So, apparently the stunt was a half success. I couldn’t tell from the original story whether or not they’d have parachutes (though if not, that seemed totally nuts), but apparently they did, which is why the pilot survived the failed attempt.
And really, FAA? Who are you to decide what is in the public interest, and whether or not someone should be allowed to do something even if you think it isn’t? I thought this was America.
Joe Biden does something right (which is huge news, because it is unprecedented).
He could be doing more, though, in terms of easing up on archaic NRC rules to allow the construction of more modern plant designs faster. And as is often noted, it’s hard to take seriously people who claim that we are in a climate “crisis” or “emergency” if they don’t support nuclear power.
I personally have never had the urge (partly because I’m too lazy, and partly because I tend to be claustrophobic). Keith and Carolyn Henson, founders of the L-5 Society (and before they divorced) had tunnels under their house and lot in Tucson, which was quite a feat, considering the hardness of the caliche there.
Every time I read a status on the thing, I’m struck by just how terrible a design this is. They couldn’t have come up with a better way of wasting money and time ad infinitum. And people in comments are rooting for a catastrophe. Hard to disagree with them.