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nasa · 1 year

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The Artemis I Mission: To the Moon and Back

The Artemis I mission was the first integrated test of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and Exploration Ground Systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We’ll use these deep space exploration systems on future Artemis missions to send astronauts to the Moon and prepare for our next giant leap: sending the first humans to Mars.

Take a visual journey through the mission, starting from launch, to lunar orbit, to splashdown.

Liftoff

The SLS rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launched on Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The world’s most powerful rocket performed with precision, meeting or exceeding all expectations during its debut launch on Artemis I.

"This is Your Moment"

Following the successful launch of Artemis I, Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson congratulates the launch team.

“The harder the climb, the better the view,” she said. “We showed the space coast tonight what a beautiful view it is.”

That's Us

On Orion’s first day of flight, a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays captured this image of Earth.

Inside Orion

On the third day of the mission, Artemis I engineers activated the Callisto payload, a technology demonstration developed by Lockheed Martin, Amazon, and Cisco that tested a digital voice assistant and video conferencing capabilities in a deep space environment. In the image, Commander Moonikin Campos occupies the commander’s seat inside the spacecraft. The Moonikin is wearing an Orion Crew Survival System suit, the same spacesuit that Artemis astronauts will use during launch, entry, and other dynamic phases of their missions. Campos is also equipped with sensors that recorded acceleration and vibration data throughout the mission that will help NASA protect astronauts during Artemis II. The Moonikin was one of three “passengers” that flew aboard Orion. Two female-bodied model human torsos, called phantoms, were aboard. Zohar and Helga, named by the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) respectively, supported the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), an experiment to provide data on radiation levels during lunar missions. Snoopy, wearing a mock orange spacesuit, also can be seen floating in the background. The character served as the zero-gravity indicator during the mission, providing a visual signifier that Orion is in space.

Far Side of the Moon

A portion of the far side of the Moon looms large in this image taken by a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays on the sixth day of the mission.

First Close Approach

The Orion spacecraft captured some of the closest photos of the Moon from a spacecraft built for humans since the Apollo era — about 80 miles (128 km) above the lunar surface. This photo was taken using Orion’s optical navigational system, which captures black-and-white images of the Earth and Moon in different phases and distances.

Distant Retrograde Orbit

Orion entered a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon almost two weeks into the mission. The orbit is “distant” in the sense that it’s at a high altitude approximately 50,000 miles (80,467 km) from the surface of the Moon. Orion broke the record for farthest distance of a spacecraft designed to carry humans to deep space and safely return them to Earth, reaching a maximum distance of 268,563 miles (432,210 km).

Second Close Approach

On the 20th day of the mission, the spacecraft made its second and final close approach to the Moon flying 79.2 miles (127.5 km) above the lunar surface to harness the Moon’s gravity and accelerate for the journey back to Earth.

Cameras mounted on the crew module of the Orion spacecraft captured these views of the Moon’s surface before its return powered flyby burn.

Heading Home

After passing behind the far side of the Moon on Flight Day 20, Orion powered a flyby burn that lasted approximately 3 minutes and 27 seconds to head home. Shortly after the burn was complete, the Orion spacecraft captured these views of the Moon and Earth, which appears as a distant crescent.

Parachutes Deployed

Prior to entering the Earth’s atmosphere, Orion’s crew module separated from its service module, which is the propulsive powerhouse provided by ESA (European Space Agency). During re-entry, Orion endured temperatures about half as hot as the surface of the Sun at about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). Within about 20 minutes, Orion slowed from nearly 25,000 mph (40,236 kph) to about 20 mph (32 kph) for its parachute-assisted splashdown.

Splashdown

On Dec. 11, the Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California after traveling 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km) over a total of 25.5 days in space. Teams are in the process of returning Orion to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once at Kennedy, teams will open the hatch and unload several payloads, including Commander Moonikin Campos, the space biology experiments, Snoopy, and the official flight kit. Next, the capsule and its heat shield will undergo testing and analysis over the course of several months.

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#Artemis #LunarMission #SpaceLaunchSystem #Rocket #Space #MegaMoonRocket #Moon #Spacecraft #Orion #NASAMoonSnap #Moonikin #Earth #LunarOrbit #Splashdown #Launch

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lonestarflight · 5 days

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Cancelled Missions: Skylab Rescue Mission (SL-R)

Mission patch for rescue mission for SL-3

Spacecraft: CSM-119

Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB AS-208, later AS-209

Commander: Vance D. Brand

Command Module Pilot: Don L. Lind

Intended launch date: September 1973, (on standby from August 1973 - February 1974)

Skylab rescue mission crewmen Vance Brand (left) and Don Lind.

"Influenced by the stranded Skylab crew portrayed in the book and movie 'Marooned', NASA provided a crew rescue capability for the only time in its history." Prepared for launch during Skylab 3."

"Skylab rescue vehicle phasing - NAR Space Division drawing illustrates phasing of 5-seater Skylab rescue vehicle for a Skylab mission."

Date: April 5, 1971

"A kit was developed to fit out an Apollo command module with a total of five crew couches. In the event a Skylab crew developed trouble with its Apollo CSM return craft, a rescue CSM would be prepared and launched to rendezvous with the station. It would dock with the spare second side docking port of the Skylab docking module."

- information from Astronautix.com: link

"The Apollo Command Module as modified to rescue stranded crews for the Skylab program. Two crew + three rescuees packed like sardines...."

"Skylab 3 astronauts Alan Bean and Jack Lousma helped design the "field modification kit" to use a standard CSM for rescue, and would have flown the CSM for their mission to rescue Skylab 2 if necessary. The standard Skylab Command Module accommodated a crew of three with storage lockers on the aft bulkhead for resupply of experiment film and other equipment, as well as the return of exposed film, data tapes and experiment samples. To convert the standard CSM to a rescue vehicle, the storage lockers were removed and replaced with two crew couches to seat a total of five crewmen."

Posted on Flickr by Mike Acs. NASA ID: 108-KSC-70P-69

"Soon after Skylab 3's launch the crew's CSM developed a problem with Quad B, one of its four reaction control system thrusters. On August 2, 1973, six days later, a snowstorm-like effect outside the station startled the crew during breakfast. What appeared to be 'a real blizzard' was fuel leaking from Quad D, opposite from Quad B. The malfunctions left two available quads, and while the spacecraft could operate with just one, the leaks posed a possible risk to other systems. The fuel for all quads and the main service propulsion system (SPS) engine were from the same batch; if the SPS fuel was contaminated, the CSM might not be able to deorbit.

source

NASA considered bringing the crew home immediately, but because the astronauts were safe on the station with ample supplies and because plans for a rescue flight existed, the mission continued while the Saturn IB rocket AS-208 with CSM-119 was assembled in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Launch Complex 39 for possible use. It was at one point rolled out to LC-39B.

Illustration of the rescue Apollo spacecraft preparing to dock at Skylab’s lateral port. source

NASA announced on August 4 that Skylab 3 and Skylab 4 backup crewmen Vance Brand and Don Lind would fly any rescue mission; they had immediately begun training for the flight once the second quad had failed on August 2. After engineers found that the leaks would not disable the spacecraft, the two men used simulators to test reentry using two quads. If ground personnel worked 24 hours a day and skipped some tests, the mission could launch on September 10, and would last no more than five days. The astronauts would attempt to prepare Skylab for further use but returning experimental data and diagnosing the cause of the problem were more important, with Lind choosing what would be brought back. Human urine and feces samples and Apollo Telescope Mount and other film were the priorities. Although Skylab had two docking ports the primary one would be used if possible, jettisoning the Skylab crew's CSM if necessary.

Posted on Flickr by Drew Granston: link

While many within NASA believed that the rescue mission would occur, within hours of the failure of the second quad the agency canceled the rescue mission. Beyond NASA's conclusion that the failed quads would not disable the Skylab 3 CSM and the SPS fuel was uncontaminated, Brand and Lind had already shown during their training as backup Skylab crewmen that a reentry with failed quads was safe. They also devised a method to deorbit with the command module's attitude control system. Later joking that they were 'very efficient but perfectly stupid, because we have literally worked ourselves out of the mission', Brand and Lind continued to train for a rescue mission, as well as for their backup roles, but the Skylab 3 crew was able to complete its full 59-day mission on the station and safely return to Earth using the two functional RCS thruster quads, using the SPS engine once instead of twice as precaution."

- Information from Wikipedia: link

Posted on Flickr by Ed Dempsey: link

Saturn IB SA-208 was used for Skylab 4 and SA-209 was assigned to the standby rescue mission. At one point, CSM-119/SA-209 was slated for the Skylab 5 mission but it was cancelled when SL-4 was extended and completed all of it objectives.

Mission patch for rescue mission for SL-4

Later, CSM-119/SA-209 was the backup launch vehicle for Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission and standby rescue vehicle. After the Apollo program ended, the surplus rocket and spacecraft were displayed at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

NASA ID: 71-H-662, S73-31922

source, source

#Skylab Rescue #SL-R #Apollo CSM Block II #CSM-119 #Saturn IB #SA-208 #SA-209 #Rocket #NASA #Apollo Program #Apollo Applications Program #Cancelled #Cancelled Mission #September #1973 #my post

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 11 days

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NASA to hoist its sail: Solar sail mission gets ready for launch

A NASA mission testing a new way of navigating our solar system is ready to hoist its sail into space—not to catch the wind, but the propulsive power of sunlight. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is targeting launch on Tuesday, April 23 (Wednesday, April 24 in New Zealand) aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the company's Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand.

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket will deploy the mission's CubeSat about 600 miles above Earth—more than twice the altitude of the International Space Station. To test the performance of NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, the spacecraft must be in a high enough orbit for the tiny force of sunlight on the sail—roughly equivalent to the weight of a paperclip resting on your palm—to overcome atmospheric drag and gain altitude.

After a busy initial flight phase, which will last about two months and includes subsystems checkout, the microwave oven-sized CubeSat will deploy its reflective solar sail. The weeks-long test consists of a series of pointing maneuvers to demonstrate orbit raising and lowering, using only the pressure of sunlight acting on the sail.

NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System aims to prove its ability to sail across space, increasing access and enabling low-cost missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

IMAGE....An artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit. Credit: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #nasa #astrophysics

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march-hare01 · 7 months

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Article by: GTHO bible

“It was love at first sight,” is how Gary Thompson remembers the night he saw his 1970 Falcon GTHO Phase Two for the first time.

“It was up on stands on the lot at John Gigante Motors on Parramatta Road in Croydon,” reminisces Gary today from his home in Mount Annan, New South Wales.

“My friend Paul Bianco and I were headed to the ‘brickies’ for some street racing action.

We had just driven by when the bright orange of the car caught my eye, and we immediately turned around to go drool over it,” remembers Gary. “They wanted around $4,200 for it. The salesman didn’t mind letting a 21 year old behind the wheel of such a powerful beast either!” After the road test, Gary talked turkey with the salesman clinching a deal that afternoon which included a then nine month old Electric Blue 351 XY Falcon 500. “They gave me $3,000 as a trade-in,” smiles Gary. This was fifty one years ago back in 1972, and the barely one-year old Falcon GTHO was just out of warranty and had just been traded-in by its first owner.

