CatastrophicFailure

Aww.

So, if the flight is under maritime law, and they steal the Apollo 15 LRV, would they legally, then, be space pirates?

Cue a gallery of senators with fingers in their ears chanting “lalalalalalalalalalalalalala...”

Only time will show, but I think Hoppy will deserve a place in the Smithsonian, eventually. Largely because there’s a pretty good chance of losing one or both of the Mk 1’s during testing.

Having some amount of control is a good thing, especially if you want to get it within range of a waiting helicopter. And like SpaceX has demonstrated, enough control to cock the booster just a little sideways so it “glides” creates more drag, so it slows down quicker and higher, potentially reducing heating.

Editor not so good this time. Bad editor, no donut! Should probably be skipping them anyway... If there is I’d sure like to know, too. I think they can only be parsed by hand, the forward/back at the end is a nice touch tho.

Tiny. Little. Gridfins. Maybe even actual waffle irons. It is just for testing, after all...

And this after swearing they’d never pursue reliability. So, begs the question, is that Electron Heavy that was mentioned upthread in the pipe? How about Electron Starship?

Farewell, B1047.3, we hardly knew ye.

Reusability really is the future. And the future is now.

We’re pretty close to a real contest right now, there’s an Atlas over on that other pad. I say set both T-0 to the same time and first one to orbit wins! Bonus points if the expended boosters fight on the way down. And FWIW, there was an attempt at actual rocket spectator sport. Sadly, it went the same course of most rocket startups...

Give it a proper Viking funeral. Onward, to Booster Valhalla!

Maybe they'd get more views if they still showed the view from the booster all the way down...

We got our first chicken egg today. Idin’it cuuute? Shown here next to a freakishly large, cholesterol-laden, double-yolker butt slug one of the ducks keeps pumping out with slightly disturbing regularity.

If going via A380 to London really is cheaper overall, the satellite doesn't really care if it takes a little longer. @Dale Christopher never actually specified where his hypothetical cubesat was going, after all, and Rocketlab is currently building a facility for lower-inclination orbits. Or maybe his cubesat just wants to fly on an A380, cuz they're not going to be around forever.

Perhaps a better analogue, here is that if Starship is fully and rapidly reusable, and flying regularly enough to bring down the overall cost per kg to something crazy low, it’s far easier to cram that cubesat in, with or without its own propulsion stage (cubesat propulsion is being worked on), on a launch that just happens to be going the right way. Y’know, like sticking one more little box on a loaded 787. But speaking of things not like airplanes... They’re gonna need a VAB...

So, Bezos has been lapped and is just behind the game, now Peter Beck is the arch-nemesis?

So, given the speed of the average govt bureaucracy, these permits should be approved around 2357. Of the next aeon. Quite, it’s usually used in a financial/contract sense, referring to various deposits, wire transfers, and other agreements.

The circle is now complete. (SpaceX’s original business model was based largely on smallsats.)

It’s no fun, that’s for sure. We had a similar thing last fall, nasty windstorm took out the main transmission lines up north, and the whole island was in the dark for a time. We were without juice for a couple of days, and some places were out for over a week. Always keep a cache of emergency supplies— water, nonperishable food, basic clothes— and if you possibly can, a generator. Even a small gennie can make an outage much much more tolerable.

Well, they are actually going to put Falcon 9 thrusters on the new Roadster as part of the SpaceX package... It’ll also cost as much as a small house, so...

@YNM Any word on a cause? Yeesh. Glad it’s back up. Strange thing to think, right? But it wasn’t all, like... stuffy and such. It felt kinda like an Apple on wheels... simple, functional... and really expensive.

Getting closer to dropping the hammer, here, so went to a Tesla store today to ask some questions— and sit the other models there’s no way we’ll ever afford. Wife and I were both shocked to discover we don’t like the Model S at all. It’s a gorgeous car, but the roof line is just way too low, even she had trouble getting in and out and finally understands why I have so much trouble getting in and out of cars. Then once inside the whole thing just felt cramped, not at all like the Model 3. Better door handles tho. The Model X, now, that I could get used to. And once you realize there’s no roof it’s ridiculously easy to get into the back seats with those funky doors. Never been in a $100,000 car before, but it didn’t really feel like one. But not in a bad way, just in a “not a Rolls Royce” kinda way. ...wonder how much overtime I’d have to work... I’ve got a spare kidney I could maybe part with too...

Probably has all sorts of books & crannies for smuggling absolutely legitimate freight transit, too... Now to invent the hyperdrive.... I suggest starting with a sugared-up toddler...