Oh, that reminds me - I’ve been working on something related to this, talking to actual rocket scientists, astrophysicists, etc. I’ll be able to post something of it in a little while, once it’s all done.
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She’s dead, Jim.
Tis a sad day for Mars but the rover lived far longer than expected. Opportunity will be remembered.
Falcon Heavy launch in 10 minutes? Let’s do this!
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That was a crazy launch and landing. I feel like I need a whole mission control just to see all the views and data there is to get.
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I’m very interested in the minor flurry of Starlink satellite blowback. It seems to me a lot of concern over some lights in the night sky making it hard for amateur astronomers to see the stars so clearly. Meanwhile every other part of our environment is disrupted by evidence of human technological progress. Every time I look up at the blue sky it is covered in contrails. Every time I look out to sea it is covered in ships. Ever time I look at almost any country view it is covered in electricity pylons. If I want to see the star, I typically can’t, because of light pollution. There is no option to live in the world without seeing technology. Only in Antarctica have I seen a sky empty of contrails, and in the week after 9/11.
I’m not even sure how much of an issue this will be for astronomers doing actual science, because missing these starlink satellites will just be one more minor factor in the computer control of their telescopes. Long exposure photos of large parts of the sky will be compromised, but those are already photoshopped, and removing satellite streaks will just be one more filter.
I’m not interested in arguing with people who don’t want moving points of light in the night sky, but I do find the objections and the viewpoint interesting.
From the astronomers and astrophysicists I follow on Twitter it does seem that there is some preliminary concern for professional/academic astronomy as well. I say preliminary because it seems like there are more questions than verified answers at this point. Though I do find it odd that no concerns appeared before the launch and I wonder if it is possible to coat future satellites in this application or similar in a non-reflective coating and try to reduce the reflectivity or if the potential glare is going to be an issue regardless.
So far this is the only closeup video of SpaceX’s first Starhopper hop. That raptor engine is bonkers!
It’s hard to see how high the rocket flew, but it certainly moved sideways 20m, if not up 20m.
Space Crime!
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It’s behind a paywall. Do you have a summary of the crimes?
Ms. Worden put her intelligence background to work, asking her bank about the locations of computers that had recently accessed her bank account using her login credentials.
[…]
Ms. McClain acknowledged that she had accessed the bank account from space, insisting through a lawyer that she was merely shepherding the couple’s still-intertwined finances. Ms. Worden felt differently. She filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and her family lodged one with NASA’s Office of Inspector General, accusing Ms. McClain of identity theft and improper access to Ms. Worden’s private financial records.
Worden sounds like she may legally have some claim, but McClain also paints her somewhat unfavorably. If she’s telling the truth it’s hard to say McClain is in the wrong exactly.
Space jumpsuits look so good. People should just wear them around on Earth.
Best explanation I’ve read for addressing the Fermi paradox (where are they?). From real scientists.
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