StrandedonEarth

Lousy version was all I could find...

A low TWR can help with that, if you have the patience for a 1m/s burn to take 60 seconds

It’s possible one engine did a RUD, damaging the methane line/tank and starving the other engines

At least that vent wasn’t burning after the catch, for once

Except all 13 lit for the landing burn

That was freaking incredible!!! Nice catch. Not sure what’s up with Ship, telemetry is weird…

I enjoyed it although it was heavy on the sociopolitical aspects, which is not my cup of tea. But I didn't feel like I was slogging through it. That said, I haven't re-read it as much as I do other books

Have you read Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Red/Green/Blue Mars” trilogy? It lays out a reasonable plan for terraforming, assuming a healthy space economy

As our doctor said when our kids had a string of minor illnesses, “let them eat dirt!”

Nice. I’d be pretty nervous too, although I would think/hope everything was tested first

Or simply a highly portable means to assay core samples

Well, the original plan was for 12m diameter. I think one reason it was scaled down to 9m was to fit under a standard warehouse 32’ roof, before they decided to do the initial builds in tents

Ah, my bad. I misread/ took the wrong meaning

Oh, we care. The more, the merrier. Not putting too many eggs in one basket. Competition/backup. Yadda yadda yadda. As long as they can get enough of a flight rate to be useful...

Terminology is iffy. You’re describing what I know as a “water rocket.” What I know as a “bottle rocket” is a very small rocket firework (thinking <1cm dia, ~3-4 cm long) attached to a long thin stick for stability. The stick is placed in an empty (glass) pop bottle for launching, hence the name “bottle rocket”. Which explains why other replies are talking about one kind of powder propellant or another.