Hottest Questions This Week

13

votes

5

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2k

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JWST - Why unfurl before reaching L2?

james-webb-telescope

answered 3 hours ago Stilez 1,488

16

votes

2

answers

3k

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Why is this Planet Labs video wobbly?

modified 2 days ago RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket 205

11

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3

answers

2k

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Why are unused launch abort rockets jettisoned rather than used to augment thrust?

apollo-program abort

modified 18 hours ago CBHacking 1,357

18

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1

answer

2k

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Could fuel cells of the Space Shuttles have been restarted in the case of a total power failure?

space-shuttle fuel-cell

modified Jan 17 at 1:55 CommunityBot 1

11

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1

answer

1k

views

Why do we use Chebyshev polynomials to predict positions of solar system bodies?

orbital-mechanics ephemeris jpl

answered 2 days ago David Hammen 58.3k

9

votes

1

answer

2k

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Why was it necessary to monitor the water quantity in the space shuttle?

space-shuttle water

modified Jan 17 at 16:40 Organic Marble 151k

9

votes

2

answers

836

views

When and why did three-axis stabilization become prominent in geostationary satellites?

artificial-satellite geostationary spaceflight-firsts spin-stabilisation

modified Jan 17 at 21:53 BrendanLuke15 4,914

8

votes

1

answer

2k

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What is this South Korean rocket and why does it have separate yellow and blue exhaust plumes?

rockets identify-this-object exhaust plume south-korea

modified Jan 18 at 22:36 Organic Marble 151k

6

votes

2

answers

181

views

Starting refueled in LEO, how much payload could a heat-protected Starship softly land on Mercury after a gravity assist from Venus?

orbital-mechanics spacex-starship gravity-assist aerobraking mercury

modified yesterday BrendanLuke15 4,914

4

votes

3

answers

244

views

Is JWST Halo orbit prograde or retrograde and why?

orbit james-webb-telescope three-body retrograde-orbit

modified 2 days ago blobbymcblobby 3,024

6

votes

1

answer

200

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Can gas bubbles form in the fuel and oxidizer rocket engine pumps due to insufficient flow from the tanks?

rockets engines turbopump

modified 11 hours ago Woody 5,451

10

votes

1

answer

227

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Why making such a big deal with Max Q?

spacex launch aerodynamics max-q

modified 2 days ago Jörg W Mittag 11.8k

5

votes

1

answer

155

views

What 1960s era launch pad and vehicle is shown in this still from stock footage?

history identify-this-object launch-site

answered Jan 17 at 19:23 Organic Marble 151k

2

votes

1

answer

119

views

How does the James Webb Space Telescope take images with individual mirror segments?

james-webb-telescope space-telescope telescope

answered yesterday Carl Witthoft 1,969

3

votes

2

answers

87

views

Why can n2yo somehow interpret this TLE but Skyfield can't? Why does it return nans and zeros for position?

james-webb-telescope two-line-elements python skyfield

answered yesterday Ryan C 4,759

6

votes

1

answer

141

views

Question: Does JWST have hardware that could be used as a docking fixture by repair spacecraft?

orbital-mechanics james-webb-telescope autonomy

modified 28 mins ago blobbymcblobby 3,024

4

votes

1

answer

105

views

ULA just launched a very asymmetric Atlas V 511. Why does its plume look so asymmetric... after SRB jettison?

atlas-v plume rd-180

modified 2 hours ago BrendanLuke15 4,914

4

votes

1

answer

60

views

What is the average solar irradiation in low earth orbit?

low-earth-orbit cubesat solar-power

modified 2 days ago uhoh 145k

2

votes

1

answer

66

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What was the first spacecraft intentionally moved from GEO to the graveyard orbit to die? (just a bit above geosynchronous)

history orbital-maneuver geostationary spaceflight-firsts geosynchronous

modified Jan 16 at 5:49 blobbymcblobby 3,024

6

votes

0

answers

139

views

Would it be possible to receive the transmissions from JWST as an amateur?

radio-communication james-webb-telescope amateur-radio

modified 2 days ago BrendanLuke15 4,914

2

votes

1

answer

77

views

Do Bernoulli grippers work in a vacuum?

eva grapple

answered yesterday leftaroundabout 2,950

9

votes

0

answers

124

views

How well would a supersonic aircraft perform in the Martian atmosphere?

