Category Archives: Technology and Society

Business, Media Criticism, Space, Technology and Society

Last Week’s Starship Test

29 Comments

Eric Berger judges it a huge success.

I’m sure they learned a hell of a lot from it, which is the purpose of a test flight. The only failed test is one from which you learn nothing.

Per some of the stupid comments, the notion that Elon is a white supremacist is lunacy, but there is a lot of lunacy in the world these days.

[Update a while later]

More thoughts from Eric, a couple hours after the first column: ” I no longer have any regrets about missing Apollo. I am thrilled to be alive at this very moment in human history.”

I would trade having missed Apollo to be twenty years younger, but it’s not an option. Fortunately, I’ve also almost made it to the the point at which I may be able to live a lot longer, and see a lot more happen.

Administrative, Business, Space, Technology and Society

On The Road Again

6 Comments

We’re driving to Colorado for Thanksgiving, so not much posting before Wednesday. Meanwhile, if you have a subscription, I’m quoted in the Sunday edition of the Times of London. The subject is the race between Jeff’s tortoise and Elon’s hare.

[Update a while later, before hitting the road]

This is the quote from me: “‘It appears Bezos is finally getting serious,’ said Rand Simberg, a space industry consultant. ‘To this point, Blue Origin has looked more like a hobby. Jeff saw himself as the turtle to Elon’s hare — never realising that Elon was really the Duracell Bunny.'”

I actually said “Energizer,” but whatev.

Business, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Tomorrow’s Test Flight

68 Comments

What NASA wants to see.

[Saturday-morning update]

From my X feed:

Successes today: 1) Successful hot-stage separation 2) Got second stage close to planned suborbital trajectory 3) (And really important for next flight) water-deluge system seems to have protected the pad, so nothing preventing next attempt except fixing whatever caused failures

OK, a fourth success today: There seemed to be no engine failures on either stage right up until both were lost, so they’ve gotten over that hump, especially with the 33 Raptors on the booster. Huge success in terms of data gathered for further improvements in hardware/ops.

Question: Why would an FTS be triggered at that altitude/range? What’s the hazard to the ground? This is in fact the first I’d heard that the second stage even had an FTS.4551

Maybe because it was designed to enter intact, and they were concerned it would be an uncontrolled entry and hit someone downrange. I sure hope they’ll take that FTS off for operational flights with valuable cargo (including humans). Aircraft don’t have one.

Business, Economics, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Europe’s Rocket Woes

4 Comments

They’re self inflicted.

European rocket politics are complicated by the “geographic return rule,” which states that each member nation must receive a proportional amount of contracts to the amount of funding it contributes to the space agency. “With the dawn of New Space and the delays in Ariane 6 launcher development, an ongoing debate has emerged about whether geo-return is consistent with the competition and competitiveness that is needed in Europe’s space industry,” Aschbacher wrote in March.

#ProTip: It never was.