The flaps are going to be natural points for heat to concentrate, during reentry. Protrusions like that always are. I’d want to see some data on how well the main body handled it, before deciding whether this calls for a partial or total redesign. It could be that there was some flaw specifically with how they were…

From the low orbit of the ISS, throwing something out of Earth’s gravity well requires accelerating them by about 3km/s. Or 10,000kmh. Or 6,500mph. You’re not doing that with a robot arm, let alone to something that weighs multiple tons. That’s something you need a rocket for - and there’s better uses for a rocket.

The lesson here should be that you don’t try to kick-start a new AAA franchise with a AAA budget and AAA expectations. Marketing and advertising are no replacement for the organic hype of people telling other people to play it!

Fuuuuck, you’re right. I double-checked the payload but I didn’t check that bit. Must have it confused with some other Shuttle-derived vaporware rocket. Thanks for the correction.

“World’s largest solid-propelled launch vehicle” -yeah, let’s go ahead and pick that apart.

Also, rocket propellants are often pretty tricky chemicals to make valves for. You’ve got hypergols - nasty, corrosive things. You’ve got cryogens, which have to be kept well below freezing. Liquid oxygen is also a pretty potent oxidizer, likes to rust things that don’t normally rust (or burn things that don’t…

Dang, you’re right, my bad. Guess the old brain slipped on that one. Boeing’s the main contractor on the SLS core stage, and on the upper stage, not the capsule.

Artemis II, the one being delayed, has no elements from SpaceX, and the Boeing element is being done under the same contractual structure as Apollo and the Space Shuttle - cost-plus contract with NASA doing much of the design and engineering work. Note that Boeing’s work on Orion is separate from their work on…

Yeah. If ULA had a good path forward on reuse, it would be one thing. Or if they had come out with this five years ago like it was supposed to, with a reusable Vulcan 2 coming soon. Or even if they had that half-assed “detach the engines and recover them” working, preferably a few years ago. But no. They’re going out…

I think it says a lot that literally every mission on their launch manifest, at least on Wikipedia, comes from:

To clarify something not made explicit in the article, the second stage performed its first burn nominally, the one that immediately proceeded from the first stage burn, but the second burn (still of the second stage) did not go correctly. Firefly’s statement is not clear whether the engine completely failed to…

Well, looks like a success for Electron! Both Electron stages performed nominally, the payload and kick stage are currently coasting to their next burn. Looks like a good return to flight for Rocket Lab!

I don’t think a full analysis has been released, but they (and the FAA) do know what the problem was. The batteries shorted out when an electrical arc formed in the power supply on the upper stage. They’ve attributed it to a confluence of factors - a flaw in the insulation, buildup of trace amounts of helium (used in…

A better question is, where the hell is New Glenn? The rocket that’s actually worth caring about? New Shepard is a suborbital gimmick - designed for tourism, not even good at that so they sell rides experiments like any other sounding rocket. New Glenn is the one that’s actually supposed to go to orbit... but where is…

And by all means, if you like Blade and are excited for this, go ahead and be excited, I’m not trying to say you shouldn’t be. I’ll be happy that somebody can enjoy it. But I can’t help but feel like this is a mistake - not this game, but the whole situation, this massive pile of studios making more content than any…

I gotta say, I’m a bit sad at how many AAA studios now are doing licensed stuff, especially superheroes. Crystal Dynamics doing Avengers instead of Tomb Raider, Insomniac doing Spider-Man and Wolverine, Eidos doing GotG instead of Deus Ex, Firaxis doing Midnight Suns... at least the Arkham games were from pretty-much…

I mean... from BotW onward, Hyrule is basically populated entirely by hotties. Zelda, Urbosa, Paya, Mipha, ... Link, Sidon, King Rhoam... random stable girls and villagers... I think the only character that a significant chunk of the internet isn’t hornt for is granny Impa. (I guess she got her turn in Skyward Sword?)

Trashing? Neither this article, nor any other coverage of the Amico I’ve seen, has been negative towards the original Intellivision. Describing the brand as “not having much recognition or pull with modern gamers” and saying “remakes of forty-year-old games make poor system-sellers, especially at these prices” is just…

The crewed version of Dream Chaser, to come later, will launch with no fairings. They’re just there on the cargo version to simplify aerodynamics, especially as they plan to be able to launch on several different rockets.

Hmm, yes, salinity might be an issue. But if I remember their EIS right, they already have to have a retention pond for runoff or construction waste, just a pool for the water to gather and for any sediment to settle out. Assuming SpaceX is following their existing rules, and expanded that pond as necessary, this ought…