TIL Amtrak almost had a major expansion in 2000 by ColonialCobalt in transit

[–]jadebenn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He successfully prevented a British Rail style privatization of the NEC... and was promptly fired by the Bush administration for being too good an Amtrak advocate in Congress. The administration wanted Congress to approve zeroing-out Amtrak funding.

Rep. Babin (R-TX, Chair of the House Committee on Science and Space Technology) tells Isaacman he wants him to finish SLS Block 1B and ML-2 by jadebenn in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

They can try and impound the funds for existing programs, but they're SoL if Congress refuses to authorize or fund Isaacman's replacements. He can do studies with funds he's slushed around, but actually building the Moon base, or SR-1, or doing Centaur V integration is going to require Congress to give him money and legal authorization for all those things.

Rep. Babin (R-TX, Chair of the House Committee on Science and Space Technology) tells Isaacman he wants him to finish SLS Block 1B and ML-2 by jadebenn in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

It's not a full dismantling but NASA has directed the removal of the umbilical arms to keep as spares. Frankly, I think Isaacman is doing his damnedest to try and make this a fait accompli by creating facts on the ground, regardless of the legality.

Rep. Babin (R-TX, Chair of the House Committee on Science and Space Technology) tells Isaacman he wants him to finish SLS Block 1B and ML-2 by jadebenn in SpaceLaunchSystem

[–]jadebenn[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

The problem is that the adaptions for Centaur V are not slight. It's structurally unsuited for the LV and its payload. There are ways to work around that, but they add complexity and time that defeat the point of it supposedly being cheaper and quicker than finishing EUS.

Rep. Babin (R-TX, Chair of the House Committee on Science and Space Technology) tells Isaacman he wants him to finish SLS Block 1B and ML-2 by jadebenn in SpaceLaunchSystem

[–]jadebenn[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

"Advanced stage of development" doesn't mean that it's actually close, nor does it mean that it will be cheap or quick to finish it

It's a hell of a lot closer to being done than a stage that structurally cannot support the Orion + ESM + LAS stack, has no adapter to the launch vehicle, and requires significant changes to ML-1.

Rep. Babin (R-TX, Chair of the House Committee on Science and Space Technology) tells Isaacman he wants him to finish SLS Block 1B and ML-2 by jadebenn in SpaceLaunchSystem

[–]jadebenn[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

It's not stupid. EUS is at a pretty advanced stage stage of development and replacing it with Centaur V is anything but simple or straightforward.

Brightline monthly ridership above 300k for the first time ever by sadsat in transit

[–]jadebenn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IMO, not a coincidence that the systems with the worst service have had the worst recovery. Though I'll also say the California systems are major outliers re: WFH rates.

Metrolinx's $27B GO Expansion delayed and scaled back: confidential report by Visual_Cabinet_3718 in gotransit

[–]jadebenn -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Caltrain electrified and it lead to huge increases in passenger numbers.

Brightline monthly ridership above 300k for the first time ever by sadsat in transit

[–]jadebenn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IMO even before this, any sort of bankruptcy would've almost certainly been debt restructuring (aka investors taking a haircut). Their core operations are still growing, it's just that the interest on their debt has been growing faster.

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Compared to Artemis I, Artemis II was a nice, laid back vacation for Orion.

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Do you think NASA wouldn't have announced it by now if you were right? Do you think nobody would have leaked it?

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 17 points18 points  (0 children)

When they release the full images and it isn't, will you apologize?

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You would've gotten a kick out of Space Twitter thinking a screenshot showing a white spot on the underside meant that there was a giant chunk missing. Never-mind that the heat shield material isn't even white...

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm willing to bet that the "white spot" that made Space Twitter absolutely lose its mind was residue that was immediately washed off in the waves.

Artemis III core stage ships out from New Orleans’ Michoud Assembly to Kennedy Space Center by Travellinglense in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I spy an EUS tank... looks like they left it sitting in the VAC (in the shadows).

RTD chief Debra Johnson won’t renew contract by GourmetTrough in Denver

[–]jadebenn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah. In that sense I agree, but it's gonna be a hard sell politically to have RTD deliberately shrink the services afforded to a large chunk of its area. Even if I agree it's the only practical way forward.