Every week we cover the latest spaceflight news, discuss past, current and future exploration efforts, and take a look at upcoming events. Tune in to hear about how humans get to space, how they stay in space and how unmanned craft reach farther and farther into the universe around us.
https://theorbitalmechanics.com/show-notes/
Episode 256: Grappling Hook
Spaceflight news
— Rocket Lab completes successful demonstration of mid-air capture. (rocketlabusa.com) (youtube.com) (spacenews.com)
— Tim Dodd published a great interview with Peter Beck (youtu.be)
Short & Sweet
— Mars helicopter has been attached to NASA rover. (nasa.gov)
— Starliner gets a second flight test. (spacenews.com)
— Long March Fails to loft Nusantara Dua (spacenews.com) (spaceflightnow.com)
— Masten Space Systems wins lunar lander award from NASA. (spacenews.com)
Questions, comments, corrections
— Chris Hofmann: It’s not LOX vents that have flares, it’s Methane.
— Ben Hallert and Chris Hofmann: Grasshopper didn’t explode, that was F9R dev (twitter.com/chairboy/)
— Ben Hallert: “Starpopper” was the same thing as SN1. (twitter.com/chairboy)
— Eric Blood via email: worm logo (PDF: nasa.gov)
— Apollo 13: Home Safe viewing party
— April 14, Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern
— Join us on Discord and Watch2Gether! (discordapp.com) (watch2gether.com)
This week in SF history
— 16 April 1965: first five-engine test stand firing of S-IC at MSFC (nasa.gov) (heroicrelics.org) (wikipedia.org)
— Next week in 1971: Like Jar-Jar and an off-cast 620C