Jeff Greason
@JeffGreason
Would-be space settler who has to build the ships first
1/ I'm going to take a moment on this one, because this argument is ... wrong. During the Augustine Commission we had an actual study done. The argument is wrong because in a multiple launch architecture most of the launches are just propellant tanks and you have spares!
No more waiting for Godot. I got tired of waiting for Buck Godot @ZapGunForHire _The Gallimaufry_ in print; reading on a screen is too much like work. After legally purchasing the PDF copy, this is just back from the binders. Rest easy, @FoglioPhil I still wait eagerly the…
And even with much slower travel, say 25% of c, which we can see ways to do today, Alpha/Proxima Centauri is only 17 years away (probably closer to 25 when you add speeding up and slowing down), which isn't easy, but isn't impossible.
Our group focuses on near-term technologies for the first robotic forays beyond our solar system. But it’s worth addressing the oft-repeated claim: “The speed of light is a hard limit: You can’t travel to the stars in a lifetime, so it won’t happen. [1/9]
If you haven't read this, it's absolutely worth the read if you like hard SF and space opera. I loved it. Take the sale :)
On sale 80% off: Torchship: Mitchie Long is undercover as a freighter pilot, spying on a gov't which wants to maintain total control of all computers to prevent lethal AIs from spawning. amazon.com/Torchship-Karl… #ebook #KindleUnlimited #HardSF #scifi #sciencefiction #spaceopera
Basically, if you can't say "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" with a straight face, you have no business writing Superman.
Interesting study on a possible method for paleolithic human migration to East Asian islands. doi.org/10.1126/sciadv…
The capabilities now in, or on the threshold, of US companies *almost* give us a Lunar system. We're down to the point where a $3B first prize, $1B second prize for US boots on the moon privately might be enough to make it happen.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle…
Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite. Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. We have a great view above the clouds, so…
Does anyone know the ultimate source for these? I keep seeing snippets and I love them; want to watch the whole set.
Remember what I said about that peculiar restaurant predominantly in the south-eastern corner of the North American continent? Watch to the end. (See, AI is good for some things (well, more things than just cubes).)
Why are spaceflight's fundamental technology maturation worthy of government funding? Because, like it or not, transportation technologies are always deeply interlinked with national power. Roads move troops as well as food, navies rely on the industrial base for commercial…
This is one of the seldom spoken termites eating the foundation of the U.S. Urban centers did not used to dictate terms to the rural areas of their states; there was compromise -- a "republican form of government". Overturning this would go a long way to resurrecting that.
Reynolds v Sims ruined this country x.com/Oilfield_Rando…
I was reminded today that "technology is only funded for approved missions" and "missions won't be approved if they require new technology" is true in both NASA and DoD. People just assume that can't be fixed. I don't accept that. Does anyone know when this catch-22 started?
Just a beautiful twilight launch in Tucson from this. Pictures wouldn't have done it justice, but the whole first and second stage burn was just above and parallel to the horizon
ALERT🚨 A rare event will occur tonight, visible to much of SW USA and NW Mexico! A 'Twilight Effect' is possible with tonight's launch of SpaceX Starlink Mission 15-9! Current T-0 is set for 8:36 p.m. PT (0336 UTC) You won't want to miss this event! Below is an interactive…
I enjoyed "Spaceballs" but just couldn't imagine it happening again and being good. But I confess, I just got a glimmer of hope: fox6now.com/news/rick-mora…
I told you we’d be back
Basically all of Crichton’s novels are about people trying and failing to manage complex systems with unseen nth-order effects. Which is why, if you’re interested in strategy, they’re good intuition pumps.
Jurassic Park?
We've forgotten, as a society, what we have a NASA for. I keep speaking about it, but I'm just one person on the outside. We need someone in a leadership role to articulate it and take it seriously. NASA is "NACA for space" -- to mature the technologies which keep U.S.…
I think in the long run, we'll be OK. But this will be a very disruptive change. Because the most easily "LLM" automated jobs are among the 'scribe' class that fancies itself our natural rulers -- bureaucrats, middle managers, lawyers, academics, etc. And they will not go…
AI White Collar Bloodbath Incoming
Just lovely. Titan is one of the most fascinating places to consider boots on the regolith in the Solar System; we just need better transportation to get there and back!
NASA Science is art! The painting of Dragonfly on Titan that I commissioned from space artist Simon Kregar arrived. It is absolutely stunning in person.