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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 4, 2021 11:56:23 GMT
His argument being it is cheaper to fail a few times quickly rather than take forever in the NASA way and make it super, super safe
May have read that in one of your links or New Scientist
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Post by MartinT on Mar 4, 2021 12:45:01 GMT
Just a fire detonating the remaining fuel. They'll sort that out.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 4, 2021 14:03:05 GMT
Imagine the scene.... First ever manned landing on Mars. Phew, seven and a half minutes to get everyone off. Made it. Whoops, there goes the ride home!  |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 6, 2021 6:25:46 GMT
His argument being it is cheaper to fail a few times quickly rather than take forever in the NASA way and make it super, super safe May have read that in one of your links or New Scientist Recent article addressing and summarising the SpaceX approach... phys.org/news/2021-03-spacex-rockets.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter"More risks... for a better rocket? The repeated test launches are possible due to SpaceX's status as a private company. "To the best of my knowledge, Elon is using his own money for the Starship tests. Thus he doesn't have to answer to NASA, the Congress or anyone but his own shareholders," said G. Scott Hubbard, who previously worked for NASA and now chairs the SpaceX Commercial Crew Safety Advisory Panel. Meanwhile NASA depends on Congress for its budget, and ultimately answers to the American taxpayer. SpaceX is free to take more risks. "In the development phase of a project it's much better to try something quickly," McDowell said. "Once you put people on the rocket of course you need to change the approach, but at this stage SpaceX is doing exactly the right thing," he said. |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 6, 2021 6:57:50 GMT
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 6, 2021 10:12:10 GMT
That is very big !
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 6, 2021 10:31:55 GMT
It certainly is. When I was a young lad, interested in astronomy, the biggest telescope in the world was the hugely impressive 200 inch at Mount Palomar. Each of the seven mirrors on the Giant Magellan Telescope have well over two and a half times the light gathering power of that. Back in the heady days of Mount Palomar they didn't have the computing power to control the GMT. Each of those giant mirrors has to be precisely pointed in real time as the Earth rotates and the atmosphere churns. |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 6, 2021 10:45:57 GMT
Asteroid close approach! It's OK, you don't have to duck... this time. Asteroid Apophis will today pass a bit over 10 million miles from Earth. It's about the size of the Eiffel Tower, so you wouldnt want it crashing into your neighbourhood. At its next close flyby in 2029 it will be a lot closer, but still a sure fire miss. Subsequent encounters are rather more uncertain. www.livescience.com/apophis-demon-asteroid-last-flyby-until-2029.html |
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Post by Slinger on Mar 6, 2021 11:17:04 GMT
First you read " Astonishing new, nearby super-Earth found: ‘This is the kind of planet we’ve been dreaming about for decades’" Which conjures up visions of a sort of verdant proto-earth, unspoiled by humanity, or at least it had me thinking along those lines. Then a bit further down the article says, " Despite the name, it is in many ways not like Earth: it is 30 per cent bigger and nearly three times heavier, and it is so hot that its surface could melt lead and lava rivers cover its surface." It turns out that these types of planet are not even all that rare, and it's only its closeness to us that marks it out as special, a mere 26 light years away. It's still interesting though, but more so to the scientists and astronomy fans than to your everyday science fiction fan. uk.yahoo.com/finance/news/astonishing-nearby-super-earth-found-132446114.html |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 6, 2021 11:25:22 GMT
It's still interesting though, but more so to the scientists and astronomy fans than to your everyday science fiction fan. It's even more interesting when you're both.  |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 6, 2021 12:04:33 GMT
The mounting of an 8.4m mirror to ensure no distortion (and therefore degradation of the image) must be quite something. Multiplied by 8. Now put the whole lot on a gimbal.
Seriously non-trivial engineering.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 6, 2021 12:38:12 GMT
... It's still interesting though, but more so to the scientists and astronomy fans than to your everyday science fiction fan. Hot superearths? Yes, 2 a penny. It's early days yet in exoplanet science, but it does so far seem that it's the genuinely Earth like planets (size, temperature) that are the rarity. Although with around 200 billion stars in our galaxy even very rare things may well be quite numerous. But it is looking like a galactic empire based on human-habitable planets might well be a sparse and far-flung thing. Warp drives are going to have to be even more capable than first envisaged! |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 7, 2021 11:36:35 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Mar 7, 2021 11:41:35 GMT
Better start planning to move to another galaxy.
"Just before the black holes smash into each other, they’ll radiate gravitational waves with the power of 10 quintillion suns."
Boggle!
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 7, 2021 12:10:28 GMT
Looks like we may have to move a few times !
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 7, 2021 12:34:53 GMT
SpaceX have about 10 billion years to develop an inter galactic warp drive and get us all to safety before the black holes collide.
Mind you, it's gonna get quite messy a long time before that.
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 7, 2021 13:35:03 GMT
Musk may be a nutter, but he's our nutter |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 11, 2021 11:09:17 GMT
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 11, 2021 11:22:37 GMT
Warp drives! Again. New theoretical research suggests that superluminal speeds could be achieved without the need for vast amounts of negative energy, which has been the stumbling block for conceptual ideas. Based on the new ideas vast amounts of normal 'positive' energy would be required - which is a huge step forward to plausibility. The only remaining issue is that with current nuclear power sources we fall short by about 30 orders of magnitude. Whoops. www.sciencealert.com/faster-than-light-travel-is-possible-within-einstein-s-physics-astrophysicist-shows |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 11, 2021 13:50:29 GMT
So... bring your own personal sun with you, but the mass might create some drag?
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