kerbiloid

7 * 227 kg = 1.5 t of total payload. 7 flights 12 years Definitely makes sense for a reusable spaceplane system.

Floor 3248: You see the nap napkins.

This requires neither returnable wings, nor reusability.

A hill with a snail mine.

Its wiki parameters are: bay 2.1x 1.2 m, payload 227 kg. I.e. it's precisely matching a typical reentry vehicle / warhead of ~1.8 m length, ~0.4 m diameter, ~200..250 kg mass. About the launch platfform, as you can read in post, I said "modified X-37B or its ancestor". Obviously the X-37B "as is" is neither capable nor designed for that. It's a test vehicle. Indeed. The B-21 presentation was just a prank, and W93 is just a fake. Starlink is also not used in military conflicts. Why do they use only one X-37B with that puny capacity and so rare? No "material" experiment is worth it. What other 227 kg per several years rather than a nuclear warhead can be so important to support a whole space vehicle program? Why not just deliver that 227 kg to ISS by a next Cygnus? The Russkies won't secretly put on their spacesuits to get out and steal it. Also nobody on the ISS, including the Americans, could have an idea what's being exposed in the box. The only reason is when the secret box is emitting radiations which can be detected from another module of ISS and analyzed, show the precise isotope composition of the package, and its changing with time (i.e. almost exactly what the experimenters study). If you can have several (or several tens) of them in orbit, periodically returning to ground, the opponent can't raise alarm on every deorbit. This can be used for a sudden strike against the early-warning system to blind it for a short time, required for the SLBM counterforce strike. The HEO platforms have two advantages: 1. The opponent needs hours to hit it with something (even the best space lasers could have < 1000 km range, so compared to thr 36 000 km high HEO they don't differ from a contact missile, and still need ~9 hours to arrive and intercept), so the platform has several hours to release its payload before being hit. If it's crewed, the crew may even have a good sleep before starting the evacuation. 2. The early-warning doesn't look up, especially in the Sun direction. So, HEO can strike from top and this won't be seen in time. Obviously, for both HEO and LEO they need first test the warhead in real space conditions, before putting the stuff into mass production. Total strike would do. A limited blinding strike wouldn't. As well, a HEO platform can host even a hundred of half-tonne missiles, it's just 50 t. To the date nobody is. But the decreased-altitude SLBM launch was originally an American technology. And as you can see, the SLS looks too weak for a full-featured Moon program. Besides the obvious purpose of feeding the weapon makers, it probably has some practical purpose, too. Not necessary as high as the Moon.

These two guys in the tiny boat even suddenly swapped their places from shock, too.

Like any meat. Did they have a fridge? Everyone has seen primates with similar brain. They definitely can have fire. Otherwise how could they smoke? But what does it mean "to have the fire" when spoken by an archaeologist? To make fire from scratch? To use a found fire? How exactly? Transport it? Keep it firing? Throw meat into a natural fire and wait? Look, sooted ceiling and stalactites. The humans were definitely using fire in this cave. Or that cave was sooted due to a ocasional fire. Of course they did. Should they let the meat of their tribe member just be lost only because he died in a burning forest? And as we can see in this cave, the apes were not better. *** Another fast hype sensation until a chimp starts using Zippo.

Or the Cold War people are the last generations able to destroy the world, because zoomers will stick into their smartphones with social networks and forget about everything other, so nobody will come to fight. Upd. Tinder with it left-right-right-left-left-right is something opposite to precise aiming and straight walking. In the best case they won't unexpectedly trigger a trigger with shaking finger. Btw, about the civil firearms control...

Kaboom!!! Waiter! Waiter... Waiter???

An orbital platform able to perform a crosswind maneuver can launch warheads from unexpected direction outside of ground radars and kill these radars for several minutes to give the SLBM time for a decreased altitude counterforce attack.

You stick to the invisible ceiling. If the sky consists of crystal spheres, does it mean that it's actually a lithosphere?

