Couple of people are discussing right now in #bitcoin on freenode if anyone wants to join :)
Now (8:00 AM EDT) they are saying capture time is planned for 9:10 AM EDT, so a bit over 1 more hour.
Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
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Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#52NASA is broadcasting: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html Anyone know what time it's expected to dock at?
They just announced an 8:10 am central time for robotic capture. After the arm makes the capture it's about 3 hours until it is fully docked to the station.
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#53NASA is broadcasting: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html Anyone know what time it's expected to dock at?
They just announced an 8:10 am central time for robotic capture. After the arm makes the capture it's about 3 hours until it is fully docked to the station.
Docking in orbit is harder than it appears. Speed and altitude are linked so you can't just thrust towards the station or you will wind up in a different orbit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_rendezvous#Methods_of_app...
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#54Watching the Dragon approach from the point of view of the ISS is incredibly exciting in itself, but almost unbelievable when you think about the speeds they are flying at relative to the ground!
What's unbelievable about this? If I approach you on the ground we are both moving fast relative to center of the Earth. Or imagine us onboard the airplane.
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#55NASA is broadcasting: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html Anyone know what time it's expected to dock at?
spaceX says "coverage begins at 4:30 PT" http://www.spacex.com/ Here is that in your local time: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=4%3A30am+pt+in+local+ti... It's in 1 hour 48 minutes from the timestamp of this comment
"Webcast start time now targeting 5:45 AM PT / 8:45 AM ET. Times are subject to change so please check back for updates."
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#56Just joined and heard that SpaceX had commanded Dragon to retreat from ISS. Can someone explain why? Also, what is the blinking section on the Dragon spacecraft?
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#57Couple of people are discussing right now in #bitcoin on freenode if anyone wants to join :)
Update: #space seems to be more active.
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#58Just joined and heard that SpaceX had commanded Dragon to retreat from ISS. Can someone explain why? Also, what is the blinking section on the Dragon spacecraft?
Just a light, I believe it is used to detect the reflective panel on the ISS. But dragon is having a problem at and detecting a different reflector.
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#59NASA is broadcasting: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html Anyone know what time it's expected to dock at?
The NASA guy is using Windows XP, its pretty funny, he just screen-shared in the stream.
I'm sure its some super custom software though.
Re: Live: SpaceX Dragon docking with ISS
#60Question: if Dragon is about 200m lower than ISS, and they are moving at the same velocity at one instant, wouldn't that put them in different orbits?
Assuming ISS's orbit was perfectly circular, then Dragon would be moving too slow for its lower orbit, and would sink down, to its perihelion when on the opposite side of the earth, and so on, oscillating up and down, in an elliptical orbit with respect to ISS.
The only solution I see is for Dragon to artificially make its elliptical orbit circular by continuously thrusting upward. But I don't see this in the video stream. Have I got this all wrong?
EDIT s/too fast/too slow/ # and related edits, thanks mmaunder