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DDE

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Everything posted by DDE

  1. DDE
    http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19920001876 Low-Pressure Nuclear Rocket Concept, by J.H. Ramstaler Cliffnotes: Reduced core pressure to allow normally unsustainable exhaust temperatures, which reach into hydrogen dissociation range, resulting in mono-H exhaust; the active zone is spherical rather than cylindrical, with propellant injected right into it. Variable specific impulse capability, thanks to no need for a turbopump-powered injector. The reactor relies entirely on hydrogen as neutron moderator and has no other control system outside of a SCRAM rod; the reaction mass flow thermalizes the neutron flux, providing neutrons for uranium fission - no propellant, no thermal neutrons, the reactor goes subcritical. As almost always, I'm just reposting from @nyrath.
  2. DDE
    It’s a testbed, there’s imagery of that aircraft with all sorts of engines on that pylon. And now for something not completely different.
  3. DDE
    The transformation, it begins...
  4. DDE
    Well, @ProtoJeb21, you begged not to be killed, and so we’ve found an even worse fate for you.
  5. DDE
    And UR-500/Proton was built for a 175 Mt unitary warhead. Yep.
  6. DDE
    Naaaaah, you needn't fret. http://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1_icbm.html
  7. DDE
    I'd love for that rule to be enforced on Hollywood. That would be a very amusing sight indeed... Well, it's kinda easy. There were only two and a half Star Wars films. And yes, those are Ewok pelts on my wall.
  8. DDE
    It's all a plot to sell popcorn for me, with more than a slight tinge of contemporary politics. Or perhaps I'm reading way, way too very much into everything - [snip]
  9. DDE
    *gasp* You liked the prequels! That makes two of you.
  10. DDE
    Severely fictionalized account of Soyuz-T-13. Also, you could try and compare.
  11. DDE
    Did it have an ISRU refinery onboard? Dreamchaser, en garde!
  12. DDE
  13. DDE
    On the contrary, especially if the author changes in both senses of the word. A lot of fanfic Sues are a stand-up guyized version of an original character. Harry Potter? Nope. Harry had quite a few legs up, but was by no means perfect.
  14. DDE
    Branson BTFO.
  15. DDE
    An electrolaser creates that leader artificially and THEN deploys the zap, instead of a taser's wires. They have been attempted. Oh, an one of the manufacturers tried to knock out cars with it, so rubber boots may not save our test subject @kerbiloid.
  16. DDE
    That might depend. After all, French and Russian helicopters have an opposite rotor direction.
  17. DDE
    From what I understand, Abrams has had no hand in the final plot, which is why much of TFA's foreshadowing (e.g. re: Rey Skywalker) went into the gutter. Then you have that-thing-that-must-not-be-named. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of Ep IX the usual perception of Force sensitivity as hereditary or requiring training is going to be gleefully demolished. Omnipresent magical hive minds, what could possibly go wrong?
  18. DDE
    Winston Smith to the rescue. *cough* Revan *cough*
  19. DDE
    Here we have only the old canon to work on. But one suspects that the first several generations worked on spiritual revelation and experiments. Again, in the old canon, Anakin is a Sith manipulation. His 'chosen' status comes from a prophecy, not the Force itself. Until TFA, the Force was not shown to have agency outside of Kenobi's pre-Expanded Universe quotes. It's an iteration of vitalism. Where life exists, the Force does. That would be inconsistent with everything seen prior. They're not fatalists, and they spend too much time on physical training if it's all about receptability to the Force and miracles. Plus, it would absolutely ruin the Sith. Their whole shtick is to bend the Force to their will. If you need to abandon agency, the Sith won't work. ...Unless we're looking at a new iteration of the Force. Sadly, this is entirely consistent with the 'avatar of the Force' interpretation. Those are some huge training wheels.
  20. DDE
    Narrative laws and the limitations of the suspension of disbelief still apply to it, though. And that’s how we can tell apart excrement-quality writing from non-excrement-quality writing.
  21. DDE
    I actually don’t. TFA was exactly what JJ would do after having usurped a franchise while still temaining benevolent. His departure and the new guidance under “‘The Force is female’? Where do I get this shirt?” Johnson really put the franchise into the gutter. [snip]
  22. DDE
    http://russianspaceweb.com/sea-launch-2018.html S7 Space posts a (vague) Sea Launch manifest for 2019-2022
  23. DDE
    Sadly it's internally consistent with that theory that she wouldn't need any training. To my mind, she's actually very little like Anakin. Heck, the old canon even wrote him off as a Sith machination gone wrong, and by your logic, he's a born Sith; Rey is a whole different surprise package, and if the Force is spontaneously acquiring agency through her, there is absolutely no limit how far she'll get Sued.
  24. DDE
    Youtube's pay-by-view had it for a while. Snatched a physical disk earlier this week, though. They haven't done particularly well on the financial side.
  25. DDE
    No, no, no. Dream Chaser launches atop an Orion. THAT ONE.
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