…you can’t keep up with what a programmatic disaster SLS/Orion is.
[Wednesday-afternoon update]
More commentary from Bob Zimmerman.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
Mriya
Was the AN-225 destroyed in Ukraine? That was a unique airplane, the Soviet’s equivalent of our Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Ukraine And Space
Thoughts on the implications of the invasion, from Bob Zimmerman.
[Friday-morning update]
The repercussions of this for the space industry could be broad and unforeseeable.
It was always a mistake to make ourselves so reliable on Russian/Ukrainian hardware.
[Afternoon update]
Ukrainian invasions have affected our own space policies in the past.
As Jeff notes, if the Russians pull out of ISS, their human spaceflight program wouldn’t have much to do.
[Mid-afternoon update]
Yet.
[Saturday-morning update]
Eric Berger runs through the potential implications for space.
Getting Their Own Ride
By the time Europe could develop its own crew launcher, it would be past obsolete (just as Ariane 6 is). They should be focusing on getting around in space with their own vehicles, not getting there.
[Monday-morning update]
Problem solved! Russia is offering to provide them with rocket independence.
[Bumped]
The Anniversary
A Promising Life-Extension Drug
I hope that this is as good as it sounds.
We’re not making enough new people, so we’re going to have to keep the ones we have around longer.
Recovering Rare Earths
…from recycling electronics and coal fly ash.
Whenever I see a breakthrough in processing like this, I always wonder how applicable it will be to space resources.
When I was at Rockwell thirty years ago, one of the projects I managed, with Ed McCullough (who died a couple years ago–NSS needs to update the page) and the late Bob Waldron was in adapting processes they’d been working on for beneficiation of lunar regolith to recover high-quality silicon and other things from fly ash. I guess it ended up not going anywhere after I left in 1993.
Good NASA Versus Bad NASA
I’m supposedly quoted in this piece (or at least I gave Jim some suggestions), but unfortunately, it’s behind a paywall.
Privatize the Moon
…to cure Earthly poverty. A long research paper, that I haven’t read yet, but she appears (unsurprisingly) to take a Lockean approach.
Rockets Versus Airplanes
Brian Wang has run the numbers.
Reusable rockets have significant economic advantages at scale against aircraft for long haul. It’s partly because they don’t have to fight drag through the atmosphere for the whole trip.