Phil McAlister recalls an event from a decade ago. This was about the time that I published the book (hard to believe it’s been that long).
I’m not convinced that the ASAP contributes to safety in sufficient ratio to how it slows things down.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
What’s Next For Starship?
An analysis from Eric Berger.
Interesting Thread
In response to the rumblings that Boeing, Lockmart, and NG are going to refuse any future fixed-price contracts from NASA.
For decades, Congress has mandated that NASA be a jobs program because that allows Congress to direct the jobs to the NASA centers and LM/Boeing/subcontractor plants in their districts and states. Just look at the PowerPoints created for space projects: EVERY one has a US map…
— David Gump (@SoldTheMoon) October 24, 2024
Oh no!! Anyways… https://t.co/RW1yWOtY27 pic.twitter.com/0JzpRjEs83
— Ken Kirtland IV (@KenKirtland17) October 24, 2024
[Update a few minutes later]
Society if Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman stop bidding on NASA projects https://t.co/1iY2gt5LEg pic.twitter.com/eEJ7OExSkl
— Ken Kirtland IV (@KenKirtland17) October 24, 2024
An Interview With Eric Berger
Inflatables In Space
A good article about them from Leonard David.
Why We Can’t Have Nice Space Things
One of the funny moments during a SpaceX rocket launch was when Elon Musk and the SpaceX team were launching at Vandenberg in California.
— SMX 🇺🇸 (@iam_smx) September 29, 2024
An organization concerned about Seal procreation forced SpaceX to “kidnap” a Seal, strap it to a board, and put headphones on and play sonic… pic.twitter.com/wA5RcqNwLq
[Update a few minutes later
But wait! There’s more!
This story of strangulation by over-regulation from @elonmusk about the government requiring @SpaceX to asses whether their rockets could potentially hit SHARKS and WHALES is side-splittingly hilarious. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/E06XIJm7zy
— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) October 20, 2024
Violated Arms-Control Agreements
A Monster Telescope
This is the future of serious astronomy.
Is The Dam Breaking?
First Scientific American, and now Michael Bloomberg is calling for an end to SLS/Orion.
He doesn’t seem to think that it’s important to send people, but that doesn’t matter, because Starship could do it anyway. Congress wouldn’t be happy to see China beat us back.
IFT-5 Takes
One day, people will look back on this day and view it in the same light as we now consider the driving of the golden spike that completed the transcontinental railroad. This technology will open up space to settlement and humanity in the same way the iron horse opened the…
— Not-So-OK Boomer (@Rand_Simberg) October 13, 2024
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2024
I don’t want to hear any more of that “we don’t build cathedrals anymore” crap. We build them alright, and they *fly* pic.twitter.com/bJwhu65X1U
— Peter Hague (@peterrhague) October 14, 2024
Yes. Not only is this a huge engineering breakthrough in itself, it stands in dramatic contrast to NASA’s SLS project (think Apollo redux) which is over budget, behind sched, and unlikely to fly enough missions to achieve stated goals. Time for a rethink. https://t.co/tS0IzJJ6Ra
— Jim Meigs (@jamesbmeigs) October 14, 2024
SpaceX did this with 3/4 of Docusign’s headcount btw pic.twitter.com/C5wt1wQtfO
— Sky (@docentdemagogue) October 14, 2024
This is what will matter 1000 years from now.
— Devon Eriksen (@Devon_Eriksen_) October 13, 2024
Not your politics. Not your stupid tantrums about who platformed who on some website. Not your incomprehensible desire to send NASA's entire budget to the third world.
This guy reignited the Space Age.
He spent his own money,… https://t.co/dmDI1regbI pic.twitter.com/jpK3veVJHw