*** I’LL NEVER FORGET THE NIGHT THE FLYWHEEL EXPLODED THROUGH THE BONNET! ***

“I’d had the Phase Two for just ten days when my good mate Paul who was the test driver for Jack Brabham Ford where we both worked, lined me up to race his peppermint green Lotus twin-cam Mk1 Escort.” “We’d taken off in a symphony of noise, dust and wheel spin.I was revving the HO to 7,200rpm in 1st gear when I clutched to change to 2nd gear. We were flat out side by side on Newbridge Road at Moorebank, it was just before midnight.”“There was a loud bang! Then everything went pitch black.”“I had no headlights, and no dash lights. The electricals had been cut completely.” “Thunder struck, here I was doing 70 mile per hour trying to steer the big Falcon in complete darkness as I slammed on the brakes.My foot went straight to the floorboards and it took me a second to register that I was steering a runaway freight train!” tells Gary as he relives those harrowing frightening moments gripping the thin steering wheel with white knuckles whilst attempting to pull up a ton and a half of an out of control hunk of metal. If anybody had been watching this event unfold, they would have heard a loud explosion, and witnessed pieces of flywheel shrapnel explode through a bulging bonnet, and sparks coming from under the car where the rear of the engine block was tearing up the road. The gearbox bellhousing had also taken leave with the exploding flywheel, leaving Gary with a gearbox full of neutrals. “I was about a kilometre down the road before I came to a stop.”“Paul’s Escort had also suffered shrapnel wounds lodged from projectile bits of the flywheel embedded in his door panels.”“My ten day old car looked like it had been struck by lightning.”“It’s bonnet bulged upwards with a huge gaping hole where 20 ounces of flywheel had exited like an Apollo 11 rocket. The engine was now pointing skywards pressing against the underside of the bonnet.” A tow truck was quickly called from a nearby phone box, and the damaged Falcon GTHO taken to a local panel beater. “The next morning I was told it would be a write-off,” tells Gary, who then decided to have the car taken to another panel shop instead. “I’ll never forget the night the flywheel exploded,” says Gary. Two weeks later the Falcon was all repaired like new again. “The panel shop had offered me an XY GT style bonnet which came complete with air-scoop shaker assembly left over from a Falcon GT. The original XW grille was left on, but we added later model XY taillights.” Gary opted to remove the original black GT side stripes, “We did this for no other reason than to make it look different.” Mechanics at Jack Brabham Ford rebuilt the original motor with new bearings, and fitted a steel flywheel instead of the cast iron factory unit which had exploded into a million pieces. “They even had to repair the dowels at the back of the engine block which had broken off when the motor scraped along the road! The gearbox input shaft also needed to be replaced because it was bent like a banana. We ended up fitting after-market extractors as the original exhaust manifolds had been severely damaged. Before having the engine repaired, Gary who worked in spare parts at Jack Brabham Ford knew John Goss from McLeod Ford. “I had actually bought his ex-race car motor from his Phase Three GTHO for $300. I was going to rebuild it, but it was cheaper to repair my original engine. I sold this bare motor, less the Phase Three race camshaft which a mate fitted to his car, and broke even getting my money back on the whole deal. Originally registered with GT-187 number plates, the HO was re-registered with GT-388 after the repair. Gary kept his Falcon GTHO for a few years after this, and vividly remembers the first time he took it off the clock winding it past 140 miles per hour. “My wife and I were returning from my in-law’s house in Queanbeyan, and as we went through the township of Collector along the Federal Highway, a small Datsun 1600 was right on my backside along the windey bits.

“On the first open straight of road, I took the HO off the clock!”

“My nervous wife looked at the speedo and said ‘it’s on the H where it reads MPH (miles per hour)’.”“I took her word for it.”

“I wasn’t game to take my eyes off the road at that speed!” laughs Gary now.

Five decades would pass before Gary laid teary eyes on his old bright orange Falcon, which is now in the hands of Melbourne collector Joe Barca.

“I never thought I’d ever see my GTHO again,” says Gary in disbelief.

“I was thunder struck again, this time though by the condition it’s in now which is better than it was new!”

Chris Dent from Falcon GT Restorations in Sydney had completely restored this super-rare Ford for a previous owner to a Gold standard Concours condition, resulting in winning the Grand Champion

‘The Best Car of Show’ at the 2015 Falcon GT Nationals.

The current owner Joe tells,

“It had won every category in the show it was entered in.

It cleaned up every trophy! I had to have it.”

It was this moment that Joe knew he had to buy this outstanding GTHO should it ever come up for sale.

As chance would have it, not long after the Falcon came onto the market for sale by tender, and Joe was the successful bidder paying $500,000 for this very special one-of-a-kind car.

“It’s also my wife Debbie’s favourite colour,” states Joe with a wink, as he justifies this expensive purchase.

This said, the Phase Two isn’t Joe’s first rodeo as he’s owned many Falcon GTs and probably more GTHOs than anyone else on the planet.

Unbeknownst to Joe at the time, Gary Thompson the former owner was also the under-bidder who wanted to get his old car back.

Gary’s son Trent then arranged for his dad to see his old Falcon.

“As you can see Dad was very teary seeing it again,” says Trent.

“At least he got to sit behind the wheel again.”

It was at this time that Joe learnt more about this car’s history from Gary who shared his story and photos about the night the flywheel exploded.

This helped Joe to make sense of some minor existing battle scars in the transmission tunnel on the car.

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mindblowingscience · 7 months

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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Is making progress on its rover for a joint mission with India to the south pole of the moon. JAXA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) agreed to the cooperative project back in 2019. ISRO, which recently made India the fourth country to soft-land on the moon, will build the mission's lander, while JAXA will be responsible for the launch and a lunar rover. The mission is slated to launch no earlier than 2025 on Japan's new H3 rocket, according to JAXA. The agency is meanwhile in the basic design phase of the rover with teams running tests in sand designed to simulate lunar regolith, the fine dust that covers the moon's surface. The tests will verify that the vehicle can perform its key science objectives on the moon.

#Japan #India #Geology #The Moon #Space #astronomy #stem

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raaorqtpbpdy · 1 year

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Don't Crack Under Pressure

Written for the Phic Phight Prompt: (Not phantom planet compliant) Danny's finally an astronaut! He's somehow got through college, after barely managing to pull through high school. But after he manages to make it into a NASA rocket and travel to the final frontier, his helmet cracks. So how does he explain how he got through the entire day to the rest of the crew with a cracked helmet? (from @shadowpixel)

Chapter 1: Let's Take a Rocketship to Space (I hear it's a real swinging place)

AO3 Link

[Warnings for deep space and assumed character death]

Despite the nightmare that was high school, and just barely getting his diploma, Danny managed to get into college. By some miracle he got his engineering degree, and now he was achieving his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut. His first mission was with a crew of mostly veterans to investigate a NASA probe that had been sent to Psyche, an asteroid in the Main Asteroid Belt which traveled between Mars and Jupiter.

The probe had sent signals indicating that it had collected samples and was processing data, but due to unknown circumstances, it had suddenly stopped transmitting information about Psyche's surface, even though it was still responding to the deep space optical communication signals. All efforts to repair or reprogram it remotely had failed. That was why NASA had decided to send the Eros mission.

Captain Simon Lao, copilot Denali North, engineer Danny Fenton, and geo-chemist Dr. Ivy Grace Carson were selected for the approximately 2 year mission. Their ship would use the same advanced communications system as the Psyche probe to communicate with Earth using optical signals transmitted via lasers, which traveled faster than radio waves, so they wouldn't be completely cut off from their friends and family, despite traveling farther than any manned spacecraft had ever gone before.

Just five years ago, it would have been a six year mission there and back, if not longer, but using improved ionic propulsion with a little ectoplasmic boost, partially designed by Danny, the speed at which they could reach the asteroid increased dramatically. Once the mission was green-lit, it still took months of testing and training and preparing before the Eros spacecraft could finally launch, but this was it. Today was the day.

"Communications test," Simon said into their headset. "Mission control, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear Lao," came the voice of Miranda in the mission control room. "Check ignition and prepare for liftoff."

Danny felt like he might vibrate right out of his skin in his excitement. He'd been to space once before, that time Technus took over a satellite, but this was different. This was an actual, real life, NASA mission, on a real NASA spaceship with a real space suit and everything. He'd finally made it big. He'd gotten to the place he'd wanted to be since he was two years old and watched the Endeavor launch on TV.

The time leading up to the final takeoff passed agonizingly slowly but at last the countdown commenced. The engines roared to life.

"Nervous, Fenton?" Ivy Grace asked with a smirk. Everyone else in the cockpit had gone on missions for NASA before, making Danny the only newbie, but he was the furthest thing from nervous.

"Not on your life, Doc," Danny responded with a grin. "I've been waiting for this moment as long as I can remember."

The thing about space was that it really wasn't all that far away. Hard to get to, yes, because straight up, and up, and up was not an easy direction to go, but it wasn't necessarily far. The ship took off, and less than ten minutes later it had escaped Earth's atmosphere. Danny stared out the window in awe at the planet Earth growing farther and farther away.

"Go ahead and unbuckle your seat-belts, and you are now free to move about the cabin," Simon said once the autopilot confirmed course and they were on their way.

Danny immediately got out of his seat, almost phasing though his seat-belt by accident in his frenzy, instead of unbuckling it. Long since used to zero gravity from his time in the Ghost Zone, Danny easily flew to the rearmost window to watch his home planet shrink into a speck in the distance while his crew-mates shook their heads fondly. And thus began the ten month journey to the asteroid Psyche.

The beauty of space was something Danny could never get tired of, even if this mission were to last a million years. Even after months in space, his crew-mates often found him floating by the window, just watching the stars outside for hours on end. Of course, Danny had plenty of other things to do, and he did them, but there were also stars. And they were breathtaking. The rest of the crew preferred to pass their time in different ways.

Ivy Grace spent most of her time isolating herself in her bunk to work on her manuscript with headphones blaring the playlists she'd downloaded for the journey. She was the type who never seemed to get lonely. No matter how many times they asked her, she completely refused to tell any of them what her manuscript was about, which led the rest of them to the obvious conclusion that she was writing hardcore erotica, probably involving tentacles.

Their captain Simon, on the other hand, took great joy in dragging the rest of them into social past-times together. Somehow, they knew a ludicrous number of party games and had packed a two terabyte hard-drive full of movies for the crew to watch during the trip. Simon couldn't seem to stand being alone for ten minutes if they were awake. At least they didn't mind quiet though, and sometimes they would sit in silence with Danny, just watching out the windows.

Lastly there was Denali. She'd been an air force pilot before applying at NASA, but only to pay for college. Originally, she had wanted to go to art school, but after discovering a genuine love for flying, she'd decided to go to NASA instead. For the Eros mission, she'd brought along six, cheap, empty sketchbooks, and requested as many pressurized ink capsules for her pen as she could get away with, since regular pens couldn't write without gravity. She was determined to improve her art skills while she was in space for months at a time, and often asked the rest of them to pose for her drawings.

Once a day, they'd receive communication from Earth. Mission control would call to confirm that they were still on course, and there were no problems on the Eros craft, and they'd get messages from their loved ones back home. Denali got to read her mother's updates on what was happening in the tight-knit community she'd grown up in. Ivy-Grace messaged back and forth with her girlfriend. Simon threw a full on party on the Eros when they got the news that their sister was pregnant and they were going to be an auncle.

Danny got to spend an hour and a half once a week decoding his sister's overly long ghost activity reports from Amity Park. Sam and Tucker kept him updated on how life was back on Earth and added vague statements at the end of their messages that told him things were fine in the Ghost Zone too, even though "all quiet under the green sky" looked like utter nonsense to mission control and the rest of the crew. Danny's parents managed to work in how proud they were of him in every single message they sent.

Ten months passed by slowly but surely. The four of them were already used to each other after their time spent in training, and they knew the importance of getting along with people you were stuck with for two years without escape, so no arguments or bad blood ever developed among them.

After a lengthy travel period, the Psyche asteroid finally came within sight, and the crew assumed landing positions.

"Alright, Denali, prep for landing," Simon ordered, slipping seamlessly into their serious captain mode. Denali flipped the appropriate switches to activate the automatic landing system, and prepared to take over manual control if something went wrong.

"Ready to go," she confirmed.

"Then take us down." It was a pretty smooth landing, with only slight jostling and no malfunctions or unexpected obstacles. Once they touched down on Psyche's surface, Simon sent a communication to Earth. "Mission control, this is Eros, we have safely landed on the asteroid's surface and are preparing to track down the Psyche probe for diagnostic, over."

Even at light speed, communication between Earth and the Main Asteroid Belt took several minutes. Eventually, the response came back. "Confirmed, Eros, keep us posted and let us know if anything happens. Good luck, and stay safe, over and out."

"You heard her, finish suiting up and lets go," Danny urged enthusiastically. He was already in his suit, fully ready to step out onto the asteroid, and just waiting on the other three. The plan was to get the Psyche probe and take it back to the ship to repair or reprogram it as needed, and to download the data it had collected on the asteroid so far.

The Psyche probe was a ways away from the ship, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Denali dropped their buggy onto the surface, and she and Danny headed out to pick up the probe while Ivy Grace collected her samples and Simon made sure that anything that might be needed to deal with the probe was ready to go by the time it got back. As the engineer, Danny would be the one doing most of the repairs, although Ivy Grace was on standby with some chemical tests to run, in case something like that was the problem.

As they drove toward the probe, Danny's feet tapped on the floor of the buggy with excited energy.

"Careful there, Fenton," Denali teased. "Looks like you're about to shake right out of your suit."

"Sorry, it's just... I'm happy," Danny told her. "If I were to call up five-year-old Danny and tell him I was driving on an actual asteroid right now, I think he'd be so thrilled his brain would explode and he would drop dead on the spot."

"I dunno, it kinda seems like I'm looking at a five-year-old Danny right now," she ribbed, and he laughed. "I guess it's a good thing you can't make calls to the past then, or else you'd never get here."

Danny laughed harder. "If you think a little thing like death would stop me from getting here, you're dead wrong." It wouldn't, and in fact, it hadn't.

