YellowPot_97 said:

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TexAgs91 said:

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PJYoung said:

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🇺🇸🇺🇸 American Broomstick 🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/r2hJvFQosS

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2022

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I gotta ask... has Russia heard of SpaceX?

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They should paint a broomstick on the next Falcon 9 to launch.

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Just so happens the next F9 is going to the ISS.

Scratch that... Next Falcon 9 is another Starlink mission. The ISS flight is mid April

Is there any reason nobody uses Merlin or is planning to use Raptors? Does Musk just not want to deal with supporting engines for customers?

If I remember correctly, its fuel related. Raptor is methane based (no other rockets currently using) and Merlin is Kerosene (RP-1) based. Difference is SpaceX is super chilling the RP-1 more than other ships may be capable of.

Decay said:

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Is there any reason nobody uses Merlin or is planning to use Raptors? Does Musk just not want to deal with supporting engines for customers?

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It's the latter… SpaceX isn't making their engines available for sale.

Elon doesn't appear to be wasting time on starting with the tower at LC-39A. I wonder if he's beginning to think that the FAA is going to screw him over at Boca after all. I think the bigger pacing item is going to be the launch mount, however. That table took longer than the tower...

In other news…

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/03/vulva-spaceship-design-aims-to-counter-prevalence-of-phalluses/amp/

Spaceships look too much like dongs, so we have to send a va-jay-jay up there for equity purposes.

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It says sending a yonic craft instead would signal inclusivity and has started a petition on change.org calling on the European Space Agency to consider the project.

"The project adds another dimension to the representation of humanity in space and is communicating to the world that anyone has a place in the universe, regardless of their genitalia," said the organisation.

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Sure, if it flies. Spaceflight is on the edge of human capabilities so it's the ultimate example of merit based design.

Best of luck to them tho. Give the broomstick something to mate with.

lb3 said:

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Ag_of_08 said:

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That would be a bit of a challenge from what I understand, the couches and suits are tailored to specific astronaut aren't they?

I really don't know what the realities of getting one back would be, ib3 may have more input there lol

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The Soyuz seat liners are crew specific. I think the anthropometry guys have 3D laser scans of all the astronauts so they would be able to quickly tell if SpaceX has a dragon suit in inventory that would work or could probably make one sight unseen for a contingency return.

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... I realize this is a layman talking to a priest here, but do you realize how nuts that sounds in the context of what was going on less than five years ago? The public(me) has gotten so used to the insane rate things are progressing at.

Some interesting SpaceX/Relativity updates.

Captain Positivity said:

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In other news…

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/03/vulva-spaceship-design-aims-to-counter-prevalence-of-phalluses/amp/

Spaceships look too much like dongs, so we have to send a va-jay-jay up there for equity purposes.

Quote:

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It says sending a yonic craft instead would signal inclusivity and has started a petition on change.org calling on the European Space Agency to consider the project.

"The project adds another dimension to the representation of humanity in space and is communicating to the world that anyone has a place in the universe, regardless of their genitalia," said the organisation.

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Physics is sexist, yo...

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/03/rocket-report-russia-responds-to-western-sanctions-uk-spaceport-moves-ahead/

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. . .
UK spaceport clears key regulatory hurdle. Construction of the first vertical launch spaceport in the United Kingdom is scheduled to begin in late March, the BBC reports. This week, the SaxaVord UK Spaceport received planning approval from its local authority, Shetland Islands Council. Previously known as the Shetland Space Centre, SaxaVord will be located on Unst, the northernmost of the Shetland Islands, to the north of Scotland.
. . .
Should the ministers not request a further review, construction on the $57 million spaceport will move forward next month. The privately funded spaceport will consist of three launchpads, with future tenants including the US-based ABL Space Systems rocket company as well as Britain-based Skyrora. Ambitiously, SaxaVord officials are targeting an initial launch this year. We'll see.

