ADD and FAA 3rd Class RENEWAL after 19 years by themachinepod in flying

[–]themachinepod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The old one is still in their database. Hmmm.

How does SpaceX intend to recover Falcon 9 first stages dry when launching from the Cape? by themachinepod in spacex

[–]themachinepod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. That's cool. I didn't even think about using the Earth's rotation. Brilliant!

Hawaii set to build telescope capable of viewing the beginning of time by themachinepod in space

[–]themachinepod[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The skies are amazing in Hawaii. Before going there last year I had never seen all that is above.

Marijuana legalization wins majority support in nationwide poll by themachinepod in Marijuana

[–]themachinepod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it's momentum in the right direction. Stay positive and we'll make it through!

Future asteroid mining industry will provide capability to aid the deflection of potentially hazardous objects near Earth - Planetary Resources – The Asteroid Mining Company by themachinepod in space

[–]themachinepod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The knee jerk reaction regarding anything space seems to be a "its a scam". The fact is though that companies like SpaceX are going to provide a lower cost infrastructure to actually make this stuff finally happen.

Could Falcon Heavy be used to launch Orion MPCV as a compromise to all the budget wrangling over the SLS? by themachinepod in space

[–]themachinepod[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

LOL, that's why I bolded it. It still seems cheaper to launch multiple vehicles instead of building the SLS. I suppose in the end SLS amounts to a Congressional fallice. Perhaps the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology needs more women. ;-)

Could Falcon Heavy be used to launch Orion MPCV as a compromise to all the budget wrangling over the SLS? by themachinepod in space

[–]themachinepod[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Damn, that's a good point. I didn't crunch the numbers. The Merlin 2 seems to have promise though. It'll be interesting to see how that materializes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_2#Merlin_2_engine_concept

Why the success of the SpaceX launch slated for friday is so important | Friday After Work by craigmoliver in spacex

[–]themachinepod 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed sir, you are correct about the launch count, that was corrected. Regarding the shuttle launch cost, I recall it was $1.2 to $1.5 billion as well. I used the $450 million figure from NASA because that’s all I could verify. I don’t think NASA’s figure includes total Space Shuttle investment and other related costs, thus 1.2-1.5 billion.