Will this still be the current model starship or the block2 with different flap configuration?
I think this will be the last flight of the "Gen 1" flap configuration before they are shifted 'leeward.'
I’m so glad we finally fixed the forward flap design!
The old one was killing me. Too large and heavy and positioned at 180 degrees, requiring large static aero and not fully stowed, so that pushes the nose backwards during the high heating hypersonic phase of flight, which is…
New Glenn is getting closer and closer to launching. That is the Blue Origin orbital class rocket.
New Glenn will be bigger and will be able to carry more payload than the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. They're hoping to come close to achieving a similar cost per kilogram into orbit.
Also one of the reasons SpaceX is being so aggressive with their Starship rollout. They want Starship to be their primary launch platform rather than the Falcon series. Once it has proven successful the cost per kilogram to orbit will be much lower than anything Blue Origin can do.
We all mock Blue Origin for justifiable reasons, but the competition is good for the space industry. We are better off in the long run if they are successful.
It's a seriously impressive technology. Imagine if we made the Mercury program with fully reusable rockets... That's essentially what they're doing.
But damn if it doesn't look so amateur compared to Falcon. It looks like a ***** with cricket legs, it comes in so daintily and carefully lands after making sure everything is safe, it's only got one engine going up and down.
Meanwhile SpaceX hoverslams a sawn-off shotgun directly onto a barge, covered in soot and giving no guarantees about anything save excitement.
It's just so stark how far behind everyone else is outside of SpaceX.
I'll cross post this on the Musk buys twitter thread, but think it belongs here as well...
Now for more Russia Russia Russia but this time against Musk.
Now that Musk has defied the establishment and is backing Trump, they will now try to bend him to their will...
New on WSJ: Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. At one point, Putin asked him to avoid activating his Starlink internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request
I'll cross post this on the Musk buys twitter thread, but think it belongs here as well...
Now for more Russia Russia Russia but this time against Musk.
Now that Musk has defied the establishment and is backing Trump, they will now try to bend him to their will...
New on WSJ: Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. At one point, Putin asked him to avoid activating his Starlink internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request
At this point, I assume anything the intelligence community leaks to the news about Russia interacting with prominent conservatives is a lie. And even if it isn't, so what? They never said Elon said yes? He can't stop Putin from asking…
This is a perfect example of how Elon has changed X platform. Could you imagine if this was on the old twitter platform by a conservative? They would be toast. Elon could cancel this idiot instantly if he wanted to but he doesn't. He just fires back and moves on.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
Dr Tyson is not an expert in this area, and I don't think he's even contributed to his own field in decades. But that's what he does. He constantly weighs in on things that are outside his wheelhouse.
He acknowledges that SpaceX has made very significant strides in lowering launch costs, but is unable to connect the dots to realize that that brings exploration in the range of private companies.
No, I don't care what CNN or MSNBC said this time
Ad Lunam
I was guessing in-flight re-light but maybe Starlinks on flight 6 too?
Up at the build site this morning, the Starlink Pez Loader has been driven through the ring yard, between HighBay and MegaBay, to Sanchez.@LabPadre#R1pic.twitter.com/IWil70uA0g
Given that the mission profile will likely not change without needing another launch license, I wonder what the goals for Flight 6 will be?
Seems pretty clear that we probably won’t see improvements with durability of the ship during re-entry yet. IMO, that won’t happen until… pic.twitter.com/vGKLDyIJu2
I'll cross post this on the Musk buys twitter thread, but think it belongs here as well...
Now for more Russia Russia Russia but this time against Musk.
Now that Musk has defied the establishment and is backing Trump, they will now try to bend him to their will...
New on WSJ: Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. At one point, Putin asked him to avoid activating his Starlink internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request
This is a perfect example of when politics intrudes into non political spaces.
This thread was a haven from the left-right bickering. And yet because Elon, a private citizen, is interested in free speech, government efficiency, and space, he's under attack by exactly one party.
I hope after the election people grow a damn brain because space exploration is too important to destroy on the altar of political grifting. I won't hold my breathe though.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
Dr Tyson is not an expert in this area, and I don't think he's even contributed to his own field in decades. But that's what he does. He constantly weighs in on things that are outside his wheelhouse.
He acknowledges that SpaceX has made very significant strides in lowering launch costs, but is unable to connect the dots to realize that that brings exploration in the range of private companies.
