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Space exploration: Where do we go from here?

Just over 2 days into the journey, almost 28% of the way there, and it's interesting to see it slowing down. It was not long ago that it was over 2m/s, and now it's just under 1.2m/s.

And tomorrow is when the really big deployment start- the sunshield. Will take a few days for it to fully get out. Then the mirrors.
 
Kepler said:
Webb is already over a tenth of the way to insertion.
Click to expand...

One thing that I see missing on that status page is the actual status of what is going on. Right now, the forward sun shield pallet is being deployed- and it would be cool to show how that is coming, even if it's finished. But the page just points out the step until the next step starts. It does not say it's complete.

edit- found this blog https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/ to add to the tacker- it does announce the deployment completion.
 
Last edited:
MichVandal said:
One thing that I see missing on that status page is the actual status of what is going on. Right now, the forward sun shield pallet is being deployed- and it would be cool to show how that is coming, even if it's finished. But the page just points out the step until the next step starts. It does not say it's complete.

edit- found this blog https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/ to add to the tacker- it does announce the deployment completion.
Click to expand...

Nice page, thanks!
 
Ok, so only tangentially related but I don't want to find the video game thread

Kerbal Space Program is spectacularly fun. First game I've played in a very long time that mandates use of our human brain and can't be played exclusively with our lizard brain. I suspect it gets some stuff wrong, but holy cow is it fun trying to design the best launch system and then optimize it.

It's making a lot of what NASA does even more impressive the more I dig in. Like gravity assists. Jesus, I can barely plan for the equivalent of Mars, how the hell am I supposed to figure out how to gravity assist via Jupiter and get to the outer planets? (I suspect the further I get into this, the more it will be obvious.)
 
dxmnkd316 said:
Kerbal Space Program is spectacularly fun. First game I've played in a very long time that mandates use of our human brain and can't be played exclusively with our lizard brain. I suspect it gets some stuff wrong, but holy cow is it fun trying to design the best launch system and then optimize it.
Click to expand...

Love KSP.

There are a handful of intelligent games; I think I have all of them, at least the ones on Steam. I'll make a list tonight.
 
More good news from Webb- with the current plan and track on orbit insertion, they have extra fuel. Which means a longer stay observing the universe.
 
MichVandal said:
More good news from Webb- with the current plan and track on orbit insertion, they have extra fuel. Which means a longer stay observing the universe.
Click to expand...

Possibly stupid question, can they refuel? Are they provisioned for it, even if we don't have the tech to do it yet?

We can refuel jet fighters in flight. Can we send a tank craft out there, maneuver it up close, and gas Webb back up?
 
Kepler said:
Possibly stupid question, can they refuel? Are they provisioned for it, even if we don't have the tech to do it yet?

We can refuel jet fighters in flight. Can we send a tank craft out there, maneuver it up close, and gas Webb back up?
Click to expand...

In theory, that could be done. But this was a 100% unaided trip for Webb.

Maybe for future trips out to L2, as this is a huge learning thing, too.

For sure, this isn't the only space telescope that will go out there to look at stuff. I've seen multiple plans for future scopes in the same location. The one part I really don't see happening in my lifetime is human trips out there to work on something.
 
MichVandal said:
The one part I really don't see happening in my lifetime is human trips out there to work on something.
Click to expand...

I was assuming purely automated. It is almost never cost effective to send people with the pesky way we insist on staying alive.

Indeed I assume when we actually do colonize Mars the first few decades will be machines, after one boondoggle for symbolism.
 
Kepler said:
I was assuming purely automated. It is almost never cost effective to send people with the pesky way we insist on staying alive.

Indeed I assume when we actually do colonize Mars the first few decades will be machines, after one boondoggle for symbolism.
Click to expand...

The good thing about human trips is that they could change the sensors and computers- like they have done on Hubble. Technology progresses pretty quickly...
 
Cool update data now that the two shield pallets are deployed- there's temp data for the telescope.

Spring like day on the hot side (one sensor at 20F the other at 49F), but blazing cool on the other (-71F and -244F).
 
MichVandal said:
The good thing about human trips is that they could change the sensors and computers- like they have done on Hubble. Technology progresses pretty quickly...
Click to expand...

No reason bots can't do that, too. Just make all the boxes standard and let the guts evolve freely.
 
MichVandal said:
Cool update data now that the two shield pallets are deployed- there's temp data for the telescope.

Spring like day on the hot side (one sensor at 20F the other at 49F), but blazing cool on the other (-71F and -244F).
Click to expand...

i had to read this three times before I read "deployed" instead of "destroyed"
 
Jimjamesak said:
Hearts of Iron IV. More specifically the Kaiserreich mod. One of the best Alternate history stories ever made.
Click to expand...

Have they used that engine for WW1 or before? I love the HOI game play and UI, but WW2 is boring. Give me the War of the Austrian Succession or the Thirty Years War.

There are beautiful versions of these but the learning curve is simply too high for me.
 
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