Tags: spacex

The Lunacy of Artemis (Idle Words)

Maciej rips NASA’s Artemis programme a new one:

Advocates for Artemis insist that the program is more than Apollo 2.0. But as we’ll see, Artemis can’t even measure up to Apollo 1.0. It costs more, does less, flies less frequently, and exposes crews to risks that the steely-eyed missile men of the Apollo era found unacceptable. It’s as if Ford in 2024 released a new model car that was slower, more accident-prone, and ten times more expensive than the Model T.

When a next-generation lunar program can’t meet the cost, performance, or safety standards set three generations earlier, something has gone seriously awry.

Twenty minutes after SpaceX mission CRS-6 launched from Florida’s space coast, it passed over England.

Jessica and I were outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of it.

“There it is!” I cried, pointing at a bright fast moving light. In moments, we saw another bright dot, then another and another—the jettisoned solar panel covers travelling along the same trajectory.

Looking up from the surface of my home planet at this new orbital traveller, I was reminded of grainy black and white footage of crowds waving flags at the launch of ocean liners at the turn of the last century.

I spent the day in London. As my train arrived back in Brighton, it was enveloped in a chilly fog. The whole town was bedecked in an eerie seaside mist—not an uncommon Brighton phenomenon.

Fortunately the fog cleared by the time the ISS made its way across the sky this evening. It was a beautiful sight.

I was hoping to also look for a Dragon capsule on its resupply mission shortly afterwards. Alas, the launch was scrubbed. I got lucky with the weather; SpaceX, not so much.

Perhaps tomorrow will bring better fortune. I’ll be looking to the sky.

Flickr: Official SpaceX Photos’ Photostream

SpaceX has a Flickr account, and you have permission to use these photos.

Grasshopper Divert | Single Cam - YouTube

Forget Hyperloop: this is some truly mindblowing technology from Elon Musk. In this latest test, the Grasshopper from SpaceX shows off its lateral movement for a reusable rocket.

Combine that with the sheer power of Falcon Heavy and you’ve got some amazing design and engineering.