Monthly Archives: March 2013

Lunar Launch Cannon

Launching material off the moon for use in space is a problem in itself. Many methods are feasible technically. Far less are economically sound. Sending the propellant from Earth for instance is something that should only be done for the … Continue reading

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Lunar Building Extruder

There is much discussion on the best habitat to deliver to the Moon. Dragons, inflatables, and modified propellant tanks as well as methods for renovating lava tubes are really just a start on the discussion. There have been a number … Continue reading

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SFalconLS

Just a quick thought for fun. Suppose some execs got together and had a solid commercial business case for heavy launch ASAP. ATK supplies well tested Shuttle four segment SRBs to mate with current Falcon 9 equipment. Two SRBs are … Continue reading

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Oldspace Arrogance and SLS

Jason Rian at the blog Americaspace just ran a series on Newspace trolls and the damage they do to the industry. There were four posts total with Newspace hatred starting and newspace troll tactics for the next three. His theme … Continue reading

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Mars and Snowballs, Whodunnit Recently?

The recent impactor discussions brought up about  the comet that may hit Mars brought to mind some vaguely remembered ideas about terraforming Mars. Volatile rich bodies are directed at Mars to give it an atmosphere of the resulting gasses. If … Continue reading

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Pressure Fed Pumps

Robert Steinke of Speed Up suggested using a self pressurizing propellant to drive a pump for a less pressurized propellant. In this case nitrous at about 800 psi is vaporized to pump a fuel up to some pressure in between … Continue reading

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Crew Safety Perspective

There’s been a lot of discussion over the past year or two on a few blogs (this one, Transterrestrial Musings, and also Wayne Hale’s blog, among several others) about the proper level of emphasis on crew safety for commercial crew … Continue reading

Posted in Commercial Crew, Commercial Space, COTS, NASA, Space Policy, Space Safety, Space Transportation | 28 Comments

Dinokiller Eight Ball

  If a dinokoller asteroid was spotted on collision course for Earth with impact in the next ten years, it would be a race to divert it. I happen to disagree with many of my friends here that everyone would … Continue reading

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Dinokiller Toolbox

In the gravity tractor post, there seemed to be some misconception that there is One True Way to accomplish a given goal. I think this is a mistake. We need as many different options as we can get if this … Continue reading

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