Just some shower thoughts. X-37B flights Flight Vehicle Launch date Landing date Launcher Mission[62] Duration Notes OTV-1 1 22 April 2010 23:52 UTC 3 December 2010 09:16 UTC Atlas V 501 USA-212 224 days, 9 hours, 24 minutes First launch of Atlas V 501 configuration First American autonomous orbital runway landing First X-37B flight Landed at Vandenberg OTV-2 2 5 March 2011 22:46 UTC 16 June 2012 12:48 UTC Atlas V 501 USA-226 468 days, 14 hours, 2 minutes First flight of second X-37B Landed at Vandenberg OTV-3 1 11 December 2012 18:03 UTC 17 October 2014 16:24 UTC Atlas V 501 USA-240 674 days, 22 hours, 21 minutes Second flight of first X-37B Landed at Vandenberg OTV-4 2 20 May 2015 15:05 UTC 7 May 2017 11:47 UTC Atlas V 501 USA-261 717 days, 20 hours, 42 minutes Second flight of second X-37B First landing on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center OTV-5 2 7 September 2017 14:00 UTC 27 October 2019 07:51 UTC Falcon 9 Block 4 USA-277 779 days, 17 hours, 51 minutes First launch of an X-37B on SpaceX's Falcon 9 vehicle OTV-6 1 17 May 2020 13:14 UTC 12 November 2022 10:22 UTC Atlas V 501 USA-299 908 days, 21 hours, 8 minutes Carried most experiments to date First X-37B launch by USSF Longest X-37B mission Landed at Kennedy Space Center Duration sequence. days months days months flight 225 7.5 rest 92 3 flight 469 15.5 rest 178 6 flight 675 22.2 rest 215 7 flight 718 23.6 rest 123 4 flight 780 25.6 rest 203 6.8 (7?) flight 909 30.0 (It was told above about the obviously exposure tests, no need to repeat this here). We can see a duration pattern. Flight durations: 7.5 : 15.5 : 23.8 (average of 22.2, 23.6, 25.6) : 30.0 months ~= 1:2:3:4 It looks like they started from ~7.5 month value, and then were adding 8 months on each step. 7.5 + 8 → 15.5 (~= 2 x 7.5) → 23.5 (~= 3 x 7.5) → 30.0 (exactly 4 x 7.5) The rest time between the first two fights was exactly 3 months long, then it grew up twice, exactly 6 months long. *** These exact values of the rest (not just the flights) may tell about a continuous series of measurements of the same sample, running not only in flight but also on ground. Say, a residual radiation or so. Twice longer it was exposed in space, twice longer it was exposed and studied on ground, to return it back to orbit in exact time to keep the measurement series uniform. It's probable also, that the first rest time was shorter just because the sample was not significantly irradiated yet, so it was a calibration experiment and proof of concept. Though, the sample still looks being the same, and the measurement series continuing. *** It looks like the third flight should be 23.5 months long (following the numeric sequence, and because the next flight was exactly 23.5), but by the end of the flight something went wrong, so it returned earlier than it was planned. The rest took exactly 7 months, so the measurements were being continued, but they needed to unplannedly repeat the experiment with 23.5 months. And they did it, even for the cost of a month-long delay (exactly 7 months of rest instead of exactly 6). Maybe even the sample has been replaced with a new one, so it took exactly 6 months to ensure that the previous one is not appropriate for further experiments, and a month of a new sample calibration tests. Maybe just they decided to extend the interflight pause by one month, idk. After the 23.5 month long flight finished, the next rest was exactly 4 months long. Probably, the 22.5 and 23.5 months flights brought enough data to avoid repeating the whole interflight measurements again, but in any case the rest time was again exactly integer number of months, 4. It looks like the problems with the 22.5 months flight were enough significant, so they needed to repeat the 23.5 months test once again, to be sure, and with some extent. So, the next flight was two months longer (25.6 months), and then they returned to the 7 months rest. Probably, the problem was considered solved, and the last flight took exactly 30.0 months, so we can presume that the nearly-integer month duration accuracy is a requirement. *** Now we can presume that the next flight should happen on 12.11.2022 + 7 months ~= in the beginning of Jun 2023, and last for 30 + 7.5 = 37.5 months, so last till late Jul 2026. If everything goes OK with it, the next flight will happen in Feb..Mar of 2027, and last for 45 months, till 28.11.2030. Considering the triple-flight 3x22.5 months delay unplanned, we can expect at least a 60 months (i.e. exactly 5 years) flight, and maybe but not necessary a 52.5 month long flight in between. Though, due to the unplanned delay, the 52.5 will be probably skipped. So, the end of the experiment can be estimated on 01.07.2031 + 60 months = 01.07.2036. In July of 2036 the X-37B will finish exposing the thing it carries. *** And what a strange coincidence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W93 https://armscontrolcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/W93-.pdf *** So, we can presume that X-37B is exposing a prototype of the future unified W93 warhead, its orbital storage campaign is estimated as 5 years (twice shorter than on the planet, probably due to intensive irradiation and fast fissile degradation). As it probably weights about 200..300 kg and doesn't have any maneuvering capability, probably a future modification of X-37B (or its ancestor) will be equipped with a sixpack rotary launcher to release the warheads after crosswind maneuver. Every five years it will be returning to the Earth for servicing and the nuke replacement. *** This also means that SLS should be ready for active use by 2035, when the military orbital infrastructure will start being built. The same about Orion and CST-100 as its supply ships (CST for LEO, Orion for HEO stations). P.S. Sorries, forgot about the Moon. To Moon the SLS can fly, too. If have an excessive one. Upd. P.P.S. Of course, they may start using double intervals (especially after reading the KSP forum and realizing that their sneaky plan is revealed), and add 15 months every time, i.e. skip immediately to the 45, then to the 60 month flights. This will exclude the 37.5 month flight, and finish the studies by October, 2032. I.e. again by the 2034 year planned for the W93. P/P.P.S. So, it again ensures that all those next-gen "lunar" tech will get actual after 2030, and to the date it's just drifting. This explains the rather slow progress of lunar tech. The same about LOP-G. No need in LOP-G-based military modules before the W93 is tested.

