StrandedonEarth

Working during liftoff, shift should end before final splash though…. Which means I’ll probably be driving at that time…

Could the Gateway modules under production construction function as the core of the next LEO station? Since Gateway won't be needed in its intended role once SLS is cancelled. And SLS will be cancelled; it's painfully obvious that it's an expensive and practically useless dead end, and prime contractor Boeing would do well to back away from all things space right now until it gets its house back in order (best done by having an engineer in charge instead of an accountant).

Perhaps they should be using elephants or grey whales for scale?

Of a sorts, through people’s posts and the resulting commentary. Some imgurians post fascinating stuff

FWIW, I did make a doom'n'gloom post on imgur (my other haunt) and got a reasonably prompt reply from Vanamonde, of the usual "they are aware and working on it" kind. Which I knew was all I could really expect. I must admit I was skeptical, considering how long it was down for. But I'm glad it's back up. Now if they could only slay the Bad Gateway....

It’s ALIiiiiiiive!

I can watch that second video all day...

The corollary is: If your stupid plan didn't work (spin-separation of stages?) then it was, in fact, stupid.

Looked like the RUD was after it tipped over. I couldn’t see much on my phone, but the Labpadre feed was saying they could see a tankage section still floating

That was just freaking incredible!!!! Especially to catch it on the first try. Oh good, it looks like the vent fires are finally out. E: I'm glad I'm usually up by 4:30 for work, so I was naturally waking up before 5am to catch this. And I need to drive my kid to work for 6am anyways, then take the dog for her run ("night ops") so at best I'll have to watch the entry on my phone, instead of on the TV like the launch...

Hopefully someone at the FAA will be getting some overtime…

That’s one thin I don’t like about my immediate neighborhood: too much light pollution. Couldn’t see anything, although it was reported elsewhere in the city

F9 started with a square engine block, later changed to round. Meanwhile, Stage Zero started with a round table, with the next version at least starting with a square. The wheel of ka keeps turning…

Hmm, yes. Here in BC, in the 90’s, the govt wanted to build some new ferries for the Vancouver Island runs, so they built three PacifiCats, dubbed “FastCats;” aluminum-hulled catamaran ferries. They were built in local shipyards, which required training the shipyard workers to weld aluminum. Naturally, they were over budget, costing some C$400M (90s $) for the three. And as it turns out, the wake (and the damage it did to nearby shorelines) was horrendous, even at the same speeds as the older ferries. So it wasn’t long until the project was cancelled, and they were eventually sold for a mere $13M. Okay, my memory was a little spotty. Here’s the Wikilink to fill in the blanks: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PacifiCat-class_ferry

Made by Thales-Alenia, IIRC? Given their experience with orbital modules (ISS modules and ninjaturtle logistics modules) they really need to move towards a more mass production model to get costs down and production up. Then all these plans for orbital and surface spacehabs can pick up speed and cut costs

I didn’t think cargos Dragons were actually equipped with SuperDracos, but maybe the new versions are. Or they could use an end-of-life full crew Dragon for cargo.

The Dowager of Downton always had a tart retort at the ready…

Well, the second OLM/tower is going up nicely. They’ve had enough hi-energy events on the first OLM to have an idea of what is vulnerable. And in the worst case, they’ll gain more data on what needs hardening. I think the chance of an actual explosion is pretty low, just a rapid combustion of the remaining propellants.

Well, there are other companies intent on competing. It’s not Spacex’ fault the others are way behind. They are even launching competitors’ netsats!

I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as though billions of fans cried out at once… https://variety.com/2024/film/news/james-earl-jones-dead-darth-vader-lion-king-1236138656/

“If those [first] landings go well…” Yeah, good luck with that. And then two years between iteration attempts, unless they send a trio of different designs to see what works best. It seems to suggest that ISRU equipment would have to be on those first flights, to fuel later flights for the trip home. Unless the plan is for one-way trips from the start, lol

*coughBoeingcough* They can’t seem to touch anything these days without it being fubar’d

It would become a choice between mass starvation or strict birth control. The young would revolt against the ossified ideas of the elders, who would face constant threats of assassination

I wonder if, by the time approvals come through, they’ll have a booster and/or starship powered by Raptor V3s ready to go..

One of the Civ games (6, I think) has an achievement for clearing nuclear fallout with a Roman Legion…