‘…And the Plasma’s Red Glare / The Blobs Melting in Air / Gave Proof Through the Flight / That Our Flap Was Still There…’
A mere 24 hours after Boeing’s Starliner managed to wheeze itself to the International Space Station (and as of this writing there is some doubt as to whether or not it can wheeze its way home again), SpaceX’s Starship manages to make two successful, controlled, soft-landings and one of them was MELTING BEFORE OUR EYES and still managed to pull it off!
Remember that moment, boys and girls, when people ask you why you think private business can do things better than The State.
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I’m so delighted to have the opportunity to share your reactions to space. So cool to hear you “channel” my late brother’s descriptions of every launch…Thank you so much..
“shadenfreudish”……My thought exactly. “Hello, welcome to SpaceX. How may I help you?” “Uh, this is NASA’s Director Nelson. We have a bit of a problem. Our Starliner can’t return to Earth due to some silly little Helium leaks. Do you think you can send a spare falcon 9 with a few extra seats in the Crew compartment to come and pick up our astronauts? They’ll be waiting on the North East corner of the International Space Station.” “Yes, we’d be happy to send one. SpaceX has a few spare vehicles, we can assign one next morning. Would you like a… Read more »
For one of our esteemed commenters….the analogy of “that old guy barely making it up the stairs”……A perfect description of NASA, Boeing, ULA and ….Biden. Space has become politicized, and fossilized, just as NASA, Boeing, ULA and….Biden has. This episode had a political backchannel, all the while being focused on the amazing little fin that could, and the New Space team of engineers who got it done.
Incremental development does NOT have to be limited to space. Scott’s description of Waterfall versus Agile styles in project development made me think about, how would Elon Musk take on an F-36 project?
bill gates sells his stuff BEFORE the bugs are fixed.
So does pretty much every other software creator. Especially Operating Systems like Microsoft Windows. That’s why there is a “v.x” number in the software names. Like “Malwarebytes v5.2” and “Notepad++ v8.6.7”. Or in the case of Windows it’s a named version like Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista (v.6), 7, 8, 10, 11 etc. Apple/Mac uses its own naming conventions like “Cheetah”, “Puma”, “Sierra” and “Sonoma”. Version increments include functional improvements, feature additions, obsolescence remediation AND bug fixes but ALWAYS bug fixes. It’s just not humanly possible to release perfect software with no bugs. Because it’s not possible to anticipate all… Read more »
I programmed enough programs, much simpler than whole operating systems, to speak about bugs.
There are always bugs in the program. Some are removed before production. Those are the known bugs. There are always unknown bugs. And sometimes fixing those create other bugs. Bugs do a wonderful job of multiplying.
And for those who do not know, the original computer bug was a moth on a circuit board that caused errors. Removed it, and literally debugged the computer.
Yeah, I recall reading somewhere that when Windows Millenium was released there were over 50,000 known bugs or something like that. The good news was only half of them were system critical. 😉 That was about the same time that Microsoft switched over from extensive OS testing before RTM to calling “close enough is good enough” and just releasing a new OS. Which then relied on telemetry instead of exhaustive testing to “phone home” about bugs, glitches and crashes. This wasn’t because Microsoft was being lazy or prioritizing profit over reliability though. If their OS doesn’t work they lose money… Read more »
Thank you. As well as being informative, that was a fun discussion.
I thought some years ago that when someone finds they can make a good profit in space and they will), we’ll see a rush to space that will never stop!
Musk famously put a Tesla in space years ago. Now if he wanted to he could do the same thing with a 747. He could paint “Need a lift?” on the fuselage. Just thought I’d share an amusing mental image.
Guys, PLEASE!!!! I am aware that I may be one of the few women that are members, but PLEASE can we go back to discussing all that is going on in our country like political happenings which are major! Sorry, but I am disappointed that you are talking ‘star links” (or whatever it is} and other “guy” happenings. Yes, I want to hear about your thoughts on politics (even though I know how Scott feels about Trump), but please, a major election is coming up, and people like Candace Owens (an intelligent favorite of mine) who was recently fired by… Read more »
Mary – I get that Space discussions are not for everyone (I am an avowed geek on it and also worked for NASA briefly) but all episodes can’t be strictly politics.
A quick look at the last 20 or so have 2 on space, 1 on military hardware, 3 on pop culture from a political perspective, 2 on AI (also political in nature), 8 on progressive agenda items (poltical in nature), 4 on other news items.
Personally, I find this to be excellent balance. YMMV
Ron ~ I always respect your “comments” ~ the “balance” just doesn’t seem the same to me. the “three” are just so good at what they do – it just doesn’t register “relevant” to what I think is critical to our country at this time. What will be happening this year “on the ground” seems much more important. We citizens are living in a “super” critical year and “space” is definitely not of interest to me!
Actually, if you listen closely you would realize just how political space can be. Obviously this will be considered mansplaining by some/many but here goes anyway. For years the government has wasted trillions of dollars playing space games with NASA. The government is the biggest hurtle to any human progress in space. Do you suppose that could be because of all the millions of dollars going into politician’s and bureaucrat’s pockets from Boeing and the like!!! You can’t get much more political than that!
I have to agree with both Ron and John. The notion that politics is just a thing of governments, elected officials and, political parties is myopic at best. Politics is philosophy applied by influence and authority. Besides Boing you know who else wouldn’t have given a (fecal matter) about a helium leak? The Soviet Union that’s who. We’re looking at a new space race between Free America and Authoritarian America. It doesn’t get more political than that.
Mary, Notwithstanding the replies by other members to your post, (which I happen to agree with) this site has always had a broader focus than just politics. Science, technology, sociology and human development, aviation and, yes, space exploration. Even comedy! These have all been the subjects of discussion on R/A. Because variety is normal, healthy and pleasing to the psyche. A strict focus on politics would quickly become boring and even antagonistic. As to the Candace Owens situation at DW, I recall that it HAS been discussed by Bill, Steve and Scott at some point. I can’t recall the exact… Read more »
This is all part and parcel of the modern political experience in America. The government does a bad job at space. We need space. Private industry demonstrates it can do space better, cheaper, faster. It’s not “guy stuff” it’s American stuff. I find it damned good to hear that American stuff is making amazing headway. Maybe you don’t feel like good news is important but I do. Be careful that you’re not just hunting to feed your own confirmation bias. For instance — You mention the “colleges and riots going on”. That’s a tiny percentage of what’s important that is… Read more »