The F-22 might be kinda good after all…

 aircraft, awesomeness, humor, news, politics  47 Responses »
Sep 192013
 

Back in March the Iranians sent a fighter to within 16 miles of a USAF drone operating in international airspace, but were shown off by a US fighter. As it turns out, the US fighter was an F-22… which apparently got *real* close to the Iranian F-4 Phantom II by flying up underneath it. After getting a good look at the F-4’s weapon load, the F-22 pilot  “pulled up on their left wing and then called them and said ‘you really ought to go home.'”

Snerk.

Welsh: F-22 Flew to Drone’s Rescue off Iran Coast

UPDATE: Someone on Fark has a photo of the event:

f22vsf4

 

And someone else had a partial transcript of the conversation…

“Allah. Allah! ALLAH!!!”

“WHAT?!?”

“Danger zone…”

 Posted by at 9:34 pm

APR V3N4 preview

 aircraft, APR, drawings, history, news, projects, rockets, spacecraft  3 Responses »
Sep 192013
 

A long way from being complete. But here’s a look at diagrams being prepared for the article on the Model 2050E X-20 Dyna Soar. This will include not only the proposed operational versions, including bomber, shuttle, rescue, interceptor and so on, but also alternate launch vehicles. Since there has never been a really good layout diagram of the ultimate X-20 on the Titan III released, I’ve created one. Two, actually… the X-20 with just the transtage atop the Titan IIIc with the early UA-1205 boosters, and an operational Dyna Soar with external separation motors, cargo section and later UA-1205 motors. Additionally, Titan III with 156-inch boosters and Saturn C-IB concepts proposed by Boeing.

V3N4 drawings-Model

 

 Posted by at 8:58 pm

A second private spacecraft has been launched

 awesomeness, news, rockets, spacecraft  12 Responses »
Sep 192013
 

Orbital Sciences launched their Cygnus space “capsule” on their Antares booster yesterday. it’s heading towards the ISS, carrying cargo:

[youtube -s9jXCnL1ig]

Cygnus is not a re-entry capsule like the SpaceX Dragon but is instead an expendable cargo stage, providing all the maneuver and docking capabilities needed to take stuff to ISS. A Pressurized Cargo Module is attached to a Service Module which provides propulsion and electrical power via solar panels. After transferring cargo to the station, it’ll be loaded with trash, separated and then dumped into the atmosphere to burn up. One wonders, though, whether these might possibly be able to serve as elements in a cheapo  space station.

This is the second launch for Antares, a LOX/Kerosene booster similar to but smaller than the SpaceX Falcon 9. Both launches have been out of Wallops. The earlier launch carried a mass simulator of the Cygnus, not the Cygnus itself.

Many good photos of Cygnus and Antares HERE.

antares

 Posted by at 11:10 am

And yet the press is freaking out about mass murder

 AARRRGH, blather, Crazy, Gah., news, ಠ_ಠ  1 Response »
Sep 192013
 

In the US, mass murders account for  around 100 deaths per year. This is enough to cause the talking heads to explode.

So… how many die from medical mistakes?

According to some new estimates, between 212 and 440. THOUSAND. Yeah. Prit near half a million people may be dying annually in the US due to screwups on the part of medical personnel… about 4400 times as many as die via mass murder. The currently accepted number is only 98,000, or 980 times as many as via mass murder.

I can’t wait until the medical field is completely taken over by unaccountable government bureaucrats. That’ll help.

 Posted by at 10:34 am

Gee, why is college so expensive???

 AARRRGH, blather, dumbassery, Forward!, Gah., ಠ_ಠ  7 Responses »
Sep 192013
 

Granite Countertops, Flat-Screen TVs, Fire Pits: The Surprising Story of How College Dorms Got Luxe

Egad. Granite countertops. Flat screen TVs. Private baths. Dishwashers. Full size beds. Tanning salons. Fire pits. Swimming pools.

These are not the dorm rooms *I* had back in the day… small concrete cells with nothing but a closet, two cots and a random goofball who had acid flashbacks at three in the damn morning for a roommate. Couple that with the other extraneous amenities that colleges and universities are piling on in order to attract students, it’s no wonder that the cost of higher education is exploding. And yet we’re being told that the burden of student debt is something the government needs to take care of. Instead, people just shouldn’t shell out that much cash for what basically boils down to Some Guy reading at you from a book and giving you the occasional test.