Branson, Palihapitiya face an investor lawsuit. Chamath Palihapitiya and Richard Branson face an investor lawsuit that alleges they were aware of defects in Virgin Galactic's spaceships but still capitalized on an inflated stock price to sell shares, Yahoo! News reports. The investor lawsuit, filed by Virgin Galactic shareholder Thomas Spiteri, seeks damages from the space travel company's directors and others in management.
. . .
Sold at the top ... The lawsuit alleges that Palihapitiya took advantage of his role as company chairman to sell 10 million shares for $315 million on "inside information" before abruptly leaving his role last month. The suit also alleges that Branson sold 16 million shares for about $458 million while the stock was "artificially inflated." Branson and Palihapitiya were aware "or were highly reckless in not knowing" of the safety problems in the company's Eve and Unity spacecrafts yet failed to openly disclose these to the public, the lawsuit states.

Another Iranian launch fails. Iran likely suffered another failed launch of a satellite-carrying rocket last weekend, the AP reports. Satellite images from Maxar Technologies show scorch marks at a launch pad at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's rural Semnan province on Sunday. A rocket stand on the pad appears scorched and damaged, with vehicles surrounding it. An object, possibly part of the gantry, sits near it. Successful launches typically don't damage rocket gantries because they are lowered prior to takeoff. The failure likely involved the small-satellite Zuljanah rocket.

Never left the pad ... Typically, Iran will immediately trumpet launches that reach space on its state-run television channels, and the country has a history of not acknowledging failed attempts. Separate images from Planet Labs PBC suggest the attempted launch likely occurred sometime after Friday.
. . .
OneWeb launch suspended due to Russian demands. Russia took the extraordinary step Wednesday of placing multiple demands on OneWeb and its government ownership prior to a planned launch of satellites Friday aboard a Soyuz rocket, Ars reports.
. . .
However, in response to Western sanctions, the chief of Russia's space program, Dmitry Rogozin, issued two demands before acceding to the launch. One, he said, OneWeb must guarantee that its satellites will not be used for military purposes. And two, the UK government must give up its ownership of OneWeb.

Wanted, launch capacity ... Partly owned by the United Kingdom, OneWeb rejected both of these demands. On Thursday morning, a spokesperson from the company said, "The Board of OneWeb has voted to suspend all launches from Baikonur." OneWeb needs to launch six more batches of satellites to complete its initial constellation of 648 satellites. It has pre-purchased launches on Soyuz rocket for all six of those missions, and where the company will go from here is now unclear. The only orbital rocket with excess capacity to pick up those launches this year is the Falcon 9, built by competitor SpaceX.
. . .
Inspector general says SLS costs are "unsustainable." Appearing before a House Science Committee hearing on NASA's Artemis program this week, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin revealed the operational costs of the big Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. He took aim at NASA and particularly its large aerospace contractors for their "very poor" performance in developing these vehicles. Martin said that the operational costs alone for a single Artemis launchfor just the rocket, Orion spacecraft, and ground systemswill total $4.1 billion, Ars reports.

Development costs not included ... This is, he said, "a price tag that strikes us as unsustainable." With this comment, Martin essentially threw down his gauntlet and said NASA cannot have a meaningful exploration program based around SLS and Orion at this cost. Later in the hearing, Martin broke down the costs per flight, which will apply to at least the first four launches of the Artemis program: $2.2 billion to build a single SLS rocket, $568 million for ground systems, $1 billion for an Orion spacecraft, and $300 million to the European Space Agency for Orion's Service Module. NASA, Martin said, had checked and confirmed these figures.
. . .
NASA assembling Europa Clipper spacecraft. The space agency said its technicians and engineers have begun to assemble the Europa Clipper spacecraft inside clean rooms at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Before year's end, most of the flight hardware, including a suite of nine science instruments, is expected to be complete.

Starting to feel like a real spacecraft ... The mission is due to launch in October 2024 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, to the Jovian moon of Europa. "It's happening, it's becoming real. It's becoming tangible," said Robert Pappalardo, the Europa Clipper project scientist.
. . .

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Captain Positivity said:

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In other news…

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/03/vulva-spaceship-design-aims-to-counter-prevalence-of-phalluses/amp/

Spaceships look too much like dongs, so we have to send a va-jay-jay up there for equity purposes.

Quote:

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It says sending a yonic craft instead would signal inclusivity and has started a petition on change.org calling on the European Space Agency to consider the project.