The two of them talked a little more until the probe was in sight, then got out to give it a look. A preliminary once-over didn't reveal any obvious problems, like exposed wiring from a panel that had shaken loose, or significant exterior damage. They hitched it to the buggy, ready to tow it back to the ship.

So far, the mission had gone off without a single snag, and the crew had high hopes that it would stay smooth sailing the rest of the way. However, everyone knows the moment you start to think everything's going your way is the moment everything starts to go horribly wrong. It was at this moment, that things went horribly, horribly wrong.

The latch on the tow cable broke as Denali and Danny were headed back to the buggy. That alone wouldn't be a problem, because there were spare latches, and it was easily replaced. The problem arose when the cable retracted, and the broken latch slammed into Danny's helmet with a horrible crack that resonated through the headset in Danny's helmet and broadcasted directly into Denali's ears.

She gasped in horror and skipped to Danny's side as fast as the asteroid's low gravity allowed. "Oh my God!" she shouted. "Mayday! Simon, Doc, something happened, the tow-latch broke and hit Danny. His visor is cracked. Oh my God, oh my God."

"Denali, breathe," Simon ordered, their voice level but stern. "Assess the damage. If it's not too bad, he could still make it."

"Right!" Denali turned Danny over to get a cleared look at his visor. "Oh no..." she breathed out, eyes stinging with tears. "It's... it's broken, all the way through. There's a hole the size of my fist, oh my God, Simon there's no... there's no way he could've survived. He's... he's gone." Emotion made her words catch on her tongue, and she blinked rapidly to keep from crying. If she was going to drive back to the ship, she had to see clearly.

There was nothing to be heard in their headsets for a long time.

"Well, bring him back and we'll—" Ivy Grace started to say, but Simon cut her off.

"No," they said. "There's nothing we can do for him if his helmet is fully breached. We can't have his corpse decaying on the Eros during the return trip, and we can't bury him on a metal asteroid." No one had anything to say to that. Simon was right, of course, but they didn't have to like it. "Just... leave him where he is and bring back the Psyche probe. We should get to work if we're gonna have to figure out how to fix her without our engineer.

"At least... you know Danny," Ivy Grace said brokenly, "he'd probably be over the moon to die out in space and not on boring, old planet Earth."

"Y-yeah," Denali agreed, and they all politely ignored the way her voice cracked. "I'm pretty... I'm pretty sure I've heard him say something like that before."

"Yeah, me too," Simon said. "I thought it was morbid then, and I still think so. I'll make the report to mission control. They'll probably bring in an engineer to walk us through a diagnostic and repair."

"Right." Denali tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she changed the latch on the tow line and hooked the probe up again. Then she returned to the buggy to drive back all by herself. "I'm on my way back with the Psyche probe... alone."

Next Chapter

#phic phight #phic phight 2023 #danny phantom #astronaut danny #danny fenton #dp #fic #things i wrote #space #nasa #not phantom planet compliant #original characters

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wishingyouback · 2 years

Text

Just you and me. . . B. Chan

>> synopsis: glimpses and moments in your relationship with Chan that he’ll always look fondly back on, and will always love: from the moment the both of you first hung out, to the few times he had told you he loved you.

>> pairing: Bang Chan x reader

>> warning(s): none, just an abundance amount of fluff and love from both parties, small mentions of morning breath. no proper plot.

one.

"I like you too, Chan."

And that was all Chan remembered from the 21st of May.

Your hands and his held together, a smile plastered on his face that didn't fade even when the morning rolled in and he had woken up to the faint smell of your perfume lingering on the sheets of his bed. He woke up with an extra hop to his step, in a mood that sky-rocketed through the roof. Even when he had nearly stepped into a puddle of leftover rain water with his brand new shoes, it didn't phase him, for all he thought was the sound of your voice and the way you looked at him as you relayed the same feelings he held for you.

"I like you too," Chan softly murmurs to himself as he makes his way up to your floor. As a routine, Chan would always come over after work to hang out before heading home, but this time it would be different.

This time, you were more than friends.

"Hey sweetheart." Chan is halfway through the door when he feels you cling onto him, arm already hooked over his to pull him deeper into your house where he smells something cooking in the kitchen.

"Is Minho over?"

"Ha, ha." You deadpan, the ghost of a smile on your lips at his teasing. "Not this time, no. But! I made you your favourite dish." Excitedly, you scoop up a spoon laying on the counter to let Chan taste the stew you made.

After a second of his taste test, you eagerly look up at him. Chan almost melts at the sight of you alone when he takes a proper look and sees what you have on. A pair of shorts along with his favourite tee.

Well.

That's a sight that's gonna be imprinted in his mind for a while.

His favourite shirt on his favourite person — Man he really, really likes you.

"Well? How is it?"

"It's just right baby," he kisses the top of your head after wiping his mouth. Before you can turn around, he holds you by the hips and slides his arms around your middle.

"Hey," you say softly into his hair when he bends down to nuzzle his head onto your neck.

"Thank you for doing this. You're an angel." You know better than anyone that Chan was simply thanking you for doing an act of service that he appreciated, but the gratitude altogether made you relax your tense shoulders.

Your hands move to his hair, and out of habit you start massaging the roots of his hair. "So are you. Help me set up the table?”

Chan chuckles but nods, "yes ma'am." He pecks the corner of your lips without thinking and walks out of the kitchen to put his bag down.

Chan had always been a very affectionate person. His hands were somehow always on you, from your shoulder, lower back to simply ruffling the top of your head— you had grown accustomed to the tiny touches, but having him kiss you on the cheek, your head and at times the most random spots that make you feel all tingly; that was still new. But, you'd be lying if you said you didn't like it.

You liked this side of Chan, the side he only presented to you. So, with a smile and without a doubt, a hint of redness appearing on your cheeks, you continue stirring the stew until it starts bubbling. As you carry the pot into the dining room, all you can think about is the way Chan had hugged you hello, kissed you as a thank you and even helped set up the table with the television set up with your favourite show already switched on.

"Thank you," you breathe out, somewhat feeling relieved. Cooking took more energy than usual, and you realised it as Chan pulled your chair and guided you into your seat.

"This is all you sweetheart,” he squeezes your shoulders then sits beside you to watch the show together.

You really, really liked Chan.

two.

"Good morning."

You couldn't remember the last time you slept so well. A good sleep to you was defined by how many times you would wake up during the night, and seeing as you slept through your alarm and didn't get up to go to the bathroom at least once, you had deemed tonight's sleep as one of the best and Chan was the cause of it.

"Hi." You say shyly, covering your face in order to shield your morning breath. Chan, however has no problem when it comes to morning kisses because he pulls away your hands from your face and very carefully meets your lips with his.

the only way to describe his kisses, especially in the mornings, were tender.

They weren't needy, but they withheld just as much passion as his usual kisses. You figured that was his skill; hiding his desire behind the calmness of his mind, it was what made him so attractive to you. How laidback he was but attentive to every detail, information and body language you'd present around him. He paid close attention to those he cared about, and it always showed. The second he pulls away he catches the way your face crumples slightly.

With a laugh, he asks "What's wrong?"

With a mumble you say, "i was worried about my morning breath."

Chan lets out a laugh, one that comes from his chest so you know it's genuine. "Sorry sweetheart," he pulls away slightly but your hand reaches out to hold his forearm. "Did it make you uncomfortable?"

"N-no..." you start slowly. "I like you– I mean, I like you enough to let that slide so you don't have to stop doing it." You ramble, but all Chan does is look down at you with a fond look on his face.

You nearly coo at the sight of Chan. His natural curls have come out, and he's shirtless, but he looks all the more adorable if not attractive. It seems like Chan could look both hot and cute at the same time, even at ten in the morning.

"What're you smiling at hm?" Chan's arms feel warm around you, so you scoot even closer to him, as if you weren't almost face to face with his chest. You rest your head on his shoulder.

"You," Chan smiles widely. "Your cute hair, your cute face. You're cute everywhere, it's no fair."

“My apologies for being so adorable.” He grins.

“Apology unaccepted,” You frown playfully. “But since you’re my boyfriend, you get a pass.”

“Hmm boyfriend, I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.” He says as he pulls you closer. “Let's just stay here for today. Just you and me ignoring the world."

While you find the thought of him wanting to be with you, wanting and choosing to spend more time with you instead of going to work, you have to decline the offer because— reality has to come in at one point.

"No can do sweetheart," you say. "I have a meeting to attend and you, have a deadline to meet."

"I'm in charge of my own company, i'm sure they'll be able to function a day without their boss." Chan says, closing his eyes when you playfully glare at him.

"Maybe they will, but that still doesn't change the fact that you have to finish your things by today and I have to meet my client today, baby."

"I like it when you use your cute pet names on me. Makes me feel all giggly."

"Chan."

"Hm?"

"Sweetheart?"

"Yes angel?" Chan opens one eye but when he sees your deadpan look, he only chuckles and nods. "Okay, okay. Let's go get ready."

"Thank you," you lean forward to kiss his cheek but he swiftly moves so you end up pecking his lips instead.

"Good luck kiss for the day," is all he says with a wink before he gets up to stretch.

He's still here yet you miss him already, and he feels the same.

You want the days to go by quicker again as long as you got to see him by the end of it.

three.

"What if they think I'm lame or weird?"

"They're not gonna think that sweetheart," Chan pauses. "I'd be surprised if they do. They'd be one to talk honestly—"

"Chan..." You whine.

The both of you were heading to Minho's house, where you would meet not only your shared friend, but Chan's entire friend group which consisted of Minho and a few more people that you had never met before, but have only heard by name.

You knew who Jisung was, you had seen pictures from when Chan was showing you old pictures of himself, but that was it. You met Minho when you were working at a small restaurant downtown and through him, you met Chan and the rest was history. It's not like you were against the idea of meeting Chan's friends. You had thought of this moment since he had made things official, but it would be a dishonest truth to say that you weren't nervous.

"Baby," you look away from the windshield when you feel Chan's hands move from your thigh to clasp your hand. "Look at me, please?"

When you do, he stops at a red light and does the same.

"My friends are gonna like you." He smiles, "it's alright if you're nervous, it only shows just how much this means to you and how much I mean to you, and I appreciate that. I love that you care so much about these things, but trust me sweetheart you'll be just fine. I'll be right there with you."

"Why are you so sweet to me," you smile tiredly, making Chan want to kiss you. And he does just that, pulling away just in time to drive away right as the light flicks to green.

"Only for you," he lets it sink in then cringes. "Too much?"

"Predictable," is what you say and he nods. "But it was cute."

"Sure it was."

"I'm sure your friends would've found it adorable."

"Oh God," Chan groans with a laugh. "Changbin would have a field day if he heard that. Don't let the boys know my weakness."

You turn to him with a puzzled look, "What's your weakness?" You were surprised, and a little shocked that he had never thought to mention this before but at the knowing look he gives you, it almost seems as if you were supposed to know this.

"It's you."

"Okay, now that was definitely a line." You laugh when he looks away.

"It's the truth, sweetheart."

"Sure it was." You playfully roll your eyes, and within a blink of an eye, the both of you had rolled in to the familiar parking lot of Minho's apartment.

Right as you unbuckle your seatbelt, Chan rests his hand on yours.

"You okay?," You let him run his thumb over your knuckles.

With a deep breath, you nod. "I'll be okay."

"You'll be okay," he repeats with a smile.

You squeeze his hand in yours and nod, a wide smile that's nearly glowing on your face. "Thank you for inviting me." You kiss the corner of his lips and let him walk out of the car to open the door on your side.

"M'lady."

You chuckle at his adorable act but place your hand on his arm, letting him guide you to Minho's floor despite always coming here at least twice every week when he would host those weekly movie nights.

—

Chan's friends loved you.

Chan wasn't surprised, you were incredible at making friends despite being a little reserved, he was a little surprised to see you warm up to Changbin, considering how loud him and Minho could be— especially together, but it didn't overwhelm you and even when Changbin had belted out the lyrics to a Celine Dion song you weren't familiar with, you still listened attentively and even added in tiny adlibs to keep his singing going.

Jisung found you adorable. He had told Chan this the second he saw you threaten to hit Minho with his ladle and had deemed that moment, his favourite part about meeting you. You were a natural, and while Chan expected nothing but good things out of the night, he was happy at how his friends clicked so easily with you. Maybe a little too well with how Jisung was hogging you the entire time Minho had announced that he would put on a game of MarioKart.

"Ji you've had her on your team for three rounds already. You have got to let Y/n know what it's like to be on the winning team." Changbin says proudly, smiling as the number one shows on the screen. Bright and big.

"As if! This is your first time winning in a month!"

