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efaardvark

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Status Updates posted by efaardvark

  1. 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.

     

     

  2. From my cheesehead brother…

    IMG_2247.thumb.jpeg.2bdbb051831240a81ad7ec4c1bdaa70e.jpeg

    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      I had to Google the term "cheesehead" as I wasn't sure what it meant or if it was complimentary or not 🙂 I'm still not sure if it is or not 🙂 .

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      @Animedragon.. to tell the truth I’m not sure either.  :) 

    3. Bulletje76

      Bulletje76

      There are only one kind of cheeseheads and it is here,..the dutchies 

  3. Watching Relativity’s first attempt at launching their 3D-printed rocket..

    https://youtu.be/_YAlOGZM32U

    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      A 3D printed rocket, that's amazing is there nothing that can't be 3D printed?

  4. The Hololive / Backrooms crossover is both more terrifying and more entertaining than either of the originals.  🤣🤣

  5. None shall pass!  :) 

    noneshallpass.jpeg.7c04bcf45453b57b0b2e5ca60c89f92b.jpeg

    (Another example of appropriate use of technology - in this case 3D printing and rare-earth magnets.)

     

    1. viruxx

      viruxx

      That's a nasty-looking flesh wound there, Good Sir Knight!

  6. Seriously, can we stop with the let's-make-everything-isekai program?

  7. Taking a break from anime this week.   I miss Carl Sagan.  :(

     

    1. viruxx

      viruxx

      This has reminded me that I should read Cosmos and The Demon-Haunted World in the very near future.

    2. efaardvark
    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      EEeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      That little video is going to scar me for the rest of the day.

      Spiders..... UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😱

    2. viruxx

      viruxx

      I was thinking 'zombie robots' when I first read the word "necrobotics."

  8. So chatgpt is scoring better than the average college student on college SATs.  Why does this not surprise me?

    Better up your game humans!

    1. viruxx

      viruxx

      I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

    2. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      Thinking back to my days at work it doesn't surprise me that an AI can write more intelligible messages. Some the e-mails we received often took my colleague and I several minutes to decipher and work out just what it was our customer wanted.   

  9. Happy Hogmanay!

    1. Kōyamaki

      Kōyamaki

      Same to you.🙂

  10. First inflation wrecks my savings, then the stock market tanks my 401k, now this.  2022 has not been a good year for my retirement plans.  🤣

    No association of Viagra and Cialis with reduced Alzheimer’s disease risk.

  11. Oh no!  Another casualty of 2022!
    Somehow I missed the announcement of Greg Bear’s passing.  (Probably sick and/or sleep deprived.)  Bear was one of my favorite authors.  If you haven’t read “Blood Music” then do so.   Even Better than Clarke’s “Childhood’s End”.  Bear was right up there with Niven in my estimation.

     

    https://www.geekwire.com/2022/greg-bear-1951-2022-science-fiction-writer/

  12. SWOT in Earth orbit and KPLO in Lunar orbit.  And home in time for lunch!  "Nominal" is a good word.

  13. Was up all night at work supporting the Artemis sploosh and lunar flashlight launch/initial ack.  Got home at about noon and crashed.  I’m just opening my eyes from a ~4hr nap & my body’s in that totally confused jet lagged shift-worker state.  Hungry, but is it breakfast time or dinner?  Is the rainy dimness coming thru the window morning?  Or night?  Think I’ll start by rebooting my brain with coffee.  💤🥱☕

  14. Been sick since last Wednesday.  Not covid according to tests but not fun either.  Recovering now but still pretty tired and last night's / this morning's level 1 event at work - supported remotely - didn't help.  Feel like I need to sleep for a week.

    Ack thtbbft!

    billthecat.jpeg.751a1172ce6debb77c2312deb12cd4ca.jpeg

    1. viruxx

      viruxx

      I came down with my obligatory annual sinus infection over the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'm kinda right there with you. Just now getting out of the woods with it. Hope you feel better soon!

  15. So you thought photoshoping was messing with people's heads?  Take a look at what NeRFs can do...
     



     

    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      That is amazing, and it's really going to mess with people's heads.

  16. Looks like of the two cubes that I liked, OMOTENASHI and NEAS, neither one is looking too good.  :( 

    OMOT was a JAXA-sponsored lunar lander that was supposed to have landed on the moon this morning via (intentional) “lithobraking”.  :D  It may or may not have done so.  Unfortunately it hasn’t been heard from since it was deployed last week so nobody knows for sure.  The other JAXA mission, EQUULEUS, seems to be functioning as expected however.

    The other one I liked was the Near Earth Asteroid Scout.  Or as I liked to call it the rainbow sail mission due to its propulsion & maneuvering system.  It was supposed to use a new type of solar sail to visit a couple near-earth asteroids but it too has not been heard from since deployment.

    So far 4 of the 8 cubesats have had problems post-deployment.  (Artemis itself seems to be doing well.)

    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      4 out of 8 isn't bad, but it's not good either.  Good to know that Artemis seems to be doing well.  I remember the excitement at Christmas 1968 when Apollo 8 went round the moon.

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      @Animedragon  The cubes' were always "stretch goals", and most of them were done on a shoestring budget and supported on a best-effort basis.  A few of them were just in the right place at the right time when the Artemis folks said, "hey, we're headed for the moon.. anyone need a ride?"  There were originally (I think) 13 that said "yes" to that offer but couldn't make various integration or test dates.  The rest have been tucked away incommunicado in their interstage bays while Artemis went through the last year and a half of launch slips.  I think at least two of them hadn't even had so much as their batteries recharged in all that time.  Not surprising that a few aren't behaving as planned.

    3. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      Thank you, it was interesting to find out a bit more about those cubes.

  17. Artemis's "Outbound flyby" happens tonight (pacific time)!

    https://www.nasa.gov/specials/trackartemis/

     

  18. So far 3 of the 8 cubes are having trouble.  Not only that but some of the recovery efforts have created problems in the ground data system for other projects.  (Like James Webb.)   At least Artemis itself seems ok for the moment.  These next couple months until Orion comes back down are going to be a lot of work.

  19. All I can say is it'd better get off the pad this time!

    https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      And they did. it looked very impressive.

  20. Found out a coworker tested + for C19 so I’m getting myself tested as well.  No symptoms <knock knock> but I’ve got a big week ahead at work and an 82yo mother in memory care that I have to visit regularly & I need to know.

    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      Oh, not good news.  I hope your test comes back negative.

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Me too.  🤞 

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