Category Archives: Space

Business, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

ULA’s Technology

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I saw George Sowers and Bernard Kutter, from ULA, at the AIAA conference in Pasadena last week. Jon Goff has a summary/review of some of the papers they presented there.

These are key technologies for my Kickstarter project (and opening the solar system). It’s interesting to note that they think they are ready to build depots now — Congress can’t prevent it any more by cutting technology funding. I asked Bernard in his presentation if it was fair to say that ACES was basically a depot with a propulsion system. His answer: “Basically yes.” Also, what they are calling “distributed launch” is essentially a powerful refutation of the argument for the need of SLS. But they can’t say that explicitly. I asked Tory on Twitter if he could give me a ballpark price of a Vulcan/ACES flight. He demurred, but it’s a number I need to cost architectures.

Business, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Commercial Crew Status

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David Livingston, Leonard David, and I interviewed Kathy Lueders, the program manager, on Monday. The podcast of it is now up. We basically ignored the talking points put out by PAO, and just asked her questions, some of them philosophical. I suspect it’s probably one of the most in-depth interviews she’s ever had. I gave her a copy of the book afterward.

BTW, I’ll be on The Space Show myself next Friday, to discuss the Kickstarter project.

[Update a while later]

I didn’t post this when it came out, because I was busy with conference stuff and other things over the weekend, but the latest Space Access Society update posits a theory that the commercial crew fight is a heating up of the never-ending war between Huntsville and Houston.

Business, Economics, Space, Technology and Society

Growing Metal Structure

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…like a tree:

Modumetal uses nanotechnology — manipulation of matter at the molecular level — to micromanage at a very small scale to better control the conditions and substances through which electroplating occurs. Basically, the company grows metal on a surface in a way that makes it easier to shape and tinker with the material’s characteristics. Lomasney says it’s similar to how nature controls the environment related to a tree’s growth— sunlight, soil, location, temperature—and then creates a tree that is a product those conditions.

This is the sort of thing that Eric talked about in Engines of Creation almost thirty years ago. It’s one of the reasons that any plans NASA has for Mars missions decades from now are already obsolete.

History, Political Commentary, Space

Erika And SLS

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The sea surface temperatures are higher than they were for Andrew. If that track shifts just a little the north, the Cape would be in the crosshairs.

The launch pads can probably handle a serious storm, but the VAB can’t handle more than a Category 2 or 3. It’s been dodging bullets for decades. A Category 5 storm would probably level it. No VAB, no SLS.

If that were to happen, it would almost be like a divine intervention to end the Apollo cargo cult, by destroying its temple.

[Update a while later]

I’d note that if it stays on that track, our house in Boca is currently in the crosshairs.

[Thursday-morning update]

Latest track shows it heading up the coast as a Cat 1. Of course, they’re not as good (or at least didn’t used to be) at predicting intensity as they are on tracks.