You were sat on the sofa while Jisung and Changbin were on the floor, the both of them crisscrossed with their shoulders touching so every now and then in a middle of a match, they would shove one another in order to act as a distraction while you were the mediator of the two. Minho would occasionally tell them to quiet down while he was reading an article on his phone, but it was mostly you who would tell the both of them to cool it down before they break Minho's remote.

As you laugh at something Jisung says, you feel Chan rest his chin on your shoulder. He sits up from his laying position behind you and plays with the hem of your shirt.

"You know the first time we played this game, Changbin didn't know how to drive his kart 'till the next day."

"I can hear you dipshit."

"He's not lying. It got even worse when we played GTA and you ran over a few pedestrians in the game."

"In my defence there's no right or wrong way to play that game. And MarioKart's just too challenging for beginners." Changbin pauses, "but who still got three wins in a row tonight? Yeah, pay up loser."

"Why am I paying?! I didn't bet anything." Jisung says bewilderedly.

You lean back against Chan's chest to watch the banter unfold in front of you, finding it amusing at how much energy the two had to continuously tease and poke fun at each other. When Changbin points to the raven-haired boy sat on the other sofa, Jisung gasps in both shock, and betrayal.

"You bet on me?" And just like that, Jisung feigns sadness.

"I bet that you'd win, stupid." Minho deadpans, "way to go by the way. Now I'm twenty bucks broke because of you."

"Yes, but you're twenty bucks broke from believing in Jisung." Chan speaks up.

"Unbelievable. Next time you play I'm siding with Bin." Minho says as he slaps the twenty dollar bill onto Changbin's hands.

"Bin?" You speak up, and the boys nod at you.

"That's what we call Changbin time to time." Jisung let's you know, making you feel touched at how inclusive they were with you.

"You can call me that too," Changbin smiles kindly.

Jisung snorts, "you say that as if people can't use it freely."

"They do," Changbin shrugs. "It's just not many people use it, except for the guys, and now Y/n." Changbin seems genuinely happy to tell you this, making you appreciate how friendly they were.

"I'm gonna get a drink. Y/n you need anything?" Minho asks as he jumps up to his feet, stretching his body similarly to a feline creature.

"Anything you're having is fine." You thank him.

"You're not gonna offer anything to us?" Chan asks, an amused look on his face.

"You have feet. Y/n is my guest."

"So are we!"

"Y/n's my more important guest." Minho says, causing you to burst into laughter while Jisung and Changbin chase after the older boy, complaints rushing out of their mouths to say what a bad host Minho was being.

Minho doesn't bat an eyelash when he walks to the kitchen, and knowing him well, all of you know he was only kidding.

"Hey." Chan nudges your jaw with the bridge of his nose, his head still resting on your shoulder.

"Hi," you say sweetly, nearly cheesing at the soft kiss Chan gives you. The both of you didn't engage in much public affection, especially in front of his friends to prevent them from feeling uncomfortable, so this was nice. "Wanna play one round?"

Chan leans back slightly, tilting his head up with a challenging look.

"You sure you wanna play a round with me, Y/n?"

"What," you fully turn tk face him now, grabbing the spare controller that was used by Changbin to plop it on to Chan's hand. "You saying I can't beat you?"

"I didn't say anything," your boyfriend says smugly.

"Oh, you are on Christopher."

When he hears his full name, he lets out a low whistle. "Bringing out the full name now," he sits up behind you. "Challenge accepted sweetheart."

"Don't come begging for another round when you end up being second or last place." You says cockily, making Chan grin. Despite the competitiveness between you two when it came to games, any kind, he always found you endearingly cute.

"Oh I won't angel." Chan smirks, "you pick the route."

And just like that, the both of you are sucked into your own world with the three of his friends watching you guys from the kitchen doorway where Minho is trying to film the moment, Jisung is pretending to fan his tears away while Changbin is only watching with a proud, content smile on his face.

"You think he's gonna cave for her?"

"No way," Jisung scoffs. "Look at how his veins are popping out. Y/n and him definitely won't go easy on each other."

"They definitely won't," Minho finally says. He had been witness to many gamely competitions between you guys to know just how serious the two of you were. "But, you can definitely tell he's having more fun than usual."

After a beat, Changbin exhales out of his nose.

"They're good for each other."

"They definitely are."

four.

The first time you and Chan argue, it’s over a trivial thing.

You don’t remember specifics nor do you try to even remember how it all started, but you remembered feeling absolutely gutted after the whole exchange that when you left his apartment, you barely reacted to the hug he had given you. That was all that was exchanged between the two of you when you left his house. There were no texts, no calls, but you preferred it this way.

At least for the moment. You always needed time to yourself; a moment to be able to fully let the emotions sink in, to let yourself be angry, upset or even confused at the entire thing.

But one thing was for sure, was that you were devastated at the way you left things with Chan.

Unlike your previous relationship, you had entered this relationship with Chan with your head, body, and then your heart. You gave yourself time to fall for him, to really get to know him— understand him and what made him him. Therefore you promised yourself to always be vocal with your thoughts, with your feelings. And you were. You really were, but a small part of you felt uneasy at the tiny parts you left unsaid between you two.

You were in the middle of contemplating whether you should call him or not, when suddenly you hear the doorbell ring.

“Hi.”

Chan doesn’t get to react when you suddenly pounce into his arms. Albeit the only reason he has them open is to hold your bouquet of flowers, and a bag of your favourite food, he welcomes you into his embrace. He hugs you even tighter, resting his head on your shoulder to be able to inhale more of your detergent, along with your usual perfume.

“I’ve got you,” Chan whispers but you can almost hear the smile on his face when he lands a sweet kiss on your collarbone. “Hi,” he says again when you pull away to look at him.

“Hi,” you laugh. “What’s all this?”

Chan shyly hands you the bouquet, and then the bag of takeout. “I had a feeling you weren’t feeling too good about our argument so I got you a little something to feel better.”

“Chan…” You pout, but smile when you realise he had ordered your favourite meal. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” you refer to his empty hands. “What’re you going to have for dinner? This can’t all be for me.”

“They are sweetheart,” he chuckles. “And don’t worry about me. I just came over to drop these off to make sure you were feeling better, and now that you’re smiling again, I can go home feeling peaceful.”

“Chan,” you laugh. “You’re not staying?”

Chan’s eyebrows nearly reach his hairline, “you… you want me to stay?”

“You don’t want to?” You feel a little deflated at his words, but he’s quick to explain.

“No, no sweetheart don’t get me wrong. I would love to stay, but I don’t want to be here if you still aren’t feeling good— I mean, it was my mistake you got mad so I didn’t want to bother you. I know you like your space.”

Your heart melts at the thought of Chan pacing back and forth in his living room after you had left. You knew your boyfriend well enough to know that he hated conflict in any form or way, so he must’ve really thought this through to have gone through all the trouble to order takeout and drive to your house, all in the rain that was now pouring.

“You’re the sweetest,” You gently pull him in for a kiss. “But, I’d love for you to stay. Is that okay?”

“Okay? Baby, that’s more than okay.” He genuinely looks relieved, and you almost visibly see the tension release from his shoulders.

“Good.” You kiss the corner of his lips, nearly cooing at how his cheeks are starting to turn pink.

“Wait wait,” Chan pulls you back by the waist, holding you carefully in his hands until the both of you lock eye contact. He holds it then says, “How’re we feeling?”

You tilt your head in confusion.

“About the argument,” he smiles softly. “How’re we both feeling?”

“I feel good,” you reach up to cup his face. “I feel better than I did before, and even more reassured to have you here with me.”

Chan exhales a breath of relief, “good. Great. Okay,” he can’t contain his happiness when he starts kissing all over your face.

“Chan!” You let out a laugh, but Chan doesn’t stop there.

When the both of you finally make your way back into your house, with Chan now shirtless since his shirt was soaked from the rain, the both of you start arranging the takeout on your kitchen table. You sort them out from what you feel like eating, to what you want to keep for later and Chan only nods from behind you. He has his arms wrapped warmly around your middle. He sways you side to side, and rests his chin on your shoulder.

A wave of deja vu washes over you, but you allow it. It’s a nice feeling, and you’re only happier to know that Chan is the cause of this giddy feeling.

You feel his lips trail kisses down from behind your ear, all the way down to the space between your shirt and neck, and giggle when he reaches your neck. You were always ticklish in certain areas.

When delicately uses his fingers to tuck the strands of your hair behind your ear, he hums a soft tune.

“I love you,” he says, and you feel yourself fighting back a smile.

You’ve heard him tell you this countless of times, but every time you hear it, it feels like the very first time he had told you under the night sky as he fed you the last piece of your favourite dessert.

“I love you,” you say back.

Chan really really loved you, and so did you. You always would.

Author’s note:

hello <3 i hope that whoever’s reading this, and has read this far down into the imagine, enjoyed it with all their heart and managed to squeal and/or maybe awe at their love <3

it’s been forever since i’ve last posted an imagine so i hope this doesn’t and didn’t disappoint Xx

ngl as i wrote this my head was literally ‘no thoughts just vibes’ so TT this is what we ended up with :’) not thoroughly proofread, so any errors made will be fixed after some time Xx

with all my love, saturn.

you are loved,

and ily always.

#chan fluff #chan imagines #chan scenarios #bang chan fluff #bang chan imagines #bang chan scenarios #chan x reader #stray kids imagines #stray kids fluff #stray kids scenarios #skz fluff #skz imagines #bang chan x reader #skz soft imagines #stray kids soft imagines #chan scenario

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usafphantom2 · 3 months

Text

F-35 To Get Meteor, SPEAR 3 Missiles “By End Of Decade”

The new weapons will provide an especially lethal combination with the F-35’s stealth and forthcoming upgraded sensors.

Thomas NewdickPUBLISHED Jan 22, 2024 12:57 PM EST

F-35 SPEAR METEOR

MBDA

The U.K. Ministry of Defense has confirmed that its F-35B stealth fighters will be armed with Meteor air-to-air missiles and SPEAR 3 precision-guided standoff munitions by the “end of the decade.” The new weapons promise to bring a major leap in capability for the F-35B, especially when combined with the enhancements that the Block 4 upgrade will provide, especially for the aircraft’s radar, which will make the Meteor even more formidable.

In response to a written question in the U.K. parliament, James Cartlidge, a Minister of State in the Ministry of Defense, confirmed the timeline to integrate the two weapons.

An F-35B, presented together with ASRAAM, SPEAR 3, and Meteor missiles, with a concept model for the next-generation Tempest stealth fighter seen on the far left. Crown Copyright

“The U.K. Lightning Force currently operates the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), the Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), and the Paveway IV precision-guided bomb. By the end of the decade, both Meteor and SPEAR 3 will also be integrated to U.K. F-35s.”

Previously, the government had said that the U.K. F-35B would be armed with Meteor by the “middle of this decade,” while a date of 2027 at the earliest had also been given in a government report dated February 2022. The latest statement doesn’t necessarily contradict that since it also includes the integration of SPEAR 3, which may take longer.

An F-35 carrying a pair of AIM-120 AMRAAMs in one of its two weapons bays. Crown Copyright

The introduction of the two new missiles on the F-35 has been in the works for some time now.

In 2019, Lockheed Martin received initial funding to start integration, although preliminary work was already underway by that point.

Crown Copyright

In 2021, European missile house MBDA and BAE Systems announced they had secured additional funding from the British and Italian governments to complete the integration. The funding was thought to be worth around $400 million and covered both the short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B (as operated by the United Kingdom and Italy) and the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (acquired by Italy, and many others, but not the United Kingdom).

Meteor, which is already in service on British Eurofighter Typhoons, and which completed operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) on Italian Eurofighters late last year, is a weapon that The War Zone has discussed in depth in the past.

A U.K. Royal Air Force Typhoon takes off, loaded with Meteor missiles below the fuselage. Crown Copyright

The beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, or BVRAAM, is often named as the most capable weapon in its class. While that’s debatable, there’s no doubt that Meteor offers powerful capabilities, some of which are unique.

From the outset, Meteor was intended to better the range and overall kinematic performance of the AMRAAM. This is achieved primarily through its novel propulsion system, with a solid-fuel, variable-flow, ducted rocket (or ramjet). This means the missile can throttle its engine during different phases of flight, ensuring that it still has plenty of energy during its terminal attack — when traditional air-to-air missile motors are normally losing energy.

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In this way, the missile’s ‘no-escape zone’ is dramatically increased, reducing the chance of the target being able to defeat the Meteor through high-energy maneuvering at the endgame of the engagement. This endgame could be played out at up to 130 miles away from its launching platform — range claims for Meteor differ widely and the actual figure is a closely guarded secret. An air-to-air missile's range is also highly dependent on a wide number of factors, including track of the target and the height and speed of the launch platform.

