el_zorro

7 ms·

1.
by el_zorro 11y ago
The corrosion from the salt water would completely ruin the engines, obviating any benefits from returning the first stage.
2.
by el_zorro 11y ago
The utility here is not really landing on other planets, but instead the order of magnitude decrease in launch costs if they don't have to build a new first stage for every launch.
3.
by el_zorro 11y ago
It has to do with the payload mass. If it's too massive, it won't have enough fuel to return to the launch site, so they do a landing at sea.
4.
by el_zorro 11y ago
I'm wondering if there's been something lost in translation there, though. The word, in Western understanding, means holy war, but a more apt translation is "struggle", in the same connotation that one would struggle wit
5.
by el_zorro 11y ago
I just completed a degree in physics from his university, actually. I can think of a few reasons: 1. He wanted to be 100% sure about the data and not rush it, especially if it could be an error with the instruments 2. He has funding for oth
6.
by el_zorro 11y ago
I'm mostly just curious about who would enforce the ban. Is there really any enforcement agency that will police the others, when they all benefit from surveillance? I just don't trust that we could ever really be sure that it&#x2
7.
by el_zorro 11y ago
Mars would almost certainly require a small rocket to get to orbit, but it would be trivially sized compared to what we need on Earth. Even something as small as the Atlas rockets that brought the first Americans to space would probably be
8.
by el_zorro 11y ago
I don't think it is so much an issue of ability so much as desire. Most of the tech has been dreamed up for decades, but it needs funding and a green light (particularly the nuclear reactor, given that there were protests about even Cu
9.
by el_zorro 12y ago
I'm going to ignore so many things in this post and just point out that there is not enough material in the asteroid belt to create another planet. All said, the asteroid belt is about 4.5% the mass of the moon, or a quarter of Pluto [
10.
by el_zorro 12y ago
I think you fundamentally misunderstand the statistics and distances involved here. Millions of civilizations? Only if you take the most optimistic of all statistical stretches. I personally think that there are at most a dozen civilization
11.
by el_zorro 12y ago
The diameter actually does have an effect on where geostationary orbit is: it changes how fast the surface is spinning, and hence the orbital speed needed for a stationary orbit. Mars spins once every 24 hours 37 minutes. If the diameter wa
12.
by el_zorro 12y ago
I think it's more about the literal action of building on sand. It erodes quickly and hence requires upkeep (dredging from where it flows to, and restocking where it flows from). Sand also has a nasty habit of liquefying during earthqu
13.
by el_zorro 12y ago
Right now, SpaceX can (and does) have access to that limited market by selling off payload on current launches. It's cheaper to just bootstrap on to an existing flight than dedicating an entire rocket to a small mission. If and when th
14.
by el_zorro 12y ago
I'm very skeptical of the market they're targeting. SpaceX used to cover that same payload capacity with the Falcon 1 [0] rocket, but discontinued it since no one bought any. Maybe things have changed in the past few years, but I
15.
by el_zorro 12y ago
I'm really curious how you think this will solve anything. Children of wealthy parents don't have to inherit anything to have advantages that most poor children could only dream of. That is, unless you somehow abolish parents usin
16.
by el_zorro 12y ago
True, but rarely do mathematical proofs translate into physical proofs.
17.
by el_zorro 12y ago
The problem is that, in practice, there is no way to guarantee that you have actually eliminated every possibility. There are ways to constrain the answer within physics, but that doesn't always mean you have an explanation. Besides, w
18.
by el_zorro 12y ago
I am sorry you were downvoted (particularly because you were called a shill for daring to voice your reasonable opinion). There is a doom-and-gloom mentality on this site; people seem like they want the end-of-days. I noted, as you did, t
19.
by el_zorro 13y ago
The quote at the end of the article really struck me: "We are as gods, and might as well get good at it." I think that this is something that everyone involved with technology and science should think about. The fear of what we ca
20.
The three myths of global poverty - 2014 Gates Annual Letter(annualletter.gatesfoundation.org)
1 points by el_zorro 13y ago|0 comments
21.
by el_zorro 13y ago
The other important thing to do is to consider what would happen in the aftermath. Who wants to deal with that mess? Unification will be expensive and will take decades. Reintegration in Germany is still ongoing, and East Germany wasn'
22.
by el_zorro 13y ago
I had at first put the 12kg max from the first figure, but on re-read I saw the water vapor pressure could have a balloon go as heavy as 35kg. It would makes sense that helium (or more preferably hydrogen) would work better. I suppose I sho
23.
by el_zorro 13y ago
Yes - so long as the payload was very light. We're talking maybe 35kg here[0]. [0] http://eoss.org/eoss043/EOSS43summary.pdf
24.
by el_zorro 13y ago
You are very right - I forgot to mention those. They tend to be a lot more feasible than fixed-wing aircraft, and their ability to land and take samples makes them even more useful.
25.
by el_zorro 13y ago
Orbit isn't about going up - it's about going sideways so fast that the planet curves away just as fast as you fall towards it. While you can use the atmosphere to lift yourself up to a certain extent, it doesn't help you ach
26.
by el_zorro 13y ago
A drone plane has been considered, although the technical feasibility isn't really there. Mars has less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure that Earth does, so a drone would have to fly very fast to get to proper lift. This comes at a
27.
by el_zorro 13y ago
However, the lack of any hydrology on the surface of the moon means that ore veins will no exist, at least not at any level of purity that would warrant extraction. On Earth and Mars, running water has sorted minerals for us. The only thing
28.
by el_zorro 13y ago
Beyond glory is the incredible potential of the Martian gravity well for future commerce. Ease of access to orbit and the asteroid belt will make Mars a hub for space-based industry. In addition, prior hydrology on Mars means that it has mi
29.
by el_zorro 13y ago
You are very right - I fully understand why people would want to stay behind! I'm very passionate about this, though, and I tend to get grouchy when people argue against doing it at all. If they don't want to go, that's fine,
30.
by el_zorro 13y ago
Excellent run-down of the situation. Additionally, the asteroid belt is figuratively next-door, and the reduced launch costs from the surface only make it easier to reach. Mars will be the center of future space commerce, not Earth.

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