SOXBLOX

Knowledge is cumulative, wisdom to use it is not. I agree.

1 TON!?! Exactly how do you store 1 ton of AM? The powerplant to power containment for it would be huge, and the waste heat would melt your ship/missile/monstrosity. And why would you want this? AM just gives you x-rays and gammas, same as a nuke. Plus, creating it has a maximum 50% efficiency, which we are nowhere near. Just use kinetics instead. Okhin, how much is there to know that we don't know already? How can you know? Kerik is right, iterative is the way science works. It isn't a result of human processes, it is the result of the flow of time and discovery processes. Any discussion of tactics ending with "it would be invincible!" is too simplistic, and laughably so. The obvious consequence of cheap, OP fleet-destroying weaponry is that fleet engagements would not take place. War would be AM-fuelled relativistic missiles lobbed between planets, and it would last about 1 day. Congratulations, you've replicated the effect of nukes on Earth on a solar scale. Deterrence and mutually assured planetary destruction, and all that. Every new development forces adaptation. Big developments force big adaptations. Your task as an SF author is to invent developments and deduce their consequences.

Okie doke. There is not enough data to rule out the existence of your "purple space magic". mH almost certainly exists under high pressures. The debate is over whether it can be made to remain stable at more reasonable pressures. Fact is, no one knows. And even if pure mH is unstable, it might be possible to introduce impurities into it, stabilizing it. A metallic hydrogen alloy, if you will. I certainly don't mind it in my game. [Snip] We have no way to say one way or the other. And why would you care if a bunch of crazed teens think its coming "real soon now"? That's their problem, not yours, sir.

Thank you for sharing, Mr. Simpson! This planet is flawless! Aside from the fact that it doesn't exist, of course...

Have you seen the SpaceX pressure suits? Stark black and white. Everything has been trending towards a minimalistic, few-colors-as-possible approach since the 70's. (Well, mostly.) I can't believe we ever thought avocado green was a good idea... The point is, it has little to do with utility and more to do with "fashion" in the sense of color schemes. Personally, though, I find this UI style very aesthetically pleasing. The flatness seems to suit these muted colors better. Yih. And I'm Vladimir Putin.

Well, N8, all I can say is gr8, m8, I can't w8!

There. The KSP 2 gods say so.

Yes, they were measuring torque produced by magnetic fields from the power cable. Experimenters didn't have enough shielding for the job, so they skimped. As K^2 says above, the odds of it being due to new physics are extraordinarily low. It would violate conservation of momentum, so we'd have to rework physics. Not likely.

How are we certain on the BE-4's numbers? Blue could be adjusting the mass and Isp for secrecy. Sounds like something they would do.

Yeah, I know. I love imposing rules upon myself as well. For example, I never launch an interplanetary mission without providing realistic amounts of space for my Kerbals. I don't have to, the game leaves the decision to build realistically up to me. I think that even if there will be no limit on ship spamming in, KSP2, we can all impose these limits on ourselves.

Which ST are we talking about here? 'Cause if it's TOS or STD (dumb acronym for a dumb show), then I agree. But if it's DS9, then they are equal. Obviously, since they're the same story.

Uhhhhh, pretty sure Centaur beats it on high orbits and escape trajectories. SpaceX won't touch hydrolox, it's too difficult for them. And yes, if China can hack the F35 program, then yes, they have the plans for Falcon. They probably have the Merlin schematics, too, but they can't build it. It is a well -known fact that the US possesses more advanced metallurgical techniques than China. Another reason for the success of SpaceX. They don't spend on security.

Nate! You're still spying on us! Thank you anyways, sir! And new sizes of solar panels! Yayyyyy!

Like I said in the other thread on this topic, beautiful trailer! That trefoil button in the VAB seems to confirm radiation and maybe, life support.

Beautiful planetary footage! That VAB interior, the color schemes? YESSSSS! Actually, the VAB is enormoz! At 4:30 you can see the editor interface in detail. Moar buttons! That smaller craft has a magnetic nozzle. Also, is that a MK 3 pod on top? Big Daedalus ship in Duna orbit at 3:50, too. It has a funny disc between the "nozzle" and fuel tanks. Is it a radiation shield? I love the kool kolonies; can't wait to build my own New solar panel size prevalent throughout. Is that Minmus at 4:19?

These have rocket engines, grid fins, and overglorified unfolding table legs. None of these ideas are original. And remember, Blue Origin filed a patent for landing rockets on barges a few years before SpaceX tried it. So please, don't accuse people of cloning the Falcon. Exactly. Beating conventional air travel will be tough. Elon likes to build up hype about these things; it's just his style. Hasn't hurt him yet, because if something like this doesn't pan out, he's got something else to cover with.

All this about funds and efficient building seems to ignore the fact that when there are no funds, there is no such thing as "efficient building" . Thus the name of the funds-less game, sandbox.

Beamed solar power is definitely interesting, but it needs Cargo SS, not Crew SS. As does asteroid mining. So those won't really spark colonization. Oh, well. As noted by Winchell Chung, we suffer from an acute lack of MacGuffinite.

Yet another logic bomb. Good work, sir!

Even if orbital tourism did work economically (I think that it does not), it would still not encourage large-scale economic growth in the spaceflight sector. SpaceX loves to do everything in house. Even if it did, it would not be growth in the right way, that is, it would not promote long-term colonization of space. Naturally, I'm assuming this is what you want it to do.I Also, Disneyworld and Everest do not equal picnics to LEO. It's not that I have a problem with orbital tourism, I just see it as an attempt by spaceflight fans to find an economic justification for spaceflight efforts; something of which there is precious little. And don't you dare mention asteroid mining, I've heard all that before!

Considering that the launch price of KSP 2 is 60 USD, yes, the DLC's should be stock. And don't you DARE nerf my Wolfhound engine!

Ahhh, my beloved Stellaris...

Mining the Moon for what? Have you ever heard the phrase "selling coal to Newcastle" ? No one on Earth wants anything the Moon has to offer, with the exception of the odd planetary geologist. "Loads of people". Like "the average American" , the only place they exist is on paper. Quiet! Don't give him any ideas!

I finished The Brothers Karamazov a while back, and now I'm reading Crime and Punishment. Also just finished Edward Teller's Conversations on the Dark Secrets of Physics. Also finishing Nien Zhang's Life and Death in Shanghai. All of them certainly worth a read! As for SF, I read Frank Herbert's The Godmakers. I liked his writing style, so I'm gonna go read Dune sometime. And no, I haven't read it yet. I think I saw Aldrin's book at my library; I'll have to pick it up.

Hah! There are all sorts of antenna types! There are whole textbooks on the subject. I don't think there's really a distinction between direct and relay IRL, though, because any antenna transmitting to a relay is a direct antenna from the perspective of the relay. Perhaps I misunderstood your question?