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All posts by Rand Simberg
Energy Free by 2017!
That’s Huckabee’s new campaign slogan. The comments are great: “In this election, we obey the laws of thermodynamics.”
SpaceX Update
Elon Musk has a long update on progress on the new Merlin engine, the Falcon 9 and Dragon. Those are the first pictures I’ve seen of the Hawthorne facility. It sounds like they have a lot of room to grow.
I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that they’ve gone with hypergolics for reaction control. That’s going to complicate turnaround.
But overall, (in contrast to Orion/Ares) progress seems to be good. Note that they’re continuing to hire, and even offering bounties, if you know anyone to refer to them.
[Update a few minutes later]
SpaceX should look into this engine for RCS. Presumably, the hypergolics were chosen for reliability (no igniter required) and storability, but XCOR has pretty reliable engines, and they don’t use such nasty propellants, and they have been working on well-insulated LOX tanks.
The Splendor Of Alpha Geeks
Casualties Of War
Radley Balko has a long, but interesting (and sad) report on the ongoing injustice in the Cory Maye case:
One of the people I spoke to during my visit two years ago is Linda Shoemaker, who runs the Prentiss tobacco shop. Shoemaker
Overtolerance
Apparently, many people (particularly young people) are unable to condemn, and are willing to tolerate anything. Except “intolerance,” of course.
Replacing Republican Senators In Alaska
Ramesh Ponnuru has a great question, that occurred to me as well, when I read this. This discussion is in the context of whether or not earmarks are a winning issue for Republicans. Well, they certainly aren’t unless they’re willing to embrace it. Which apparently they aren’t…
Lowering Launch Costs
Eric Hedman has some ideas. I agree with Clark Lindsey–he is far too optimistic about the prospects for scramjets providing a solution to the problem:
Scramjet propulsion theoretically has the advantage of increasing a vehicle
Watch Out
A very nasty new virus. If you get a cold that gets very bad, particularly with lung congestion, get to the doctor immediately.
I’m Frightened And Confused
Common sense, from Jimmy Carter.