Posted on 04/19/2023 9:37:38 AM PDT by Red Badger
When you have nearly unlimited billions of taxpayers' dollars to spend getting the astronauts to the Moon before the Russians, recycling isn't even on the board..................
Now, Let’s see if SpaceX can launch the Starship/BFR tomorrow morning. It’ll be something if it can get off the ground ..and not explode.
Regarding reusability, I think you’re being a bit unfair to NASA. They were, in fact, thinking about reusability in the 1970s, and built the space shuttle. Every part of it was supposed to be reusable in some sense. The orbiters and SRB were supposed to fly again, the external fuel tanks were supposed to be used as construction materials on orbit. It never quite lived up to its promise for a host of reasons, related to the reasons aviation pioneers Octave Chanute and Otto Lillienthal weren’t the first to achieve powered heavier than air flight: Technology wasn’t quite advanced enough yet. The Wrights needed a light, powerful engine. SpaceX needs small, powerful computers.
Elon Musk stands on the shoulders of giants, just as Orville and Wilbur did. I’m pretty sure he knows this.
If it does explode, Musk will build a new one and launch it in a couple months. The speed at which they operate is mind-boggling.
I saw a string of those satellites on my way home after work around 5-5:30 AM a few weeks ago. Looked like a glowing line headed east in the black sky. Pretty cool.
I’ll be watching from 8:30-9:30 CST for that launch.
“Thousands of satellites going into orbit to watch and record our every move and Internet message.”
I’m sending this message to the wearer of a thick tinfoil hat named: Gnome1949 from my Starlink wireless internet.
Be VERY afraid!
“Thousands of satellites going into orbit to watch and record our every move and Internet message.”
As if that hasn’t been going on since W’s Patriot Act, and in earnest for the last 10 years. Musk is behind the curve on spying.
Now, if our cruise ship whill be connected to Starlink internet before February, I’m good.
The lesson learned from the space shuttle is that it is not a good idea to build a spacecraft that looks like an airplane. 250,000 lbs to orbit, 200,000 lbs back. I think after the moon landings, NASA turned into just another government bureaucracy. It has become worse with the SLS. Many if not most of the major components are space shuttle hardware, and yet it was still over budget and behind schedule. I have a feeling the SpaceX going to beat them back to the moon.
The space shuttle program did produce some good hardware. All the engines used on the recent Artemis mission were used space shuttle engines.
You’ll never have a career writing headlines or clickbait with that attitude, mister.
Madam, I'm pretty sure the Mayflower didn't have an internet connection...
Go ahead, announce your ignorance.
“No Spaceplanes” is one reasonable lesson to learn from the STS program. It’s not a universal, but it is a good general lesson. See the USAF (or is it USSF) X-37 for a counter-example. Another good lesson is “Protect Your Heatshield”. Also “Tell the Ecofreaks to Fcck Themselves”.
SLS is a horrible kludge. The blame for this lies solely with Congress, which insisted on reusing STS parts and technology. So here’s another lesson: “Don’t Let Politicians do Engineering”.
As for who gets to Luna next: I will be watching tomorrow’s Starship launch attempt with great interest.
LOL!
Musk himself has stated that in order for humans to be (potentially) saved from A.I., we will need to “merge with A.I.”
The StarLINK-NeuraLINK “merger” must come first as it will be the backbone of the A.I. control grid. Because coincidentally, the technology that will “save us from A.I.” - also just happens to be identical to the technology that will allow both micro and macro control of human behavior...everywhere on earth, 24/7/365.
Yup - I'm seeing fiber trucks all of a sudden myself. I was on an 18-month Starlink waiting list when the box came. I thought, no way it could live up to billing. It surpassed it. Totally worth the wait.
I wonder how many diversity hires they have working on the SLS. I think if they had to design new engines from scratch, they would be lucky to get to the moon before Elon Musk gets to Mars.
I think they probably had to build the space shuttle just to show how bad an idea it was. Maybe someday, new engines, new fuels, new materials. But right now I think SpaceX is on the right path. I will be watching tomorrow, too!
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