Space stuff thread

ULA Delta II moved to Saturday SMAP launch attempt

United Launch Alliance (ULA) will make a second attempt to conduct a rare Delta II launch on Saturday morning, at 6:20 am local, following a scrub on Thursday, along with a debonding of insulation on the booster, suffered during the subsequent detanking .

Source: ULA Delta II moved to Saturday SMAP launch attempt | NASASpaceFlight.com

SMAP Launch at 6:20 am local PST (14:20 UTC) - January 31, 2015

I never get tired of watching a liftoff.

C. NOAA Radio Blackout Activity and Forecast

No radio blackouts were observed over the past 24 hours.

Radio Blackout Forecast for Feb 07-Feb 09 2015
.................Feb 07 Feb 08 Feb 09
R1-R2......... 20%.... 20% ...20%
R3 or greater 1%...... 1%..... 1%

Rationale
There is a slight chance for an R1 (Minor) or greater radio blackouts from Regions 2277 and 2280.

Source:

Happened yesterday:

Feb 6, 2015: Every 13 months, Earth and Jupiter have a close encounter. Astronomers call it an "opposition" because Jupiter is opposite the Sun in the sky. Our solar system’s largest gas planet rises in the east at sunset, and soars overhead at midnight, shining brighter than any star in the night sky.
This year's opposition of Jupiter occurs on Feb. 6th. It isn't an ordinary close encounter with Earth (approximately 640 million kilometers), but in Feb. 2015, Jupiter is edge on to the Sun.

Source: An Edge-On Close Encounter with Jupiter - NASA Science

Thanks for the update John, I'm busy today but will try to make time to watch.

Nice animation of how it's supposed to work. Would be nice if it worked like that in real life. Perhaps one of these days....