 Posted by at 10:23 am

MSNBC: Your source for “news”

 AARRRGH, Crazy, dumbassery, Forward!, Gah., news, politics, weapons, youtube, ಠ_ಠ  2 Responses »
Sep 192013
 

They went to the bother of creating a crappy computer animation of the Navy Yard massacre. And they further went to the bother of arming the perp not with the shotgun he actually had, not just with an Evil AR-15, not just the full-auto M4 (the military weapon the AR-15 most resembles), but an M4 with an M203 40mm grenade launcher.

Spectacular.

[youtube qs35NnT6lZk]

 Posted by at 7:43 am

Science Puzzler

 blather, Hmm..., science, science fiction  No Responses »
Sep 182013
 

A common  enough scene in science fiction is some poor schmuck finding himself in a vacuum. Sometimes it’s just for a few seconds; sometimes it’s for a lethal length of time. Since we as a society have unfortunately decided that we don’t want to execute condemned murderers by shoving them out space capsules and filming the results, *exactly* what happens to a person in the event of suddenly being dumped into hard vacuum is unclear. Some things are probable… the human body blowing up like a balloon and exploding (like in “Outland”) is wrong, along with the human body freezing solid in a few seconds (as in “Mission to Mars”). Still, no good would come of such a thing happening. Overall bruising as capillaries in the skin burst is probable. Damage to sensitive tissues such as lungs and sinuses is almost certain. But here’s one I’ve never heard addressed:

What would happen to zits and blackheads and whatnot?

Seems at least slightly possible that the pressure differential would cause pores to sorta… empty themselves. To get an idea of maybe kinda what might happen, strengthen your nerve, wait till your stomach is empty and then search for “comedone” on Youtube. Lots of disturbing videos (like, say, This One). Now, what’s shown in the vids is several ounces of force being placed on a tiny faction of a square inch, greater than the several pounds-per-square-inch differential one might expect in a human body freshly spaced, but just maybe…

Along those lines, it seems pretty likely to me that a human suddenly spaced would certainly empty himself in a more substantial fashion via bladder and colon.

 Posted by at 9:54 pm

More on XS-1

 aircraft, art, blather, news, nukes, projects, rockets, spacecraft  8 Responses »
Sep 182013
 

Experimental Spaceplane Shooting for “Aircraft-Like” Operations in Orbit

To help address these challenges, DARPA has established the Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program. The program aims to develop a fully reusable unmanned vehicle that would provide aircraft-like access to space. The vehicle is envisioned to operate from a “clean pad” with a small ground crew and no need for expensive specialized infrastructure. This setup would enable routine daily operations and flights from a wide range of locations. XS-1 seeks to deploy small satellites faster and more affordably, while demonstrating technology for next-generation space and hypersonic flight for both government and commercial users.

“We want to build off of proven technologies to create a reliable, cost-effective space delivery system with one-day turnaround,” said Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager heading XS-1. “How it’s configured, how it gets up and how it gets back are pretty much all on the table—we’re looking for the most creative yet practical solutions possible.”

DARPA seeks ideas and technical proposals for how to best develop and implement the XS-1 program. The agency has scheduled an XS-1 Proposers’ Day for Monday, October 7, 2013. The agency also plans to hold 1-on-1 discussions with potential proposers on the following day, October 8, 2013. Advance registration is required; more information is available at http://www.sa-meetings.com/XS1ProposersDay. Registration closes on Tuesday, October 1,2013, at 12:00 PM EDT. For more information, please email DARPA-SN-14-01@darpa.mil. 

The DARPA Special Notice describing the specific capabilities the program seeks is available at http://go.usa.gov/DNkF. A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for XS-1 is forthcoming and will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website.

XS_1a

Note that the DARPA artwork depicts  the XS-1 here in a global strike configuration, equipped with an upper stage and a  warhead, either a conical MIRV_style, or perhaps a lifting HTV-type. In either event, the basic layout sure seems familiar… hmmm…

 

 

 Posted by at 10:42 am
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