tinker

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• Commented on Back To The Moon - Minus The Great Big Rocket

  Folks: We could soon have all that we need to mount a campaign to the moon as Chris proposes. All American built, all 'commecial'. - Large habitation modules, Bigelow Aerospace. - 'Hard' station modules. Propulsion, docking and airlock modules make...

• Commented on SLS Industry Day Charts Online

  Folks: Oh, so it's the SLS advanced booster now, is it? Another 'paint job' to hide the fact that it's based on forty year technology. Is NASA Public Affairs Office completely blind to the fact that they're not fooling us...

• Commented on News Embargo Inconsistencies

  Folks: The big point here isn't the 'Earth sized' planets orbiting Kepler 20a, it's that the system has five planets (that we know of right now) and that there is a combination of both small and large planets in the...

• Commented on Last Minute Commercial Crew Status Meeting

  Folks: Thanks for the post event briefing. Maybe I didn't miss anything after all. Maybe that was the point. Was it necessary to actually register just to listen to it so I can be prepared next time? tinker...

• Commented on Last Minute Commercial Crew Status Meeting

  Folks: Hey! WT@? Don't tell me I have to register just to hear a government agency broadcast on how they intend to spend tax payers' money. By the time I found that out, the event was over. If anyone had...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Steve: Don't forget that StratoLaunch is claiming 1,300 miles radius launch range from the runway. That's at least a three hour flight. This aircraft is large but it's not gonna be fast. Making liquid oxygen 'on the fly' in the...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  daTrekster: I was thinking the same thing about cryo-oxidizer and air launch. Liquid oxygen needs to be continuously topped up and boil-off controlled until just a few minutes before launch. That means that the carrier aircraft must supply the extra...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  aerowerks: Remember, Spacex is a subcontractor to StratoLaunch. Spacex will probably supply a 'complete launch solution' from aluminum plate to pushing the launch button on the plane. In the end though, they are hired hands and product providers for someone...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Folks: Let's not forget AirLaunch from a few years back. Gary Hudson was involved in that project. I followed (as I'm sure some of you also did) his Rotary Rocket company back in the day. AirLaunch was going to drop...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Folks: Thus are born the Carbon Goose, the Short Falcon and the Dragon Lite... tinker...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Folks: Spacex, Scaled and Dynetics are subcontractors to StratoLaunch. That's a good thing. They are now selling their products to folks who have figured out how to use them in a unique way. StratoLaunch contracts these companies to deliver what...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Folks: When I told my girlfriend about this project, she asked "Isn't this a merger of titans?". She got that one right, big time. Burt Rutan, Paul Allen, Elon Musk. Titans for sure. A couple of things to consider: Every...

• Commented on NASA Announces Next SpaceX Dragon Mission to ISS

  Folks: The bottom line here is; do Americans want an all American designed and built launch system, cargo and crew capsules within a couple of years... or not? Who cares who provides such a system... at any price if it...

• Commented on NASA Announces Next SpaceX Dragon Mission to ISS

  CadetOne: I don't think you'd need a steerable nozzle to get the thing flying straight. A couple of servos hooked up to small air surfaces at the bottom of the rocket, a small embedded processor like the PIC and a...

• Commented on NASA Announces Next SpaceX Dragon Mission to ISS

  Folks: There we go! February 7th. Mark it on your calender. Good skill to Spacex ('cause it not the sort o' thing to trust to luck ;)). Seems that Spacex is doing some lobbying amongst folk that are too young...

• Commented on New SLS NRA Ready for Release

  DTARS: Thanks for kicking out that idea of mine again. Maybe someone will listen this time ;). tinker...

• Commented on ESA Contact With Phobos-Grunt - Off and On and Off

  Folks: Anyone seen this story yet? http://newsminer.com/pages/full_story/push?blog-entry-Russian+general+says+Alaska+radar+may+have+disabled+Mars+spacecraft%20&id=16573817&instance=blogs_editors_desk tinker...

• Commented on MSL Is On Its Way To Mars

  DrBubba: Aha! Your right, it was a complete list. tinker...

• Commented on MSL Is On Its Way To Mars

  dannsci: Actually, I copied that list from the press kit verbatim: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/MSLLaunch.pdf Any omissions are NASA's, not mine. I mean, who could forget our little rovers, eh? tinker...

• Commented on ESA Contact With Phobos-Grunt - Off and On and Off

  Bob: I was thinking of TDRSS too. This does make a case for rapid deployment of small, narrow mission, expendable satellites. In this case what if Spacex had a Falcon 1 on standby to launch a 'shepherd' satellite that would...

• Commented on MSL Is On Its Way To Mars

  Folks: I cut and pasted this humbling, sobering list from the NASA MSL Press Kit for your convenience to illustrate the amount of blood and treasure us humans have expended resting the secrets out of War God. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Historical Mars...

• Commented on MSL Is On Its Way To Mars

  Steve: Atlas was flying light this time 'round. Consider that about two thirds of the Centaur's fuel and oxidizer were payload to orbit. MSL only weighs four tonnes including the cruise stage, aeroshell and sky crane. tinker...

• Commented on MSL Is On Its Way To Mars

  Folks: Beautiful shot of MLS separation from the Centaur stage... for about half a minute. Then they cut off the camera feed! ARrrgg! tinker...

• Commented on SpaceX Launch Site Updates

  Folks: Sad news. For any of you that haven't heard yet, the author Anne McCaffrey, for which the Spacex 'Dragon Rider' program was named, has passed away at the age of 85. It's some solace that she knew actual spacecraft...

• Commented on SpaceX Launch Site Updates

  JW: LOL! I can see why you made a disclaimer about that site... especially the 'religion' link. It's a great location, out on the barrier islands like that. I don't know about building a launch pad on what is essentially...

• Commented on SpaceX Launch Site Updates

  Folks: I still think that south Texas is the best place for Spacex to set up a new spaceport. From there it's 500 miles downrange to the Yucatan Peninsula for a path to ISS or other future stations' orbits. For...

• Commented on NASA Mars Science Laboratory Launch Delayed

  ASF13: ...or simply terminate thrust before it gets off course enough to end up in someones' back yard. I guess if that didn't work, you'd still have to blow it up. :| tinker...

• Commented on NASA Mars Science Laboratory Launch Delayed

  Folks: "NASA Mars Science Laboratory Launch Delayed" ...because of a problem with the range safety hardware! Hey guys, just this once don't you think that, just maybe, having range safety (read: blowing up the rocket) isn't such a good idea...

• Commented on SpaceX's Secret Sauce

  C1: I am so with you on bootstrapping methodology. You laid out a logical progression of milestones in your point list. Far from being "pie in the sky" what you propose is a far better plan than we've gotten from...

• Commented on YouTube Fail - Blocks NASA Video

  Folks: I've heard, in the lead up to this launch, commentators calling this "the first launch of the Soyuz era" or "the first launch of the post-Shuttle era". How about "the first launch of the only one way to ISS...