razark

Why does it have to be or?

I don't dig into the wider political situation on Kerbin, but my Kerbals are are assigned as follows: The first three are military pilots, of rank (1d4+2), branch of service is (1d4: 1=Air Force, 2=Navy, 3=Marines, 4=Air Force). The second group (5 Kerbals) are pilots ranked (1d4+1), branch is (1d4: 1=Air Force, 2=Navy, 3=Marines, 4=Army). The third and subsequent groups are rank/grade (1d4). Third group (8 Kerbals) are branch (1d6: 1=Air Force, 2=Navy, 3=Marines, 4=Army, 5/6=Scientist). Fourth and subsequent groups (8 Kerbals) are branch (1d10: 1=Air Force, 2=Navy, 3=Marines, 4=Army, 5-10=Scientist). Once I get beyond a single-crew capsule, the Mission Commander must be a pilot with at least one previous flight, or a non-pilot (Engineer or Scientist) with at least three previous missions. Promotions are handed out for certain numbers of flights (more credit for long duration missions, no credit if the crewmember is simply a passenger, such as a station crewmember lifting to the station), and if they get promoted to O7, they get pulled from flight rotation and get a desk job (or become a professor for Scientists).

Private business are not known for acting out of the kindness of their hearts, or doing what is in people's best interests. Companies exist for the sole purpose of making money. I'd like to see private industry take over the LEO market. Let them launch satellites and supply missions to space stations, conduct research missions, or run tourist trips, etc. If they can make money on it, they will do it. Let NASA get back into the exploration game and handle the sort of missions that won't turn a profit in the short term and push the boundaries of what we are capable of.

Gosh, I must have completely missed that part. Oh. I guess not. You might note that I never claimed we could send living people.

We've launched a probe out of the solar system. People weigh less than probes. We can send a people anywhere we want to. And if we spend enough, we might stand a chance of the people surviving, or even being brought back.

Actually, six manned SSTOs have been launched. They were rocket powered and not reusable. Each one also required a Saturn V to get to the launch site on the moon.

Apollo 13?

Maybe the devs will add heat death to the Kerbal universe, and we can play in that. Or is that something that should be left to an expansion pack?

I really hope they fix that rounding error on pi. Things just don't quite work out right when it's not set to four.

Oh, my gods, yes. I remember the first time I watched that one. It was a colorized version, so I turned the color down on the TV to watch in B&W. It felt like every single line was something I had heard before, and half the scenes I had already seen. I just hadn't seen everything in the right order. I think that's the main reason so many "classic" movies don't play well today. Later film makers borrow shots, lines, plots, etc. from the really good stuff, so that when seen by a fresh audience today, all they see is the cliches that it spawned. That and the Hays Code. Some of those restrictions made things a bit predictable.

I think you's probably get bored really quickly once the FAA, the Air Force, the DHS, the FBI, etc. start talking to you about your drones.

I don't have a mouse, but I tried a guinea pig. (Well, now that I think about it, it was the pig named "Mouse", so take that for what it's worth.) All I got was: gikkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbhk/.p I guess I will not be going to space today.

Spacecraft: almost always keyboard. Planes: has to be joystick. I don't fly planes very often, and dragging the stick over to use for spacecraft is a bit of a hassle with the piles of stuff on my desk. I have considered stealing the joystick off the kids' computer (they never use it anyway) and setting one for rotation and one for translation.

Nice concept. How durable is it? Can it handle actual heavy usage? How well does it handle extreme weather? Can it withstand blizzards and hurricanes? Massive flooding? How long will it take to get this installed, and how much will it cost? Can production keep pace with new installations and maintenance of previously installed roadways? Who is going to pay for it? How long will it take to "pay for itself"? How will this affect the economy here? How will this affect the economy of nations that base a large portion of their economy on oil? There's a lot of variables that need to be taken into account before one can say if it's worth it.

Heh. It didn't work last time.

The line between NASA and the military is very thin. It's not uncommon to see military uniforms wandering around NASA centers, as some NASA people are on loan from the military, not to mention many of the astronauts who are active duty military officers. In the aftermath of the Columbia incident, my father, as a civilian NASA engineer, had a security clearance so he could know the capabilities of the NRO imaging systems. There are entire areas that are locked up due to the classified nature of the work they handle. The government makes much about requiring personnel to take training on handling classified information, as well as Sensitive But Unclassified data. Except that many of those private companies hold NASA and military contracts. Note above about classified information and work areas.

