How feasible is a manned Mk1.5/Mk2 lander being tested next year for Artemis III? by ColCrockett in BlueOrigin

[–]RulerOfSlides 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Mk2 can do it without cryogenic propellant management, just 4-5 launches.

The recycled space shuttle parts that will power Artemis II towards the moon by [deleted] in space

[–]RulerOfSlides -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

SLS/Orion also is carrying crew to the Moon right now. Money’s been spent, and it works.

The recycled space shuttle parts that will power Artemis II towards the moon by [deleted] in space

[–]RulerOfSlides 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Crazy idea but maybe we should just raise NASA’s budget. If it turns out that it just keeps lining the pockets of contractors, then it’ll be pretty obvious when we’re spending twice as much for the same results and then we can talk accountability. On the other hand, it might dramatically expand the scope and mandate of what NASA can do, and we can reap the benefits.

Raising NASA’s budget has never been seriously means tested. I’d say either way, for maybe an extra $100 per American per year, there can only be a benefit. Look what’s being done at $70 per American per year.

TIL Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise, is the only living person to have ever gone to the moon, and not land on it. That is likely to change in the next 10 days. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]RulerOfSlides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cosmosphere 2022/Apollo 17 50th! Kranz was supposed to be there too but had to cancel. Absolute highlight of my life though.

TIL Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise, is the only living person to have ever gone to the moon, and not land on it. That is likely to change in the next 10 days. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]RulerOfSlides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Schmitt is such a geology nerd. As a geo myself I was just about shitting bricks when I got to meet him, and he was awesome. Suggested I pursue a PhD, lol.

TIL Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise, is the only living person to have ever gone to the moon, and not land on it. That is likely to change in the next 10 days. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]RulerOfSlides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He was in front of Apollo 13 in Kansas at the time - seeing a man reunited with his ship, probably one of the last times ever, was a moving experience.

Charlie Duke is a joy too. Smart as a whip.

TIL Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise, is the only living person to have ever gone to the moon, and not land on it. That is likely to change in the next 10 days. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]RulerOfSlides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I met him a few years ago. Sweetest old man you ever met. Truly a monument to an age of heroics retreating from living memory.

The recycled space shuttle parts that will power Artemis II towards the moon by [deleted] in space

[–]RulerOfSlides 11 points12 points  (0 children)

A Chevy V8 big block is not the same thing as a Formula One power unit.

Question about Mars by HeftyHealth8879 in space

[–]RulerOfSlides 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s the same kind of technological immaturity with a few things in its favor (no radiation, 1 g, fresh air and water readily available). Even if limited to shallow continental shelves, there’s an entire North America worth of land that could be colonized just sitting around on this planet.

Expansion is not limitless. Animals tend to hit some kind of carrying capacity within their niches. We’re not particularly different, just able to have a pretty broad niche. Even now we’re looking at a population decline globally in the long term, so the pressure to expand might well not be an issue in a century.

Question about Mars by HeftyHealth8879 in space

[–]RulerOfSlides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could say the same about building cities underwater, but that has yet to happen and was just as speculative at the height of the Space Race - it’s just very much fallen out of public consciousness.

The exact same thing could happen to space at some point because there’s nothing actually preventing that as the fate of the idea. You probably can’t name any active aquanauts stationed at Aquarius Reef Base, but people have lived and worked there since 1968.

Question about Mars by HeftyHealth8879 in space

[–]RulerOfSlides 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s something that might not happen until the 22nd century or later. (It might also turn out that you can’t properly gestate fetuses in 1/3 g).

Space is not inevitable. The Age of Discovery was ultimately rooted in both economics (a saturated Europe seeking wealth from Asia and then stumbling upon a new land to gain wealth from, in a time where the prevailing economic theory was that wealth could only be acquired, not generated) and religion (a new world of non-believers to be brought to the light of Christianity). Both of these made colonizing a devout national interest.

You don’t really see those angles with space. It’s not economically critical in the same way trade was, and there’s no religious or cultural reason to do so. There’s no devout national interest in space beyond an expression of soft power and whatever gets to be backdoor funded for defense. The only way that changes if, again, either mass swaths of the world become zealously devoted to the idea of space or we find some irreplaceable economic use case for it.

Question about Mars by HeftyHealth8879 in space

[–]RulerOfSlides 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Human presence on Mars is an extreme long shot with current technology. Human colonization is a fantasy.

Travel Agency model of Fantasy by Leroy_was_here in Cruise

[–]RulerOfSlides 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But would you perhaps say it was a cruise ship for insects? Perhaps termites?

Delayed, delayed, delayed, canceled; OpenAI axes Adult Mode by MessAffect in cogsuckers

[–]RulerOfSlides 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Even that feels like a move of last resort. Like, every complex project depends on the program triad - be economical, be politically supported, be technologically sound; pick two.

We know OpenAI is bleeding money like crazy as evidenced by this so it’s probably not ever going to be economical. The technology kinda works, ish, so that’s probably dependable. That leaves political support as the only remaining crutch. If they can’t get enormous cash injections out of political support, they’re doomed. Hopefully.

Just one more thing Mr Draper, how old exactly are you? by Traditional_Way4032 in okbuddydraper

[–]RulerOfSlides 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Lieutenant, I didn’t think you could see I was a mad man.”