|
|||||
|
This statement was released last night:
Ed: While you wait… Watch the engine test video. March 23rd, 2006 | 9 comments - (Comments are closed)
 Congress is up to it again and it just gets worse and worse. This time they are, in a subtle way, outlawing parties other than the Republicrats. The quickest way for me to get this information out is to just give you the entire post from Jim Babka:
This set of laws basically outlaws the Libertarian Party. We have for years joked it was easier to get on the ballot in Nicaragua under the Socialists than it was in the USA. Now it will be impossible. We have long used paid canvassers in States with the most onerous anti-democracy laws. On top of which, they set the bar for signatures impossibly high. We rely on individual donations because we are an individualist party. They wish to make that illegal. They will make the only allowable source of funding that which is sucked from the Statist teat. On moral grounds the Party refuses to take government funds for campaigns. This should be a call to arms for any who love liberty. I would love for someone to prove me wrong, but everything I have heard indicates this law is the death knell for diversity of opinion in America. Although some measures seem tailored to kill the LP, they may also take out the Green Party and others as well. The incumbents want a closed system. While they would probably prefer a one party state like the commies had, they are willing to settle for a two party party where they can get on with their graft and theft undisturbed. Is there a difference between Republicans and Democrats in the long haul? In a world where they do not even have to worry about someone popping up and taking votes from them? I think not. Closed systems are nice for those inside them for a time… but they ultimately lead to disaster and bloodshed. March 23rd, 2006 | 46 comments - (Comments are closed)
Rand Simberg has pointed out an excellent speech by Tony Blair about the global war we are fighting. Here is a short excerpt:
Well worth the read. March 22nd, 2006 | 32 comments - (Comments are closed)
According to a statement by Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX:
I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas Day… March 22nd, 2006 | 4 comments - (Comments are closed)
At a recent speech, Rupert Murdoch noted:
He mentioned bloggers as one of those forces so I guess we are doing something right. March 19th, 2006 | 13 comments - (Comments are closed)
According to Elon Musk:
My fingers are crossed as a successful first launch would be a wonderful thing… but then, how often does that happen in rocketry? PS: You can see Elon at the 25th International Space Development Conference and offer him your congrats or condolences, depending… March 19th, 2006 | 3 comments - (Comments are closed)
I have not the time to go into great details at the moment, but the 25th International Space Development Conference will take place in less than two months. If you are interested in the grand adventure, this conference is the place to be in the first week of May. The list keeps growing, but here is the speakers list we (the National Space Society (NSS) and the Planetary Society) have lined up so far. PS: I might try some live-blogging at the event if I get to spend any time outside of committee rooms! March 15th, 2006 | Comments are closed
Sometimes there are unexpected side effects of Samizdata posts. My discussion of the Blackstar project last week had that in spades. When Mike Lorrey posted some technical information defending the possibility such a vehicle might be real, I sat up and took notice. Amongst things I knew about he described something I was completely unaware of. There is a safe Boron gel fuel. This led to an exchange of emails and Mike kindly produced a paper on that and several other important technologies and basic concepts of spaceplane design. NASA got the spaceplane design so badly wrong on the Space Shuttle one hardly knows where to start. Mike shows the science behind some of those truly awful design choices. First off is wing loading. Virtually everyone in the business knows high wing loading on a manned re-entry vehicle is not just a bad idea, it is almost criminally insane. Once you go down that route you are forced into ever more dangerous and ever more marginal design decisions. High wing loading means there is a lot of vehicle weight per square foot of wing. It means more kinetic energy has to be dissipated over a smaller area. It means the re-entry interface happens much deeper into the atmosphere. It means you cannot skip and bleed off heat. It means you need heavy thermal protection systems… and on and on. The key bit in his paper though is the Boron Gel. I must say this mythical substance was one I knew very little about and what I had heard was it is more closely allied to a chemical weapon in toxicity than a rocket fuel! But according to Mark there is more than one way to gel a boron, and this one is a boron/keresene slurry. Why does this get me excited? Another factor pretty much everyone knows is liquid hydrogen is a really bad fuel. Yeah, it has a high ISP (a measure of how good a fuel/oxidizer combination is) when used with oxygen, but the problem is density. It is horrible for density. You need gigantic tanks to carry a reasonable amount and the tankage and associated structures weight eats up all the gain from using the stuff in the first place. On top of which, it bleeds off. You can not make hydrogen stay put. It is useless for long voyages or for a long stay in orbit. That is why upper stages use really nasty, evil and deadly fuels that happen to be liquid at room temperatue and are hypergolic (ignite when mixed). Even if your fuel is not as ‘good’ as hydrogen in absolute terms, it can be better in practical ones. A very dense fuel means smaller structures to hold it and that means less weight to orbit which means less fuel to carry the fuel… you win points in your rocket equation. Dense fuel is a big win. Dense fuel that also has a very good ISP is a very big win. The Boron/Kerosene mix appears to be just what we need. What I look forward to finding out now is: what is required to handle the stuff safely? Is it truly not in the high danger category of the other Boron Gel technologies? If you feel yourself called to the label ‘rocket scientist’, go read Mike Lurrey’s paper. I await your comments. March 14th, 2006 | 42 comments - (Comments are closed)
Rand Simberg pointed me to the prototype of a real tricorder which may be on the Christmas gift list for 2010. March 14th, 2006 | 2 comments - (Comments are closed)
I take the greatest of pride in reporting the Danish cartoons are to be republished in The Blanket here in Belfast over the coming weeks. One of the two major papers in the city, The Belfast Telegraph, has published an interview with a representative of the site. They report Mr McIntyre expects this will provoke a reaction but told them it was important to stand up against religious fundamentalism:
The Belfast Telegraph says The Blanket journal is “known for its anti-establishment views and takes a wide range of contributions on the current political scene in Northern Ireland as well as other world events.” Kudos to the Tele for making it news and to The Blanket for having goolies enough to lift a middle finger to the anti-liberal forces of darkness. PS: Our more cowardly journalistic brethren on the other side of the Irish Sea don’t even have the guts to publish Mark Steyn! March 12th, 2006 | 20 comments - (Comments are closed)
First off, as if it is not entirely obvious, I am not the least bit unbiased about the album and people who made it as I have known most of them for fifteen years. Some of them are amongst my closest friends. With that said… if you like Irish traditional music, watch this space for information on how to buy “Tripswitch” the new album by Johnny McSherry, Donal O’Connor and friends. The tripswitch, by the way, was in a country town recording studio I know well. A ‘to remain un-named’ member of the band attempted to light a cigarette from the toaster and somehow managed to trip the main breaker. I have been led to believe the eponymous tune was composed in the dark whilst efforts were made to figure out what had happened. While I am on the subject of album release parties, if you are in New York City, another very dear friend, NIamh Parsons, has a release show for her new CD ‘The Old Simplicity,’ on Tuesday March 14 7:30PM at the Cutting Room, 19 W.24th St. But now back to Belfast on on with the fun and festivities! → Continue reading: Tripswitch album release party March 11th, 2006 | 11 comments - (Comments are closed)
SpaceX has been working towards the first launch of its Falcon since late last summer. First they were delayed by a blacksat launch window which caused them to shift operations from Vandenberg to Kwajalein Island. This winter they had the pressurization test accident that caused a fuel tank to crumple. Everything I have been hearing says this month could finally be it. Best wishes and godspeed to Elon and his crew. You can download their information pack (just published yesterday) on the upcoming maiden flight from here. March 11th, 2006 | 3 comments - (Comments are closed)
|
   |
||||
All content on this website (including text, photographs, audio files, and any other original works), unless otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons License. |
|||||