The ‘smart’ powerplant in the Meteor is combined with a two-way datalink, which supplements the missile’s active X-band radar seeker, providing the Meteor with inflight updates as it flies out to the target. However, the advantage of being able to throttle the motor means that the autopilot can provide the most efficient flight profile to the target for very long-range shots.

The then U.K. Secretary of State for Defense, Gavin Williamson (center), is shown a Meteor missile by MBDA staff at their factory. Crown Copyright

At the same time, the datalink can feed the missile with mid-course guidance updates from ‘third party’ sources, as well as the aircraft that launched it. These might include other fighters, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, or even sensors on land and at sea.

With its unrivaled suite of sensors, the F-35 is equipped as good, if not better, than perhaps any other fighter to provide targeting data to the Meteor, but the ability for the missile to receive mid-course updates from other sources means the launch aircraft might not even need to use its radar at all to engage the target. For a stealth aircraft like the F-35, this is especially important, allowing for an entirely passive engagement that maximizes the aircraft's stealth attributes.

An artist’s impression of an F-35 armed with SPEAR 3 and Meteor. MBDA

Furthermore, the two-way nature of the datalink means that the pilot that launched the Meteor will receive information on the missile’s fuel, energy, and tracking state, helping them decide on whether to fire another, disengage or even assign another target altogether.

While the AIM-120D AMRAAM that can arm the F-35 also offers a two-way datalink with third-party targeting capabilities, and many other advantages over older ‘Slammers,’ including significantly extended range, but it doesn’t have a ramjet motor and all the benefits that brings.

An AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM sits at Raytheon’s Tucson, Arizona plant. Raytheon

Clearly, Meteor can offer a fourth-generation fighter like the Typhoon a significant edge in air combat, but this will be magnified when it starts to be carried by a stealth fighter.

Essentially, the F-35’s combination of low radar cross-section, powerful integrated sensors, and advanced information systems will ensure that it can ‘see and not be seen,’ while Meteor will allow it to engage aerial targets at long range, taking out hostile aircraft long before they even know an enemy fighter is present. This will be of particular relevance in the kinds of highly contested airspace that will be expected in a potential future conflict with China, for example. That extra range is also important as advanced infrared search and track systems improve and proliferate.

At the same time, the future Block 4 version of the F-35 will be even better able to maximize the capabilities inherent in Meteor. Block 4 is a massive upgrade initiative and something that we have examined in the past. We know it will include a new multifunction active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar designated as AN/APG-85 as well as advanced electronic warfare capabilities. As for the radar, this is expected to be a Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based system, that should significantly boost radar range and resolution. Combined with Meteor, this will make the F-35 even more lethal, especially in long-range engagements of the type in which the missile excels.

An infographic showing future U.K. F-35 weapons, (1) ASRAAM, currently carried; (2) Meteor; (3) SPEAR 3. MBDA

It's worth noting that Meteor will be carried internally by the F-35, ensuring that it preserves its stealth characteristics. The downside is that the aircraft will only carry four Meteors internally in an air-to-air role, reduced to two when carrying offensive ordnance internally (e.g., two Meteors and eight SPEARs).

The F-35’s ability to carry only four internal AMRAAMs, at least in its current form, is something that is now being addressed under the U.S. Sidekick program, separate from Block 4, and which will allow the F-35A and F-35C to add another two of these missiles in its weapons bays. After all, whatever the capabilities of the air-to-air missile, pilots are likely going to want more of those weapons. It isn't clear if Sidekick will be able to accommodate Meteor, but it doesn't look like it will be available for the F-35B's smaller bays, regardless. External carriage could be a good option for some missions though, especially ones where the long reach of Meteor will provide enough capability to counter known threats without the need for maximum stealth.

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While Meteor should help the F-35 achieve dominance in the air-to-air arena, the SPEAR 3 will bring significant advantages in air-to-ground/surface missions.

The United Kingdom already invested almost $700 million in SPEAR 3, with a contract announced in 2021, to arm its F-35Bs. The country has very high hopes for the weapon, with the Royal Air Force stating that it will “become the Lightning’s primary air-to-ground weapon … over the next decade.”

An artist’s impression showing SPEAR 3 deployed by a Typhoon and an F-35. MBDA

The SPEAR 3 (Selective Precision Effects At Range Capability 3) is a further development of the short-range Brimstone missile, with a turbojet engine and pop-out wings to ensure a range of more than 87 miles and a high subsonic speed.

SPEAR 3 is another weapon that we’ve examined in depth in the past. Suffice it to say, it’s intended to engage static and moving targets on land and at sea in all weather, day and night. This ability is conferred by its tri-mode seeker which offers radar, infrared, and laser homing. After reaching the target area under GPS and inertial navigation, SPEAR 3 can autonomously identify and prosecute targets, or target coordinates can be sent to the missile via datalink, exploiting the launch platform’s sensors or those of third parties. Once again, the advantages conferred by the F-35’s combination of sensors and stealth will provide a powerful adjunct to SPEAR 3.

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Alternatively, SPEAR 3 can strike its target via laser guidance, which can be provided by an aircraft overhead the target area or by a suitably equipped team of soldiers on the ground nearby can designate it with a laser.

In many ways, SPEAR 3 has similarities with the U.S. GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II, better known as StormBreaker, although the British weapon offers almost double the range and will reach its targets faster than the unpowered StormBreaker glide bomb.

An illustration of in-development and future weapons concepts from MBDA, including SPEAR-EW, SPEAR 3, and Meteor. MBDA

As well as its basic form, as a ‘mini cruise missile’ with an explosive payload, SPEAR 3 is also being developed with an electronic warfare payload with jammer and decoy functions. SPEAR-EW will be expected to work alongside the baseline weapon to help smash through enemy air defenses as well as to protect launching aircraft, and even other missiles, during especially hazardous missions like this.

The War Zone previously outlined one scenario in which the SPEAR-EW could be used:

“By pairing SPEAR 3s with SPEAR-EWs in a fully networked fashion, the mini-cruise missiles can work as a swarm to shatter critical parts of the enemy’s air defense network. For instance, SPEAR-EW could spoof or jam an enemy threat emitter while SPEAR 3s search for and destroy not just the emitter, but all the components of the SAM site arranged nearby.”

SPEAR-EW. MBDA

“SPEAR-EW could also provide electronic warfare screening on the fly for SPEAR 3s that are trying to make their way to a set of targets between the launch aircraft and the surface threat or threats. By detecting a pop-up threat on its own or via datalink from the launch aircraft, SPEAR-EW could act in real-time to suppress the threat so that the rest of the horde of missiles can make it to their target areas safely.”

Thanks to their turbojet engines, SPEAR 3 and SPEAR-EW can also throttle back and loiter over an area for extended periods. In this way, they could be launched preemptively into an area where mobile air defense systems might be expected, engaging them once they start producing their telltale radio-frequency emissions.

An artist’s impression showing an F-35 launching a quartet of SPEAR 3s. MBDA

As mentioned previously, the F-35B will be able to carry up to eight SPEARs, using a quadruple launcher in each of its two weapons bays, together with a pair of Meteors.

Harnessing the capabilities offered by Meteor and SPEAR 3 will require the F-35’s Block 4 upgrade, which the United Kingdom plans to retrofit across its entire Lightning fleet, as well as incorporate in examples of the aircraft acquired in the future.

Some of the unclassified upgrades within Block 4. The exact configuration has not been publicly disclosed. U.S. Department of Defense

While new weapons like these, and others, plus the new radar, are a fundamental part of Block 4, the upgrade will bring a lot more on top of these.

Not all Block 4 upgrades have been revealed in the public domain, but the enhancements will also address the Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS).

Lockheed Martin

It’s also worth recalling that Block 4 relies upon a new suite of hardware and software, known as Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3), which modernizes the F-35’s core processor, memory unit, panoramic cockpit display system, and related avionics. TR-3 is being described as the F-35’s new ‘computer backbone,’ since it promises to provide 25 times more computing power than the existing TR-2 computing system, although its development path has not been entirely straightforward.

The War Zone has previously looked at delays with TR-3 and how that has left new F-35s being parked and not delivered after they are constructed, waiting for these features to be added.

For the United Kingdom in particular, there remain questions, too, about the number of F-35Bs it will buy.

A U.K. Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning aircraft prepares to land onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth. Crown Copyright Crown Copyright

As of May 1, this year, the United Kingdom had received 31 F-35Bs, one of which was lost in a takeoff mishap in the Mediterranean Sea in 2021 and which will be replaced in a future order. These 31 jets are part of an initial order for 48 aircraft, known as Tranche 1. The last of these are due to be handed over by the end of 2025.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense had long harbored an aspiration to field a fleet of 138 F-35Bs, although consistent budgetary concerns have led to an apparent rethink.

F-35B pilots fist bump on the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. Crown Copyright

To date, the U.K. Ministry of Defense has confirmed plans to place a Tranche 2 order for 27 F-35Bs, which will provide a total fleet size of 74 aircraft. As a recent Defense Committee report prepared for the House of Commons Committee states: “There remains ambiguity about plans for the F-35 fleet in terms of its eventual size, operational deployment, and attribution; and there are ongoing concerns about program costs and force growth rate.”

Whatever the number of U.K. F-35s eventually fielded, the introduction of Block 4, including the Meteor and SPEAR 3 weapons, will provide a whole new level of capabilities.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense has said that it remains open to the possibility of purchasing further F-35s beyond the 74 now specified, although a decision is not likely until around the middle of this decade.

Contact the author: [email protected]

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silvertherogue715 · 2 months

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hello! How are you doing? Feeling any better since you caught that cold? This ask is gonna be about Sunstar mainly so I’m gonna split this up into different parts based on the questions. Knowing that Duo attacked and badly injured him I’m curious as to why? Was it cause of the bad emotions that he gave off and effected the other stardroids? Or just a chance encounter that didn’t go well? And does he just stay at one NEC or does he get the other one?

Emotions and relationship wise: Does the NEC still effect his emotions or are they more apparent then before because he only has one of the NEC he had originally? Does this change his behavior in anyway than what he was like originally? Especially his relationship with Terra and Minx(the last ask with his and Does he have any other relationships with the stardroids or know any Navis?

knowing that he’s the leader of the stardroids what does he do exactly?

with his ability being effected by emotions which sorts of emotions cause a increase in heat? Excitement, love, anger, etc. and just an angsty thought that came up has he ever out of instinct tried to grab someone out of panic or reflex and ended up burning them instead? (I assume he’s very careful but the concept of it happening to anyone(Minx, Terra, stardroid) is just a curiosity)

I hope you’re doing well! Have a good day/night! Thank you

I'm doing much better now, thank you! I don't get sick often, so I was a bit caught off-guard, but it also happened right before break when a bunch of assignments were nearing their deadlines.

Hopefully I'll be able to dedicate way more time to shoveling out Brainrot AU stuff now.

This is a long one! I'll post my answers below the cut.

Why did Duo attack?

There’s a lot of lore for Duo in my AU, but I'm gonna try to simplify it here.

It’s canon in the MMBN anime that Duo began to see his creators and their civilization as evil, and that he eventually destroyed all life on Earth during that time before leaving on a rocket that mimics the appearance of a comet (which is powered by Negative Energy).

In my AU, he sees all NEC-Navis as inherently “evil.”

He uses this comet to approach sources of “evil,” and gives any intelligent life he comes across a “test” to determine whether or not they as a whole are evil and should be destroyed. This also means that Sunstar and the Stardroids are always on his radar. They have clashed several times.

Duo is the first and only Viren Navi with 5 GV-Crystals in his body, and Sunstar only absorbed the extra 3 NE crystals in his body to stand a chance against Duo when no other NE-Navi could. Unfortunately, he had no idea the consequences would be so dire, and was too far gone to stop by the time he realized.

Does he just stay at one NEC?

No. Sunstar is reduced to one NEC after Duo’s attack, but he does eventually regain up to 4 out of the 5 total.

The stardroids secure the two that go into his forearms before arriving to Earth.

Terra obtains the fourth, one of his original two that go in his chest, from Ra Moon after the Stardroids arrive on New Earth.

Minx finds the 5th later..but that’s not important right now =)

Sunstar was never ”woken up” after the attack from Duo until Terra restored his other original NEC from Ra Moon inside his chest. All the Stardroids knew of the possible side effects from either losing or receiving damage to an Energy Crystal: there had been plenty of personal and historical references to use.

Had they activated him with one NEC, Sunstar would have been missing a huge chunk of his memories. In addition to this, he would have felt his emotions with an all-new intensity that he was unfamiliar with. Think of a usually calm and intimidating individual getting reduced to tears on a regular basis or verbally lashing out after an insult that wouldn’t have normally phased him. Positive side effects would be a temporarily clear mind and non-firey hands, but the downsides outweighed them tenfold.

