Well, except the Clintons, Pelosi, Maxine Waters…
Virgin Orbit
Looks like the end of the road.
I never thought it was a great business model.
Branson has managed to waste an astonishing amount of Other Peoples’ Money on his space ventures. I weep when I think of what could have been done for just a fraction of it if it had gone to something sensible. For example, Lynx could have flown.
Of course, Stratolaunch was a boondoggle as well, which also never made any sense. Air launch is a niche market for people who want mission flexibility and single-orbit rendezvous, and there weren’t enough of those people to sustain that costly infrastructure.
The QAnon Shaman
…has gotten an early release from prison.
Chansley will have some time to consider [a lawsuit], and as of now he has not been exonerated or had his plea vacated. He has simply been released early.
The January 6th prosecutions have been a farce. It’s not that the rioters deserve no consequences for their actions. They do.
But the response has been utterly disproportionate to the cause. The fiction that this was an insurrection, not a riot, is absurd on its face. Putting rioters in solitary confinement for months to pressure them into guilty pleas? Unforgivable.
There is still a lot of injustice to rectify.
Starburst Ventures
…just put out a report on the outlook for the commercial space industry. I haven’t read it yet.
The IPCC Reports
…have become bumper-sticker climate science.
The Latest Economic Insanity From California
I don’t know much much more we’re going to be able to take this nonsense.
The Evolution Of Choo Choos
This article strikes me as bizarre and ignorant of the history of railroads. How can one talk about why we no longer have steam locomotives without talking about diesel locomotives? It’s like asking why we no longer use sail for cargo ships. Though, some people want to reinvent that, because climate.
Pushback
One doctor’s experience offers a ray of hope.
It’s all about the facts.
The “Billionaire Space Race”
Yes, I always get annoyed at the comparisons between Musk and Bezos, let alone by either of them with Branson, who has wasted vast amounts of other peoples’ money with not much to show for it or any hope of getting much of it back.
[Tuesday-morning update]
I’m finally getting around to reading the whole thing. I found this amusing: “In the future, Virgin Galactic aims to use its advanced technologies to manufacture aircraft capable of high-speed point-to-point travel. High-speed aircraft are capable of traveling faster than the speed of sound. A significant market opportunity exists for vehicles with this capability, as they could drastically reduce international travel times.”
What “advanced technologies”?
Overdue
Ed Driscoll reviews a new documentary about Apollo 8.
That event, not Apollo 11, is when we won the race, because the Soviets quietly threw in the towel at that point, pretending that they’d never been racing.