Eager_Space

@JackKuhr I would categorize the clamshell fairing as a similar level of difficulty as the pez dispenser. You need hinges, actuators, and latches that can carry the loads during launch a reentry. Much easier than all the things that you list.

I don’t see SpaceX prioritizing the development of Starship's clamshell fairing to deploy commercial space industry payloads until the end of the decade. Far too busy with: - Developing Starship V3 - Then Starlink V3 deployments - Then refueling - Then HLS testing - Then a lunar landing - Then ODC deployments - Then Starship V4 - Then a Mars launch window And most importantly, as SpaceX marches toward $100B in revenue (via Starlink, xAI, ODCs), its incentive to deploy customer payloads will continue to decline. Pez dispenser deployments will be available far sooner (maybe 2028). But that requires sat manufacturers to build to very specific specs. My guess is SpaceX will prioritize the clamshell fairing when it looks to significantly scale up the size of its orbital data center sats (bigger is better for ODC costs, scaling, and operations). Perhaps they build some sort of Pez adapter, but the larger question is what will motivate SpaceX to launch customer payloads at all? Launching customer payloads has never been an attractive/profitable/large market. Launch works as a means to deploy your own constellation at a low cost. From a CFO's perspective, if you can get the necessary launch volume from Starlink + ODCs, launching onesie-twosie customer Starship missions would be a distraction for a $100B revenue business. Particularly because the vast majority of satellite operators won't need a dedicated Starship and will want rideshare. Look at Falcon 9, customers rarely need dedicated missions, which is why rideshare is so popular, and why dedicated customers fill up about 20% of F9's capacity. But rideshare is a low-margin biz. I do think they will launch customer payloads and at a lower price than F9, as they have a history of supporting the growth of the broader industry. But the company has grown far, far beyond being just a launch provider.

@StephenFleming I always point people to "the shuttle decision" which has all the details on this time. It's online for free.

The space shuttle was an impressive implementation of a fundamentally flawed design. The results were disappointing economics, the loss of two crews, and stalling America’s expansion into space. The original mistake dates back to a decision made in 1971. What if NASA had made a different decision then?

@RhysSullivan Note that this is a decent place to start but there are options that aren't expressed in this map.

today i learned there's a transit map equivalent for our solar system that how much delta v you need for navigating it

@its_The_Dr Amazingly, the road where this was shot was washed out soon after when the course of the river changed, though the bridge remains.

Great ad!

@ZrxRyder @VP26993006 @its_The_Dr @grok That is correct - I have a ski cabin nearby. The ad was actually shot *before* the road was washed out. Aerial view is here: maps.app.goo.gl/SNp3Ay1ViYPkdu… The bridge is intact on the right (east) side. The river changed course to the left and totally washed out the road.

@VP26993006 @its_The_Dr @grok Guessing this is the Old Miller River Bridge in east King County, Washington State, near the town of Skykomish. The far side bridge approach was washed out by flooding in early 2011. The date of the event and the ad debut are very close, and could have spawned the idea for ad.

@vnovak_404 @peterrhague I prefer to support human artists who create things and value what they do higher than what is created through AI. You can obviously choose a different path.

@eager_space @peterrhague Oh my, @eager_space, don’t be a Luddite

Western intellectuals collaborated with the Soviets to make the wider culture forget one of the most important missions of the space race. Because it proved without a doubt that the Moon race was real, and that was inconvenient for opponents of human spaceflight.

@peterrhague Sigh.

@eager_space Grok made it for me

@ciphergoth I'm in Washington state. The ranchers in my area advertise on facebook or craiglist. You can find pure grass fed, you can find grass fed/corn finished. The cheapest way is to buy a 1/4 or 1/2 share of beef.

I am actively in the market to buy the highest welfare beef there is, if anyone knows anything!

@MattGialich To buy ULA you need to convince both Boeing and Lockheed Martin that they are better off with the money you would pay and with you owning ULA than the status quo. Boeing and LM have their fingers all over the place so this is very difficult to do.

This company is for sale. Why is no one buying it? It's a working fucking rocket.

Part 4 of the Kessler syndrome series. Trackers and Modelers youtu.be/fYG27as_NrE

@AnatoneRich @NonsenseIsland Also one of my favorite books

@NonsenseIsland Prehistory of Far Side is one of my favorite books. I love all the strips that were never published due to editorial screening. The one with the snake in the crib with the caption “no, you didn’t see this. Turn the page” still makes me crack up

Gary Larson talking about the time THE FAR SIDE and DENNIS THE MENACE switched captions.

@CJHandmer My wife tells me that a masters in chemistry means "didn't finish your PhD"...

Don't do a Masters unless you have a really good reason. I interview hundreds of mechanical engineering candidates. I can't think of a single candidate where a Masters made their candidacy stronger.

@CJHandmer I interviewed a *lot* of candidates for developer conditions. I initially expected master's candidates to be stronger, but I found that - with a couple of exceptions - the candidates got masters because they didn't get offers with a bachelors.

@EagleAIView @Yrouel86 Exactly.

@eager_space @Yrouel86 Died, retired, moved on. Brains and hands.

I think ULA is the perfect storm of bad decisions, bad situation and bad luck. Bad decisions because of how Vulcan is designed both not reusable and not vertically integrated Bad situation because of Lockheed and Boeing Bad luck because of the the issues they had/have No value

@Robotbeat Interesting that it's not indexed by google yet...

@eager_space They do. Cowboyspace.com

What was the old name, and why are they hiding it? LOL

@DJSnM That's what I thought. We're still in the "look at this cool picture" phase...

@eager_space No, only educated guesses based on what’s available.

Space Reactor 1 - Freedom has a name that's a bunch of related words thrown together to describe a mission that's a bunch of parts thrown together. And that's fine. Propulsion repurposed from Gateway, which is itself repurposed from Asteroid redirect. The reactor is something that needs to be tested for moon base. The payload is a bunch of Helicopters that JPL already developed and tested. It won't be a disaster if the payload doesn't make it to Mars. If you want to see a nuclear electric propulsion mission that's designed to exploit the full capabilities of the technology look at Project Prometheus, millions of dollars of work and testing for just the study. Would explore Jupiter's moon's with capabilities beyond any other mission. It would take $20billion to develop and decades to build and fly. And that meant it was easy to cancel, that's a lot of money to bet on an unproven nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft. SR-1F is the antidote to that, a demonstrator mission that proves a technology needed for the moon, tests NEP for other missions and uses existing hardware with very little time required to get to launch. And then when Project Prometheus: The Sequel is proposed critics will no longer be able to say it's untested technology.

@Yrouel86 Exactly.

@eager_space Unfortunately being efficient while depending on two third parties for your most important components isn't going to work. Their only option was to remain in their niche had Vulcan worked fine...which it didn't

@NASAAdmin @DJSnM Have any details been released on the SR-1 freedom design?

@DJSnM Got to start somewhere.