So, you admidt they have a history of not being trustworthy, then? It's amusing to see the scramble when people are told they can't buy IT equipment from China. *on cue, everyone picks up their keyboards, flips them over, and reads the labels* "Well, Congress won't let me work today, either!"

early 1960s: The Russians are beating us at everything! We need to show them what we can do! (SPACE! MOON! MARS!) late 1960s: Space Race! We need to beat those damn commies and show them how much better we are! Space is new and interesting! (MOON! MARS!) early 1970s: We're walking on the moon! Woohoo, we beat those dang Russians! We win! (Moon. Mars?) late 1970s: Well, we did them capsule thing, the moon thing, the space station thing. What's next? Reusable spaceplane? Cheap access to space? Sounds new and exciting! Let's do this! (What moon?) early 1980s: Space plane! Woohoo! You know, this isn't quite as cheap as they said it would be. At least we've got that big space station to build! (Those Russians don't have a space plane like this!) mid '80s: Oh. Wow. You mean this is dangerous and people are dying? Maybe we should just give up! (Oh, hey. The Russians built one, too?) late '80s, early '90s: Remember when we used to go to the moon? We should start thinking about that again. (By the way, whatever happened to that station?) late '90s: Well, ok. Space station. Haven't we done that already? (We've been borrowing the neighbor's station for a while.) early 2000s: Wait, this is still dangerous? Maybe we should just give up! Maybe we should think up a new plan to go to the moon. (Moon. Mars?) mid 2000s: Woohoo! New program! Oh, are we still using those old things? (MOON! Mars?) late 2000s: Well, I guess we weren't really using that program. No, you can take it. We're quite happy being in LEO for decades. (Moon?) Now: Commercial space freighters are a thing that exists. Orion is well under way. And no one seems to know what we're going to actually end up doing with it. Every program we've seen recently has been canceled, the Russians and Chinese seem to be doing everything we used to, and we're told "Maybe next decade" if we ever ask "When?".

For national security reasons, I think there are countries that should not be included in the space program. The only difference between a space rocket and a ballistic missile is where the guidance system is programmed to send it. That is not technology that needs to be handed out to every country that wants it. There's a reason that foreign nationals need to fill out paperwork to access sites or computer systems, and any information/articles/presentations that are released to non-NASA audiences is checked for Export Control Restrictions and "Missile Technology" data. Now, seeing as China has already demonstrated spaceflight, ICBM, and anti-satellite capabilities, does preventing them access to our technology do any good? Maybe. There's not even a fine line between rockets and missiles; they're exactly the same. Any propulsion or guidance system data they can get relating to NASA can give them a pretty good idea of what our DoD capabilities are. Many of the same contractors that work with NASA also handle DoD work. Aside from that, even if China didn't make use of the information themselves, can we trust that they won't sell it to someone that would use it? Furthermore, if China gets really good at space, we can get a real space race going again, and maybe NASA will actually get to do stuff again.

Because it's easier to add heat than remove it, maybe? That would be my guess. Maybe it's also easier for them to see what their hands are doing in shadows if the gloves are lighter rather than dark? Of course, the real reason could just as easily be "the gloves are white to match the white suits".

Orange spacesuit - test pilots? White spacesuit - other flight crew Blue flightsuit - applicants/trainees (in the astronaut complex) The orange suits are a holdover from the early days, before proper spacesuits could be developed. Originally adapted from a diving suit, they were issued to the first kerbonauts. Once the program accelerated and other pilots were brought in, the original crew talked management into providing them with orange versions to indicate seniority. The white suites are standard issue spacesuits used by all other kerbonauts. The blue jumpsuit is the standard issue suit used during training, ground tests, and other non-flight related activities. Of course, only the trainees are seen wearing them in the kerbonaut portraits, as any flight-ready crewmembers have their official portraits done in flight gear. (Arrogant little things, ain't they?) Yellow dungarees - mechanics Red dungarees - mechanics (any difference from the yellow ones?) White coats - engineers? Green uniform - batmen (and other groundskeepers?) Yellow are the construction guys. They're the ones that put things together, turn hammers on bolts, pound on things with wrenches, etc. Red are special workers. They're the ones responsible for laying out cables/wiring, running fuel lines, installing pyrotechnics, etc. White coats are the engineers and scientists. Green seems to be general ground crew. The only ones I remember seeing seem to be trying to direct traffic. So, they would be the folks that keep the KSC running like a smoothly oiled machine, maintaining the site, providing security, making sure there's a place for everything and everything is in some place, really, they swear it was just here, and if you can hang around, they'll go find it for you and it should be in your hands in a moment er, within an hour, max, uh probably next Wednesday?, soon. Yeah, real soon now.

The Right Stuff, Kerbalized. And if that catches on, a ten part miniseries, From the Kerb to the Mun.

Why would you trust the sky? The sky is in on it! Does the "sky" even exist? Pilots and astronauts supposedly travel through it all the time, but have you ever seen a piece of it that they brought back?

I have endless fun telling people at the office that the landings were faked. Careful, detailed explanations that the whole thing was faked. They even had to fake that Apollo 13 "accident", because the moon sets were damaged, and it took them a while to rebuild them. Of course, we lost all the sets when the building collapsed, so we started faking the Skylab thing, and paid off the Russians to help us fake the ASTP. After that, of course, the Apollo models were accidentally destroyed by one of the guys who had too much whiskey for breakfast, and they had to build new models of the shuttle. Of course, they stopped letting me roll down the windows when I told tourists on the passing trams that it was all faked on a sound stage. Or telling them that the landings were fake, but the pictures are real.

I looked at the picture, heard some noise, and drank coffee. There are no words to describe the nothing that happened.