Top 3 Rocket Launches/Missions of 2018

[Nightside]

Here are my top 3 rocket launches of 2018. What were Top 3?

 

3.

Spoiler

Electron (It's Business Time) - Really neat to see successful development of this launch vehicle and the application of new electric turbo pump technology.

 

2.

Spoiler

Soyuz MS-10 Launch failure - This fascinating to watch because it was the best possible kind of launch failure, all safety systems worked and no one was injured.

 

1.

Spoiler

Falcon Heavy/Starman - An obvious pick,  but it was a legitimate cultural phenomenon and exciting to watch. I loved noticing random people watching the Starman stream on their phones and computers for the rest of the day.

 

Edited December 30, 2018 by Nightside

[Green Baron]

Launches:

1.) InSight

2.) BepiColombo

3.) Parker Solar Probe

Because science. Not sure about Chang'e 4 and the dozens other Chinese launches' relevance yet, Falcon Heavy was surely thrilling (glad it went well) but must step behind science missions on my top 3 list :-)

Mission highlights:

1.) Osiris/Rex (nevermind spelling pls.) arrives at Bennu

2.) Hayabusa 2 arrives at Ryugu

3.) New Horizon just woke up and stretched its limbs, though the real highlight will be early next year ...

I am sure i forgot something due to my ignorance of not keeping track. These are just the ones on my mind.

[DDE]

1 hour ago, Nightside said:

and no one was injured.

Except a whole lot of egos.

[NSEP]

Falcon Heavy Demo is definitely the coolest rocket launch of 21st century. Nothing tops the Starman reveal and the two core boosters landing at the same time. All other launches were rather typical and uninteresting compared to the madness that was the Falcon Heavy Demo flight. Expect for Soyuz MS-10.

As for my favourite actual space mission, it would have to be the Hayabusa 2 landing and its rovers. It was completely unexpected for me since i didn't follow the mission earlier, and neither did i expect it had tiny rover carrying with it. I also loved the InSight landing, that i watched live with my Dad.

[Ultimate Steve]

1 hour ago, NSEP said:

Falcon Heavy Demo is definitely the coolest rocket launch of 21st century.

So far! Although depending on your viewpoint it could be argued... But I think that launch definitely affected the public more than any other launch.

As for my top 3... How does one judge? Three were so many great ones, so many important ones, etc.

Definitely up there is Falcon Heavy, Parker Solar Probe (my name's on it!), InSight, MS-10... There's too many to rank!

[ProtoJeb21]

My favorite launch this year would have to, of course, be TESS. Parker and BebiColombo are set to make amazing finds in the near future, but TESS is the one that started making incredible finds almost immediately — its first planet, Pi Mensae c, was confirmed just two months after observations began! Also, it’s an exoplanet mission, and it’s one I’m using to find planets, just like with Kepler/K2 (may you Rest In Peace). How could I not pick it?

I honestly can’t decide between Hayabusa2, Osiris-REX, or InSight for my top space exploration mission of the year, but they would all be in the top 3. Maybe New Horizons will join if we get any decent pictures of Ultima Thule before the New Year. 

[Nightside]

2 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Parker Solar Probe (my name is on it)

Your name is Solar Steve?

Edited December 30, 2018 by Nightside

[tater]

I'd separate launches from missions that launched in 2018.

For launches, there was Falcon Heavy, and a bunch of "also rans," honestly. Topping the also ran launches... any launch that involved landing a booster. Throwing away rockets now bothers me, lol, though I'll put Electron up there as a cool piece of hardware... so FH, F9 launches with landings, then Electron, the rest are noise, IMO.

For missions? That's harder. TESS and Insight are cool, as is Parker and Bepi Colombo. It gets more confusing if launching this year isn't required to be on the list.

[Ultimate Steve]

32 minutes ago, Nightside said:

Your name is Solar Steve?

Before the Parker Solar Probe launched, NASA had a site where you could submit your name to be recorded on a small memory card, which would be attached to the probe. It's probably been fried and bit-flipped to the point of it being unrecognizable now, but my name is up there, touching the sun, flying past Venus... It may be the closest I ever get to going to space, although I hope not.

My grandfather's name is also up there. He worked at NASA Lewis for 30 years.

[Nightside]

37 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Before the Parker Solar Probe launched, NASA had a site where you could submit your name to be recorded on a small memory card, which would be attached to the probe. It's probably been fried and bit-flipped to the point of it being unrecognizable now, but my name is up there, touching the sun, flying past Venus... It may be the closest I ever get to going to space, although I hope not.

My grandfather's name is also up there. He worked at NASA Lewis for 30 years.

That’s incredible!

[Gargamel]

On 12/29/2018 at 6:07 PM, Ultimate Steve said:

So far! Although depending on your viewpoint it could be argued... But I think that launch definitely affected the public more than any other launch.

Yes, until we have the next crewed mission to the Moon or Mars, the FH is the greatest launch of the 21st century, so far, within the context of gathering public attention. 

A lot of us on here can make very valid arguments that other launches or missions were far more important for the year, but as a group, we fall within the .1% of science geeks.  Ask a simple question about the shape of an engine bell on the shuttle, and it turns into a 12 page discussion on the history and development of the RS-25.  Ask the general public, and they might say "It's a cone right?".     So within the context of getting public interest in there, the FH takes the cake, with the SpaceShip 1 launch for the X prize up there too, and STS-135 launch.  But those aren't this year. 