By Tu-4 and Il-28, it was in 1940s.

(multipost)

Tu-4 official range = 5 100 km Kaliningrad - New York = 6 600 km. Chukotka - New York = 6 300 km So, no way. It could reach the North states from Far North, but not the Washington state. Only if first capture and use the Alaska or Greenland, or use the Arctic drifting ice airdromes which haven't succeeded very much. The Alaska or Greenland capture would require a lot of cheap light bombers like Il-28, which appeared in 1949, but were available in mass by 1952+. So, for the sci-fi purpose maybe a secret ice base near the pole, secretly receiving several Tu-4 for that one dedicated target. (Before the fighters could be alerted). But by mid-1950s the A-bombs were rare and weak, so didn't mean much. The first boosted device (operation Greenhouse, George and Item) were tested in 1951 (the Soviet one in 1953). The first wannabe thermonuclear TX-16/EC-16/Mark 16 was available in 1952, six units, one of them exploded in 1952. They were fueled with liquid deuterium, weighted 19 t, and could be delivered only by B-36 (piston-engined, 400 kmh speed, thus in a suicidal attack, as the liquid deuterium cistern unlikely could be chuted and stay intact for delayed explosion). Were created only as "EC" (colloquial- Emergency Capability) to have something before a solid-fueled one gets ready (irl in 1954). The real Soviet one came in 1955, but was not put in production. So, a really nuke war could begin by 1956+ (like the Dropshot'49 plan had presumed, in 1957). Until then, a conventional but assisted with nukes could take place. In such mostly-conventional war the Soviets didn't have enough nukes and planes to bomb US, while the Americans had two hundred tactical nukes to bomb mostly nothing, because the USSR was still living in a semi-war mode, with distributed industry, and population living in almost war conditions, building nothing but factories, shelters, and residential wooden barracks (because why build good if it anyway will be bombed in several years). In 1956 (XX congress of the CPSU) it was officially decided to start a peaceful international competition instead of preparing to immediate global war, the army was decreased, the prisoners from labour camps were mass released, the residential construction turned to more comfortable multi-storey houses (aka "khrushchevka", a cheap 5-storey building), the urbanization ran faster (causing economical problems by higher QoL standards), the propaganda got much softer ("Khrushchev's Thaw"), the first international festival took place in Moscow, and several years later, after the Cuban Crysis, then-modern ICBM were put on duty. Exactly at that time first long-range ballistic missiles (IRBM, ICBM, SLBM) came on service, and the sides decided to make better defence on the Earth and to start competing in space. 1957..58 - ICBM delivered first satellites (coincidentally matching the then-modern nuclear warhead mockup mass and dimensions). 1958 - US moved from projects Horizon and Lunex to less ambitious but necessary Apollo superproject. 1960s - space race, finished with cost-to-efficiency parity by mid-1970s, and limiting the space usage only with civil (i.e. spy and perspective military R&D) needs, later expanded with global communications.

