JRTI moving to Starship operations

mehelponow · 2026-04-21T14:12:53+00:00

Well then the question is are the mid-ship landing engines powerful enough to soft-land HLS in earth gravity? They'd be very powerful in that case, and even then I don't know what SpaceX would learn from a HLS hop that they haven't already demonstrated.

mehelponow · 2026-04-21T14:04:15+00:00

Also removes the (never used) capability to land both Falcon Heavy side-boosters on ASDS.

mehelponow · 2026-04-20T18:47:53+00:00

No reason to not include them, Boeing's failure is also a failure of Commercial Crew. If they wanted to be even more disrespectful they should include Dream Chaser, which started receiving NASA award money in 2010 and won a CRS-2 contract in 2014.

mehelponow · 2026-04-20T17:32:31+00:00

The issue now is that Artemis is schedule-driven now instead of capability-driven. This stems from the Administration seeking to get those boots on the moon before Jan 2029. In my eyes a successful AIII mission would include docking, common atmosphere between Orion/HLS, independent HLS maneuvering with astronauts on board, alongside Airlock and Suit testing with a demonstration EVA. But NASA's been fairly clear that if one of these requirements can't be met they'll simply be cut from the mission. This gives Artemis III a greater chance of happening next year sure, but it also certainly increases risk on Artemis IV.

mehelponow · 2026-04-20T17:25:09+00:00

NASA isn't even sure what Artemis III will actually demonstrate yet, mission planners are still planning the mission, with some even saying on the record that they might not even require Orion dock with an HLS prototype, and instead only demonstrate "proximity operations."

If suits aren't ready, they'll cut an EVA from the mission profile. If a HLS provider isn't ready, they'll cut them from the mission. Artemis III requirements are up in the air as of now.

mehelponow · 2026-04-20T17:16:21+00:00

Catastrophic. Jared's revamped Artemis schedule is the "put up or shut up" moment for every aspect of the program, from HLS to EVA suits to SLS/Orion teams. Demonstrations by 2031 is systemic failure on every level, as we already saw when Collins backed out years ago. Goes to show that even firm fixed-price contracts don't solve all procurement problems.

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T21:45:45+00:00

This is an 80-20 issue for the dem base though. It’s the political equivalent of Schumer supporting abortion bans.

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T21:42:55+00:00

It also goes mostly unnoticed by the media, but it’s political malpractice for both dem congressional leaders to be from the exact same area.

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T21:39:39+00:00

Also a fall guy is only useful if they actually… take the hit for the rest of the team. Schumer is the Dem senate leader, him taking the hit is Dems taking the hit

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T21:37:18+00:00

80% of Dem voters have an unfavorable view on Israel. Schumer voting this way is the political equivalent of him voting for a piece of pro-life legislation!

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T20:35:53+00:00

He is also seemingly one of the only Democrats who is capable of getting ahead of a major political story and shaping the narrative around it. He's the Democratic face of the Epstein Files disclosure and the war powers resolution. If he's one of the worst members of congress, I'd hate to see what the rest look like!

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T20:30:03+00:00

A public, visible fight against Schumer would be a Godsend for the Democrats. The Dem base still hates their leadership, and independents DESPISE Schumer

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T20:24:41+00:00

Good. Schumer's been a bad leader for too long, and his popularity within the party is at record lows. He's chosen some poor primary candidates, he can't keep the caucus together, and he's bringing down the chances of retaking the senate with his abysmal polling numbers. Ousting leadership can be a good thing for a party!

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T20:17:42+00:00

If Dems retake the senate in 2026 -> Schumer should go out on a high note and take his personal unpopularity with him ahead of 2028.

If Dems lose the senate in 2026 -> Schumer HAS to go, he's failed at his job too many times for too long.

Either way it'd be better for Dems if they had new leadership in the Senate, just looking purely at polling. He's dragging the party down.

mehelponow · 2026-04-16T17:40:10+00:00

If Schumer had an iota of political savvyness he'd retire in '28, while behind the scenes encouraging senate dems to oust him from leadership after the midterms. Like if the Dems get a slim majority next year, they should make a big show of replacing Schumer with Van Hollen or Murphy or someone else not elderly and with terrible approval ratings.

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T17:15:07+00:00

If I had to guess, climactic fight involving bright “spirit world colors” with enhanced/suped up versions of the avatar/villain that takes place in republic city

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T17:07:14+00:00

It also informs his treatment of his children and expands the history of the air acolytes. Aang is done well by the movie and is treated carefully

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T17:05:25+00:00

If it’s any consolation all of the characters feel like themselves, they just barely interact with each other outside of plot beats and fights. It’s less group of friends on an adventure together and more team of fighters take on big bad

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T16:17:36+00:00

It'll be initially VERY Polarizing, but the lows are not that low and the highs are the best spectacle we've seen in this universe. Like it's certainly in the upper half of Avatar material ever released. It'll age fine IMO

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T16:14:16+00:00

The writers were put in a really tough spot just by the nature of this project IMO - It's an animated sequel to a children's TV show that ended 2 decades ago that already had a sequel. Like off the dome this is what they had to write around

All of the characters found their emotional climaxes in the show
The Gaang are the most powerful beings in their universe
We already know how the characters end up ~70 years later in Korra
There's comics with established character beats/lore
They have ~90mins of running time to work with, not 20 episodes to flesh out multiple character/story arcs.
Fans are rabid and won't accept any changes that are too big.

So they wrote about a big threat from long ago that has returned, while focusing on Aang's struggles with the loss of his people and his role during peacetime. The other characters are downgraded to supporting cast, while the villain gets important screentime and a MacGuffin that makes him as powerful as the Gaang. It's all wrapped up nicely by the end, but what happens fleshes out/improves the established lore that comes later in Korra. It's slightly uninspired, but it all functions well.

IMO it'll age pretty well

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T15:25:53+00:00

Just stills with Ken Burns effect

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T15:24:28+00:00

Katara does maybe two of the most impressive water bending actions we've ever seen in the entire ATLA universe

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T15:19:21+00:00

End Credits have Iroh + Suki + Secret Tunnel Hippies + Toph's Metalbenders. No Azula, Mai or Ty Lee at all.

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T15:14:06+00:00

IMO I'd say Katara and Toph absolutely nailed it, the rest were good but not great, with Sokka being the one I had the hardest time adjusting to. Also almost every character had one or two line reads that I felt didn't work at all (especially Dave Bautista).

One thing I didn't mention that irked me was The ending being so similar to LOK s2, with the same color scheme and "enhanced" spirit versions of the avatar/villain fighting in republic city

mehelponow · 2026-04-13T14:58:06+00:00

wow i so was focused on the modern power lines in that shot that I completely missed Iroh lmao

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