kthered

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• Commented on Supernova Homer?

  I vote we contact the IAU and ask them to call this the 'Homer Nebula', or possibly the 'Ring of D'OH'...

• Commented on Shelby on SLS - Open it to Competition and No Shuttle Boosters

  Major issue with on-orbit storage of propellants is dealing with keeping LOX/LH2 cold enough, not to mention that Hydrogen leaks through EVERYTHING. A possible solution would be to take the propellants up as water, which though heavy, is much easier...

• Commented on Constellation Program Officially Comes to an End

  I was at ATK, working on RSRM, when they rolled out the Ares-I concept (called 'the stick'). Our management said we should be proud, knowing we would be building THE vehicle for American manned spaceflight for the next 40 years....

• Commented on Did NASA Meet Its Congressional Data Delivery Deadline? (Update: Not completely)

  JonathanN, it doesn't matter what the laws of man say, when something is not physically possible with the resources and time supplied. Congress can mandate an HLV by 2016 using traditional contractors and methods, for a few $billion until it...

• Commented on Copenhagen Suborbitals Launches Open Source Rocket

  I might ride if I could be guaranteed a way to exit the returning capsule at 20,000' or so and ride my own parachute to the earth, that would be FUN and possibly a safer way to get back on...

• Commented on OldSpace's Attack Dog Is Back (Update: SpaceX Responds- Again)

  Yes, Mr. Thompson, NASA must rely on the traditional spaceflight contractors. Who have FAILED to deliver ANYTHING new since shuttle, and who have consumed tens of BILLIONS of dollars with their failures. What Mr. Thompson and his rich friends do...

• Commented on So ... Where Are those Cool Soyuz Fly Around Pix? (Update)

  It's under the driver's seat, along with some empty Coke cans and a few candybar wrappers :D...

• Commented on Apollo Vets Are Not Happy Today (White House Responds)

  Yes, but: Apollo at its peak consumed some 4.4% of the federal budget. In 2007 dollars, the agency received about double the 2007 budget in 1964-6. And NASA was largely focusing all of its efforts on Apollo, unlike today where...

• Commented on Jay Barbree is Stuck In The Past

  There is one large issue with a winged return vehicle that hasn't been mentioned, which is stability during re-entry. There is a reason astronauts have survived un-guided ballistic re-entry in Soyuz, which is that it is going to present the...

• Commented on Shuttle Missions: $1.5 Billion Each?

  This number is exactly why, despite its amazing capabilities, the space shuttle and traditional methods of manned spaceflight simply have no future. There has to be a better way. Complexity of design begets risk, which inevitably leads to cost (and...

• Commented on Why Houston Did Not Get A Shuttle

  I thought the selection was relatively logical, actually. One orbiter for the Smithsonian, obviously. One for KSC, where they lived, where your average Joe on the street thinks of when you say 'Space Shuttle'. One each for the largest cities...

• Commented on Repainted Ares 1 For Sale as "Liberty"

  It's not a good idea because each booster contains about 1 MILLION pounds of explosives, which must be carried all the way from Utah to KSC, and then stacked vertically, because there is no good way to stack horizontally and...

• Commented on Let's Push Keith Out of an Airplane

  Hahaha, priceless! I think you owe those guys some beer for making your first jump for you!...

• Commented on House Hearing Summary

  You hit the nail right on the head there. The current congresspeople are doing their very best to defend the parochial interests at stake here. If SpaceX, et al are able to successfully fly people and cargo back and forth...

• Commented on A NASA Procurement Notice That Doesn't Specify Anything

  Maybe NASA should just send this over to Congress, and let them fill in the blanks as they see fit. It seems that's more or less what Congress wants to do anyway.......

• Commented on Supreme Court Overturns HSPD-12 Decision by Lower Court

  I turned down a job offer with the JPL, in part, because of this policy. I have nothing to hide, but I have deep objections to the government (or anyone else) prying through my data for a non-classified job. How...

• Commented on The Next Time You Hear Mike Griffin Complain ...

  From what I saw, the decision to go with Ares was pushed by the astronaut office as a way to keep most of NASA human space flight from having to change very much, since everything was to be taken from...

• Commented on Duct Tape and Rockets

  Indeed. I believe someone said earlier that the crack was in very end of the nozzle extension, and thus in a low-stress area. Furthermore, since they were only carrying an empty spacecraft (no seats, cargo), they did not require the...

• Commented on Video: It's nice to know that America still builds rockets

  I have a 1969 Camaro, what a great car. Still hasn't been equaled in my opinion. Might not be as fast as the '11 Vette, but she's got style in spades and she always gets the job done! Simplicity and...

• Commented on Orion Under Siege

  The problem with Aries/Orion is that it makes NO attempt to lower the cost or increase frequency of access to space, LEO or otherwise. That's why I personally objected to the Constellation project and left ATK in 2006 (which looks...

• Commented on Ares 1-X First Stage Damaged

  I dunno about re-contact after separation, but the booster definitely lights up pretty good just as the separation occurs. More plume pretty much always = more thrust, so I bet that provided a re-contact, or an asymmetrical thrust pulse, creating...

• Commented on Ares 1-X Staging Issue

  Having just watched the video, I think the reason for the problem is that the 1st stage is 'chugging' during the thrust tail-off. 'Chugging' is a phenomenon inherent to solid rocket motors, especially in a vacuum. What happens is that...