Kimera Industries

OK, so we seem like we are making inroads very rapidly, but

11/10 Beyond is very well crafted.

Does it replace MPE's analogues with your own? Or the other way around?

I remember that day. The sky opened up and sang, "Now you can send even more probes up heeeeere..."

OK, so we seem like we are making

Here's another idea: taking jet propulsion to mean "shooting a fluid backwards for thrust" (which is really what it is) a jet-bird could store a flammable substance, like an organic solid rocket fuel, and ignite it when needed, much simplifying the process. It would mean only occasional bursts of speed, but in a microgravity environment (like the Smoke Ring) and a low-drag shape, it could keep the creature coasting for quite a while.

There was an alien relic based on this idea in the book The Long Mars, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

I think a symbiotic organism would be more likely and easier to maintain, because replacing a dead part sounds quite complicated. I guess it could be done, but it's harder than other options that do similar things, which is why evolution hasn't gone down that path. Given enough time, maybe it will. Who knows.

OK, so we seem like

After the X-15 program ended and the shuttle was being designed, there were a few proposals for manned hypersonic aircraft to test materials and aerodynamics of winged bodies at high speeds. One of them was a miniature version of the orbiter, with room for a single person, which would go up to Mach 8 on rockets derived from the X-15. It would have been shaped like the space shuttle in order to test its handling. A lack of data is partly the reason why the space shuttle wasn't as efficient as it wanted to be, IMO. And all the data gathered during the hundreds of STS flights is invaluable to Starship, which is partly why it's going so much better, again, IMO.

As soon as you try scaling it up, though, it gets a lot harder.

This would only work on a planet with a dense atmosphere, high oxygen, and low gravity. Suppose this jet-bird can process a fuel from its food, like methane, to ignite in the oxygen-rich atmosphere for thrust. It could use its mouth as an air intake, with muscles to close off either the area leading to the thrust generation chamber (more on that in a second) or to the digestive system. The respiratory system could take a bit of air from the intake as it flies. Once it has processed enough fuel, which it stores in a gland, it can fly. Air from the intake is shoved into a small chamber which accelerates the air backwards. I can think of a few ways of doing this: Peristalsis (rapidly undulating muscles forcing the air in one direction) Flaps, kind of like wings on the inside of the creature, flapping the air. Gulping air in bursts, then compressing it with muscles and releasing it. This means there isn't a continuous stream, but is probably more energy efficient. No propellers, though, for the same reason Vsauce explained why animals don't have wheels. (At least I think it was Vsauce.) Anyway, through one of these methods or a combination of them, the jet-bird has accelerated air in a retrograde direction. This would result in thrust, but with a poor Isp. It sprays fuel (maybe through a gland) and ignites it with metal collected and concentrated in exposed lumps in the exhaust region. It can move these lumps with dedicated muscles, and makes a spark by striking them very fast. The exhaust nozzle is protected from the heat by tough, hardened skin, possibly bone, and also with un-ignited air or non-compressed air flowing around the sides similar to a turbofan. Why the jet-bird would need this adaptation, though, is a bit harder to guess. It probably flies like normal birds, but uses its jet engine for bursts of high speed, to gain altitude, escape predators, or catch prey.

I'm pretty sure you're fine. If you are getting science points, then it's working. The initial message may have been a delayed message from when it wasn't fully set up, or you might have even misread it.

I told everyone this in the "What happened in your life today" thread, but I figured I could go into more detail here. My first model, a 1:72 Spitfire, finally arrived. I started working on it yesterday. The construction is very simple (will definitely go harder next time) but that means it is advancing quickly. So far I've only had to paint in one color. I don't know how the numbering system works, but it's green and the container has '30' printed on the side. Also, I got plastic cement all over my arm after only cementing 2 pieces together. (I lived.) It's been a lot of fun so far, so I will definitely be doing this more in the future.

It turns out there was a plan for a second gas giant in the game. You might have known that already, but it means you could advertise the mod as "Only one more gas giant, like the devs intended" or something similar.

Don't worry, it only took me 3 hours in the VAB trying to attach a LEM to a Saturn V to figure that out.

"Don't worry guys, if our antenna breaks we're only 10,000 kilometers away from Pathfinder!"

Floor 5714: A naming committee deciding how to rename a celestial object with the temporary name 5714 FLOOR.

OK, so we

Yesterday my Airfix kit finally arrived! It was shipped from the UK so the box isn't in the best condition, but the contents are fine. I'm following a tutorial for the kit I found on YouTube very closely.

"I've come for Matt Damon."

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