Bill Phil

You might like Space:1889.

If you were standing on Callisto, Jupiter would be more than 4 degrees wide in the sky. Or, in other words, over 8 times the angular diameter of the Moon from Earth.

There's a famous one from Hitchhiker's Guide on the size of space: "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

Cheaper? Yes. Accurate? Not necessarily. Not to mention the significant reduction in vehicle requirements when "launched" from a higher energy orbit. One significant issue is night time in LEO and how it affects the vehicle.

Sure, but it's better to do tests before a Mars mission. And it's even better if there's a space station nearby to go to if something goes awry, provided they can make it to the station in time. But the real reason is to have something to do so that jobs are made and/or retained.

Let's see... Ich weiss weniger Deutsch als meine Zeit in "Hoch Schule." Ich kann mehr Deutsch lernen, aber, es gibt zu viel Arbeit für das. Deutschklasse war sehr Spaß für mir. In any case, this is the English forum...

Well, no. DSG will use electric propulsion for its mobility. Which cannot land on the Moon. Not only that, but electric engines are very expensive. According to the request for information, they want the first module to have 2 tonnes of xenon propellant.

LC-39 is pretty cool. I just wish it had more pads...

There's plenty of reasons. It takes less energy to go to EML-2 than TLI, meaning that you can send a larger payload there, provided that the vehicle has the capability to launch heavier payloads. Considering the lower performance of SLS Block 1B compared to the Saturn V, stopping first at DSG would be helpful. And the implied mobility of the DSG could finish the transfer to LLO. Assuming DSG is based out of L-2... According to this: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=33368e53181a28d9fb7d9e8582aff8c7 DSG will likely be mobile.

Yeah. There are a number of french loanwords in German as well. I took 5 semesters of German in High School. I'm no expert in German, but I do have some experience with it.

Dutch Deutsch. Even the names are similar... And that makes a good amount of sense. The Netherlands is real close to Germany. Although, so is France...

That seems pretty generic.

I've heard from some guys at MSFC that ICPS will be used for Europa Clipper. Not sure about that though. But even EM-2 isn't an all up test. SLS is intended to be an evolvable vehicle. Block 1 => Block 1B => Block 2. And Block 2 may never fly. And according to Wikipedia, EM-2 and Europa-Clipper will both fly in 2022... NASA could launch 2 per year if they had enough payloads to fill in that schedule and a sufficiently sized budget to do so. But that's as unlikely as... well, NASA getting more funding...

I haven't ever been in a relationship. I went on like three dates in high school, but nothing really came of it. I'm still young, though, so who knows? All I really need is someone who's nice and willing to binge watch sci fi shows (Star Trek, Stargate, and more) with me.

Constellation was... not fun. For one thing, politics was involved. But for another... there was barely any connection to Shuttle hardware. The only thing related would've been the 5 segment SRBs. But Ares V? Not even related. The core is larger, the engines are different (RS-68s, probably), and there's no side mounted payloads. Ares I? Beyond the SRB first stage (bad idea), the second stage was planned to use J-2X. Not shuttle derived. Flying Orion on DIVH would necessitate man-rating DIVH... Better to just start anew. Maybe sacrifice lander size and launch Orion on Ares V (Ares IV?)

Who says it's their first visitor? For all we know, this could be their backyard. Or just a vacation stop. Or there may not be any aliens at all in the universe. We don't know anything about the situation. For an old enough civilization, travelling across the void of space can easily be energetically equivalent (as a ratio) to driving your car to the next town.

Sure, but without language that would be very difficult. And that's assuming that we can even communicate with them at all. How can you explain an integration symbol without language? Heck, what if the alien is an adolescent and doesn't even understand calculus notation in their own, native, notation? Now, calculus may not show up in the "conversation", but there is the possibility that the alien you've met isn't really good at math. Like some of us humans.

Math may be universal, but not notation...

That image is an Atlas V, not Delta II. Delta II has the 6000 and 7000 series.

I know about Copernicus. But that's only for federal employees and contractors...

Mini-Mag Orion doesn't use nuclear weapons, though. The charges can't go off without an external field. Classic Orion, on the other hand...

It is always fun to see a Saturn V on the horizon. Even if it is a replica. I love the Space and Rocket Center. Cool place.

Speaking of, there's a building at MSFC with one of these out in front. There's also an F-1, NERVA, and Shuttle SRB. Which UR-700? Direct flight to the moon (UR-700, 4823 tonnes), or the nuclear monstrosity (UR-700M, 16000 tonnes)? Saturn V is about 3038 tonnes, for comparison. All numbers from Astronautix.

I know this is done to death... but there is gravity. What there is a lack of, though, is not weight. You still have weight, as gravity is pulling you. So what's missing? The normal force. It's the force that keeps you from falling though objects. The floor applies a normal force on you, so do chairs, sofas, beds, etc. But in orbit, everything is falling. There is no surface or other object to stop you from falling. You just never hit the ground.

Easy: Mini-mag Orion.