[Update a while later]
By 3-1, Americans think that we are losing the war to ISIS. And there’s no indication that Obama even cares.
[Update a couple minutes later]
It’s going to be a long eighteen months. Fortunately, there’s a lot of ruin in a country, particularly this one.
That’s an…interesting phrase for the cause of the Progress mission failure last month. Doesn’t that sort of imply a need for a redesign?
OK, here we go. I’ve launched my new Kickstarter. Spread the word.
The latest version is out, describing the current hijinks in Congress:
Full-throttle political support for full-funding Commercial Crew at the requested $1.24 billion is a top (if not the top) political priority for this year. Down-selecting to one vendor to save money over the next two years would add multiple unacceptable program risks and lead to long-term monopoly pricing. Successful flight before the end of 2017 already apparently involves optimistic assumptions about not needing the full $300 million in NASA-required-extras contingency funding. NASA says that any shortfall from the $1.24 billion level this year risks further program delays, and our look at the numbers seems to bear that out.
Yes, as Bolden said a few weeks ago, they can’t accelerate it with more money, but they can delay with less, and they seem determined to do so.
[Early evening update]
OK, here‘s an even more recent update.
I won’t bother to link to individual pieces, but Jon Goff seems to have been blogging up a storm over the past few days.
Try, try again. I’ve punched up the audio in this version, though it still sounds like I’m in an empty lecture hall.
[Update a while later]
I think I’m ready to launch the project (and Kickstarter says I can do it at any time), but here’s the draft page, if anyone wants to provide feedback before I do so.
I wish I believed that the situation was much better than this in climate science, but really, I have little reason to.
No, Senator Whitehouse, it isn’t racketeering; it’s free speech.
Explained. Ideally, you’d have a similar setup for a spacecraft, but it would add weight. Lynx is single pane, AFAIK. I don’t know about SpaceShipTwo.
Rand Simberg
May 30, 4:46 PM
I tried to upload my video. It is an MP4, H.264, resolution 640×480, size of 23.5 Mb. When I upload, it says there is an “error,” but that’s the only information I get, so it’s hard to figure out what the problem is.
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Hi Rand,
Travis here with Kickstarter support—thanks for writing in. Sorry that you’re having trouble uploading your video.
Please double-check to make sure that your video meets these requirements:
Size: Project videos need to be 5GB or less. Video in updates can be up to 250MB.
File Format: We accept most major video formats but for best results upload one of our recommended file types: MOV, MP4 or WMV.
Tip: Converting your file into another file format may resolve playback issues.
Resolution: We take the video file you upload and create a 640×480 (4:3 ratio) version to display on your project page.
Compression: We accept most major video codecs, but for best results we recommend using WMV format in Windows and H.264 format on Mac. In both cases, the key variable is the “bit rate,” so look for that measurement. If it’s measured in kilobits per second (kbps), try 1500 to start. If it’s measured in megabits per second (Mbps), try 1.5. If the file is too big: Make that number smaller. If the quality seems bad: Make it bigger.
If all of this checks out and you’re still having trouble, please send me a screenshot or further details on what you’re seeing from your end. I hope this helps!
Best,
Travis
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This response is utterly useless. It contains no information that is not already on the web site (in fact, it looks like it was simply pasted from it). Did you even read what I wrote?