mars atmosphere aerodynamics supersonic

asked Jan 18 at 2:16 Mattias 201

5

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0

answers

97

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New spin on laundry day: How will ISS cope with washing machine vibration and angular momentum?

iss crewed-spaceflight water

modified Jan 16 at 23:25 Fred 9,800

2

votes

2

answers

49

views

Is it (theoretically) correct to apply an equation that is derived from a hyperbolic trajectory, to an elliptic transfer orbit?

orbital-mechanics hohmann-transfer escape-velocity

answered 2 days ago Uwe 43.9k

1

vote

0

answers

90

views

How to make an algorithm that finds time to a true anomaly at epoch?

orbital-mechanics orbit mathematics

modified Jan 18 at 9:53 uhoh 145k

2

votes

1

answer

48

views

What was the first spacecraft intentionally placed in a supersynchrous Earth orbit? (period longer than a sidereal day)

history spaceflight-firsts geosynchronous

modified Jan 19 at 11:40 Starfish Prime 6,222

0

votes

0

answers

72

views

James Webb Space Telescope Velocity Loss Formula or how fast will JWST be going on L+26

mathematics james-webb-telescope astrodynamics calculation

asked Jan 17 at 16:02 mountainbikebc 1

3

votes

1

answer

43

views

L2 for JWST - EM barycenter used in calculation?

james-webb-telescope lagrangian-points

modified yesterday Bruce S 33

3

votes

1

answer

54

views

Mars at its closest is only a few light minutes away -- are different experiments performed when this happens?

mars communication robotics

answered 17 hours ago uhoh 145k

1

vote

0

answers

64

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Has an aircraft's flight ever been delayed on another planet? If so, who, what, when, where and why exactly?

spaceflight-firsts weather balloons helicopter

modified 13 hours ago uhoh 145k

1

vote

0

answers

59

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Halo Orbits for Dummies: Can the tilt orientation of an L2 halo orbit be modelled on Coriolis Effect?

orbital-mechanics james-webb-telescope halo-orbit

modified Jan 19 at 17:45 Woody 5,451

4

votes

0

answers

57

views

How many hours/week on the ISS is spent on science vs maintenance?

iss crewed-spaceflight

asked Jan 16 at 9:24 supersonic 101

0

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1

answer

68

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Description of jwst data acquisition pipeline

james-webb-telescope data-pipeline

modified 20 hours ago uhoh 145k

2

votes

1

answer

30

views

How do satellite motors keep themselves cool and lubricated?

engines mechanisms cooling

modified 1 hour ago BrendanLuke15 4,914

2

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0

answers

48

views

How to make diamagnetic lunar simulant that would "float" in a strong enough magnetic field? (for China's 60 cm high field simulator)

the-moon planetary-science china regolith simulator

modified Jan 16 at 11:52 uhoh 145k

2

votes

0

answers

47

views

Cost breakdown of launch companies

launch-vehicle cost operations

asked Jan 15 at 19:59 hopper19 191

2

votes

1

answer

47

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With independent control of attitude and thrust direction, could JWST be kept pointing in a “safe” direction during "towing"?

orbital-mechanics james-webb-telescope docking halo-orbit in-space-repairs

modified 29 mins ago Woody 5,451

3

votes

0

answers

43

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Precise Orbit Determination (POD) vs GNSS accuracy; seeking references

3

votes

1

answer

36

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Is the inter-manifold transfer of JWST between Sun-Earth L2 and Earth-Moon L1 within the capability of existing propulsion systems?

orbital-mechanics james-webb-telescope

answered 44 mins ago Woody 5,451

1

vote

0

answers

33

views

How does a fusible wire deployment mechanism work?

simulation electronics payload-deployment mechanisms education

modified 19 hours ago uhoh 145k

2

votes

0

answers

29

views

How to compute the satellite footprint latitude and longitude for different countour?

communication-satellite satellite-constellation

asked yesterday Massimo Capozzi 21

1

vote

0

answers

21

views

What fraction of the Kapton thickness on the ISS' solar panels was likely eroded throughout their lifetime? Predictions? Measurements?

low-earth-orbit design materials oxygen solar-panel

modified Jan 16 at 4:22 uhoh 145k

1

vote

0

answers

13

views

Are L1 and L2 orbital periods always half the orbital period of the massive bodies?

orbital-mechanics james-webb-telescope lagrangian-points halo-orbit

asked 1 hour ago Woody 5,451

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