JoeSchmuckatelli

Cool - I did not realize that we can move the big stuff so easily. (COM and floppiness comes to mind)

Hey - I'm supposed to be one of the snarky ones around here! Fine... So when was the last time we had humans around the moon (and how many circumlunar flights were there before we were feet really dry?)

Is it possible to have two massive stations (once separated) initiate in the same orbit and move on to orbits safe from each other? I would think that a bit fraught

Meh - ScarJo movie was entertaining

Depends upon the carbon deposits found

The really cool thing about modern launches is the ability of NASA (et. al.) to provide real-time animation of what is going on with the craft.

When do you start counting? Is there an official designation?

'descent vehicle, on which cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko...' Why do Yulia and Klim not get to be Cosmonaut? Don't you get Amazon in NuSoviet Russia? Kontakt Jeff Bezos and he will tell you - actor who goes to space is astronaut cosmonaut

From any standpoint, I think our ability to get to space last century was so intertwined with government and military issues that it's almost impossible to untangle. First World / Superpower conflict drove the development of technology that needed input from civilian scientists and as the technology matured and achieved 'firsts', revealing more and more data about the cosmos, the civilian applications of the technology were revealed. But part of what you are interested in has been discussed in places on this site - where people opine that a given booster is useful for little more than an ICBM - or that one is way overkill for use as an ICBM. I think the 'pure science' missions came out of both mature technology /skill and having the luxury of money and time to do it... And without wanting to cast aspersions, you can look around the world at the space nations to see that when both technical knowledge and spare cash are high, peaceful, pure-science applications are common. Then you also the "guest" mission, where some country with no technical knowledge is permitted to fly civilian missions for a low, low price. Guest military missions don't happen

Shatner and why being 90 is no bar to space travel or rocket flights https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/14/tech/william-shatner-blue-origin-space-safety-scn/index.html Still - they persist in the prejudice against the tall. If he can handle it, a 6'7" guy can too!

Unless you carefully control access to the dachas.

I think the only fair metric would be to judge NG (once flying) against the cadence of competing rockets during the time both are in service. The unrealized potential is that NG might make due on the claim... And might not. But to force it to play catch up before judging its ability seems to be holding it to an unattainable standard. Frankly - I want all the players to succeed; because if they do, we really will have a viable space - based economy. If only one survives - then we know that our overall economy is not yet mature enough for us to be considered a space faring species... Rather we'd just continue to be dabblers

Why wouldn't it be as simple as this? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_polyhedron (presumes a smooth sphere)

That's something I'm really looking forward to watching develop. - I used to watch orbital plots for the Trojans and Main Belt asteroids, because they're beautiful. Combination of gravity, science and art. Will be cool to see what we learn

Yeah - there's a bunch of guys who show up to every range with all kinds of kit: I always see them as hobbyists. (Kitting out your gun is fun and definitely a conversation starter). But when you really start to think about having to carry it and use it... priorities change. Think about the difference between backpacking (through-hiking) and camping. When I go camping with the kids, I take a truckload of stuff. But when I'm on the trails? Every ounce counts - whether I'm only going 5 miles or 25 on any given day. Just like when hiking you want simple, rugged, dependable and versatile... the same philosophy informs gun selection. Ammo considerations, too. As an infantryman I would often carry 200 rounds plus other fun things around, because a) I was a professional and might have needed all of that, and b) if I needed it - resupply was unlikely to be dependable. Were I through hiking in feral pig territory where I might need to dump a mag to save my butt, I'm unlikely to need more than one extra mag, ever. It's fairly cheap to buy stuff that will make you look like a ReconRanger (or a fat, cosplay wannabe ) - but unless you are a fit, 20-something with a professional need to carry that much... walking across the first field is gonna kick your butt.

looking forward to it!

That was cool!

You mean replacing steel/polymer rifle with mouse next to keyboard? Yeah that's lightweight. My 14 y/o tells me that he's a better infantryman than me because he's better at Tarkov than me.

Everyone looks at the kitted out battle rifle and thinks, "COOL!!!". Wait until you have to carry one.* I trained my whole career with Iron sights and can reliably hit anything within half a kilometer using a basic, slick rifle . A simple, rugged 1x-4x can make things easier, but adding all the hookey-roo crap Rangers like to slap all over their rifles just makes them heavier without a whole lot of improvement in performance. *here's a challenge for anyone interested: grab a simple 10lb / 4.5 kg weight - and carry it (in your hands) everywhere you go for a full day. Choose a day that you are not at the desk / couch, but active. You may be surprised by how something so light can kick your butt after a while.

A bunch of guys carrying open bolt weapons tend to be more dangerous to friendlies than the same number carrying closed bolt weapons. Open bolt (like most belt fed MGs) can get worn down via use and when bumped send the bolt home (spring constantly under pressure with the bolt open) without your authorization, which fires the round in whatever random direction you had the gun pointing... Including the back of your friends' leg. Gets really exciting if it happens inside the armored troop carrier. Closed bolt (most assault rifles, sniper, semi auto - heck pretty much everything else) is really safe, reliable and unless the user is actively negligent - unlikely to cause friendly casualties, even when dropped. This is a really good point - but also should note that most caseless ammo has a risk of swelling (via atmospheric heat and humidity), and swollen or damaged rounds not only cause mis-feeds, but can break up and flash burn the user. That's why you bring friends! So - with a MG you lay down 8-12 round bursts in a controlled manner for best results... But yeah after a while you gotta change barrels - which is little slower than changing magazines. But short bursts from the prone using bipod or tripod is what professionals do. Otherwise you are unlikely to hit the side of a barn with fully automatic weapons. You will note that when choosing an alternative firing posture and sustained expenditure of 100 round belts, Special Forces troops go inside the barn for increased accuracy.

A little light reading for the history buff who likes fast combustion https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/scientists-test-medieval-gunpowder-recipes-with-15th-century-cannon-replica/%3famp=1

The fact that someone can so quickly render and present this information is almost as cool as the fact that SX is building this crazy contraption

Tortoises are always doing something incomprehensible - like eating baby birds when they are supposed to be vegetarian... Something about the reptile brain; doesn't relate to mammals very well

Missed this due to... no interest in watching the boring stream. Why not?

That's one of those things that when you first hear about it you think, 'that will never work...' But man - thanks for the link: very interesting read!