Category Archives: Space

Tomorrow’s Armadillo Attempts

OK, one more post (really, I can quit any time I want).

I just talked to John Carmack. They’ll have to cannibalize, but they can swap parts quickly, so they are planning to make another attempt to win Level 1 tomorrow with Pixel, using Texel parts. If they succeed, and have sufficient time left, they may move the parts back to Texel and go for Level 2. But as I said, even a recovery to win Level 1 is a great story.

He was pretty happy with the vehicle performance (other than the hard landing, which they’ll fix by changing some of the parameters in the software), other than a small roll oscillation (~1 degree) that causes some ullage issues (I assume by “roll” he means the vertical axis). He’ll try tweaking the software, but the only way to really fix it, which will occur in the next vehicle, is getting rid of the solenoids controlling valves, which are causing unacceptable lag, and going back to differential throttling. At least, that’s what I think he told me.

Anyway, I’m really done now. Packing up computer, and heading into town. See you tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s Armadillo Attempts

OK, one more post (really, I can quit any time I want).

I just talked to John Carmack. They’ll have to cannibalize, but they can swap parts quickly, so they are planning to make another attempt to win Level 1 tomorrow with Pixel, using Texel parts. If they succeed, and have sufficient time left, they may move the parts back to Texel and go for Level 2. But as I said, even a recovery to win Level 1 is a great story.

He was pretty happy with the vehicle performance (other than the hard landing, which they’ll fix by changing some of the parameters in the software), other than a small roll oscillation (~1 degree) that causes some ullage issues (I assume by “roll” he means the vertical axis). He’ll try tweaking the software, but the only way to really fix it, which will occur in the next vehicle, is getting rid of the solenoids controlling valves, which are causing unacceptable lag, and going back to differential throttling. At least, that’s what I think he told me.

Anyway, I’m really done now. Packing up computer, and heading into town. See you tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s Armadillo Attempts

OK, one more post (really, I can quit any time I want).

I just talked to John Carmack. They’ll have to cannibalize, but they can swap parts quickly, so they are planning to make another attempt to win Level 1 tomorrow with Pixel, using Texel parts. If they succeed, and have sufficient time left, they may move the parts back to Texel and go for Level 2. But as I said, even a recovery to win Level 1 is a great story.

He was pretty happy with the vehicle performance (other than the hard landing, which they’ll fix by changing some of the parameters in the software), other than a small roll oscillation (~1 degree) that causes some ullage issues (I assume by “roll” he means the vertical axis). He’ll try tweaking the software, but the only way to really fix it, which will occur in the next vehicle, is getting rid of the solenoids controlling valves, which are causing unacceptable lag, and going back to differential throttling. At least, that’s what I think he told me.

Anyway, I’m really done now. Packing up computer, and heading into town. See you tomorrow.

Done For The Day

They’re chasing people out. I hate to leave–it’s the best Internet I’ve had all week. Mainlining, man, it’s the good stuff… But I can quit any time I want.

Off to the hotel for adult beverages and an AIAA reception.

[Update before packing up]

Clark Lindsey has some pictures of the Armadillo flight.

If they manage to work all night, recover, and win at least one prize tomorrow, that will be the story of the show. Even more if they win both levels.

Expand The Venue

There are reportedly twenty-five thousand people here today which, if true, doubles last year’s reported attendance. It doesn’t seem that crowded to me, but I think that it’s because there’s lots of room. Many busloads of children were here (presumably from local schools on field trips, and X-Prize reportedly bused in 5000), and Margaret noted that it gave the atmosphere a sort of Disneyworld quality.

I was just walking around, looking at the kids, and trying to cast my mind back decades. I’ve been doing this too long, and am pretty jaded, though I think that this is the most exciting thing going on in space right now, far eclipsing NASA’s plans. But I know that if there had been something like this as a kid, I’d have been wandering in wonder, looking at the displays, playing in the simulators, watching the flyovers and rocket launches. And dreaming.

One sad thing about it is that the location doesn’t lend itself to bringing in large numbers of people–it’s simply not near enough to any major population centers. Perhaps the X-Prize cup people should consider doing more than one a year, in different locations that are more accessible to crowds, or combining rocketry with conventional air shows, like the Edwards Open House. It could provide more revenue for the struggling rocket makers, and spread the wealth of inspiration to much more of the nation’s youth.

OK, Not So Good

The Pixel landing was harder than it looked from here. They reportedly damaged a leg, and started a small fire that fried some electronics. They may be out for the weekend, unless they can do some cannibalizing of their other vehicle.

[Update a few minutes later]

John did an interview on the big screen, in which he noted what they had accomplished with a few hundred thousand dollars and eight people working part time, in a few months. “NASA and its contractors should be ashamed of how much their efforts cost.”

Sadly, they have no shame, at least when it comes to that. Their number one product is jobs.