DailyDirt: Space Is Cool Again! Yay!

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Tue, Dec 22nd 2015 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Maybe you haven't seen the latest Star Wars film yet, but it's pretty hard to avoid hearing about it. Recently, there have been some more "realistic" space movies out (eg. Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian), but there's also plenty of actual space stories to watch, too. In the past year or so, we've seen some spectacular rocket failures, but thankfully, we're closing out 2015 with some successful accomplishments -- and plans for more sequels.

SpaceX just landed its reusable 1st stage rocket -- which is a remarkable come-back from losing a payload only a few months ago. However, this particular rocket will be studied and tested for its integrity, and it probably won't ever fly again. [url]
New Zealand is getting its first rocket launch site, and it will start launches in mid-2016 on the Mahia Peninsula. This spaceport will be able to launch once a month, and it already has a booked schedule through 2018. (Hat-tip to Lawrence D'Oliveiro) [url]
China's lunar rover, Yutu, was operational for well beyond its original 3-month mission, and it has provided geological data from the moon that show the moon's composition is much more diverse than previous samples suggested. The lunar surface may soon get some additional company from a private lunar lander sometime in 2017, sent by SpaceIL on a Falcon 9 rocket. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take 10% off any $50+ order from our Daily Deals using the promo code DAILYDIRT.

Filed Under: falcon 9, lunar rover, re-usable rockets, rocket, space, space exploration, spaceport, yutu
Companies: spaceil, spacex

8 Comments

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Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 22 Dec 2015 @ 5:48pm

Thank You For Posting My Link Submission
And my apologies that TV3 forces you to use Flash...
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Michael Ho (profile), 22 Dec 2015 @ 6:20pm

Re: Thank You For Posting My Link Submission
Thanks for commenting, Lawrence!

(And maybe someday Flash video will simply cease to exist...)
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Glenn, 22 Dec 2015 @ 8:26pm

I've only seen Interstellar... "realistic" looking special effects, you mean.
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Max (profile), 23 Dec 2015 @ 5:45am

Uhhhh, about that...
"Gravity"... "realistic"... facepalm - facepalm - facepalm...
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Dec 2015 @ 8:48am

Isn't it more difficult/expensive to reach orbit the further you are from the equator? That's why we (US) launch from Florida.
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Michael Ho (profile), 23 Dec 2015 @ 3:16pm

Re:
That's part of the equation, yes. But there are also other factors. Being in a relatively remote location that allows for more frequent liftoffs could make it more economical.

Maybe someday we'll have rocket launches from semi-autonomous launchpad barges in the middle of the ocean, but that's not happening any time soon.

And maybe it's just more secretive to launch from NZ... since a lot of people tend to forget about it:
http://worldmapswithout.nz/

:P
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Dec 2015 @ 6:17am

Re: Re:
"from semi-autonomous launchpad barges in the middle of the ocean, but that's not happening any time soon.
"

IIRC this has already happened.
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Michael Ho (profile), 29 Dec 2015 @ 12:59pm

Re: Re: Re:
You are correct. Though, I'm not sure if there are any semi-autonomous sea launch platforms currently in operation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Launch
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