This should run in every state in which Romney has a chance to win, or there’s a tight Senate race (i.e., most of them).
In terms of emotional power, it’s the modern-day equivalent of the LBJ daisy ad, except it’s not odious.
Category Archives: Business
The Heinlein Quote, Visualized
Here’s the quote, for those unfamiliar: “Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as “bad luck.”
Oh, and just to remind that not only do tax-rate cuts not cause financial crises and recessions, but the wars didn’t cause the deficit or debt increase.
It’s a shame that Kelly Ayotte didn’t have that chart handy yesterday when Governor O’Malley spewed his stupid ignorance. Or lie. Or whatever it was.
The SpaceX Launch Anomaly
I just got back from dinner, but apparently people have begun discussing it in comments at this relatively unrelated thread.
I don’t know much about it, so all I’ll say is that if they had a first-stage engine problem, it proves out their design capability to have mission success with engine out.
Clark Lindsey has some notes from the post-launch press conference.
[Update a few minutes later]
I would go further, and state explicitly that this increases my confidence in their vehicle. It was an inadvertent flight test of a capability that they would hope they don’t have to use, but now know that it works.
[Update a few minutes later]
Never mind my first response to Paul Breed in comments. Apparently it wasn’t just an engine shutdown — a first-stage engine exploded.
That puts a different complexion on things.
Now the question is, what is different about that Merlin than the one on the second stage, other than nozzle size? Well, there’s the environment. It occurred during Max Q, so the second stage wouldn’t have to worry about that.
If it had happened on the second stage, would it have just resulted in a lost of thrust (that is, does the second stage have a similar shrapnel protector) or would the stage itself have exploded?
If the former, it would probably be survivable (that is, payload or crew recovered) without an abort system, though a mission failure, so a concern for payload customers. If the latter, it might have happened too quickly for an abort system to be activated. It all depends on how much warning they had that the engine was going south. But obviously this would be of concern for commercial crew. Of course, as discussed in comments, this engine version will be retired after the next flight, currently scheduled for January, so if that one goes all right (and they certainly won’t fly until they understand what happened to this one), it will have retired with a 98% demonstrated reliability, and the Merlin 1D will have a clean slate on the following flight.
[Monday morning update]
Charles Lurio notes in email that one difference besides nozzle size (and environment) between upper and lower stage engines is the lack of active cooling in the nozzle of the latter. This would only be significant if the failure was caused by a problem in one of the cooling channels.
Tax Rate Cuts Caused The Financial Crisis
No, Mr. President.
I’m glad that finally someone in the MSM is calling him on this economically ignorant demagoguery. But I think it deserves the full whopper.
Wake Up America
I was at the rally at the federal building in Westwood today, where Bill Whittle gave a stemwinder of a rant against the administration, Democrats and collectivists in general. It will probably be up on Youtube tomorrow. Dennis Prager gave a very thoughtful address as well.
Economic Ignoramus?
…or liar?
Governor O’Malley on Fox News Sunday, in an attempt to defend the president, said that it “was not true” that he hadn’t cut the deficit in half as he promised. How? By confusing the deficit with the debt. He said that when the president came into office it was ten trillion, and it had only gone up six trillion since then, which was about “half.” Or something like that. It wasn’t clear what his point was, but it was clear that he either doesn’t know what the word deficit means, and the difference between it and the debt, or he thinks we’re stupid. Unfortunately, Senator Ayotte, while sticking to her guns, didn’t point out his ignorance in real time, nor did Chris Wallace.
Of course, being an economic ignoramus and a liar are not mutually exclusive by any means. Many Democrats seem to be both.
Plasma Jet Electric Thrusters
An interesting Kickstarter project.
Via (former co-blogger) Andrew Case, who writes:
It will be interesting to see if crowd funding of space projects is viable. I know that there’s a guy who successfully funded a project to study a lunar space elevator, but as far as I know this is the first that is focused on something practical that has a real chance of flying in the short term.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject.
I think it’s very viable, and a useful model for the future. It will be even better when we can start crowd funding actual businesses via the JOBS Act, and not just technology development.
[Late evening update]
Yeah, I know, I know. I was gone all day, and Trent provided it in comments, but here’s the link.
[Update a few minutes later]
Ignore my response to Paul Breed in comments. Doug Messier is now reporting that the engine exploded. If so, that puts a different complexion on things, but it still proves out their engine-out capability for the first stage, including shrapnel shield. The question is, as Paul notes, what are the differences between first and second-stage Merlins, if any, that can give us confidence in the second-stage reliability? Also, what would have happened to the Dragon had it happened on second stage? Just a loss of thrust, or an explosion of the entire stage (that is, would the explosion have taken out the tanks above as well, or does it have a similar shrapnel shield)?
In terms of commercial crew, the former wouldn’t necessarily require an abort system, and the latter probably wouldn’t be helped by one, unless there was sufficient warning to activate it. So it will be interesting to know from telemetry how soon they knew the engine was going south.
Singing My Tune
When I was at the AIAA meeting in Pasadena last month, Doug Stanley told me that this study would be coming out soon:
Commercial launch with propellant depot architectures significantly improves the extensibility and mission payload capability by providing a robust framework for all foreseen missions in the next 30 years. Adding to commercial launches every few months provides experienced and focused workforce to improve safety, operational learning for reduced costs and higher launch reliability, reduce launch costs depending on the government/industry business model. The depot framework allows multiple competitors for propellant delivery that is low-risk, hands-off way for international partners to contribute because it is not in the critical “mission” path and provides redundant alternatives available if critical launch failure occurs. The architecture provides reduced critical path mission complexity (Automated Rendezvous and Docking events, number of unique elements), provides additional mission flexibility by variable propellant load. Commonality with COTS/commercial/DoD vehicles will allow sharing of fixed costs between programs and “right-sized” vehicle for ISS, thus stimulate US and international commercial launch industry. Development risk is reduced by eliminating four space elements including the major Earth-to-orbit launch vehicle and solar electric propulsion transfer vehicle, large mass margins with current and proposed launch systems, and the Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer in-space technology demonstration program. Finally, the architecture creates powerful partners from commercial US industry and internationals that increases political sustainability of the overall program.
But other than that, it totally sucks.
A Devastating Metaphor
Hey, Barack, “business has been terrible since you got here.”
It will be better with a replacement of the empty suit, and chair.
The Romney Air War
…begins.
A lot of people have been wondering when he’s going to start fighting back against the Obama campaign lies and smears that have been going on all summer. He’s apparently been keeping his powder dry, and in the post-debate environment, I think these will have a devastating effect on the undecideds.