"The project adds another dimension to the representation of humanity in space and is communicating to the world that anyone has a place in the universe, regardless of their genitalia," said the organisation.

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this is a meme right?


right?

Well yeah... but someone is going to get millions of dollars out of it

Starlink satellites packed in a Falcon fairing 🛰️ @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/P0frLAao6g

— Pranay Pathole (@PPathole) March 4, 2022

A is A said:

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Captain Positivity said:

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In other news…

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/03/vulva-spaceship-design-aims-to-counter-prevalence-of-phalluses/amp/

Spaceships look too much like dongs, so we have to send a va-jay-jay up there for equity purposes.

Quote:

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It says sending a yonic craft instead would signal inclusivity and has started a petition on change.org calling on the European Space Agency to consider the project.

"The project adds another dimension to the representation of humanity in space and is communicating to the world that anyone has a place in the universe, regardless of their genitalia," said the organisation.

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this is a meme right?


right?

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Nathan Fillion doing solid voice work in the va-jay-jay enterprise, with Maya Rudolph doing a Chewbacca impression.

BTW, I think it's safe to stick a fork into Canada's Maritime Launch Services.

https://www.maritimelaunch.com/

I don't think the Ukranian Cyclone 4M rocket will every fly now.

Elon

It only takes a room temperature IQ to draw the conclusions about energy security he tweeted about.

PJYoung said:

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Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022

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France says "No sh!# Sherlock."

Yeah Elon is obviously very smart, but these are basic energy truths that he's saying at the optimum time - people have been saying for decades that nuclear is the best long term energy supply bar none. There just hasn't been any political willpower on the left to admit it and dry up the alternative energy cash cow. Finally people are forced to deal with reality and Elon pounces with an easy tweet. That being said, I hope something actually happens in this space both in Europe AND here. It's an absolute travesty what the anti-nuclear lobby has done.

It doesn't hurt that Elon has globe changing "F You" levels of money, and regardless of what Squaw Warren says he is the single largest cash inflow on the federal balance sheet this year.

It's refreshing to see someone say what needs to be said and not what the swamp wants to hear.

Agreed with that! Just a shame we can't elect someone to office who can tell it like it really is - politics aside. F you money has its perks. Just glad he's not socialist/globalist/evil like the other tech billionaires (so far)

File5 said:

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Agreed with that! Just a shame we can't elect someone to office who can tell it like it really is - politics aside. F you money has its perks. Just glad he's not socialist/globalist/evil like the other tech billionaires (so far)

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I think the Asperger's makes him not give a **** what the rich elite or swamp think about him. He just tells it like it is because he doesn't need anyones approval.

PJYoung said:

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Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022

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Normally I'd say he's right. But in these times, nuclear power plants are also an easy target with potentially devastating fallout.

TexAgs91 said:

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PJYoung said:

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Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022

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Normally I'd say he's right. But in these times, nuclear power plants are also an easy target with potentially devastating fallout.

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Totally wrong.

Decay said:

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TexAgs91 said:

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PJYoung said:

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Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022

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Normally I'd say he's right. But in these times, nuclear power plants are also an easy target with potentially devastating fallout.

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Totally wrong.

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Is not

Completely disagree with this thought.

TexAgs91 said:

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Decay said:

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TexAgs91 said:

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PJYoung said:

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Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022

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Normally I'd say he's right. But in these times, nuclear power plants are also an easy target with potentially devastating fallout.

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Totally wrong.

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Is not

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how so?

Jock 07 said:

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TexAgs91 said:

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Decay said:

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TexAgs91 said:

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PJYoung said:

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Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022

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Normally I'd say he's right. But in these times, nuclear power plants are also an easy target with potentially devastating fallout.

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Totally wrong.

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Is not

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how so?

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That was more of a response to the "nuh uh" post with no details.

TexAgs91 said:

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PJYoung said:

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Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022

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Normally I'd say he's right. But in these times, nuclear power plants are also an easy target with potentially devastating fallout.

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We going to ignore the fact they're hardened for containment purposes to a point they domt make great targets ..?

This is the sort of thing they subject nuclear containers to:



I imagine power plants are pretty damn hard to attack. It would probably take a nuclear bomb, but then why not just use a nuclear bomb?