_Augustus_

This makes me wonder. Could you penetrate Europa's crust with a large tactical weapon? If so, how big? MOAB? Low-yield nuke?

I'm hoping this is a typo?

Brass is here, need to figure out how to bend and attach it but hopefully I can do balance/focus testing today or tomorrow.

I built the adjustable secondary holder. Unfortunately, the ruler I was going to use as a spider vane is impossible to drill through (I broke a bit trying), so I had to order some brass stock to use instead.

Best. Name. Ever.

Truss couplings have been redone, and the altitude bearings have been stained. Curved spider is about half done - I need to get a lock washer and some screws. Still aiming for first light on Tuesday.

Yep, a vacuum version.

You forgot the SLS thread. Just 2 years until EM-1!

I rarely post on this thread (I have a telescope making thread in the Science subforum) but here's my new 16" Dob (still needs a mount and some parts, but it's 90% done). My 6", for comparison: I'm 6' 1" for scale.

OTA is (mostly) complete (I'm 6' 1" for scale). The wood blocks mounting the trusses to the UTA need to be re-done because the bolts are angled and thus won't fit through the trusses, but other than that the only work left is the mount (50% done already) and curved spider. And there's some painting/staining work that I'll do after I test this with the uncoated mirror.

To get a rough idea, I'd say just add together the mass of an Orion and fully fueled ACES/Centaur-5 (to account for the heat shielding and whatnot).

Good point.

Another The only real payload bites the dust.......

Sorry for the lack of updates. I went to HD yesterday and got my own circle jig for my router, genuine Formica, screws/bolts, etc. Also started attaching the trusses to the mirror box and added ventilation holes to the back.

That would require extremely fast turnaround time - faster than even SpaceX has ever done - and/or multiple pads, which they don't have or plan on having. It was announced at the National Space Council meeting that they'd be launching PPE before EM-2 on a commercial LV, which actually makes sense seeing as the thing is powered by SEP......

The whole idea of re-using Shuttle components to save money is incredibly stupid, as re-certifying/upgrading the RS25 and boosters costs so much and takes so long.

Took this with a cute little Astroscan. Scope itself:

So the biggest local astronomy club has their annual Messier Marathon on March 16th this year. I could bring the 6" to that, but there would probably be a fair amount of M's that would be either invisible and show no detail, either. To that end, I'm now targeting a date of March 7th or so to have the scope done (so I can allow a week for coating), giving me the possibility of bringing it to the Marathon. Because of the date requirement I'll make my own curved spider - the secondary is small enough that I think it will do. Later today I will go to Home Depot and get my FRP, foam wrapping for the trusses, and more screws, and the local wood shop to get my UTA rings and alt bearings cut (my %&@* router's sub-base does not detach and thus it's useless for cutting circles as it cannot attach to a jig). Tonight or Friday I'll finish constructing the entire scope, and prepare for star testing (looks like I can do that Tuesday).

Mirror cell is done.

SpaceX has demonstrated supersonic retropropulsion and landing of Falcon 9 boosters. That is almost exactly the same as a propulsive Mars landing...... just not on Mars.

I have no doubt he will not meet the dates for either. I think that the cargo runs will be in 2024 and the first crew will be in the 2027-2030 time frame. But what capabilities don't exist exactly????

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA His company is a failure. They promised to launch tourists a decade ago, and are still testing their suborbital space plane, which can no longer reach space because it's too heavy. Their orbital rocket cannot use White Knight to launch, and is smaller than Electron. If he wants to upstage Elon, maybe he should actually put real money into his project and re-evaluate his goals.

Secondary mirror is here, and the trusses should get here Tuesday. I ordered a spider as well, but that's going to be a while - it's possible I won't have it until mid-March. That sucks, because I need the spider to determine the OTA balance point......

My boss thinks Elon's just a sleazy businessman out to make money. I seriously don't believe that, especially when the man says stuff like this.....

That was the original plan. Glad they're reverting back to it.