Honestly, I can't stand him. I saw a video of him explaining how the earth would be smoother than a cue ball is your hand was giant, and he was completely wrong. He confused roundness and flatness/smoothness, and the problem was so basic I can't listen to anything he has to say now.
NDT is the most annoying guy to listen explain anything. He's not profound. He's become the bill nye of a generation that doesn't to be spoon fed information.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
He is a DEI celebrity-scientist.
Yes, he is a genius in his fields, but they trot him out for BOTH his SME as well as to dare you to talk back at their Holy Black Figurehead.
It is a cheap ploy they use to lessen pushback.
What has he contributed to his field? The only thing I know of is being a noisy proponent of demoting Pluto from being a planet. He hasn't made any worthwhile discoveries, deduced any fancy equations, or anything. He's merely this generations celebrity scientist like Carl Sagan, who also did nothing but be a media darling.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
He is a DEI celebrity-scientist.
Yes, he is a genius in his fields, but they trot him out for BOTH his SME as well as to dare you to talk back at their Holy Black Figurehead.
It is a cheap ploy they use to lessen pushback.
What has he contributed to his field? The only thing I know of is being a noisy proponent of demoting Pluto from being a planet. He hasn't made any worthwhile discoveries, deduced any fancy equations, or anything. He's merely this generations celebrity scientist like Carl Sagan, who also did nothing but be a media darling.
He got a PhD in 1991. Glancing at wikipedia it mentions he worked on some standard candle research which helps establish how big the visible universe is. That's super foundational and important work in Astronomy so I immediately disagree he has no contributions. Considering he was teaching before that, you're talking almost 40 years of teaching, researching, writing, etc. Plus he seems to have served on many boards, which can range from celebrity rubber stamping but can also be a valuable resource if you are providing insight and guidance.
I think you're oversimplifying a little. He's not a hack like Bill Nye. Weird you bring up Sagan, who was also very accomplished and did legitimate science and helped how we understand the universe.
I do think he's over-embraced his celebrity when he starts going on about things that aren't his wheelhouse. I completely disagree with his take on Elon. He's working backwards from politics to find a reason to disagree with Elon's goals.
edit: I rewatched it and must have just not finished it the first time. He's not disagreeing with Elon at all, he's just being his normal annoying and arguing about semantics. He doesn't feel like it's valid to say SpaceX accomplished anything space-wise since all the accomplishments are engineering-based, and he's saying SpaceX won't initiate a mission to Mars since they'll do it on behalf of NASA. Great, who cares. SpaceX is still the only name in sustainable launch.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
He is a DEI celebrity-scientist.
Yes, he is a genius in his fields, but they trot him out for BOTH his SME as well as to dare you to talk back at their Holy Black Figurehead.
It is a cheap ploy they use to lessen pushback.
What has he contributed to his field? The only thing I know of is being a noisy proponent of demoting Pluto from being a planet. He hasn't made any worthwhile discoveries, deduced any fancy equations, or anything. He's merely this generations celebrity scientist like Carl Sagan, who also did nothing but be a media darling.
Carl Sagan wasn't just a media darling
- developed the first message sent into space in a way that could be universally understood - published 600 scientific papers - pioneered the field of exobiology - made many contributions in planetary science.
No, I don't care what CNN or MSNBC said this time
Ad Lunam
The only plausible buyer I can think of is Blue Origin, which has an interest in space stations (could learn from Boeing's work on ISS) and would want a crew vehicle if it were to move forward with Orbital Reef. Boeing is not apparently interested in selling its SLS cash cow.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
He is a DEI celebrity-scientist.
Yes, he is a genius in his fields, but they trot him out for BOTH his SME as well as to dare you to talk back at their Holy Black Figurehead.
It is a cheap ploy they use to lessen pushback.
What has he contributed to his field? The only thing I know of is being a noisy proponent of demoting Pluto from being a planet. He hasn't made any worthwhile discoveries, deduced any fancy equations, or anything. He's merely this generations celebrity scientist like Carl Sagan, who also did nothing but be a media darling.
He got a PhD in 1991. Glancing at wikipedia it mentions he worked on some standard candle research which helps establish how big the visible universe is. That's super foundational and important work in Astronomy so I immediately disagree he has no contributions. Considering he was teaching before that, you're talking almost 40 years of teaching, researching, writing, etc. Plus he seems to have served on many boards, which can range from celebrity rubber stamping but can also be a valuable resource if you are providing insight and guidance.
I think you're oversimplifying a little. He's not a hack like Bill Nye. Weird you bring up Sagan, who was also very accomplished and did legitimate science and helped how we understand the universe.