This is not footprints, only wheelprints, it doesn't count. This one would count.

NASA has contracted the ICON company for 57.5 M$, to develop the Olympus project for lunar/martian base building technologies. using 3d printing and local (lunar, not NASAn) resources.

"It suddenly appeared that 'to store your data in the cloud' actually means ''to put your data on a somebody's else computer, you don't know whose and where." (c)

For comparison, in the USSR. (But with money and on another continent it's easier.) First they built the F-1 test reactor. https://ru-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Ф-1_(реактор)?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ru&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://nsrus-ru.translate.goog/o-reaktore-f1.html?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ru&_x_tr_pto=wapp Then they built the A-1 industrial reactor. https://ru-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/А-1?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ru&_x_tr_pto=wapp Tu-4 aka B-29 isn't intercontinental, so it's far beyond its range (unless Alaska or Greenland were first captured). B-36 was the first, and the first comparable (in sense of distance range) Soviet ones (Tu-95 and M-4) had appeared in 1952.

This explains the KSP mascot helmet. It's a futuristic neurointerface.

https://t.me/cosmolet2022/1722 or https://cs14.pikabu.ru/video/2022/12/01/1669849171233594090_640x352.mp4 American astronaut learns walking after 197 days in zero-g. *** A flight to Mars takes 8 months every side. (And 1.5 years in LMO, if not land all together to wait in at least 0.37 g conditions.) Still believe in chemical flight without a centrifuge (at least a small one for therapy) ? All these people can't fly together with the crew to teach them walk.

Set the New Year beginning in the middle of nothing, 1st of January.

In the curved, non-Euclid world any straight line is just a zoomed curve.

Got it. It was the same one plane. The pilot heard from the control tower: "Follow the Nor(th) way". But as the towerman was speaking in the amusing "twenty → twony" accent, swallowing the sounds, the pilot heard "Follow Norway". And followed. Obviously, he was out of gas on arrival. *** Alternative version. Arizona and Norway are the same. They coexist on two astral planes separated by Atlantic ocean. (Probably, it's possible to find the center/line of symmetry). The pilot suddenly jumped betwee planes by plane. *** Hybrid version. The plane got able to jump to Norway exactly because the pilot's will had opened the transatlantic portal in desperate attempt to fly from Arizona to Norway on F-35. Is the pilot a sorcerer? A warlock? A shaman? We don't know exactly, but they should better check.

That's conceptually true, but a real object has a real trajectory, and thus a real orbit focus with real coordinates among the real celestial objects.