The change would definitely put a strain on his relationships. It’d be like having to learn about a person all over again.

What are his relationships?

Most Earth Navis Sunstar is familiar with he has met through/with Minx when he was still “Ra Moon.” He couldn’t/wouldn’t make many friends for several reasons, but some notable cases include:

Napalmman: Both love to talk about their respective netops (Nenji/Minx), and their shared love for explosions and anything fire-related. Friend!

Also occasionally talks with some coworker Navis Napalmman is friends with.

Sprout: Carson’s hilariously underwhelming but overpowered normalnavi. Carson is one of Minx’s older brothers, and due to plot reasons, Sprout is the only other Navi Ra Moon would see occasionally when Minx was a child.

Shadowman: Frenemies. He and Miyabi tried kidnapping him several times at one point, and Ra Moon loves to tease/annoy him whenever he gets the chance.

Shademan: Hate. Can and will fight on sight.

Forte/Bass: Sympathetic, but best to avoid. His relationship with Dr. Cossack (manga-based) is semi-mirrored by his relationship with Minx.

As for the other Stardroids…I hate to admit I have not thought of many specific interactions between Sunstar and all of them. This is the perfect opportunity to brainstorm though! Hmm..

Saturn would likely be chilly to Sunstar given his crush on Terra. Sunstar would probably dislike his poor work ethic and pull the occasional prank on him.

Venus looks up to him, and while Sunstar finds her adorable, he regularly gives her physically harder tasks (like leading training sessions) to satiate her pride.

Sunstar is practically the only one who interacts with Mars–they both have a mutual understanding of the other, as each were deemed “monsters” by the Viren civilization. I wouldn’t describe them as friends, though.

Mercury annoys him to hell and back and Sunstar does his best to station Mercury as far away from himself as possible.

Jupiter is one of the only Stardroids who will actively seek out Sunstar without going through Terra first. He has a deep respect for Sunstar’s strength, and finds him less intimidating due to his friendship with Uranus.

Uranus is terrified of Sunstar but plays it off with bravado by challenging him to fights. He has yet to win.

Sunstar likes Pluto and Jupiter maybe the most due to their sort-of friendship with Terra. Also, because Sunstar is absolutely a cat person.

I’ll need to think further on some of the other ones.

What does he do?

Sunstar was created to serve as a symbol of protection for Virens, but more importantly for NEC Navis. He shadowed Terra for three major things:

How to lead as a representative for NEC Navi’s

How to observe and deal with hostile rival alien civilizations that may pose a threat to specific Viren settlements

How to prevent and manage NE-Navi-related disputes while striving for a positive social image

Admittedly, Sunstar shadowed Terra for a majority of his time after being created. He very rarely acted without first consulting or collaborating with Terra first. Terra had both more knowledge and experience than him, but he also commanded more trust and respect from the population and other Viren leaders/council members.

Before Duo mutinied against the Viren civilization on Earth, Sunstar wanted to implement at least two policies/practices:

Raising awareness of and liquidating misinformation surrounding the nature of Negative Energy Crystals and NE-Navis.

The removal of exclusively positive or negative energy crystals.

He had proof it was possible for a hybrid design.

Now, though?

His ship is stranded on Earth with Duo no doubt closing in. The civilization that he was responsible for previously before is dead. The only thing he can do is try to protect the life he has secured on New Earth with friends and family, new and old.

After reawakening with 4 NECs, Sunstar proceeds to lose the 2 in his forearms during a battle on Earth soon after re-arriving. They get shattered in the heat of the battle, and a decent chunk of Arc 2 is spent hunting down the shards before Duo can arrive.

What emotions cause an increase in heat?

Emotions like anger, fear, sadness, or any combination of those that can leave him feeling overwhelmed. Again, Sunstar’s emotions are more muted than regular NE-Navis, given he has two NECs. That means whatever he’s feeling has to be pretty intense for it to affect him so deeply, but he is most prone to anger out of any other ‘provocative’ emotion.

Also! He kind of hates how his hands can be a “tell” for him. He may have a stoic persona, but there’s only so much you can hide behind an empty stare, or later, a mask, without your furiously flaming hands giving you away.

Has he burned someone accidentally?

Grabbing and shaking you. I love your brain. He absolutely has.

It doesn’t happen often anymore, not like when he was first created, but my god does it devastate him when it does. He knows what happens when he touches things: they burn. He can’t help but ask himself, why does he still slip up? He knows his loved ones know it is never out of malice, that it’s an accident, that they forgive him, but he finds it hard to forgive himself.

It’s safe to say Sunstar has accidentally burned nearly all of the Stardroids at least once. For specific people, though?

Uranus: weirdly enough he wants to fight Sunstar hand-to-hand. Close combat is his forte, and he wants to prove he’s strong enough to push through and kind of foe–or pain.

Mercury: he is absolutely enough of an annoying bastard for Sunstar to chase him down on several occasions until he either hands over whatever he has stolen from another Stardroid, apologizes to whoever he pissed off, or mans his station.

Terra: multiple times back on Viren Earth. A few scenarios:

Sunstar grabbing Terra by the shoulders to protect him from falling debris

Sunstar accidentally burned Terra when the latter passed him something by hand.

Without thinking, Sunstar tried holding Terra’s hand during a wholesome moment for both.

Minx: (so far) twice.

Minx tried holding his hand, thoughtlessly.

Sunstar grabbed and pulled Minx by the arm to prevent her from wandering into oncoming traffic at night.

He always apologizes profusely, but has a bad habit of isolating himself for hours and sometimes days afterwards.

He was apologizing for months afterwards.

#tw: burns #tw: blood #tw: injury #Ra Moon wasn’t really “registered” as any specific type of navi #but he did prefer fire-based attacks/chips.#The crystal discovered later in his body classified him as a Darkloid #but he was not a traditional one #I’ll also post some follow-up art after this post #The Stardroids have to learn English/Japanese at one point #by the way #They can download language packs from the NET. sure. but actually understanding things like slang and common sayings is way harder when you #This actually makes for some occasional funny shenanigans #Especially when Minx learns Viren later in Arc 3.#Terra: Why is Minx describing animals falling from the sky?#Sunstar: She is saying it is raining.#Sunstar also dislikes speaking in Viren.#I have literally never drawn napalmman.exe before this post and that should be a crime #dont think i'm forgetting anything in the tags but will update if I notice something #my art #ask #BRAU #brainrotau #megaman #stardroids #mmbnau #doodle #sketch #mega man battle network #minx #sunstar.exe

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mystar-girl57 · 1 year

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☆ 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ☆

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : Astronaut Ellie Williams x Areospace Engineer Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : you and Ellie, both starry eyed dreamers are about to achieve your life goal

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : mentions of worry of death, mentions of implied near death experience, mentions of implied near drowning

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 : a fluffy oneshot that just popped into my head a few days ago- also isn't really proof read

You didn’t want to open your eyes, you wanted to stay right where you lay, curled up with your wife under the safety of your bed’s comforter, the curtains drawn protecting you from the outside. In here, you were in your own little world where the only people that existed on your little planet was you and her.

You and Ellie met in college, both just starting interns at NASA with dreams so big they were reaching for the stars. And that was the goal the two of you shared, going up there in that big black void just once in your lives. You were twenty-seven now, Ellie just turning twenty-eight and your dreams had shifted. You both had gotten married young, when you were just barely at the age where you could legally drink and you were both onto your second phase of your education to work at NASA.

While you had originally wanted to be an astronaut like Ellie you were never able to complete your NBL test. You had gotten into the water, and due to someone kicking you in the back by mistake you hit one of the underwater beams causing your helmate’s glass face to crack before shattering completely, you barely made it out alive. After that you couldn’t bring yourself to go back in the water so you sat on the sidelines cheering Ellie on.

It seemed like your career at NASA, or any sort of program dealing with space was now impossible to reach. But after a couple more years of schooling and countless sleepless nights were brought on as an engineer.

Now almost all the years later you found yourself being one of the leading bodies in the up and coming space mission. Ellie’s space mission. It was her and two other bodies, they would go up, circle the planet a few times then come back, it should only take a few days. But the amount of wrong that could happen. From the moment your wife puts on that suit and gets into the Flight Deck her life was in danger. The ship could easily explode the moment it launches, an enemy country could shoot it out of the sky, a meteor; no matter how small, could strike the shuttle and everything could go to hell. But what scared you the most was that if something were to go wrong it would be on you. You tested that shuttle time and time again, you made sure its thermal protectors were in tacked, its rocket boosters were past perfect. Nothing bad was going to happen on this mission, not on your watch.

Unfortunately 2:30 a.m. came and your alarm started to scream. You could always just shut it off, let Ellie sleep in and miss the launch. But you knew that Ellie would be so upset at herself if that were to happen. She’d be hurt if she found out that you purposefully let her sleep over, missing the one thing that she had dedicated her whole life to since she was a little girl.

So you pulled the blankets off of your body and wearily reached over, hitting “OFF” on top of the glowing red digital clock. Ellie started to stir beside you, she must have felt you get up because soon she was rolling over onto her stomach, her arms loosely looped around your waist.

“What time is it?” She mumbled into your pillow.

“2:30”

“2:30?!”

Ellie shot up, her eyes suddenly wide and awake. Her head whipped to the white board calendar on your wall in your office space. The red x’s covered its pearly surface following the days until it reached a box that had “LAUNCH DAY!” with a big red circle around it and several arrows pointing to it. Around the circle was little stars and planets sporadically, Ellie even put a doodle of the two of you as stick figures in a rocket ship blasting off with a heart. It was obvious that she was excited for today.

You wish you were too.

Maybe if you were going up with her it would be different. You wouldn’t care so much about the safety hazards of this mission because if you were to die up there and your wife was with you then you could say you died happy.

But you were stuck down here on Earth, sending Ellie up there with two complete strangers, taking the risk of dying alone and you having to watch her die.

You stayed sitting in bed, numbly staring down at your stormy gray comforter and Evergreen throw blanket while Ellie got up to get things ready. You needed to leave in thirty minuets to ensure that you could be at the launch sight by quarter until four and the launch be at twenty five after six.

“Come on hun we ‘gotta get going!” Your wife called from your master bathroom. But when you didn’t respond she got concerned and peeked her head out to find you sitting in bed still, your head hung low.

“Baby?”

You didn’t look up at her, not until the bed dipped and Ellie’s calloused hands found your cheeks. She tilted your head up gently and was shocked to find tears glistening over your eyes.

“What’s the matter?” She asked softly.

Truth be told Ellie had been worried about you with the launch coming up. She knew how badly you wanted to go up there with her but with how the accident at the NBL pool held you back. She was worried that you were mad or maybe even jealous with her. But deep down Ellie knew that wasn’t the case.

As hard as you tried to hold back the negative emotions that were flooding you you still burst out into tears. “I don’t want you to die!” You sobbed. “I’ve been so scared about this mission and if something goes wrong it’ll be my fault! And— If you die—” you shook your head, gripping the blankets firmly, “I could never forgive myself!”

Ellie felt her heart squeeze and crack. You weren’t upset with her, you were scared for her! All the space missions in history that went wrong after something that was so easy to be fixed went unchecked and the astronauts died, all the horror stories that had been rushing through your brain since you had been asked to help spear head the perpation of this flight. Ellie understood now, this wasn’t jsut some ‘let’s cross our fingers and hope they come back alive mission’ this was a ‘if something goes wrong I will be losing my wife mission’. She knew that you hadn’t voiced any of these fears to her because you didn’t want her to be scared or ruin the excitement she was feeling.

“Baby, look at me.” The woman gently whispered and you hesitantly looked up. “Whatever happened today I promise everything will be fine. This is the risk that comes with this job. But the good that we are doing each time we go up there, whether its you me or who ever we discover a little more each time. I’m not going to lie I feel fucking terrified but you wanna know the one thing that is giving me some faith in this mission?”

“What?”

“You.”

You blinked at her, sniffling some. Had it not been such an emotional moment you would’ve called your wife out for the cheeseness in her words but you let her continue on.

“I feel safe knowing that it was you who helped design this shuttle, it was you that triple checked, probably quadruple checked each and every little detail, even the ones that most think aren’t important. I feel happy knowing that when we land in that ocean in the next two days its going to be your face that I’m greeted with when they come to get us.”

Ellie put her forehead against yours. “You have no idea how lucky I am to have you in my life. To be able to say look at her, that's my woman, that beautiful scientist that is making this whole mission possible is mine.”

Your wife gently pulled away and wiped off any tears that were left on your cheeks. “Now, are you ready to go make history love?”