[insert_name]

For launches it would be Insight, Icesat 2 and SSO-A

[MinimumSky5]

Falcon Heavy/Elons ego Tesla

Delta 2/Icesat 2

Falcon 9/CRS-16 

And while its not a "favourite" launch, honourable mention goes to:

Soyuz FG/Soyuz MS10

One made my jump for joy, one made me shed bittersweet tears (I've always loved the Delta 2 for its history and versatility), one made me laugh at an incredibly Kerbal launch in all respects, and one had me at the edge of my chair, hoping that we hadn't just witnessed the end of two heros. 

So, 2019, what have you got in store for us? 

Edited January 2, 2019 by MinimumSky5
Payload malfunction!

[DDE]

7 hours ago, MinimumSky5 said:

So, 2019, what have you got in store for us? 

Stainless

Steel

Starship

[Ozymandias_the_Goat]

23 minutes ago, DDE said:

Stainless

Steel

Starship

Retrofuturism, yay!

It all depends on what you judge, obviously, as exceptional payloads have a habit of launching on unexceptional boosters, the sole exception to this being falcon heavy. With that topping all lists, I’ll say that the most interesting payload was TESS, with BepiColumbo following and then insight, I guess.

[ThatGuyWithALongUsername]

8 hours ago, MinimumSky5 said:

Falcon Heavy/Elons ego Tesla

Delta 2/Icesat 2

Falcon 9/Es'hail 2

And while its not a "favourite" launch, honourable mention goes to:

Soyuz FG/Soyuz MS10

One made my jump for joy, one made me shed bittersweet tears (I've always loved the Delta 2 for its history and versatility), one made me laugh at an incredibly Kerbal launch in all respects, and one had me at the edge of my chair, hoping that we hadn't just witnessed the end of two heros. 

So, 2019, what have you got in store for us? 

2019 is looking to be great... and it's already exciting with all the New Horizons stuff!

In short, and in no particular order, we have...

• Ultima Thule flyby (check!)
• Commercial crew (x2)
• Like 4 different lunar missions
• New smallsat launchers
• two asteroid samplings
• twice the falcon heavy we had last year
• Another exoplanet 'scope
• Probably some more that I'm forgetting about

and, of course,

• 17 minutes ago, DDE said:

  Stainless

  Steel

  Starship

   

 

Small question, though, what was so special about Es'hail 2? I don't remember anything happening on that one?

 

As for my top launches of 2018, that's a bit tricky. Obviously Falcon Heavy top the list of launches, but there were pent of cool launches competing for second and third place. With payloads, I'm even more confused: I'm not sure about a first place thing here. I can list 6 payloads and 6 launches, but not in order:

LAUNCHES:

1. Falcon Heavy

2-6 (in no particular order):

• Last Delta II
• One of those neat little Electron launches
• Bangabundhu-1
• CRS-16
• MS-10

PAYLOADS:

1-6 (In no particular order):

• InSight
• BepiColumbo
• TESS
• SSO-A
• Parker Solar Probe
• Chang'e 4

[MinimumSky5]

IIRC, Es'hail 2 was the payload for B1050, the Falcon 9 that underwent aquabraking at Kennedy. 

[NSEP]

1 hour ago, MinimumSky5 said:

IIRC, Es'hail 2 was the payload for B1050, the Falcon 9 that underwent aquabraking at Kennedy. 

Wasn't CRS16 payload of the Aquabraker?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9_booster_B1050

Edited January 2, 2019 by NSEP

[Ho Lam Kerman]

I'd say some of the most important moments in spaceflight this year would be:

Falcon Heavy

Soyuz MS-10

Electron Still Testing

InSight (both launch & landing)

Parker Solar Probe

Delta II & ICESat-2 (Bye old friend)

Kepler & Dawn EOM

Starship passenger announcement (#dearMoon)

CRS-16 failed landing

GovSat and that booster who doesn't want to die

Bangabandhu-1 and the Block 5 debut

SSO-A and the 2nd reuse of a booster

TESS because we've already seen it bear fruit

Chang'e 4

BepiColombo

Dragon V2 and Strainer crew announcement

Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx

Zuma launch failure

VA 241 off-target orbit

Momo-2 launch failure

Hole in station 

They did Sergei on a Soyuz

Apollo 8 50th anniversary

 

 

Wow, a lot of stuff happened this year! Here's to an even better 2019!

8 hours ago, NSEP said:

Wasn't CRS16 payload of the Aquabraker?

That is true.

[DDE]

5 hours ago, Ho Lam Kerman said:

Zuma launch failure

That’s what they want you to think (tm).

Also, the beginning of a very interesting string of NROL-71 scrubs.

[Nightside]

20 hours ago, DDE said:

That’s what they want you to think (tm).

Also, the beginning of a very interesting string of NROL-71 scrubs.

Clandestine bookends for an exciting year, is the gossip still flowing on that one? 

[DDE]

On 1/4/2019 at 8:51 AM, Nightside said:

Clandestine bookends for an exciting year, is the gossip still flowing on that one? 

*wink-wink*

 

[ThatGuyWithALongUsername]

Have a semi-relevant blog post and shameless plug, courtesy of yours truly:

https://missioncontrolblog.metazai.com/2019/01/04/im-a-bit-behind/

 

(First third or so is list of notable 2018 space things)

Edited January 7, 2019 by ThatGuyWithALongUsername

[kerbiloid]

1. Launch abort test of Soyuz MS-10.
(Also a spacecraft mod adding a portable hole in your ship.)

2. A snowman discovery of New Horizons.
(I had a feeling that it would find something abnormal. Also earlier I had a feeling that it would find some great wounds on Pluto, and there was the Heart).

3. Minecraft asteroids of Hayabusa and Osiris Rex.
(Are they going to add a multiplayer?)

Edited January 7, 2019 by kerbiloid