StrandedonEarth

Wow, I had no idea what the top normal-space speed of an ISD was. That skews the kinetic-energy equation a bit. But it's still only 0.13% of lightspeed! Not even relativistic! Good thing they have hyperdrive.

The dimensions aren't as important as the mass. SSD's are hollow metal lattices, with over a quarter million meaty bags of water aboard. So they probably don't mass nearly as much as an asteroid of similar dimensions. Velocity is where the kinetic energy really kicks in, given that kinetic energy equals mass times the square of velocity. Large asteroid impacts dwarf nuclear weapons. The power generating capabilities of an SSD's reactors are unknown, but they have to power a heckuva lot of weapons, engines, and other equipment on board. So I would hazard the guess that compared to a similarly sized asteroid, most of the destructive potential would come from the reactors. OTOH, in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy (an excellent read, by the way; I wish Ep.7 had been based on it) an old capital ship crash had poisoned a planet with its chemical fallout, and the inhabitants there probably would have gone extinct if not for intervention by Lord Vader and the Empire

I wonder how well thermite welding would work in space?

For space construction, you want lightweight rigid structural elements that can be mass produced and then fit together like tinkertoys to create the framework for whatever you want to attach to it. Such as:

Heeeeeere kitty kitty!

I was reading this as the kids just happened to put on the episode where a case of plastic explosives washes up on Gilligan's Island...

Well, from this site I found this chart, which shows an 8.8% difference in density over the liquid temperature range. Nothing to sneeze at Densities of liquid oxygen Temperature, ° Abs Temperature, ° C Density. 68.0 -205 1.2489 70.0 -203 1.2393 74.0 -199 1.2200 78.0 -195 1.2008 80.0 -193 1.1911 82.0 -191 1.1815 86.0 -187 1.1623 89.0 -184 1.1479 Edit: Increasing density through chilling is quite different than increasing density by compressing.

Well, the writer got one thing right, that the propellants expand if allowed time to warm up. What he left out is that kerosene is chilled (not how kerosene used to be handled) and the lox is chillled far below the boiling point, which is also unusual. All to increase the density and the mass of propellants that can be packed on board.

"Ready the Black Olive Kin-izza-tic kill vehicle!" "Ready, sir!" "Release the oven!"

Just need more of these guys.... It Couldn’t Be Done Somebody said that it couldn’t be done, But, he with a chuckle replied That "maybe it couldn’t," but he would be one Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried. So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin On his face. If he worried he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn’t be done, and he did it. Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you’ll never do that; At least no one has done it"; But he took off his coat and he took off his hat, And the first thing we knew he’d begun it. With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin, Without any doubting or quiddit, He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn’t be done, and he did it. There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done, There are thousands to prophesy failure; There are thousands to point out to you one by one, The dangers that wait to assail you. But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin, Just take off your coat and go to it; Just start to sing as you tackle the thing That "couldn’t be done," and you’ll do it. -Edgar Albert Guest

Yes, for anyone looking for news about current SpaceX missions, the accident investigations and RTF plans, the signal-to-noise ratio in here is drowning in the ITF and colonization talk. Edit: What we need is a thread for "SpaceX Current Missions, launches, Landings, and RUDs," and another for "SpaceX BFR, ITS, and Duna Mars Colonization Plans"

My first attempt at pumpkin gouging, as opposed to carving: I guess I need to either up the flames or scrape the 'kin thinner. In related news, I found Waldo! (actually my brother-in-law) He should be much easier to find now.

And that is why gov't agencies partner with private enterprise. NASA and its predecessor NACA were created to develop, test, prove and demonstrate new technologies, for example the NACA cowling. SpaceX and other space startups are using NASA's technologies and experience to help develop their vehicles. I have no doubt that SpaceX and Bigelow will lean heavily on NASA's experience with the life support systems that have been tested on the ISS for years now.

Oops, I almost forgot. There's also...

I'm glad to hear that they're closing in on a probable cause. They've learned an expensive lesson about not experimenting with loading procedures with a customer's payload on top.

Good luck with that...

Vomit Comet

Egg?

Kerbal (pick one: Krash / Destruction / Explosion / Stranding) program?