With a nod you smiled up at her, your confidence returning and she responded by placing a sweet kiss on your lips.

It was time.

Two Days Later

“I see them!” One of the crew members called out standing on the bow of the Coast Guard's ship. You looked up from the little metal table that you and your fellow scientist were hunched over as you discussed some readings with them. “Excuse me,” you whispered putting your hand on one of your college's back telling them that you were leaving.

Stepping out of the captain's deck and into the cool sea air you heard the rescue boat splash down into the water racing toward the pod several yards out. Making your way to the bow of the ship you stood by the capitan. “May I?” You asked motioning to the binoculars.

“Of course Mrs. Williams!” The captain instantly shuffled to get them up off his neck and set them into your hand. You on the other hand rolled your eyes with a smile, lifting the took up to your eyes to get a better look at the pod and the luminescent boat careening to it.

“You know my name Jack, you can use it.”

After the launch you were surprised to learn of the reputation you had built for yourself over the past year. People had grown to respect you and see you as a leader of the team and while yes it flattered you, you wish they weren’t so jumpy around you.

The little craft pulled up beside the metal pod and one of the men got up to open the hatch. This was the moment of truth.

Johns stepped out, then Melissa and after a few moments you saw the striking auburn hair of your wife climbing out. Once they were safely on the boat and headed back to you the whole ship broke out into a chorus of cheers. You jumped and screamed, hugging the captain tightly, shaking him. You were so happy.

The Coast Guard's crew went to the starboard and helped up the woozy astronauts, stretchers and blankets ready should any of them collapse. Ellie’s legs felt like jello as she was pulled up out of the little raft and onto the firm floored ship. All she wanted was to let gravity take her body down and sleep for several years. But despite all of this, Ellie ignored the haziness clouding her vision, the fatigue eating away at her body and the nurses urging her to lay down, all she needed right now was you.

You pushed past the crew member that was keeping you and your fellow scientists back and raced towards your wife. It was like that sappy scene in all of those romance movies where the couple is dramatically reunited. You met in the middle and the moment that Ellie was in your arms she let her body slowly sink to the floor.

“We did it, Stars.” She sleepily smiled up at you as she leaned against you, the two of you sitting on the floor ignoring the looks you were getting from the rest of the crew. You leant down and placed a tearful kiss on your wife’s sweaty forehead, brushing the damp hairs off of her face.

“Yes we did.”

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nasa · 2 years

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NASA Photographers Share Their Favorite Photos of the SLS Moon Rocket

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is on the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and in final preparations for the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Now that our Moon rocket is almost ready for its debut flight, we wanted to take a look back at some of the most liked photographs of our SLS rocket coming together over the years.

We asked NASA photographers to share their favorite photos of the SLS rocket for Artemis I at different phases of testing, manufacturing, and assembly. Here are their stories behind the photos:

“On this day in March 2018, crews at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, transported the intertank structural test article off NASA’s Pegasus barge to the Load Test Annex test facility for qualification testing.” —Emmett Given, photographer, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

“This is the liquid oxygen tank structural test article as it was moved from the Pegasus barge to the West Test Area at our Marshall Space Flight Center on July 9, 2019. The tank, which is structurally identical to its flight version, was subsequently placed in the test stand for structural testing several days later. I remember it being a blazing hot day!” —Fred Deaton, photographer, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

“The large components of the SLS rocket’s core stage can make you forget that there are many hands-on tasks required to assemble a rocket, too. During the mating of the liquid hydrogen tank to the forward section of the rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage in May 2019, technicians fastened 360 bolts to the circumference of the rocket. Images like this remind me of all the small parts that have to be installed with care, expertise, and precision to create one huge Moon rocket. Getting in close to capture the teammates that work tirelessly to make Artemis a success is one of the best parts of my job.” —Eric Bordelon, photographer, NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

“An incredible amount of precision goes into building a rocket, including making sure that each of our SLS rocket’s four RS-25 engines is aligned and integrated into the core stage correctly. In this image from October 2019, I attempted to illustrate the teamwork and communication happening as technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans do their part to help land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon through the Artemis missions. It’s rare to see the inside of a rocket – not as much for the NASA and Boeing engineers who manufacture and assemble a rocket stage!” —Jared Lyons, photographer, NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

“When the fully assembled and completed core stage left the Michoud factory in January 2020, employees took a “family photo” to mark the moment. Crews transported the flight hardware to NASA’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8 in preparation for the core stage Green Run test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. When I look at this photo, I am reminded of all of the hard work and countless hours the Michoud team put forth to build this next-generation Moon rocket. I am honored to be part of this family and to photograph historic moments like this for the Artemis program.” —Steven Seipel, MAF multimedia team lead, NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

“This photo shows workers at Stennis prepare to lift the SLS core stage into the B-2 Test Stand for the SLS Green Run test series in the early morning hours of Jan. 22, 2020. I started shooting the lift operation around midnight. During a break in the action at about 5:30 a.m., I was driving my government vehicle to the SSC gas station to fuel up, when I saw the first light breaking in the East and knew it was going to be a nice sunrise. I turned around and hurried back to the test stand, sweating that I might run out of gas. Luckily, I didn’t run out and was lucky enough to catch a beautiful Mississippi sunrise in the background, too.” —Danny Nowlin, photographer, NASA’s Stennis Space Center

“I like the symmetry in the video as it pushes toward the launch vehicle stage adapter. Teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, loaded the cone-shaped piece of flight hardware onto our Pegasus barge in July 2020 for delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The one-point perspective puts the launch vehicle stage adapter at the center of attention, but, if you pay attention to the edges, you can see people working. It gives a sense of scale. This was the first time I got to walk around Pegasus and meet the crew that transport the deep space rocket hardware, too.” —Sam Lott, videographer, SLS Program at Marshall Space Flight Center

“This was my first time photographing a test at our Stennis Space Center, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I have photographed big events like professional football games, but I wasn't prepared for the awesome power unleashed by the Space Launch System’s core stage and four RS-25 engines during the Green Run hot fire test. Watching the sound wave ripple across the tall grass toward us, feeling the shock wave of ignition throughout my whole body, seeing the smoke curling up into the blue sky with rainbows hanging from the plume; all of it was as unforgettable as watching a football player hoist a trophy into the air.” —Michael DeMocker, photographer, NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

“When our SLS Moon rocket launches the agency’s Artemis I mission to the Moon, 10 CubeSats, or small satellites, are hitching a ride inside the rocket’s Orion stage adapter (OSA). BioSentinel is one of those CubeSats. BioSentinel’s microfluidics card, designed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, will be used to study the impact of interplanetary space radiation on yeast. To me, this photo is a great combination of the scientific importance of Artemis I and the human touch of more than 100 engineers and scientists who have dedicated themselves to the mission over the years.” —Dominic Hart, photographer, NASA’s Ames Research Center

“I was in the employee viewing area at Kennedy when the integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft was rolled out to the launchpad for its wet dress rehearsal in March 2022. I really like this photo because the sun is shining on Artemis I like a spotlight. The giant doors of the Vehicle Assembly Building are the red curtain that opened up the stage -- and the spotlight is striking the SLS because it’s the star of the show making its way to the launchpad. I remember thinking how cool that NASA Worm logo looked as well, so I wanted to capture that. It was so big that I had to turn my camera sideways because the lens I had wasn’t big enough to capture the whole thing.” —Brandon Hancock, videographer, SLS Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

“I made this image while SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were nearing the end of their four-mile trek to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 ahead of launch. Small groups of employees were filtering in and out of the parking lot by the pad gate to take in the sight of the rocket’s arrival. The “We Are Going!” banner affixed to the gate in the foreground bears the handwritten names of agency employees and contractors who have worked to get the rocket and spacecraft ready for the Artemis I flight test. As we enter the final days before launch, I am proud to have made my small contribution to documenting the historic rollout for this launch to the Moon.” —Joel Kowsky, photographer, NASA Headquarters

More Photo-worthy Moments to Come!

NASA photographers will be on the ground covering the Artemis I launch. As they do, we’ll continue to share their photos on our official NASA channels.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

#NASA #Artemis #Moon #Space Launch System #rocket science #space #exploration #Moon 2024 #science #technology #tech #photography #photographers on Tumblr #original photographers

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lonestarflight · 7 months

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Comparison between the enlarged VentureStar and the X-33.

"This artist's rendering depicts the NASA/Lockheed Martin X-33 technology demonstrator alongside the Venturestar, a Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The X-33, a half-scale prototype for the Venturestar, is scheduled to be flight tested in 1999. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, plays a key role in the development and flight testing of the X-33. The RLV technology program is a cooperative agreement between NASA and industry. The goal of the RLV technology program is to enable signifigant reductions in the cost of access to space, and to promote the creation and delivery of new space services and other activities that will improve U.S. economic competitiveness. NASA Headquarter's Office of Space Access and Technology is overseeing the RLV program, which is being managed by the RLV Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, located in Huntsville, Alabama. The X-33 was a wedged-shaped subscale technology demonstrator prototype of a potential future Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) that Lockheed Martin had dubbed VentureStar. The company had hoped to develop VentureStar early this century. Through demonstration flight and ground research, NASA's X-33 program was to provide the information needed for industry representatives such as Lockheed Martin to decide whether to proceed with the development of a full-scale, commercial RLV program. A full-scale, single-stage-to-orbit RLV was to dramatically increase reliability and lower costs of putting a pound of payload into space, from the current figure of $10,000 to $1,000. Reducing the cost associated with transporting payloads in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by using a commercial RLV was to create new opportunities for space access and significantly improve U.S. economic competitiveness in the world-wide launch marketplace. NASA expected to be a customer, not the operator, of the commercial RLV. The X-33 design was based on a lifting body shape with two revolutionary 'linear aerospike' rocket engines and a rugged metallic thermal protection system. The vehicle also had lightweight components and fuel tanks built to conform to the vehicle's outer shape. Time between X-33 flights was normally to have been seven days, but the program had hoped to demonstrate a two-day turnaround between flights during the flight-test phase of the program. The X-33 was to have been an unpiloted vehicle that took off vertically like a rocket and landed horizontally like an airplane. It was to have reached altitudes of up to 50 miles and high hypersonic speeds. The X-33 program was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and was to have been launched at a special launch site on Edwards Air Force Base. Due to technical problems with the liquid hydrogen tank, and the resulting cost increase and time delay, the X-33 program was cancelled in February 2001."

Date: September 23, 1999

source

NASA Identifier: NIX-ED97-43929, ED97-43938-1

#Lockheed Martin X-33 #Lockheed Martin X-33 Venture Star #X-33 #Venture Star #Reusable Launch Vehicle #RLV #lifting body #NASA #my post #September #1999

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 10 months

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NASA’s Psyche Mission Enters Home Stretch Before Launch

Engineers and technicians at Cape Canaveral are preparing the Psyche spacecraft for liftoff, which is slated for Oct. 5.

With less than 100 days to go before its Oct. 5 launch, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is undergoing final preparations at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Teams of engineers and technicians are working almost around the clock to ensure the orbiter is ready to journey 2.5 billion miles (4 billion kilometers) to a metal-rich asteroid that may tell us more about planetary cores and how planets form.

The mission team recently completed a comprehensive test campaign of the flight software and installed it on the spacecraft, clearing the hurdle that kept Psyche from making its original 2022 launch date.

“The team and I are now counting down the days to launch,” said Henry Stone, Psyche’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Our focus has shifted to safely completing the final mechanical closeout of the spacecraft and preparing the team for operations. The team is conducting numerous training activities to ensure that we are prepared and ready. It’s a very busy time, but everyone is very excited and looking forward to the launch.”

Psyche is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy (the first interplanetary launch for that rocket) from Space Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 10:38 a.m. EDT (7:38 a.m. PDT) on Oct. 5, with additional opportunities scheduled through Oct. 25. After escaping Earth’s gravity, the Psyche spacecraft will use solar electric propulsion to accomplish its six-year journey to asteroid Psyche.

Measuring about 173 miles (279 kilometers) at its widest point, the asteroid Psyche presents a unique opportunity to explore a metal-rich body that may be part of a core of a planetesimal, the building block of an early planet. Once the spacecraft reaches Psyche in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, it will spend at least 26 months orbiting the asteroid, gathering images and other data that will tell scientists more about its history and what it is made of.

Next Steps

But first, a team of 30 or so engineers and technicians will wrap up the assembly, test, and launch operations phase of the mission. The team recently finished several weeks of functional testing of the science instruments as well as the spacecraft hardware and software.

After removing the last of the cables that snake around the hardware for testing, they’ll “close out” the spacecraft by reinstalling some exterior panels that had been removed for access and complete the thermal blanketing. Later in July, they will integrate and test the deployment of the enormous solar arrays. Then, in mid-August, a crew will begin slowly loading all 2,392 pounds (1,085 kilograms) of propellant – the neutral gas xenon – onto the spacecraft over the course of a couple weeks.

