Recent content by mfb

  1. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    NASA, Boeing Modify Commercial Crew Contract What was widely expected already is now official: Starliner-1 will fly without crew, with a planned launch in April 2026. If successful, Starliner-2 can become the first crew rotation mission. NASA only wants to do three of these now. If (!)...
  2. mfb

    How do you make the words blur until the person clicks on the blur?

    Only if they use the code editor, or switch to it. It's the [ ] icon.
  3. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    A full success for New Glenn. Here is a replay. Launch at 1:43:00, booster landing at 1:52:00, payload separation around 2:16:40. They had amazing tracking shots of the booster throughout reentry. The live video broke up during the final seconds, that's something we saw with early SpaceX...
  4. mfb

    NASA Currently trying to build a rocket to launch into space

    Space (100 km) is an extremely ambitious goal. There are only a few amateur teams worldwide that have achieved it. You'll need years to learn with smaller rockets and probably a 6-digit budget. BPSspace is working towards a space shot. He is funding it with his 6000 Patreon subscribers and...
  5. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    The second New Glenn sits on the launch pad carrying ESCAPADE, two small spacecraft that want to go to Mars. Originally this was supposed to be the maiden flight in an October 2024 launch window but the rocket wasn't ready. Now the plan is to launch it, keep it near Earth for a year, and then...
  6. mfb

    SpaceX SpaceX Starship development: 7th flight January 10

    Some updates on HLS (archived version) It has a first (?) official rendering of the crew cabin. There is a lot of space for 4 astronauts!
  7. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    A full success. They tested a banking maneuver late into the reentry. During the flight I assumed that was just to improve the landing accuracy, but TheSpaceEngineer studied the cloud patterns to estimate the trajectory. It's a pretty big deviation - almost a 90 degree turn. The same maneuver...
  8. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    8.5 hours until the next flight of Starship (launch window opens 23:15 UTC, it is now 14:45 UTC). Live coverage will be here: https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-11 The first booster catch, with flight 5, was exactly 1 year and 2 hours ago. Since then we had two more booster...
  9. mfb

    Radiation Hard Electronic Design for LVO Long Mission

    A Venus mission doesn't have anything you don't see in LEO. The radiation is just more intense: * You accumulate an integrated dose quicker - but longer missions in Earth orbit can end up with the same. * You get a higher rate of single event upsets. Plan the electronics accordingly.
  10. mfb

    Simple viewer count bug

    Up to 44 at the moment
  11. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    SpaceX is targeting October 13 for the next Starship flight It will reuse the booster from flight 8. Most of the engines (24 out of 33) will be reused, too. They'll test more tile configurations and a modified booster landing procedure, but the overall flight profile is the same as for flight...
  12. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    Dream Chaser's first flight will not go to the ISS For a long time it was planned to. First the launch date kept shifting, now the scope of the mission was reduced while shifting the launch date even more. NASA also cancelled the contracted minimum number of missions. They must have seen some...
  13. mfb

    Random Thoughts 7

    442 = 1/9/36 702 = 4/9/00 972 = 9/4/09 1022 = 01/04/04 1082 = 1/16/64 (MM/DD/YY only) 2012 = 04/04/01 2042 = 4/16/16 (MM/DD/YY only) 4012 = 16/8/01 (DD/MM/YY only) Reddit found another square property: 9/27/2025 = 30452 and 27/9/2025 = 52052, both formats are a square.
  14. mfb

    Random Thoughts 7

    Today is 25/9/2025 (or 9/25/2025), all three numbers are a square. The next all-square day won't happen until 2116.
  15. mfb

    Space Stuff and Launch Info

    NASA announced its 2025 selection of new astronauts. Most of them come from the US military, one is a geologist, one is an engineer. And one is an astronaut with spaceflight experience already. Huh? Anna Menon started at NASA, working as a biomedical flight controller to support astronauts. She...