I do think he's over-embraced his celebrity when he starts going on about things that aren't his wheelhouse. I completely disagree with his take on Elon. He's working backwards from politics to find a reason to disagree with Elon's goals.
edit: I rewatched it and must have just not finished it the first time. He's not disagreeing with Elon at all, he's just being his normal annoying and arguing about semantics. He doesn't feel like it's valid to say SpaceX accomplished anything space-wise since all the accomplishments are engineering-based, and he's saying SpaceX won't initiate a mission to Mars since they'll do it on behalf of NASA. Great, who cares. SpaceX is still the only name in sustainable launch.
Astronomy existed long before 1991. Hell the Hubble telescope was launched in 1990. So NDT's research couldn't have been that foundational.
Clearly Bill Nye is more of a hack. But the notion that NDT is a "genius" is clearly untrue. Feynman was a genius. Hawking was a genius. NDT, not so much.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
He is a DEI celebrity-scientist.
Yes, he is a genius in his fields, but they trot him out for BOTH his SME as well as to dare you to talk back at their Holy Black Figurehead.
It is a cheap ploy they use to lessen pushback.
What has he contributed to his field? The only thing I know of is being a noisy proponent of demoting Pluto from being a planet. He hasn't made any worthwhile discoveries, deduced any fancy equations, or anything. He's merely this generations celebrity scientist like Carl Sagan, who also did nothing but be a media darling.
Carl Sagan wasn't just a media darling
- developed the first message sent into space in a way that could be universally understood - published 600 scientific papers - pioneered the field of exobiology - made many contributions in planetary science.
Meh. Exobiology is basically science fiction at this point. There are no extra-planetary organism to even study. Asimov was probably better at that than Sagan was.
I read that when he wrote one of his books (maybe Contact?), that he had to employ real scientists to help him with math and underlying scientific principles.
I do remember that he made a scene predicting that the oil well fires in Iraq would start a nuclear-like winter. Oops.. Was a bit wrong about that.
So his argument is that space exploration is driven by governments, not private industry, because space exploration is not profitable?
He is a DEI celebrity-scientist.
Yes, he is a genius in his fields, but they trot him out for BOTH his SME as well as to dare you to talk back at their Holy Black Figurehead.
It is a cheap ploy they use to lessen pushback.
What has he contributed to his field? The only thing I know of is being a noisy proponent of demoting Pluto from being a planet. He hasn't made any worthwhile discoveries, deduced any fancy equations, or anything. He's merely this generations celebrity scientist like Carl Sagan, who also did nothing but be a media darling.
He got a PhD in 1991. Glancing at wikipedia it mentions he worked on some standard candle research which helps establish how big the visible universe is. That's super foundational and important work in Astronomy so I immediately disagree he has no contributions. Considering he was teaching before that, you're talking almost 40 years of teaching, researching, writing, etc. Plus he seems to have served on many boards, which can range from celebrity rubber stamping but can also be a valuable resource if you are providing insight and guidance.
I think you're oversimplifying a little. He's not a hack like Bill Nye. Weird you bring up Sagan, who was also very accomplished and did legitimate science and helped how we understand the universe.
I do think he's over-embraced his celebrity when he starts going on about things that aren't his wheelhouse. I completely disagree with his take on Elon. He's working backwards from politics to find a reason to disagree with Elon's goals.
edit: I rewatched it and must have just not finished it the first time. He's not disagreeing with Elon at all, he's just being his normal annoying and arguing about semantics. He doesn't feel like it's valid to say SpaceX accomplished anything space-wise since all the accomplishments are engineering-based, and he's saying SpaceX won't initiate a mission to Mars since they'll do it on behalf of NASA. Great, who cares. SpaceX is still the only name in sustainable launch.
Astronomy existed long before 1991. Hell the Hubble telescope was launched in 1990. So NDT's research couldn't have been that foundational.
Clearly Bill Nye is more of a hack. But the notion that NDT is a "genius" is clearly untrue. Feynman was a genius. Hawking was a genius. NDT, not so much.
Lol what? Anything can be foundational. As in, we need that concept to build on the rest of astronomy.
Even if he's not a singular pioneer, that doesn't mean he's not accomplished. In this example, that work provided a more precise ruler that we use to measure every distance in space. It can even make old data better. In astronomy, since we can only reach a a tiny amount of the billions of things we see in the sky, every new way to measure distance is vital to our understanding.
