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tater

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  1. tater
    The original concept included either a SM/CM combination, or that 'MURP" (Manned Upper Reusable Payload) lifting body. There were some similar looking capsule designs floated in the 70s as VTVL HLVs (some SSTOs, others staged), but those were for large payloads, not crew transfer.
  2. tater
    KAS/KIS (or some light version) should have been made stock ages ago. It actually gives the kerbals something to DO other than click for an EVA report or take a surface sample.
  3. tater
  4. tater
    As I recall, the original SERV design carried a lifting body or winged crew shuttle. Lemme see if I can find a picture.
  5. tater
    Turn textures down on the macbook, if you already haven't.
  6. tater
    I've been playing with 365 as well (easy to do with stock sized parts, while still challenging). I didn't realize ATM rescaled dds textures, I thought it converted non-dds to dds.
  7. tater
    Yeah, this mod has been the first time I've crashed (memory limit) in a long time. Very cool stuff, though.
  8. tater
    Ah, gotcha. Makes sense.
  9. tater
    The series_e stuff is under pods instead of aero.
  10. tater
    Still a few hours, but this is the technical webcast (no annoying social media idiots, just video and data).
  11. tater
    Single player, hence the AI requirement. Alternately, you could I suppose have a kind of hybrid turn-based system for this, with the game periodically making sure both players were in sync (the only real requirement for synch is to see who did what first).
  12. tater
    Sure we do. Ideally an add-on. Expand the scope. Add colonization (building actual structures in situ). Add new game modes like: a space race (this would require adding AI to run the competing program, and to pilot/gain science/repair competing craft). exploration (random kerbol system that requires that the player actually explore it) interstellar?
  13. tater
    I'd happily pay for a sequel. Anyone against that should move out of their parents' basement.
  14. tater
    Will do. Sorry, but I only read the OP when it was first written, it didn't occur to me to reread it after it was edited (why would I?).
  15. tater
    Serious question, Vanamonde: Since relations between states (or planets) are by definition political, how could one possibly discuss Interplanetary Relations without it being political at some level?
  16. tater
    Yeah, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but the subject is by definition political.
  17. tater
    Interplanetary relations IS politics. It is nothing but politics (albeit imaginary politics). You apparently want a politics thread with no politics. We could talk about our pets or something, I suppose. I have a dog and a cat. Since it's pretend space colonies, my pets live on Mars and an asteroid, respectively. If I start to discuss their potential interactions, that would be politics, so suffice it to say they are cute.
  18. tater
    Why would you start a thread about Interplanetary Relations, then ask to not include possible politics? That's what International (and hence interplanetary) relations is. You could reword the title, "Interplanetary Politics" (which is exactly the same as interplanetary relations) then ask for no politics, religion, or ideology. You've basically killed any possible conversation. If the colonies/bases were controlled by terrestrial nation states, their interactions are political. If they become independent, that itself is a political process, and once they are independent, their relations are by definition political.
  19. tater
    Employment is a contract between two consenting parties. They have a "right" to find other employment if their current workload bothers them.
  20. tater
    Rocket parts? What, are you crazy? Be happy with 2, they have loads of slight variant spaceplane parts they need to finish first!
  21. tater
    The change in heat shield is interesting. I know the cell-filling on Orion was taking some ridiculous number of man-hours. If they change the heat shield, that pretty much voids the reentry test on the one and only test launch of the capsule.
  22. tater
    Apparently they're gonna try again Sunday.
  23. tater
    You don't need much fuel at all, you just need time. You can herd a small asteroid, attach an ion drive to it, heck, a solar sail might be feasible. It just might take many years to get it to L@, or wherever is deemed safe. Even a small rock loaded with rare earths would be a windfall---at "rare" rare earth prices. Flood the market, and the price plummets. So the economics seem to be a long timeframe to get it, then you might have a lot to sell, but you need to sell in small units to maximize profit (sort of like DeBeers and diamonds. Diamonds only have value because the market is controlled, they are common, and should be cheap.
  24. tater
    I read that Niven when it came out. I think it is not impossible, the universe is a rather large place. That said, it kind of depends on how you define conditions for life. If you are open to exobiologies that might not be as likely/plausible, then pretty much anything goes. If you require liquid water, and radiation within some limits, then maybe it's considerably less likely---but again, there are many neutron stars and white dwarves out there, so you only need have some form of life on a vanishingly small % to have the answer be, "yes."
  25. tater
    The economics of mining rare earths, etc, has got to be interesting, and I'd personally be interested in the take from an economist if there is an article out there to read. It seems like they are valuable entirely because they are rare. The cost to drag an asteroid to orbit with a huge supply might actually be small compared to terrestrial mining, at which point in order to keep the price up, they mining outfit would have to triple supply down, else they'd be doing something expensive (space mining) to collect a product that is cheap. It's an interesting balance.
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