CatastrophicFailure

So this is interesting... like train wreck interesting... Apparently SpaceX allegedly “refused” to move a StarLink sat out of the way of an ESA bird. Now, according to the train wreck comments, the only Starlink at a similar altitude to the ESA sat is one of two that’s slowly deorbiting itself, which +the slow-responding ion thruster May have been the reason it couldn’t move. Whole thing needs to be taken with a great big grain of salt for now, but there it is. ETA: Better article, mentioning a different computer pegged the chance of a collision as pretty negligible.

Top.... men....

Being able to cook a full meal in the car is exactly why we left Phoenix for Seattleish.

Today we discovered that the frunk on the wife’s new Model 3 is the perfect way to bring home a pizza without it sliding all over. Even keeps it warm on a sunny day. And also, everything smells like pizza when you get out.

See, now I’m gonna love that, Persistent Rotation is always on my short list of mods for a new install... if only so I can switch back and watch a still-tumbling bit of debris reenter.

I’m waving from about 20 miles away, does that count?

SpaceX already has the whole VTVL thing down pretty good, they arguably have a better understanding of it than anyone else in the industry right now. What they don’t have is flight data on reentry and descent on their unprecedented plan of doing so. There’s probably not a whole lot more they could learn from Hoppy, that’s why the first Starship test will be all the way to the edge of space and back— that remains the big unknown. Once Starship is back down low and going butt-first on a pillar of fire, that’s actually the easy part.

What’s that thing above the C-5, left of the shuttle? RHOMBUS? Looks like a great big aerospike... uses it as a heat shield on reentry? Then stubby wings for some control to a vertical landing? MOAR BOOSTERS! optional?

Will physics still, er, revolve around the “1/10th size and ridiculously dense” model of the current game? Any native support for upscale design/real-scaled mods?

. . . *Points at Owners of All Media Disney*

Nope, just a single Tyrannosaurus Rex. dat roar doe And not ones to rest on their laurels, apparently SpaceX is also aiming at the opposite end of the spectrum:

Whoah. And whoah! And also, whoah. Them are some... aggressive time frames... I wonder why more delay on the presentation, tho? What are they, for lack of a better phrase, “hiding?”

You w—? Well, I suppose you could come help me test the electric fence if you wanna further your education...

Well, at least we know why they had issues with the FAA over altitude, they couldn’t accept the “return data from upper atmosphere” contract yet.

So... grabbed a live wire, eh?

haven’t seen this mentioned yet... apparently right at the end you can see one of the COPV’s get liberated and go flying off on its own...

Daaaaaaaaaang! I was not expecting the flight to last that long! What’s the longest burn we know of for a Raptor at this point?

Shhhhhhhh.... Don't give Elon any ideas...

Generally, they do. That’s what the flare stack is for. That big release we saw yesterday wasn’t a norminal release, it was an aborted engine ignition. So, an “oops.”

Well, the Russians still use an actual physical launch key, so I suppose it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Some keystroke must be the last interaction that starts the launch sequence...

So, they are using spark igniters (I’m assuming that’s what that meant). Thought I’d heard somewhere these early production Raptors still used TEA/TEB.

So here’s an actual question... how come there’s no ice buildup on Starhopper? There’s no internal tanks or insulation, as far as we know, right? So with the whole thing full of cryo shouldn’t it be covered in white ice like a F9?

What was he driving?

I... man, I am really off my game lately...