Luis Dominguez, the systems and electrical lead for assembly, test, and launch operations, is usually based at JPL but has been working full time at the Cape since early June. “We are moving forward,” he said, “and we’re confident that when we’re on the pad, we’ll be ready to hit the button. For all of us, we’ll be excited to launch this bird.”

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #nasa #psyche

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staringamassivemistakeintheface · 8 months

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So. Decked Out, huh? As I’ve said, I have never been so obsessed with one particular thing. It’s been the only thing on my mind. And this was accidental at first, but I ended up doing some form of writing snippet based on different happenings of each day of phase 1. As usual, I make no guarantees about quality, and in fact, some of them aren’t even finished. But I did the thing anyways. :)

Day 1 (unfinished)

As Tango waved goodbye to Gem and watched her leave the Citadel, he had to take a minute to pinch himself. Today hadn't been a stress-induced hallucination or a weird dream. He'd actually opened Decked Out to the Hermits and watched about two dozen different runs. It had been easy enough to fall back into the habits of a developer, identifying a problem and correcting it to the best of his ability while complaining about the ravagers. But to watch Scar struggle with a compass for several minutes, and to see people placing bets on Etho's success in the dungeon, it felt surreal. He locked the door that let players into the game, more for a feeling of closure than any necessity. Little routines and habits like that had fallen to the wayside in the long months of building and testing and troubleshooting the game, and he'd honestly let more important things slip as well. Things like sleeping regularly, or eating three meals a day, or spending time outside. On the rare occasions when he exited the Citadel, the sun always seemed too bright and the perpetual late spring weather felt unbearably warm compared to the chill of his artificial cavern, a sorry state for a blaze hybrid.

Day 2 (kinda unfinished)

It was rare to see Tango outside his Citadel. Even now that Decked Out was open to play, there were still things to iron out and a fourth level to finish. But after the massive success of the past two days, he felt justified in taking a night to himself. He left his robe and armor in the basement, only taking an elytra and a few rockets to fly up to the top of one of the taller towers. He needed something to remind himself that there was a world outside his little hole (massive, really). As he walked to the balcony, the server was awash in reddish-gold twilight. He hadn't seen a sunset in months. The sun slowly sinking beneath the horizon was, in that moment, the most wondrous thing he'd ever seen. He'd forgotten how the rocks of Grian's base appeared purple in the dying light. The way that Pearl's alien landscape stood out against the deep blue dusk sky was almost magical, like he was seeing it for the first time.

Day 3

The dungeon was happy. Its Creator had poured so much love and so much effort into it, so how could it not be pleased when new players finally entered its depths? Despite its cold (or scalding) tunnels and deadly hazards, it loved each and every person that came through the door clutching their compass like it was a totem. Without people to explore its halls and discover its secrets, it may as well be a hole in the ground, purposeless and empty. And though the players died, fleeing a ravager or simply not watching their step, they respawned laughing, joking with each other, comparing notes, and eager to go right back in.

Its Creator was working on some minor issues after the day's runs were finished, muttering under his breath as he added a room between levels. The dungeon was content, consciousness spread thin as it relaxed under its Creator's hands like a cat in a sunbeam. As it soothed the frustrated ravagers by the entrance and chittered at the Wardens, its Creator was mulling over joining the players on their runs. The dungeon almost shook in its happiness, ravagers grunting in surprise as all the hazard doors slammed wide open. It was meant to be ran, to put players to the test and watch them rise to the occasion, and to give that experience to its Creator? It couldn't ask for any greater honor or joy.

Day 4

The ravager known as Tango's Cough was frustrated. That was nothing new, as ravagers have incredibly short tempers and spend most of their lives riled up. But the past few days had been not only maddening, but confusing for the beast. It had been used to being largely unbothered, with an occasional appearance from the burning player to chase it back into a spot. Ravagers weren't necessarily meant to be alone for so long, but they also weren't meant to live this long in the first place. So, it made the most of a life away from the Illagers and settled into the cold tunnels around it.

This routine was recently disrupted, with other players entering the ravagers' territory. As infuriating as the intrusions were, these players were easy to deal with; lost, defenseless, only a small piece of metal in their hands. The ravager called Cough was particularly eager to take out the foolish explorers, lingering in bottlenecks and other tight spots. And for a while, it worked. The invaders would die without any loot in their pockets, screaming in fear and appearing just as frustrated as the beast that killed them. But even this new routine was quickly starting to turn. Ravagers weren't particularly skilled with facial recognition, but even Cough could note what players could dodge it and go further into the maze that the burning player created. Just today, a player skirted its attacks and got far enough that the message of their demise was from one of its brethren on another level. The intruders were learning, rendering the ravagers' bulk and brute strength useless. They still ran screaming, but they made it out more often than not, leaving Cough to bellow at the door that they left through. It was frustrating to say the least.

Day 5 (kinda unfinished)

It wasn't unusual to hear a rocket fire far too close to Grian's base, but it was fairly late in the evening for Scar to drop by. Equipping his armor (a habit born out of being hOtGuYed one too many times), Grian walked out onto the bridge. He wasn't sure who he was expecting to see land in front of him, but a frazzled-looking Tango wasn't it. The blaze wasn't often seen outside the Citadel, and now that Decked Out was open, he was more reclusive than ever, either spectating runs or fixing the bugs that cropped up.

"Uh, hey, Tango! What's up?" Grian did his best to sound casual, but outside of the dim lighting of Decked Out, Tango was really a wreck. The shadows under his eyes were far too bluish to be healthy, and this was coming from someone who once joined a cult based around sleep deprivation. His fire was burning unusually bright, and he couldn't seem to stop fiddling with his comm. Tango met his eyes, and the near-desperation in the other man's gaze killed any joke he was going to make.

"How do you stand it, Grian?" His voice was a bit rougher than usual. Tango wasn't usually one to skip straight to the point like this. Worry crept up Grian's spine, wings already puffed up from concern for his friend.

"What are you talking about?" There were several things Tango could've been referring to (leaving his base unfinished, regularly getting sniped by Scar, living close enough to the Perimeter to hear Doc's manic laughter), but nothing came to mind that would explain the tension in the blaze's posture. He sputtered for a second, seemingly surprised that Grian even had to ask.

"Y'know, them!" And oh, if Grian's blood didn't turn to ice at that statement... he didn't need to look at his wings or see his eyes to know that both had flickered purple. He frantically opened his senses, looking for the weight of Their gaze and Eyes on this poor man, who didn't ask to be tormented here, so far away from the Life games...

"Uh, Grian? Why are you doing the spooky eye thingy?" Tango sounded confused, which was understandable, but he just said that They were bothering him...

"Wait. Do you mean capital-letter Them or lowercase them?" Grian's feathers were definitely thoroughly ruffled by now, and he sensed a headache coming on. Because Tango could be referring to Them (don't invoke them, not even here), the beings that had torn him apart and chased him for years, forced him to pit his friends against each other every few months. Or he could merely be complaining about—

"Oh, lowercase! Dude, I am so sorry, I really should've specified!" Or he could be complaining about the watchers, the thousands of voices and wisps of color that latched onto many notable members of the community.

"You just about gave me a heart attack, Tango! You know I don't stream as much as you do!" Grian gave Tango a punch on the shoulder, light but with just enough force to hurt for a few minutes.

"Yeah, that one's on me. But really, they are so obnoxious! I had nine thousand watching me today, and they would not shut up about the offhand map. I know it's glitchy, for Coders' sake!"

Day 6

Vex magic is renowned for its intricate nature, being the most difficult form of arcana for a player to learn. Cub had been the one to fully delve into its mysteries, exploring the bond between the magic and its user as best he could. Scar? He didn't have the patience to leaf through dusty old tomes for hours on end. He let Cub do the research and let him know if he was about to do something incredibly stupid. The two of them left the masks in Season Six, and if Cub got his way more often than anticipated, or if Scar's eyes flashed silver during a sales pitch... well, no real harm done.

A major component of Vex and Illager magic revolves around the concept of possession (in the legal sense). A mansion's Vex are the literal property of its Evokers. ConCorp did so well because they believed they were owed every diamond of profit they could make. Conversely, Allays are so sought-after because they relinquish that part of their magic to their master, not owning anything unless given it.

This part of the lingering Vex magic in Scar's code, the urge to possess and the control over what's his, mostly worked on a subconscious level by Season Nine. It only really came in handy at the start of a season, when looking for Jellie's new host. It hadn't exactly been an inconvenience, though.

At least, not until now.

When Scar had figured out that each artifact represented one of the Hermits, he was delighted. Upon initially finding the Death Loop, he'd laughed about his artifact and proceeded to book it out of the dungeon. He recognized the totem on a chain as his, and though he didn't mean to do anything with the drops of quicksilver magic in his veins, he'd bound the artifact to him regardless. He quickly grew tired of like drawing to like when he was trying for higher-value runs, only to pull the totem once again. The second he expressed distaste with the artifact, the magic dissipated and he found Joe Hills' item next.

This is why he left the research to Cub.

Day 7 (kinda unfinished)

Decked Out's sentience was something of an open secret. Nobody really discussed it, because it sounded crazy to say out loud, but it was evident. After the opening day had finished, the redstone lines had been humming unusually loudly for hours, similar to a cat purring. Etho's poor luck with hazard doors was hard to explain away, as well as Zedaph's five consecutive level two runs. On the rare occasions that Tango had socialized with the other Hermits during the build process, he'd talk about the dungeon as one would a beloved yet stubborn pet. He kept her running smoothly, and she never lacked for anything. Besides, the feedback you get from sentient creatures is miles better than anything machines create.

Most of the time, that is.

"Come on, do you have to do this now?!" Tango's frustrated groan echoed through the dungeon's maze of redstone as he tried yet again to set up his cam account. As had happened the past three times, the plugs that the camera relied on sparked and shut off, power diverted elsewhere. A hazard disk played somewhere, the quiet crackling sound akin to a teenager grumbling under their breath. The blaze rolled his eyes, giving the control panel a light whack.

"First the map, then level two respawns, now I can't even see the lobby? I thought you were enjoying all the attention!" He took a second on his communicator to let Hypno know about the technical troubles, grinning despite himself upon seeing the man's chat flood with excited greetings. Decked Out had become a much bigger phenomenon than Tango had ever anticipated, and witnessing thousands of people flocking to the Hermits' channels to follow their runs warmed his heart. As if reading his thoughts, the distant snuffling of the rogue warden drew just a little closer, as if guided to him.

"Really, honey, what's the matter?" As he put his hand on the control panel like it was a child's shoulder, a mild shock hit his wrist, just by his comm. It wasn't meant to hurt, Tango knew what it was like when the dungeon wanted to lash out. But he got the point nonetheless.

"Are you jealous of the attention we're all getting?!" He couldn't quite keep the incredulity out of his voice. A lone frost ember toot played somewhere by Level 2. The cameras were starting to function again, with an occasional fuzzy feed of the map area outside or Hypno and Pearl chatting in the lobby, but Tango knew better than to leave something like this unaddressed.

"You do know you're the star of the show, right? People are praising your design and intricacy to Aether and back, while I'm still mocked for dying to a berry bush. And don't give me that look, I merely followed your vision." As Tango talked, he began sorting through redstone lines, trying to get the cam account fully online.

"You're not a player, and the world download isn't ready yet, so people can't come to you directly. But rest assured, there are thousands of people who are just as obsessed with you as we are." A little treasure ding played just as he got everything sorted out, map loading and lobby in full focus.

"Besides, it's entertaining to see Etho beating the washed-up allegations. Are you sure you don't have a crush on him?" He teasingly nudged the wall with his elbow, laughing at the dungeon's offended rumble.

Day 8 (unfinished)

See, Grian had wanted to support Scar. Really! MCC was a big deal, and just a fun event to watch. Scar and Martyn on the same team made for a wildly entertaining time as well. So he joined the spectator account, watching Purple wade through Bingo and cheering on his friend all the while. But as Scar dug down to bedrock, Grian's one remaining shard was burning a hole in his pocket. He'd had such rotten luck with level 2, and there was still so much of the dungeon to see...

#hermitcraft #decked out 2 #long post #fanfic #writing snippet #writing #daily writing challenge #except it wasn’t really a challenge I just did it for the hell of it #tangotek #grian #scar gets cameos #bullshit vex magic headcanons #bullshit audience/streamer headcanons #decked out is alive and it’s a lot chiller than people think #it ain’t much but it’s honest work #this is 2500 words wtf #and I did it all in a draft on gmail on my phone

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