efaardvark
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Status Updates posted by efaardvark
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As a PR campaign, JAXA allowed people to submit names and messages to be printed on plates to be placed on the Akatsuki probe. The submissions consisted of hundreds of thousands of names and messages, all encouraging the craft on its mission. Printing these names and messages on about 90 aluminum plates, they loaded them onboard and launched the probe into space. Of these 90 plates, three of them consisted of images of the Japanese AI musician Vocaloid Hatsune Miku (as well as her weird, squished persona Hachune Miku) — sending the pop-culture figure on a long voyage into space.
Gotta love the Japanese pop culture.
https://www.ranker.com/list/venus-climate-orbiter-slingshot/crystal-brackett
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You know what Putin is missing? Baghdad Bob. I miss Baghdad Bob. The anchors for the state-owned Russian "news" outlets are quitting en-mass, but BB - pro that he was - stuck around until the end. Putin needs someone like Baghdad Bob.
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I'm always kind of sad to see a library close, especially one as historic and useful as this place. Got to be a clueless beancounter to decide that closing a well-used rocketry library is a good idea. Especially one established by no less a figure than Werner Von Braun himself! My dad used to work at Redstone way (way) back in the day, and I've actually been to this place so there's a personal connection as well, though I was way too young at the time to get any actual educational or professional use out of the place. At least some of the content is going/staying online...
https://www.al.com/news/2019/09/rocket-scientists-mourn-end-of-redstone-arsenals-risc-library.html
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RIP.. killed by serial Webex.
(Not quite as bad as having someone read a 100 page PowerPoint to you but still deadly in the wrong hands.)
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\me is pondering the possibility of both Starship and SLS fully stacked on 2 separate pads at the Cape. Simultaneously. Talk about a photo op! It could happen.
Only thing better would be having both of them launch at the same time. Probably never happen but wouldn't that be awesome?
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Got to go on my yearly trip to Ft. Irwin next week. 5 hr round trip drive to the middle of nowhere halfway to Vegas to spend 5 minutes getting my work badge renewed. Was this trip really necessary?
Hope at least the weather clears by Monday.
and 🌧 and maybe even 
and 
in the desert would make the trip “perfect”.
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To this day I associate Wagner with the phrase, "Kill the waaabit!". There was also Rossini's(? heh, probably) "shave and a hare cut (.. two bits!)", among others. Truly classic(al).
Yes, we were that bored before the 'Net came along.
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Grant Imahara dead?? Oh no!
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/grant-imahara-dead-mythbusters-host-was-49-1303101
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This happens every freekin year. Fortunately (for me) the wind so far has been good for us here to the south of the national forest area. Feel bad for the people up north tho.
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Not exactly full-spec Nerve Gear, though that's probably for the best all things considered.
BTW, I think the techs should have removed the log out option, just for giggles.
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So I hear the gates to the Taihe Dian blew down in a freak windstorm. Maybe someone is trying to tell the Chinese leadership something?
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Getting close now to the first Starship orbital test. April 17th is the latest guesstimate. Waiting for government clearance and official maritime & aviation notices to go out, maybe as early as tomorrow/Monday, for the date to solidify but from what SpaceX has been saying they're as ready as they'll ever be for this launch. FAA bureaucrazy is all that they're waiting on now.
Elon Musk said, "Success is one possible outcome." Not sure what SpaceX considers success on this one however. Elon said that if it doesn't blow up and take the launch ring with it he'll consider that a success. You never know for sure but engineering-wise enough real-world testing of engines and systems has been done so far to pretty much assure it'll meet Elon's definition.
There's still a couple other key points of concern however in my mind. I'd like to see it at least survive past "max-q", or that portion of the ascent where the vehicle has gone supersonic and aerodynamic forces on the vehicle are the most intense. That's pretty straightforward to model, especially given modern computing methods. SpaceX has a lot of data from their Falcon 9 on that as well so I'd be kind of surprised if that turns out to be the point of failure.
On the other hand the reentry scenario is one of those areas that is dynamic, extreme, and very hard to model on a computer. If something is going to break I'd expect that would be where/when. But even in that case I'm sure they'll get some good data for the next try.
Recovering the booster with the "chopsticks" is another area of concern, though NOT for this first flight. That's another big question mark in my head that'll need to be proven out at some later date but it won't be part of this first orbital test. Sounds like they'll instead try to "land" the booster upright in the ocean off the coast. I'd like to see that happen as well. I'd imagine that chances are good there, again because of SpaceX's Falcon 9 history. Apart from size the physics is very similar and the landing zone is the Gulf of Mexico, not some tiny droneship.
(Not sure if they plan a recovery operation. I suspect not since Starbase is already pretty full of parked space vehicles, including the next booster.)
Regardless how it all turns out I'm sure it'll be interesting. That much at least is guaranteed.
