It’s been up less than 24 hours, but I’ve already raised 33% of my goal on the Kickstarter. Hope I can keep it up, and vastly exceed it.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
The Problems With The Last Dragon Flight
…weren’t as bad as originally reported. I found this interesting, though:
As for the engine shutdown issue, data analysis has yet to result in any definitive conclusions. Although the analysis will continue, the observation that this particular engine had undergone a comparatively high degree of pre-flight testing, may ultimately lead to the conclusion that the shut down was related to the accumulating fatigue of an engine firing more than its nominal mission requirements. If this turns out to be the case; it would prove to be both somewhat ironic, as well as easily addressed by limiting cumulative firings for flight engines. Ongoing analysis has likely pushed the likely date of the next Dragon flight to ISS into the early March time frame.
Wouldn’t “limiting cumulative firings for flight engines” have interesting and problematic implications for reusability?
If this is really a problem, sounds like they’ll have to have a more robust engine design (or perhaps downgrade performance) for reusable versions. And of course, it’s possible that the new engine to start being used next year will resolve whatever the issue is.
Safe Is Not An Option
I’ve belatedly launched my Kickstarter project to publish my book on our irrational attitudes toward safety on the high frontier. I’ve put a short fuse on it — just fifteen days to raise four grand. I’d like to raise a lot more, to really publicize the thing, but that’s the minimum I need to have a quality product, I think.
Everyone who contributes at least five bucks will get some form of the book. Please consider donating generously, if you want to see this get more attention in the new year.
Saving The Incandescent Bulb
A one-man crusade against bi-partisan stupidity.
Fear Of Fracking
A report on what appears to be an interesting lecture. Fracking is going to have a lot of unforeseen effects.
I, Pencil
The movie, from CEI.
Passwords
…are obsolete?
Nanotech
Seven ways it’s changing our world.
NASA’s Safety Culture
Wayne Hale has an interesting excerpt from a recent speech by Admiral Gehman on the Columbia loss. I may incorporate this into my space safety book. Hard to believe that it will be ten years in February.
Telomere Length And Aging
There seems to be a correlation.
So what’s cause, and what’s effect, or are they both effects of some other cause?
Also, how much does it cost to determine one’s telomere length? And what are the prospects for increasing it, if that is indeed helpful?