Congressional candidate: Moon-colonizing companies could destroy cities by dropping rocks (funny)

The Washington Times ^ | February 28, 2017 | Bradford Richardson

[Spktyr]

You must have read mostly his very late stuff. Little of his early to mid career work went there - on the other hand, the ‘orgy’ books seem to have been prescient about how society is going anyway.

You should probably go give The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress a try. It’s available in eBook format cheaply from the usual sources. The math and physics in the book are dead on - and if you weren’t alarmed about the US’ retreat from space and current cession of the moon to the Chinese, you will be afterwards. Heinlein spent the rest of his life after the Apollo program ended up going nowhere desperately trying to get the US Government to realize what they’d done. Thanks to Democrats like Senator Proxmire, most of the government still doesn’t know or care.

[jazusamo]

That video is hilarious. Hank sounds like a doper hippie out of the ‘60s.

[Spktyr]

A lunar mass driver can target and hit literally any fixed structure on the surface of the earth and anything in a fixed non-adjustable orbit. This includes military bases, factories, spacecraft launching facilities, naval yards, the GPS satellite system...

[Sidebar Moderator]

Yes, he does! LOL

[marktwain]

They have to be propelled at the mom’s escape velocity.

---

Yes. That is 7,800 fps. Some cannon have attained that velocity (big, experimental gas guns, Gerald Bull guns) and rail guns have far exceeded it.

[Auntie Dem]

We earthlings could screw up the Moonie’s aim by building yuge rockets parallel to the surface on both coasts aimed toward the oceans. When we detected a rock coming our way we could accelerate the earth’s rotation and they would hit San Francisco instead of New York. Then we’d fire up the opposite rockets to rotate the earth back to normal. Really.

[philetus]

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is my favorite book from Heinlein for just an enjoyable scifi read.

[dayglored]

You just can’t make stuff like this up, nobody would believe you.

Wow

[Army Air Corps]

The stupid, it BURNS!

[Fiddlstix]

What Can I Say But........

GMTA

[Fiddlstix]

Yes Indeed

[Still Thinking]

Aahhhhh! [runs away in terror]

[Oztrich Boy]

Call me when your trebuchet (or even your EMRail gun) can make 2.4 Km/sec

[freedomjusticeruleoflaw]

What she says is true.

[Sirius Lee]

Already been done...

[RedWulf]

That was a wonderful book.

[Nifster]

This is second greatest concern....right after Guam flipping over

[Nifster]

You do understand that the book is a work of FICTION

[jazusamo]

In the real world “she” is a “he” and I’m not convinced about the rest. :)

[Publius]

But it’s based on sound science.