DDE

Only inspiration. Any attempt to argue material benefits of deep-space research devolves into a circular argument: deep-space research is seemingly only necessary for deep-space exploration. Ultimately it comes down to materialism and its foibles. Societies that focus on material well-being seem to burn out, atomize, achieving very little while spurring the growth of insatiable appetites. The "feel-goodness" - basis of sobornost', asabiyya - seems to turn out to be a better investment than eradication of poverty

That was your first mistake. r/space on Reddit also gets this question asked a lot. Peaceful material applications: communication, navigation, meteorology. Military application: communication, reconnaissance, missile early warning. Immaterial benefits: inspiration. Avoid the "NASA spinoff technology" argument, it's full of holes. I know the "inspiration" counterargument has been attacked as well, but at least it's not based on utter logical fallacy.

Threw money at Squad to buy the two DLCs, poked my nose in, and realized I've lost all muscle memory, and the not-Infernal Robotics are somewhat complicated. Will wait for a few more months before the modding scene stabilizes. Also need to think how I want to handle this - the exhibitionist in me has made past playthroughs rather tedious (as seen in the signature).

But how can I look on the bright side if the sensors that indicate where the bright side is got fried?

That's why Roscosmos hasn't been able to find an insurer.

This happens every time: https://old.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/dzg529/russian_soldiers_having_the_time_of_their_life/ Note the Goliath footage linked in the first comment.

When you're riding a 1520 mm train, a 750 mm children's railway looks rather Kerbal-scaled.

I'm going to agree with the article's utter puzzlement. Horror stories about RAM coating maintenance abound, although the readiness of the Luftwaffe's Typhoons is way, way worse than even that.

This souvenir the Russian army dragged home from Syria looks... particularly interesting, and not just because of its sheer size (those blue things absolutely are gas tanks converted into mortar shells, for scale).

Time to get dangerous, then.

Better late than never. Finally a new RORSAT.

Reference for X-37B's aerodynamic orbit changes https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/23/former-secaf-explains-how-secret-x-37-space-plane-throws-enemies.html

Dear Jordan and the UAE, we need to talk.

Except Venus IIRC. P.S. I'm mostly here to look at this neo-MechJeb.

Moto Guzzi Mulo Meccanico and its distant relative, ZiS-33

Those doors, which you can actually see from here, sir, are the problem.

Headed to St Pete (the real one) next week. Not gonna let something like a runaway Delta strain outbreak after SPIEF deter me; the mayor is unlikely to actually do anything drastic until the FIFA 2020 quarter-final on Friday, the day I'm bugging out.

No-one's actually gone ahead and replicated the Falcon 9 architecture either. Shall we draw conclusions from that? Heck, if we use the inverse of that logic, we end up with the Buran, built despite all evidence being contrary to the viability of the Shuttle.

So, Detroit: Become Human. I came in out of morbid curiosity, expecting having to huff David Cage's farts, and while I've yet to reach the meat of the story... it's not that bad. And relatively well made, and the devs bring along some really heavy narrative artillery to try and make you care. I'm still relatively adversarial because of the premise, and I'm having a blast with the options the devs consider subotpimal ("28 STAB WOUNDS!!!" - sure, the suspect you're pressuring cofesses, but then he smashes his own head against the table) but the game is still enjoyable.

Feels like the 2000s all over again. Lotta hype out there...

Most people remember Lavochkin for WWII fighters. Some recall his design bureau went on to build space probes. But what was he doing in the meantime?

This may be the bigger half of the motivation for the plan - to get ESA indirectly involved with supporting Tiangong, the prime target of the Wolfe amendment. Would also be an icebreaker for any minor space programs cooperating with CNSA. I think it's a non-starter.

There are no adequate transportation options for Baikonur. Vostochnyi might even be able to use the barge trick, it has river access.