Here are a bunch of folks discussing whether or not the universe has a purpose. I’m too busy to read it all right now, but I thought my readers might find it of interest. Without reading it, I was a little surprised that the “maybes” and “yeses” outnumbered the “no ways” or “unlikelies.” I think it does, but I recognize that it’s a (non-theistic, in my case) religious belief.
[Via the Derb]
Bob Bigelow (who is not in attendance at this Personal Spaceflight Symposium) is apparently offering three quarters of a billion dollars for a launch contract:
The contract or purchase agreement would be worth $760 million in total for eight launches. To show that Bigelow Aerospace is serious, it will deposit $100 million in an escrow bank account up front if the plan goes forward.
The potential offer tops the $500 million NASA has budgeted for its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme, which is part of the agency’s own effort to spur development of commercial orbital crew launch capabilities.
Sounds like he’s finally starting to get serious about solving the launch problem.
[Update a few minutes later]
I find the timing of this announcement interesting. I doubt that it’s a coincidence that he decided to do it the same week that NASA issued an announcement for a COTS recompetition.
If one believes that one of the reasons that RpK had trouble closing their financing was because people didn’t believe that the NASA market could be counted upon, this provides a useful secondary (or even primary) market to help make the business case. Perhaps it was his intention to help the COTS competitors get their financing lined up.
I stopped voting Libertarian for local candidates, leaving lots of blanks on my ballot. Next year, I
Gee, maybe they need giant paper mache puppets. That always gets press coverage:
A group of 12 students chose to wear empty holsters to class this week at the University of Idaho as part of the nationwide protest.
Aled Baker, a junior, said he loses his constitutional right to protect himself and others when he steps on campus.
“It’s null and void when you go on campus,” the mechanical engineering student said.
Baker, a sportsman and hunter, has a license to carry a concealed handgun and hopes the protest will get people talking about the issue.
The Second Amendment continues to be the one that dare not speak its name.
And the Brady bunch stands in for Bull Connor and George Wallace.
“You don’t like the fact that you can’t have a gun on your college campus? Drop out of school,” said Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Disarming law-abiding citizens today, disarming law-abiding citizens tomorrow, disarming law-abiding citizens forever.
From Jeff Foust.
The California fires were started by those wascally Jews, and here’s the proof.
The California fires were started by those wascally Jews, and here’s the proof.
The California fires were started by those wascally Jews, and here’s the proof.
Leonard David reports that, like last year, Armadillo will be the only competitor this year for the Lunar Lander Challenge.
While it would certainly have been more interesting, and I’m sure that the X-Prize Cup folks are disappointed, the important thing about prizes is that they’re won, not how many competitors there are. Good luck to John and the team. But of course, as they saw last year, there are no guarantees, except that they won’t have to break any ties. As Yoda would say, they will either do, or do not.