The government had to approve of the merger for several reasons. Firstly, because it would create a monopoly, and generally mergers that produce monopolies aren’t allowed by the FTC. Secondly, because it went against the whole point of the EELV program, which was to ensure competition would exist. But Boeing’s…

An excellent channel that more should view.  :-)

I think it relates to how rarely they’ve had to be used.  It’s sort of like the Cirrus airframe parachutes -- rarely needed, but damn, when you need ‘em, you’re sure glad they’re there.

You’re welcome! I’m an avid space geek, and as you might have guessed, I’m in the industry as well. FIA is quite a bit more obscure, since it’s an NRO program, so I can understand why it’s not well known. But it still amazes me how quickly the Delta IV pricing scandal faded from public consciousness, because while the…

Thank you, you’re very kind! I used to write a blog, Fractal Wonder, and I wrote for Mental Floss for a while. Been too busy to write regularly for a long time. (Basically, my kids got older. :-D )

Well, apparently Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. ;-)  But they have to climb out and climb back in again later -- there was an issue with a valve on the Centaur booster, so ULA decided to call a scrub.

I can’t say what MBAs are learning, but I have to point out that it isn’t all executives who think like this. It is, however, a very large and notable subset that gained a lot of power in the 1990s as a particular style of management became fashionable in business. Google “Jack Welch” to understand where this is…

Okay, then. ;-)

Couldn’t take the pressure?

Yes. In addition to building the X-37 and most of the ISS, they build a lot of geosynchronous commercial and military commsats. They built most of the ViaSat spacecraft, for instance, and the Wideband Global Satellite constellation. They built a lot of older stuff too, but those are recent.

The Ars Technica piece is wrong. It’s an easy mistake to make, because it makes such intuitive sense: obviously, cost-plus would be super easy to make money with! But that isn’t actually how it works (you will absolutely lose your shirt on cost-plus if you’re thinking it’s magic money), and it’s miles and miles away…

You’re mistaking a desire for journalistic integrity for sympathy with Boeing.

Wow, you’re taking this awfully personally for something that doesn’t really affect you directly. So personally you’re not able to actually read what’s being written. If you prefer arguing with strawmen, that’s your prerogative, but I won’t participate in that nonsense.

No, that is not his argument. The argument is that you should hold the right parties accountable.

I would bet the problem is just sympathetic vomiting. You’re in tight quarters in an aircraft; if someone pukes, the smell will get around, and the smell alone can trigger vomiting in a lot of people. Once a few people let loose, you can get a whole cascade effect going and it becomes a nightmare scenario very fast.

University of Minnesota defused its protests the same way. Agreed to talk about it, without promising anything. It’s this authoritarian streak that leads to mindless escalation.

“Alternatively, university administrators could have followed the time-honored tradition of ignoring campus protests until they inevitably fizzle out”

Yeah, I’d be reasonably confident the locomotive isn’t going anywhere, but I’d be less confident in the strength of the windows.

Lake freighters have unusually long lifespans compared to sea vessels. St Mary’s Challenger has the advantage of operating exclusively in freshwater, which gives those vessels amazing longevity. Lake freighters often operate over 50 years, but ocean going vessels rarely last over 30 years unless they’re particularly…

“So, of course, because it’s Tesla, instead of a massive sell-off this morning from investors who are done with Musk’s bullshit, the stock is already up about 12 percent today. Make it make sense.”