Author Archives: billgamesh

The reality is that a certain demographic, I call them “The Ayn-Rand-in-Space Cult” are attracted to these forums as a way to shout their ideology from the mountaintops. Their interest in space is only incidental to their libertarian worldview. Anyone with any experience with this knows they are the most malicious toxic bunch on theContinue reading “What duties of non-maleficence do the affluent have to the poor? “

Over half a century ago the first flight of the Saturn V took place and this launch vehicle, more than any other in history, is the benchmark by which all others are measured. The five F-1 engines in the first stage generated over 7.5 million pounds of thrust and the million-pound-thrust second stage lifted overContinue reading “Death to SLS Must End”

It has been over half a century since the Saturn V flew. In terms of modern technology, a half a century is a long time. And while we begin to slowly return to the idea of there being best solutions, most of what was learned with that monumental machine is still not appreciated. What isContinue reading “Failed Concepts”

“The budget proposal includes $822 million for Mars Sample Return-“ “The proposal includes $224 million for development of commercial space stations-“ Over a billion dollars, and add another 3 billion for the space station to nowhere. 4 billion dollars that is not pointed at a lunar return. “President Joe Biden’s administration is announcing billions inContinue reading “Climate Change, Space Solar, and NASA”

The original comment was deleted so some of the verbage has changed- to be less offensive to the Musk Cult- and reposted: I don’t know how spending money on LEO stations can be justified, especially if they are going to be “commercial” since there is no ROI for anything but government research. It has alwaysContinue reading “The Battle Goes On”

The comments on several forums are being censored and disappearing. It was a good run but it appears to be over. The SpaceX fan club has hijacked it all. A few are still going up but that is likely to end. They will continue to be posted here as they appear but may not stayContinue reading “End of Comments”

Nuclear Thermal is a dead end.For a reaction a million times more powerful than chemicals a little more than double the Isp.For great expense the result is not proportional and a tremendous waste of resources. Stan Ulam, one of the great geniuses of the 20th century, realized that it was hard enough keeping a chemicalContinue reading “Still More Comments, so far”

I have to believe that at some point in the near future climate change is going to become the big issue for the human race. It will also become clear that it will be necessary to provide a western standard of living for a population of close to 10 billion. And the third step willContinue reading “SLS Hatred Day Two”

“There are very few people saying dismantle NASA and hand it over to commercial companies,-“ “-NASA has no business directly managing heavy lift anymore.” “-spend the money on fuel depots and the rockets that are already funded and have to make sense financially because they have to compete not just for government payloads but for commercialContinue reading “SLS Hatred Heats Up”

The new SpaceNews Comment Policy: We are a respectful community. Refrain from personal attacks, hate speech and profanity or you will be banned. “Approximately 130 known dwarf planets inhabit the trans-Neptunian region. Dwarf planets are the most common type of planet in the solar system, far outnumbering giant planets and terrestrial planets. They are also theContinue reading “Warning From Space!”