the top of its trajectory, then accelerates as it falls, then decelerates during entry burn, then accelerates for a few seconds (5600 to 5700 km/hr) until the atmosphere thickens enough for drag to cause deceleration (where it would overheat if not for the entry burn)
• Great vid of landing at sunset (kind’a romantic)

(What? Yes, this will be on the exam)

Payload deployment (unique view)

MORE:
Starlink launch from Vandenberg sched. Wed afternoon (UPDATED)
Crew launch resched. Wed night
It could happen

Mission details (new Starlink satellite design, Crew/ISS)

(What? Yeah, more easily entertained than you can imagine)

Imagine you’re an alien ship captain about to invade Earth,
and you detect all this near-Earth satellite traffic.
Would you chance it or assume that this is a planetary defense system?

https://t.co/MnJeJZS5Dd visualizes the position and motion of all known satellites in orbit. pic.twitter.com/3ACj7EHoeV

— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) February 18, 2023

I wonder if the astronomers looking for extra-terrestrial planets
hosting advanced, intelligent life are looking for a dense sphere of
satellites surrounding those planets. Seems like that would be a phase
of development that advanced technical civilizations must pass through.

(What? Well, yeah, satellites as we know ’em would be too small to detect from here,
but the thought still applies)

Starlink from Vandenberg
beautiful sunny daytime launch
nice landing vid

Inmarsat from the Cape

Happy Valentine’s Day.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/jKkFKmO6Fq

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) February 14, 2023