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1500 questions
21
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How was "Space Ram" (instant ramen noodles) prepared and eaten on the Space Shuttle?
The BBC Witness Podcast The Invention of Instant Noodles mentions that "Space Ram" (ramen noodles for space) was developed for eating on the Space Shuttle. After about 07:00:
BBC: And at the age of 95, (Momofuku) Ando reinvented the instant noodle…
uhoh
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What would be necessary in order for us to achieve a single stage to orbit, reusable rocket?
I have read articles and seen videos explaining why an SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) rocket* is not possible. But I was wondering... What would be required to achieve this? Answers can be literally anything.
*: I am referring to rockets capable of…
Outsider
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Why have a 10 minute pause at T-4 minutes?
I was watching the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket launching NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) to Mars today, and the countdown contained a planned 10 minute pause at T-4:00.
This other answer touches on some of the…
Bobson
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How were the Flight Journals of the Apollo missions originally transcribed/recorded?
I've been reading throught the Apollo 11 Flight Journals and was wondering how they were originally recorded and transcribed. It seems that they were painstakingly accurate down to the last second that something was said in terms of MET. I was…
Magic Octopus Urn
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Going from LEO to lunar using only low-thrust ion propulsion - can it be done?
@SF.'s question What are the parameters of the new Iodine electrical rocket engine developed by RSC Energia? links to the short RT article 'Ten times cheaper': Russian space company testing iodine rocket engine which contains a sentence which was…
uhoh
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How an americium-241 RTG would differ from one using plutonium-238?
@TomSpliker's great answer mentions that ESA might be looking at producing Radioisotope (powered) Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) based on the radioisotope americium-241. 241Am is a "kinder and gentler" isotope than 238Pu to access since it's…
uhoh
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2 answers
Space shuttle exhaust after landing
In this video at 7:12 you can see a thermal shot of a landed space shuttle. There is a periodic white cloud coming out of the top. What is this cloud?
OrangePeel52
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Why is the Far Side of the Moon so different from the Near Side?
Here's a photo of the Far Side of the Moon
Compare that to the Near Side:
Why the difference between the two? The difference is quite significant.
PearsonArtPhoto
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Is there any ongoing research in nuclear pulse propulsion?
Nuclear pulse propulsion seemed to be quite actively researched up until the 1990's, with a few projects that saw some rather promising results (some that could theoretically reach over 4% light speed.)
However, it all seems to have gone a bit quiet…
berry120
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How can I plot a satellite's orbit in 3D from a TLE using Python and Skyfield?
I have obtained a Two Line Element (TLE) of a satellite in Earth orbit from Celestrak at https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/ and I would like to use it to calculate an orbit.
How can I calculate the orbit from the TLE, and then plot it in 3D,…
uhoh
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3 answers
How many SpaceX Starlink Internet-service satellites could be deployed in a single Falcon 9 launch? Falcon Heavy? BFR?
The mass of the two test satellites being launched this month is 400 kg, but I don't believe that includes the antennae and the structure to hold and release them. Is total mass the only constraint or would the volume further constrain the number of…
Larry press
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Could SpaceX land on the moon today?
Now that SpaceX has a bunch of flown Block 4 Falcon 9 rockets laying around, could they theoretically do a mission to the Moon with landing even if it's just a rocket with no payload? Does it work out mathematically? In order to land they would need…
Rosen Sofroniev
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Why 31 engines for the BFR?
I understand the philosophy of using relatively many smaller engines so that a single engine failure has minimal impact on the mission (provided you can keep the shrapnel from shredding the others) but 31 engines for the BFR seems an awful lot.…
Steve Linton
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How long will it take Elon Musk's roadster to become the fastest ever car?
In chat, site moderator PearsonArtPhoto raised an interesting question after I'd pointed out that watching this launch could be disguised as watching "A car go faster than any car has gone before."
How long will it take the Tesla Roadster to beat…
Edlothiad
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21
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What is the procedure if communication with the ISS is lost for an extended period?
Between ground control and the ISS there is the occasional short communications loss which they are obviously able to deal with, but is there a procedure to follow if the communication is lost for extended periods of time?
I know that ground…
user106