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[alway]

Lol, went on a walk, forgetting about the 1 hour time difference; got back, turn on the SpaceX stream just in time to watch it abort at T +2 seconds. Yes, 2 seconds after initial engine ignition; they keep it clamped in place post-ignition for a few seconds in order to allow the flight computer to analyze the engines for problems, ect.

So yeah, a bit of a delay now, assuming it launches today.

[Sheb]

They must have found the problem, because they're attempting another launch in 8 minutes, at 23:44 UTC.

[WillowLuman]

...They will not go to space today

[Sheb]

Their engineers decided they needed more time to determine what exactly caused the problem earlier, so they'll launch again is a few days.

[10ebbor10]

Anyway, halt the funeral. It appears that a part of ISON survived it's close encounter with the sun. It remains to be seen wherether this is a scorched fragment of the core, or just a bunch of debris.

Link

If the object continues to brighten, it might become visible quite soon. It could just as well fizzle out to.

ESA's near future missions

[10ebbor10]

Double post. It seems likely that ISON will make a comeback. It won't be the comet of the century but you should be able to see it with the naked eye.

"It seems the comet could become a naked eye object with several degrees of scattered tail by Dec 2nd or 3rd," he predicts. "It's not the comet of the century for sure, and fainter than the Lovejoy sungrazer in Dec. 2011, but an interesting imaging target is just a few nights away!"

[WillowLuman]

This weekend was somewhat of a space disappointment. Oh well.

[10ebbor10]

Anyway, interesting news, China launched their rover to the moon, and everything went as planned. Including the fact* that the carrier rocket landed on some villages, and damaged the houses of 2 farmers.

*Nobody was hurt, as the area had been (partly) evacuated.

[PTTG??]

Mars One, the crazy people trying to launch a private mars mission, are getting indiegogo funding for an unmanned probe. For $5,000, you can attend the launch party. For $25,000, you can be a VIP at the pre-launch "gala" and become an instant "benefactor". For $90, your tweet will be printed on the probe's parachute.

The group plans a one-way manned mission to Mars, and has changed their launch schedule back a little bit. They originally claimed that their first manned landing would occur much earlier, but new plans call for the first manned landing in 2026.

[Loud Whispers]

$400,000 seems a little bit low.

Just about anyone could get a mortgage to Mars.

[WillowLuman]

The colonists are expected to spend the rest of their natural lives there, right? It makes for an interesting choice: on the one hand, being among the first to live on another planet. On the other, you'd never see Earth again.

[andrea]

perhaps the decision could be made easier by knowing that they are going to fund this by turning the mission in a reality show.

the true question is, are you willing to live in a reality show, with reality show characters, for the rest of your life?

[PTTG??]

The colonists are expected to spend the rest of their natural lives there, right? It makes for an interesting choice: on the one hand, being among the first to live on another planet. On the other, you'd never see Earth again.

Sure you can.

It's that little blue dot. It's actually easier to see Earth from Mars than the other way around, Earth being bigger and all.

More seriously, even if they only live to 60, which is assuming that Mars Bears are especially vicious, then that's 40 years from now for most of the target audience. By then, who knows what sort of developments will take place?

Anyway, if everyone who traveled to the New World expected to be buried in Europe, then, well, they'd be wrong.

So it's not that you're going on a one-way trip to mars. You're going to be the Lees. The Lees of old Victoria.

[WillowLuman]

It's not as if they'll be breeding there. The plans don't seem to include either the facilities for the medical process nor the room for a growing population. Nor child-sized suits, and the alternative seems quite appalling, to confine someone to a tiny habitation can for their entire childhood. Plus, said child would pose grave risks unless severely restrained.

I assume that either decades later, when costs have come down, they'll send in a return option, or they'll be studying the effects of decomposition in a space capsule. Interring people on Mars, even in a sealed container, seems irresponsible in this early stage of the study of the planet, as the potential for forward contamination is quite high.

[sneakey pete]

Did spaceX ever launch that geostationary mission?