Jeff Bezos is not a net positive to humanity. If we ignored people like him, the world would be a better place...
Hey dont tell these neo-technofeuds that their north star example of "success" is anything but souplesse..!!!
New Glenn Update
91–100 of 154 posts
Re: New Glenn Update
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because the falcon boosters have to be road transportable.
The fairings aren't constrained to the diameter of the booster, they already have a larger diameter than the booster. The small size of the Falcon Heavy fairing is probably due to the fact that they are the same size as the Falcon fairing, and it was designed when Falcon could throw < 1/2 the mass it can currently throw, let alone the Falcon Heavy.
Theoretically the fairing could be any size, but there is a limit to how much bigger than the rocket it can be.
Re: New Glenn Update
#93I REALLY wish they would stop displaying ft, mi, lbs. It actually angers me.
I split my time between Europe and the US, and I am totally not convinced that metric is better.
Some things are ridiculously better in the imperial system - like temperature: In Fahrenheit, 0 is roughly the coldest mean day in densely inhabited areas, and 100 is the hottest. In Metric, 0 is the freezing point of water at sea level in ambient temperatures and with a low barometer reading, 100 is boiling in the same conditions.
Since I measure weather much more frequently than I measure water temps, I am driven cukoo by the silly Centigrade system.
Also, The splitting into 12 used by the foot is more useful, in my experience, than the ten of the metric. In fact, I strongly decry that we teach our kids to use base 10 instead of the much more efficient and easier to divde into fractions of base 12. (You can teach kids to count joints on thier fingers [using the thumb as a pointer] to get to 12x12 on two hands, and give the kids a headstart on fractions, multiplication and division, but I digress..)
On the other hand, having both an Imperial Gallon and a US Gallon, etc, where the same word is used for different amounts, now THAT is insane.
Re: New Glenn Update
#94This is also good news for SpaceX. Satellite and payload designers generally design to common fairing sizes so they have a choice in launch providers. The 8.7m 9x4 fairing is similar to the 9m Starship fairing so more designers will now be designing payloads that use the full Starship capacity.
Such standardization will set a design envelope for the Golden Dome weapons..
Shh. Forget the physical limits. Just tell him that everyone is working on his golden hat idea. Thats what everyone did the last time an old man demanded space lasers. In a few years, one way or another, someone new will come along who might understand math well enough that we can explain why it wont work.
Re: New Glenn Update
#95I REALLY wish they would stop displaying ft, mi, lbs. It actually angers me.
I split my time between Europe and the US, and I am totally not convinced that metric is better. Some things are ridiculously better in the imperial system - like temperature: In Fahrenheit, 0 is roughly the coldest mean day in densely inhabited areas, and 100 is the hottest. In Metric, 0 is the freezing point of water at sea level in ambient temperatures and with a low barometer reading, 100 is boiling in the same c…
Imperial is more familiar to you. You could just have said that.
Everybody hates swapping between units of measurement. You pick one and stick with it. It's natural having the need to move between two measurement systems irritates you.
>I measure weather much more frequently than I measure water temps,
In cold climates water temp is actually the most important thing to know about the weather by a long shot. The freezing point tells you if it's wet or dry, slippery or non-slippery.
Re: New Glenn Update
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, though I think the real winner here is the customers. The New Glenn 9x4 has a higher targeted payload capacity that an expended Falcon Heavy. Mission design takes years, and payload mass is the most important constraining factor. So it'd now be fairly reasonable approach to start building now for 9x4's constraints, and then fly on it or Starship depending on readiness and price. If customers start doing this…
> Falcon 9x1, or the Starship 33x6. ...and we'd be back to steam engine wheel formulas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whyte_notation
Though not identical, more commonly well known are the 4x2 and 4x4 designations for vehicle drive wheel specification.
Re: New Glenn Update
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
By "some countries" you mean United States, Liberia, and Myanmar
In India, decades after metric, many will only understand feet and inches for height, length etc.. Think it's the same in many Asian countries, though some have moved on. But miles has gone out of fashion. Pounds too..
Science progresses one funeral at a time.
Re: New Glenn Update
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
The fairings aren't constrained to the diameter of the booster, they already have a larger diameter than the booster. The small size of the Falcon Heavy fairing is probably due to the fact that they are the same size as the Falcon fairing, and it was designed when Falcon could throw < 1/2 the mass it can currently throw, let alone the Falcon Heavy.
Theoretically the fairing could be any size, but there is a limit to how much bigger than the rocket it can be.
I'm sure there's a limit, but it's not really that big an effect as you'd think. The fairing is lifted almost entirely by the first stage, and as SpaceX increased confidence in the landings they were able to reduce to fuel margins, leaving move for a heavier fairing. The aerodynamic effects are secondary to the added weight, and are only a really a bother for a few seconds at max q. In fact, the larger volume to surface area makes designing for max q easier in some respects, such as audio energy.
Re: New Glenn Update
#99I REALLY wish they would stop displaying ft, mi, lbs. It actually angers me.
I split my time between Europe and the US, and I am totally not convinced that metric is better. Some things are ridiculously better in the imperial system - like temperature: In Fahrenheit, 0 is roughly the coldest mean day in densely inhabited areas, and 100 is the hottest. In Metric, 0 is the freezing point of water at sea level in ambient temperatures and with a low barometer reading, 100 is boiling in the same c…
I've always found the weather argument somewhat unconvincing, because 0°C being the freezing point of water is very much a useful point of reference in weather contexts - it's roughly where one may expect iced-over pavements and rain to turn to snow! And then the higher temperatures are a question of getting used to it - 40°C instead of 100°F is very very warm, 30 is pretty hot, 20 is reasonably warm, etc.
But then I grew up with Celsius, so no wonder I'm used to it!
Re: New Glenn Update
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why use English instead of Esperanto?
I don't understand why this is being downvoted. I would love if metric were used universally, but I don't really see any difference between that and wanting a single language to be used universally. In fact, the cost of different languages is certainly much higher than different systems of units. Converting between systems of units is just trivial arithmetic after all.
Because SI units are part of the language of science and communicating about rockets involves the language of science.