According to Aviation Week, NASA is considering paying $150 million to "man rate" an interim upper stage on the "Senate Launch System" heavy lift booster. "Man Rating" is a pure paperwork exercise, checking and recording where every bit, piece, nut, and bolt came from, and what testing it passed. Paperwork costs a lot, weighs a lot, and does not contribute to the mission.
But NASA is in love with it.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Words of the Weasel Part 40
Heard on a TV pill commercial. "Issues with intimacy". Ordinary folk say "Can't get it up."
Ballista
Pre gun powder artillery used by the Greeks and the Romans. Looked like a giant crossbow mounted on a stand. Could throw bolts or softball sized rocks. Only, it differed from the crossbow in that it didn't use a self bow (single stiff piece of wood or metal bent to shoot an arrow). The classical ballista had a skein of stretchy cord or fiber or human hair, into which a wooden arm was pressed. Pulling back the arm wound up the skein and when let go, the arm was snapped forcefully back into position, launching the projectile. Ballista had a pair of skeins and a pair of arms.
The secret of making those skeins, getting the windings stretchy enough, was lost in classical times. Later medievals used the trebuchet, a weight powered stone thrower, since no one could make a ballista any more. Modern attempts to recreate the classical ballista have never been able to make skeins stretchy enough.
Well, on TV, the History channel, they had a working ballista the other day. Looked pretty good, shot pretty well. They used an old cow skull as a target and had no trouble hitting it dead center with a bolt nearly as big as a modern javelin. Slick. They used a cop's speed radar gun to clock the projectile at 70 mph.
The History channel didn't say anything about the skeins they used. Did they rediscover the ancient secret to making them? Or did they cheat and use modern rubber bungee cord, something unobtainable in classic times?
Any how it made some fun TV.
The secret of making those skeins, getting the windings stretchy enough, was lost in classical times. Later medievals used the trebuchet, a weight powered stone thrower, since no one could make a ballista any more. Modern attempts to recreate the classical ballista have never been able to make skeins stretchy enough.
Well, on TV, the History channel, they had a working ballista the other day. Looked pretty good, shot pretty well. They used an old cow skull as a target and had no trouble hitting it dead center with a bolt nearly as big as a modern javelin. Slick. They used a cop's speed radar gun to clock the projectile at 70 mph.
The History channel didn't say anything about the skeins they used. Did they rediscover the ancient secret to making them? Or did they cheat and use modern rubber bungee cord, something unobtainable in classic times?
Any how it made some fun TV.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Hypothetical Questions
The TV newsies are having great fun asking Republicans "Knowing what we know now, would you have attacked Iraq?". The newsies love this one. No matter which way the candidate answers this one, it makes him look bad. We haven't had as good a question since "have you stopped beating your wife" made the rounds.
No Republican wants to say Bush was wrong going into Iraq. Everyone knows it was the threat of an Iraqi nuclear program that convinced Bush and the Congress to declare war on Iraq. Back in the day, our noble intelligence services produced evidence of a Saddam Hussein bomb program strong enough to convince even Colin Powell, an experienced and respected man who most of us trusted. After the invasion, no evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program was discovered, and to the credit of the Bush administration, no attempt to fabricate evidence was attempted. Today, knowing that Saddam didn't have nukes, and wasn't anywhere close to having nukes, nobody would have invaded Iraq. Everyone knows that, and there is little to be gained in asking the question, other than embarrassing Republicans, something which the average TV newsie loves to do.
Better questions to ask all candidates.
1. What will you do about ISIS?
2. What will you do to prevent Iran from getting nukes?
3. What will you do to get US economic growth back up to 3%?
4. What job killing regulations will you repeal?
No Republican wants to say Bush was wrong going into Iraq. Everyone knows it was the threat of an Iraqi nuclear program that convinced Bush and the Congress to declare war on Iraq. Back in the day, our noble intelligence services produced evidence of a Saddam Hussein bomb program strong enough to convince even Colin Powell, an experienced and respected man who most of us trusted. After the invasion, no evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program was discovered, and to the credit of the Bush administration, no attempt to fabricate evidence was attempted. Today, knowing that Saddam didn't have nukes, and wasn't anywhere close to having nukes, nobody would have invaded Iraq. Everyone knows that, and there is little to be gained in asking the question, other than embarrassing Republicans, something which the average TV newsie loves to do.
Better questions to ask all candidates.
1. What will you do about ISIS?
2. What will you do to prevent Iran from getting nukes?
3. What will you do to get US economic growth back up to 3%?
4. What job killing regulations will you repeal?
Fox News is being kind to the Pentagon
A crash in Hawaii of a V22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft was described as a helicopter crash. It killed one marine, and injured about 20 more. The Osprey program, while producing a revolutionary aircraft, has had a good share of crashes, and the Pentagon must be more than happy to call this latest one a helicopter crash. And, to soften things a bit more, the incident was described as a "hard landing", even as the video showed a column of black smoke, laced with flames, reaching into the sky. Right, a very hard landing.
The tilt-rotor Osprey combines the vertical takeoff and landing of a helicopter with the forward speed of a turboprop transport like a C-130. It's been in development for 20 years or more, and now in service. It costs a bundle. An argument could be made (has been made) that ordinary helicopters like the Jolly Green are cheaper, more dependable, their range could be extended by the use of air-to-air refueling, to give the same airlift for less money. The Marines like the Osprey and backed it all the way thru the various hurdles set up by the Pentagon to kill the program. Without the steadfast support of the Marine Corps, Osprey would never have made it to production.
I'm sure the Marine Corps is giving thanks to Fox New's support today.
The tilt-rotor Osprey combines the vertical takeoff and landing of a helicopter with the forward speed of a turboprop transport like a C-130. It's been in development for 20 years or more, and now in service. It costs a bundle. An argument could be made (has been made) that ordinary helicopters like the Jolly Green are cheaper, more dependable, their range could be extended by the use of air-to-air refueling, to give the same airlift for less money. The Marines like the Osprey and backed it all the way thru the various hurdles set up by the Pentagon to kill the program. Without the steadfast support of the Marine Corps, Osprey would never have made it to production.
I'm sure the Marine Corps is giving thanks to Fox New's support today.
Rumble in Waco Texas
Sounds like the boys really went to town, 9 dead, coupla hundred arrests. NHPR this morning had some reporter speculating about a "motive". Right. You don't need a motive for a gang rumble.
You get a bunch of gang members together, be they motorcycle gangs or just plain gangs, and some gang member will take offense at something, and pretty quick the fight is on. No motive involved, just a bunch of touchy gang members bumping into each other. Sounds like that NHPR reporter went to a nice tame suburban school and never had to lay low in the lunch room when the gang kids turned up.
You get a bunch of gang members together, be they motorcycle gangs or just plain gangs, and some gang member will take offense at something, and pretty quick the fight is on. No motive involved, just a bunch of touchy gang members bumping into each other. Sounds like that NHPR reporter went to a nice tame suburban school and never had to lay low in the lunch room when the gang kids turned up.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Airbus A400M crashes in Spain
A production Airbus A400M turboprop military transport crashed during flight testing in Spain. This is gonna hurt Airbus, the A400M project is late, over budget, and customers have threatened to bail out of the program and buy C-130's from the US.
What's more embarrasing, preliminary inspection shows that the computer engine control system screwed up and shut off fuel to the engines for no good reason.
Aviation Week has a write up here.
What's more embarrasing, preliminary inspection shows that the computer engine control system screwed up and shut off fuel to the engines for no good reason.
Aviation Week has a write up here.
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