JoeSchmuckatelli

SpaceX (Falcon 9) and BO debris found in Poland and Bahamas. “Satellites and rocket parts of moderate size re-enter almost daily, while small-size tracked space debris objects re-enter even more frequently,” the agency said. The SpaceX rocket part that streaked through the European skies this week was a rare occurrence, however. The debris came from the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket that had carried out a routine mission. The rocket took off from California on February 1, hauling a batch of satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink network, " ... The piece of Blue Origin debris that washed up in the Bahamas is not a sign of a rocket launch gone awry. Rather, the debris — a large chunk of a rocket’s nose cone that features the signatures of Blue Origin employees — appears to have been discarded as expected from the company’s New Glenn rocket during its maiden flight on January 16. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/science/blue-origin-spacex-debris-bahamas-europe/index.html

Sailing north out of Nassau, Bahamas I noticed something different about the water. It was a deep, dark almost black blue. My kid asked me why it was so dark and I quipped that meant the water was probably in excess of 6,000 feet deep. Literally just from stuff I picked up by hanging out with Navy types. Turns out I was right. Just north of Nassau is a part of the ocean called "Tongue of the Ocean" that cuts through the plateau that makes up most of the shallow seas that give the Bahamas such beautiful water. And yes - it was about 6,000 feet deep where we were. Not far from there it can get as deep as 13,000 feet deep! !8o The Bahamas FWIW - Nassau is pretty much in the middle of the map in the link above. Map-of-Tongue-of-the-Ocean-Bahamas-star-indicates-deployment-site-with-the.png (850×634)

Then I saw that ship too! (Second photo above)

Back from my trip. Never got a chance to see the flight. Up at 4am to make a flight to Orlando, then cruising... 1am? Nope. Too old. But here's what I did see: Bob As the ship started to leave the port we watched some cool stuff going on at the other wharves. On one a crane was doing something interesting... Turns out, the large industrial stanchion, covered in soot wasn't a crane stanchion at all - it was a SPACESHIP! And not just any spaceship - but a Falcon 9! Woot! We all thought that was pretty cool! But when we got back - we were treated to TWO Falcon 9s and BO's ship leaving the port. Finally at the car rental lot we got a chance to see both pretty well. Thing is - like I mentioned before - they don't look all that special. Have a look at the first picture - of Bob. The Falcon 9 is there... and I never recognized it. We had to get up close for it to resolve itself into a spaceship. They just look like industrial, workmanlike things. Not overly different from the crane stanchions or other vertical industrial stuff in the area. Still, in this last picture, you are seeing two rockets that were each up in space less than a week before the image was taken. Cool stuff! .

Todos Santos anyone? ... cubic square mile, 1000 feet tall... an arcology, named Todos Santos, to which control of the area and legal jurisdiction was ceded. The higher standard of living enjoyed by Todos Santos residents causes resentment among Angelenos. The arcology dwellers have evolved a different culture, sacrificing privacy – there are cameras (not routinely monitored) even in the private apartments – in exchange for security.

Funny thing is that I took a picture of the Booster at the same time I snapped Bob. Never saw it or recognized it for what it was. Just luck that we drifted right past it and I was having a beer on the deck with my kids Looked back at the picture of Bob... And there it was. Looks like an exhaust pipe or a crane stanchion Again - I'll post pics when I get back to my PC. Phone doesn't play well

OK - probably this one his was the 18th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously Crew-5, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, TD-7, Immarsat I6-F2, GPS III-6, NG-20, and now 11 Starlink missions https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-12-18 The crazy thing is just how workmanlike the thing looks. Not super clean new high tech space ship, but rather a piece of industrial equipment we regularly use to do work. Commonplace and competent

One SOOTY baby!

Cruise ship is passing a booster right next to Bob. Quick! - which booster? I'd post a picture but I don't have apps to use on my phone

Jacklyn is down here, too.

I saw Bob!

Currently in Coco Beach - where do I find the maps of where to expect to be able to see any launches? I know there is a map with concentric rings with times / visibility {presuming a launch}

Any launches in the next couple of days? (Bahamas cruise)

There are other flavors while you wait for the inevitable

Oh yeah - trust me I was also thinking about ways to capture the heat and convert to electricity... But it's the same problem = adding weight + inefficiency.

Thanks fellers. The part about losing efficiency via converting rotary motion into electrical potential and back again makes sense. Did not even think about it. What I was thinking about was whether we could get 90% of the power output but greatly extend the range of operations. Late night thinking about not optimizing for emissions made me think there was opportunity. But now that I think about it, everything involves trade offs. Adding batteries adds weight, requires space and presents new critical infrastructure that needs to be protected and maintained. Trying to cut out (or extend) one part of the log train doesn't make sense if you have to build out another. Still - one of the limitations of modern military vehicles is fuel use and the massive logistics infrastructure required to keep them operating in the field.

I was about to post some questions about the design choices when I ran into this. Probably well known by some there is pretty good info for neophytes like me. https://erikexplores.substack.com/p/the-big-rocket-showdown-falcon-9 Compares Neutron to F9 (in a fairly evangelical way) but does explain design choices by RL

I think this was asked but I cannot remember the answer and my googlefu is lost in generica... But here goes: If I take a standard diesel engine (like for a tank or military truck) and instead of using the power output for mechanical engagement of the drivetrain use it to generate electricity, and given that electric motors generally have great torque, using electric motors to move the relevant wheels can I get better performance? Mind you - I don't care about emissions. The only thing I care about is getting the vehicle from A to B and range/economy (logistics). ... I'm thinking the answer is 'no' but there have been advancements in electric drive motors lately.

I will say I'm tempted to get Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 ~ spring break. Comes out tomorrow and I cannot afford to like it until much later in the semester! Bonus is most of the early game bugs should be fixed (?)

That is what I wish my 3070 provided - and all the wizardry + lag isn't a solution to me. I'm a raster guy. Until Ray tracing stops looking like a clown show and runs on midrange gear - which is all I will afford.

I kinda did the opposite: went for pure spaghetti chaos. As in - there's pretty much no way to know what is connected to what or why. Which is a grand departure from what I usually try to do in the game. Kinda fun... but also, likely, a reflection of burn-out. I'll see if I like it when I get back.

Presume any altitude under 200 is open for the helo. If there was a maintenence {or training) issue with the altimeter {or crew} - that's an unfortunate error - aka negligence. If the plane pilot was lower than recommended that would be contributing negligence. Sadly I worked for years in the industry that deals with tragic accidents. It's usually some form of incompetence / negligence that causes the most tragic things - and while human to seek for a cause or to try to eliminate accidents from ever happening... Something inevitably goes wrong (given sufficient time / opportunity)

Military aircraft. Every flight outside of combat is a training flight. Don't let different community lingo confuse that this is weird or out of the ordinary. Looking like a simple, tragic error.

You know... that's something I (and, as I read, a lot of us older gamers) are coming to grips with. I've been tinkering with/building my own computers since 1995. It's been a fun hobby and the gaming was generally good. But the domination of Consoles (= PC port = games dumbed down), expense of production and general "Been there, done that" of reskinned games with mechanics I just don't enjoy is making Sudoku much more of a common game for me these days. Don't get me wrong - I loved RDR2, but since then I can't think of a mainstream title that's grabbed me. Satisfactory plays just fine on my 4k monitor with a 3070. Maybe it just is my "every other generation" thinking that has me itching for something new. Certainly don't need a 5070 for Sudoku. ... If you'll pardon me - I'm gonna go wander off and mutter into my beer for a while.