A New Era Has Begun!!!

[Tom]

Our first new test vehicle for our journey back to the moon has begun! At 10:30 am (CST) the ARES-1X was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral to an altitude of 130,000 feet (24 miles) with the successful separation of the first stage booster. Log on to http://www.nasa.gov for more details.

[btoman]

Here's hoping for a problem-free Houston this time around!

[Christopher K.]

Tom, Craig and I watched it. (It was actually CDT; CST returns next week.)

It was amazing. From launch to splashdown was only five minutes or so! The rocket reached Mach 4! It would be interesting to know if there will be any specialized or different training due to the almost 3g's of force the astronauts will endure.

This is the first of a series of tests. It's frustrating to know the integrated test of launch vehicle and spacecraft isn't due until 2015.

The recovery ship, the Freedom Star is neat. I know when it recovers booster for a shuttle launch, it and its sister ship (the Liberty Star) set out to sea a full day before launch.

More information at:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/const ... index.html

[Glenn]

While the referenced NASA website has smaller and larger images, and many more images, I like this one:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091102.html

Maybe there should be a separate Space Flight category.

[fred8615]

Maybe there should be a separate Space Flight category.

If you mean here on the forum, I did consider it. But every spaceflight except stuff to the space station or some of the space observatories is related to the Moon or planets, etc., so I thought they could easily fit under those categories. The few things that don't apply under one of the other categories can go under "General Discussion."

[Christopher K.]

Well, a "new era" also began sixty-five years ago this week. The Bumper V-2 was the very first rocket to liftoff from Cape Canaveral--even before we founded NASA!

Each generation has its own set of "new"s in space exploration. I wonder was firsts there will be after all of us are gone...

Sunday's APOD:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150719.html

[Christopher K.]

Today's APOD is an image of the Bumper V-2 launch overseen by General Electric; it reached a height of almost 400 kilometers. It was able to monitor air temperature.

The 1 October 2018 APOD:
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181001.html

[Christopher K.]

Right now, NASA-TV is broadcasting a hosting by Administrator Jim Bridenstine for industry that may be interested in investing in our plans to return to the Moon. William Gerstenmaier and Thomas Zurbuchen will on hand as well.

More information:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa ... tion-plans

[Christopher K.]

Bridenstine will again address the media, today in a speech at 10:45pm CDT. He is in Colorado Springs at the 35th Space Symposium and will discuss the current plan to get astronauts to the Moon's South Pole by 2024.

More information:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa ... -symposium