I saw this billboard today. I’m not absolutely certain, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about it seems a little… amiss.
Aug 122014
Aug 122014
In light of recent events near St. Louis…
Relatives say man shot, killed by police was not armed
Aug 122014
From 1973, a magazine ad for the Garrett Corporation (avionics manufacturer) showing Robert McCall paintings of the Space Shuttle system as then envisioned. At that point, the basics of the Space Transportation System were worked out, but the details were up in the air…
As shown here – which appears to represent a Rockwell design – the Orbiter features a “ridge” down the centerline of the cargo bay doors. This was originally where the manipulator arm (or “arms” as shown here) was supposed to go. The cargo bay was a cylindrical volume, and when filled with a cylindrical payload there would obviously be no room for an arm. So the arm had to fit *outside* that cylindrical volume.
Additional details: it was originally thought that exposed RCS thrusters on the sides of the nose would get roasted on re-entry, so they were hidden behind doors in earlier designs. The proboscis at the front o the ET was a solid rocket motor, used to de-orbit the tank. As originally envisioned, the tank would make it to orbit, or nearly so; it would need to be propulsively de-orbited so that it would come down over the ocean and cause no damage. In the end, the role of the orbital maneuvering system was bumped up so that staging off the ET was carried out just a bit below stable orbit; as a result the ET would naturally re-enter over the Indian Ocean without further effort.
And a lot of early art depicted the Shuttle with lots and lots of paint. Not only on the External Tank, but on the *underside* of the orbiter. I assume that this is just artistic license rather than anyone actually believing that white paint would survive re-entry.
Circular circle circling
blather, Crazy, dumbassery, Forward!, Gah., history, Hmm..., Meh., news
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Aug 112014
Oy.
So, CNN teleprompter-reader Don Lemon goes on another CNN talking heads program to talk about the riots in Ferguson, Missouri (short form: cop shoots black guy [details as yet unclear], so local community decides to burn the place to the ground), where he says this:
“This is about the treatment of men of color in our society… They are treated differently whether it be law enforcement, whether it be at work, whether it be at a grocery store, whether it be on the street”
This is true. But you know what doesn’t help that situation? Rioting and looting.
Similarly: if you are in a non-state region that has repeatedly fought its more organized neighbor, and lost badly every time, and as a result has been surrounded and put under careful watch… you know what doesn’t help? Shooting thousands of crappy rockets at your neighbor.
“I demand you treat me with respect, and to prove my seriousness, here’s a self-destructive temper tantrum.”
And you know what’s not going to help even more? Publicly suggesting that you rob and murder a whole lot of folks who were in no way involved:
‘Loot … and rob them, not your own’; Twitter users advise black people to loot white neighborhoods
One wonders if it would be considered a hate crime for a white guy to suggest going into black neighborhoods and causing death and destruction. I would think that it would be.
And if the rioters, who look like absolute *morons* when they tear up their own neighborhoods, were to decide to head into the neighborhoods of “others?” What, exactly, do these geniuses think would be the great benefit here? At best, those cities would experience the economic “benefits” of white flight. People who come into your neighborhood to cause a ruckus do *not* earn your respect or sympathy, only your contempt… and quite often a bullet. If you knew that hundreds of people from a few blocks over might very well just decide to come and burn your home or business down, would you stick around? Would it inspire most anybody to treat those people better?
And you know… sometimes when you decide to go tear up someone elses stuff, that someone else might have something to say about it.
Aug 112014
They go in threes…
Comedian Robin Williams dead, sheriff says
And just to be sure…
…………..
UPDATE: here’s #2…
Famed actress Lauren Bacall dies at 89
Aug 102014
J. Michael Straczynski Announces ‘Babylon 5′ Feature Film Reboot, Eyes 2016 Production Start
I’d rather have a continuation of the original than a complete reboot…
Aug 102014
An official NASA photo of the Space Shuttle Atlantis landing for the last time in 2011. This was a night landing; consequently the lighting was artificial. It appears that the light came from close to directly behind the camera, resulting in some interesting reflections, such as off the injector plates inside the SSME’s.
The condensation trails forming off the low-pressure regions above the wingtips are pretty nifty too.
The full-rez uncropped photo is available at the link above.
Aug 102014
Anybody remember the “Sea Shepherds” got themselves a snazzy new carbon fiber speedboat a few years back, named it the “Ady Gil” after the chump who donated the thing, and then promptly got it run over and sunk by Japanese whalers? Well, guess who’s a little cheesed off by the whole thing…
More Trouble for Sea Shepherd Society
Ady Gil, owner of the eponymous ship Ady Gil, Vince Dundee, and Faast Leasing California, of which Dundee is a managing member, filed a civil RICO complaint against Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Watson on Wednesday, in Superior Court.
The claim: the ship, while damaged when it turned into the path of a vastly more massive (and thus less maneuverable) whaling vessel, was readily salvageable. But it was stripped of equipment and not only allowed to sink, but in fact scuttled. This loss was then used as a fundraising centerpoint.
Aug 102014
The first Dream Chaser spaceplane is under construction:
Airframe Structure for First Commercial Dream Chaser Spacecraft Unveiled
Higher rez at the link:
Aug 102014
The rewards for my Patreon patrons have now been released. This months selections include:
Diagram: a very large, very nice layout of the Avro Arrow. This was voted on by the top-level patrons.
Document: a report on the Vought Regulus II cruise missile which includes some very nice layout and inboard diagrams of both the operational and test missiles. This was voted for by the top-level patrons.
Document: “Introduction to Kistler Aerospace Corporation,” a full-color brochure from 1995 describing the K-0 sorta-SSTO launch vehicle (which would use an “launch platform”).
Additionally, for the higher-level patrons ($5 and up) there are three all-new CAD diagrams:
1) The Boeing “Big Onion” SSTO from the 1970s, meant to launch Solar Power Satellite components
2) The Space Shuttle Main Engine
3) The Northrop Tacit Blue stealth testbed. This is, so far as I’m aware, the first time that a clear and accurate three-view of this aircraft has been released publicly.
I’ve changed things a little bit from last month. At each patronage level, there are different levels of rewards. Each level has its own message under the “Creations” tab just above the APR logo at my Patreon page. And in the upper righthand corner of each message is a little gray rectangle with “Zip” in it. This is the link to the ZIP archive containing the files for that specific patronage level. If you are a higher-level patron, this may not include all the files you are entitled to. You should be able to download everything from the lower-level patron messages.
