1

Missions To Mars (HSF) / Re: Starship variant for crewed Mars ascent

« Last post by Vultur on Today at 07:31 am »

You should have oppo-class return options from before the time that the Starship gets captured into Mars orbit, through at least a few weeks after they land.  If anything looks like it's not manageable for staying the full synod, I'd guess there will be an abort.  In fact, I'll bet there are multiple decision points:

Hmm, maybe. This doesn't look like the kind of architecture I'd expect, but then, you appear to be starting with very different assumptions than I would.

Disclaimer:  I think full-up Mars colonization is ill-advised, and colonization directly from mission #1, with no Earth-return options, is full-blown bat guano crazy. 

I don't entirely agree that it's that crazy, but even if you and I think it's crazy, if SpaceX wants to do it and has volunteers, I don't think your or my opinion of it makes it less likely.

so I doubt he has a very good model for how much trouble SpaceX would be in if they lost a Mars crew and it were shown after the fact that they hadn't done everything possible to design a mission that was as safe as possible. 

If it were an entirely private mission (no NASA astronauts) I don't see why they would be in any trouble they couldn't handle. Especially as a first mission's people wouldn't be 'paying passengers'. Presumably they'd have good lawyers, liability waivers, etc. People die climbing Everest etc. all the time and the tour companies aren't destroyed. OceanGate didn't really survive the Titan submersible disaster, but that's more because they didn't have another vehicle...

2

Chinese Launchers / Re: ? - CZ-7A - Wenchang - January 26-29, 2026 (~22:00 UTC)

« Last post by Satori on Today at 07:13 am »

Additionally one additional date of March 1st/2nd has been rumored for a CZ-7A launch since the failure, unsure if it was for a previously planned launch or a current NET for the next CZ-7A.

There was a launch announced for February 3 (LT) from Wenchang before the CZ-3B launch fauilure.

3

Other Launchers (Korean, Brazilian etc.) / Re: Isar Spectrum flight 2 - Andøya - 21 January 2026 (20:00 UTC)

« Last post by jebbo on Today at 07:08 am »

The geomagnetic forecast is okay for tomorrow, particularly by the opening of the window.

--- Tony

4

Japanese Launchers / Re: FAILURE: H3-22S F8 : QZS-5 : Tanegashima : December 22, 2025 (01:51 UTC)

« Last post by Galactic Penguin SST on Today at 07:04 am »

Latest Japanese government committee on spaceflight development meeting today continues to discuss on JAXA's report of failure investigation and, well, let's just say that this is going down as one of the most bizarre rocket failures we will ever see.

I tried to use my (extremely limited) Japanese knowledge and machine translation to translate the key points from this presentation here:

https://twitter.com/Cosmic_Penguin/status/2013505220056133756

And also a 3x speed montage of the fairing separation as seen on the on board camera:

https://twitter.com/hibikiw/status/2013477972691562903

5

Spaceflight Entertainment and Hobbies / Re: Andor **** SPOILER Discussion ****

« Last post by catdlr on Today at 06:53 am »

The Thousand Faces of Cassian Andor

Jan 19, 2026  #Andor #StarWars #Cassian
Almost three after the massive success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016-- and several failed iterations of a Rogue One spinoff series about the characters of Cassian Andor and K-2SO-- Hollywood script doctor Tony Gilroy had finally decided to write his friend Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm, a long-overdue letter; one that took the experiment that he, Gareth Edwards, and the cast and crew of Rogue One had started years ago to the next level. It wasn't just his pitch for what a Cassian Andor series should be all about; it was Gilroy's manifesto, framing the Star Wars Galaxy as the backdrop for a story about a revolutionary in-the-making, set upon a collision-course with history, destiny, and the unrelenting forces of oppression.

If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend watching my Rogue One video before this video |    • The Myth That Rogue One Shattered 

6

SpaceX Starship Program / Re: Starship heat shield

« Last post by TomH on Today at 06:37 am »

We continue to see test flights with tiles intentionally missing to gather data. One thing we do not have data for is a SS with an entirely intact TPS. What are your predictions regarding when we will see a SS fly with a fully intact set of tiles? (And please don't give snarky answers like, "When SX feels like they are ready to," or "When SX has gathered all the data they can get with tiles missing.")

7

Chinese Launchers / Re: PRSC-EO? - Jielong-3 - South China Sea - January 20-25, 2026 (~06:35 UTC)

« Last post by mikezang on Today at 06:37 am »

The VVHM NOTAM issued!

VVHM/A0071/26 also removed!

8

Space Science Coverage / Re: Astronomy & Planetary Science Thread

« Last post by Star One on Today at 06:19 am »

Yesterday, sunspot 4341 unleashed an X-1.95 strength flare, accompanied by a large coronal mass ejection and so-called “flare ribbons”. Although far from record-breaking in power, the flare was unusually long-lasting and occurred over a vast area of the Sun. With the radiation unleashed being directed towards the Earth, the flare may have sent a shiver through the astronauts on the forthcoming Artemis II mission, although mission engineers are not showing alarm.

https://www.iflscience.com/huge-x-class-flare-from-the-sun-brings-aurora-hopes-and-artemis-ii-fears-82269

9

Chinese Launchers / Re: PRSC-EO? - Jielong-3 - South China Sea - January 25-31, 2026 (~06:30 UTC)

« Last post by mikezang on Today at 06:18 am »

WSJC/A0160/26 removed!

10

ESA Launchers - Ariane/Vega / Re: ESA - Vega Updates (Vega, Vega C/C+, Vega E, Vega Next : 2005 and forward)

« Last post by jacqmans on Today at 06:07 am »

Vega-C overview infographic
19/01/2026

ESA’s Vega-C succeeds Vega, to deliver more performance, greater payload volume and better competitiveness. Operating from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, this rocket extends Europe’s autonomy in space by offering new mission possibilities, including return-to-Earth operations with ESA's reusable Space Rider spacecraft. Vega-C features major enhancements including two new solid propulsion stages, an higher-rated upper stage, new fairing, and new ground infrastructure.

Vega-C is a single-body rocket nearly 35 m high with that weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad. Vega-C can launch 2.3 tonnes to a Sun-synchronous orbit, 3.3 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 2.5 tonnes to polar orbits. Using a new range of payload carriers, Vega-C can accommodate a mix of cargo shapes and sizes, ranging from CubeSats to a large single payload.

Vega-C is based on the Vega launch vehicle. As with Vega, its main elements are three solid-propellant stages, an upper stage powered by a reignitable liquid-propellant engine and a payload fairing.