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1500 questions
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What is done between a scrub and the next launch attempt?
What operations are performed that are not overlapping with 'scrub and take it off the launchpad back to VAB, there's a fatal fault' and 'launch successfully'?
In particular, what (besides orbital mechanics) forces such long delays between the scrub…
SF.
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Did Streptococcus mitis survive 950 days in the lunar environment?
The "Apollo 50th" account on Twitter tweets news and events day-to-day as they happened 50 years ago.
Yesterday, the following information has been tweeted:
The microorganism Streptococcus mitis has been found inside the Surveyor 3 camera recovered…
Sergiy Lenzion
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Is there any way that real stars would move like they do in the classic Windows 3.x screensaver if traveling through space at extreme speed?
In old versions of Windows, such as 3.1, there was this screensaver called "Starfield". It looked like this:
However, in movies and TV series, it usually looks like this when they travel through space:
What I'm asking is, regardless of whether…
Zamaree Riales
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What kept crosswinds from pushing Apollo rockets into their own gantry?
Watching this unnamed Saturn V launch (Apollo 13?), I see the gantries pull away, and the rocket takes 13 seconds to clear the tower.
That seems like enough time for crosswinds to act on the rocket, and push it the fairly small distance into…
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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Why did Voyager 1 lose speed after the sudden gain in speed from gravity assist?
The Voyager 1 lost speed gradually after gaining speed from gravity assist. Is the external thrust applied in the opposite direction to move closer to the planet, or does the spacecraft lose its momentum after the sudden rise in speed?
Auberron
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What does space have to do with providing "fresh water ... without the need for aquifers or pipes?" as Steven Kwast suggested?
In this speech, retired U.S. Air Force General Steven Kwast (ostensibly fired for promoting a U.S. Space Force over objections from the outgoing Secretary of the Air Force) suggests the U.S. space strategy is not moving in the right direction(s). …
brethvoice
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Could New Horizons take a "Pale Blue Dot"-like image this year?
Answers to At what exact time was the Pale Blue Dot image taken? say that the famous image was taken by Voyager 1 on 14-Feb-1990 and it took until May of that year for all the data to be sent back to Earth since there was a whole series of images…
uhoh
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How fair is the claim that Shuttle boosters diameter was dictated by the railroad gauge?
There's a kind of urban legend that the Space Shuttle boosters diameter could have been larger if it was not restricted by the limitations imposed by the railroads, specifically the railroad gauge. I can't find any convincing detailed analysis of…
sharptooth
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How does a Spacecraft change its orbit?
I am a high school student. I saw the latest Indian spacecraft "CHANDRYAANN 2", which was in orbit around the Earth for 14 days.....
I am so curious to know how a spacecraft changes its orbit. I have done some research on Google and it says…
आर्यभट्ट
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Does the FAA still license the people who fold human-rated reentry parachutes?
One of the links in the question International Orange? is the History.com article The Amazing Handmade Tech That Powered Apollo 11’s Moon Voyage which says of Apollo capsule re-entry and landing parachutes (near the end of the article):
Each…
uhoh
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Why doesn't Starship have four landing legs?
A counterpart to the question Why doesn't the Falcon-9 first stage use three legs to land?
This excellent answer states that the first stage of the Falcon-9 uses four legs because four legs are less likely to tip over. However Starhopper which is a…
Star Man
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What materials are the windows on the US Segment of the ISS made out of?
Presumably the various windows on the different modules of the ISS are consistent on the different segments of the ISS.
What are the windows on the US Segment made out of? Do they have special coatings to block specific frequencies of light?
geoffc
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Could I home-brew my own rocket fuel?
RP-1 is highly refined kerosene. If I bought a supply of commercial-grade kerosene, by what process could I convert it to RP-1, And, while I'm at it, do I have any good choices for non-cryogenic oxidizer to use with it, other than the…
Jerard Puckett
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What gave NASA the confidence for a translunar injection in Apollo 8?
In Carrying the Fire, Michael Collins observes humorously that Apollo 8 was only the third time the Saturn V had flown. To a non-specialist, it does seem remarkable that NASA was confident to put humans on the mission, and to perform the first…
adam.baker
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Why are Curiosity's wheels aluminum rather than titanium?
I was just reading this article on how Curiosity's aluminum wheels are getting pretty dinged up. Usually titanium alloy is considered an upgrade from aluminum alloys in most applications, from aerospace to bikes to sporks. The "usual" downsides are…
joseph_morris
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