murps2000

So the starship is 160 ft tall. Where is the door? I’m all for another giant leap but not literally. Again, they had to think of this. I wonder how they they plan to egress and return.

It would but it doesn’t matter. If they don’t worship Jesus we’ll make them. Wait, I mean we’ll save them.

You sound like Werner Von Braun in the late 50s. Yes, I want all of that to happen. I only hope we send actual astronauts and not just rich people.

Okay well there it is. I was going to say I’m sure they had to think of that. If the hull can take the stresses of the temperature difference then I guess we’re good to go. This thread seemed intended to be about the how but as usual these conversations inevitably drift toward the why. James Lovell has said in interviews that although we went to explore the moon, what we really discovered was the earth. He got to witness the first Earth rise seen by human eyes on Apollo 8. Michael Collins once remarked about how fragile the Earth looked from lunar orbit. Those are perspectives not easily attained with robotic missions. That said, I’m in agreement that if I have to choose between the two, I’d go with robotic missions over manned. I’m a huge fan of JPL. Their work and success rate speak for themselves. I can’t think of any government funded agency that has over performed the way they have.

Yes, but all they needed to do was open two valves to start it. Well, that and Buzz had to use a pen to push in a damaged circuit breaker. Remember there’s going to be 400 or so degrees difference in temperature between the sunny and shady sides of the starship while it’s on the surface. They won’t be able to barbecue roll unless they land on a turntable. Going to be interesting to see how they manage to keep a big cryo tank of oxidizer protected in that environment during an extended lunar stay.

I would love to see SLS fly just because I never got to see a Saturn launch. It also has massive payload capacity and range but everything you say is true. It costs way too much and although it actually has an abort system (unlike the shuttles) SRBs are an unnecessary risk at this point. It probably should and will be canceled at some point. The spacex hardware plan sounds great but I’m not sure I’d want to rely on a modified starship to get me off the lunar surface. I think I’d still want to go old school LEM and use hypergolic engines for that.

https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/new-faces-of-covid-deaths/index.html It’s interesting to note who is actually dying of covid these days.

Why did you title the the thread “Black Gold” instead of “I was right”?

US coal consumption decreased by 18.7 percent in 2020. https://www.eia.gov/coal/annual/ If you do a little math you can figure out where we stand in 2021 as compared with 2019.

I work in metal fabrication and we’ve noticed raw material prices beginning to drop. An article I saw in the Atlantic explains why some of this is occurring. It deals mostly with the environmental impacts of steel production but notes that the Biden administration and EU are ending tariffs. https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2021/11/bidens-biggest-climate-deal-yet/620593/ I also noticed the price for rhodium, the most sought after metal in the lucrative catalytic converter trade, has dropped considerably since hitting a peak this past spring. Rockets and feathers.

I sure didn’t see this coming.

I actually agree with you on this although I think I understand why Schumer hasn’t.

Lol Steve Hilton says it so it must be true. May as well ask sean hannity what he thinks.

That’s why you think gas prices are up? I’m surprised you didn’t mention the cancellation of Keystone XL. That would be way easier to try to back up.

Okay I sort of agree with you there. I feel the true costs, in the end, will be measured in effectiveness rather than expenditure. But by the time that’s figured out the electorate will only remember the politics surrounding the expenditure.

I don’t know of anyone who has had to pay for a vaccine. To calculate the cost of antibody tests over vaccination you’d be dividing by zero.

I started calling French Canadians Freedom Canadians around that time.

I have that book and many others about the Apollo era. John Aaron was a steely eyed missile man. He kept Apollo 12 from aborting after the lightning strike, but he had some help from Al Bean, who, as a rookie LMP, had trained well and knew where the SCE to AUX switch was. Anyone who has seen the movie should know about Aaron’s contribution to Apollo 13.

I think now is an appropriate time to watch Buzz Aldrin punch a cab driver. It never gets old.

Good point. I set myself up for that one lol.

Nice.

I wonder if leeches will make a comeback.

Lol still less than 2018 & 2019 levels per your link.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-08-26/pandemic-covid-19-stages-vaccination-intensive-care-respiratory-therapist This seems as good as any thread for this article. A sad look at what these people go through on the way out.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/faa-bans-virgin-galactic-launches-probing-branson-trip-rcna1882 Looks like Virgin Galactic is grounded for a while.