Tommygun

I'm starting to see internet congestion issues with the stream. I hope there isn't a server crash once it gets close and more people are watching.

Captain Ahab: From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned comet!

It looks like a fun idea. I have Hatsune singing fly me to the Moon stuck in my head now.

Flying aircraft carriers were tried by several countries back in the early 20th century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_aircraft_carrier The USS Akron and Macon where, I think, the most elaborate attempts. They carried five aircraft internally. The air weather in the US is just too severe for these types of craft.

Sounds like the two lobes could end up playing pong with poor little Philae.

I guess so, but if you get to ride for free, do you still get to complain?

One or two of the stars could be something like a neutron star in a triple star system? I had considered orbiting a gas giant too and I think you would need it to orbit a gas giant in a triple star system to keep it in place. You still need something that could make things go from winters of several hundred days to decades. Unstable star...maybe. But my best next guess is they are living on a giant magical mechanical orrery.

I'm always a little disappointed when I hear about a rocket going up with a dummy payload when there are so many universities with CubeSats or other experiments that could go up. But I guess there is always a very small chance that one of those experiments could mess up a launch too.

NASA is a government agency, so their is no point for one government agency to pay taxes to another government agency. They will use the money for a feasibility study on how to use surplus money.

I really like that Dawn probe, you have quite a collection now.

I've kinda wondered what kind of solar system the Seven Kingdoms is in. Like a binary star system to have such irregular long winters that can last years or none at all at rare times.

So are these diamonds the porous black ones that form in the vacuum of space?

Philip José Farmer's Riverworld where people are reborn in an after life like world along a massively long river system. Robert L. Forward's Rocheworld, a double planet that almost touch. One desert and the other a water world. Niven's Ringworld and The Smoke Ring both not planets. The Smoke Ring is a gas torus of a breathable atmosphere orbiting a neutron star and replenished by a gas giant and all of this orbiting a nearby star. Plants and animals evolved to live in a micro gravity world without any land.

A methane slushy

Ripoff is unfair, manufactured under license might be better. They got parts and some technical help I believe, but did the rest themselves.

What does this button do.............

How long has there been a "War on Drugs" or a one child policy in China? I don't think force will work unless you are willing to terrorize on a Stalin or North Korean like scale and that means killing large numbers of people. The only humane way is to go down a slow educational approach which may take a hundred years or more. Edit: On a historic example you may want to look at the history of eugenics. It started out as one thing, but as governments got involved it slowly turned into something truly horrific. I know you mean well, but things like this often end badly as they often get out of hand especially when bureaucracy and over zealous people come together.

I didn't realize aluminum came out that white hot.

I'm wondering if it can really get enough solar heat for lift and to power two Stirling engines. Round balloons can also be harder to control, that's why blimps are usually long. Some of their designs do have big tails which will help some, but Stirling engines like these don't strike me as powerful. To me it looks like it will struggle to fly and turn in the wind.

Does anyone know what that ring is made of?

It's called the Sunrise Thermal Airship. It is a hot air balloon that uses the sun and a Fresnel lens to heat the air. Will it ever fly, probable not, but it has some nice ideas......and it's cool looking. http://gearpatrol.com/2012/01/14/design-spotlight-sunrise-thermal-airship/

Yes, just survive and watch out for the rogue planet.

It's fun, I even made it to the top of the leader board for about five seconds.

By chance, do you own any clothing with a big "S" on it?

Unique visitors are up over the last year.