So the inner core of the heavy will be a different configuration than the outer ones.
Is anyone really headed there soon?
Well, NASA certainly isn’t.
[Update a while later]
Gwynne Shotwell: “Nobody laughs at us any more when we talk about colonizing Mars.”
Japan and Europe are cooperating on a pre-cooled turbojet.
Unfortunately, they seem to be ignoring the real issue, which is drag and fuel consumption. I think that Mach 5 is above the sweet spot for a practical system.
…are upset because the Pentagon isn’t wasting taxpayer money as fast as they want it to. I’m sure this topic will come up in this afternoon’s cage match between Gwynne and Tory in front of the House Armed Services Committee.
Finally goes true 3-D.
It’s finally starting to feel like the 21st century.
[Update a while later]
Aaaaaannnd, self-flying cars by 2017?
Seems a little optimistic, but if we’re going to have flying cars, they’ll have to be self flying.
[Mid-morning update]
Aaaaand, molecular 3-D printers. The future is looking very interesting. Both in the conventional and the Chinese sense.
[Late-morning update]
Aaaaannnd, lab-grown chicken meat?
That would be huge breakthrough for both earth and space. I’d really like to see it for pork, though. Technically, would lab-grown pork be kosher? Or halal?
Thoughts from Laura Seward Forczyk. As she notes, media hype about SLS/Orion getting anyone to Mars is greatly exaggerated, with the connivance of NASA PAO.
…has a new CEO. I know they’ve been looking for one for a while. While I’ve never discussed it with him, I suspect Jeff is relieved; he’s probably been trying to replace himself for a long time. It will allow him to focus more on the company’s technical issues, while retaining overall strategic control as board chairman.
A few weeks before its annual conference, a space policy update.
Leonard David has the story of yesterday’s roll out in North Las Vegas.
In my view, there were three events in human spaceflight this week. The SRB firing, BEAM, and the announcement by Lockheed Martin of a long-needed space tug. Only the latter two have any relevance to the future.