50 years ago Americans were golfing on the moon and hamming for the cameras. Today they can’t make low earth orbit without mulish, stubborn catastrophic failures. Of the two recent moon landers, one fell over on its side, and one successfully landed. Last week Elon’s Starship exploded again. He just shrugged and said they’ll have another one going up in 4 to 6 weeks. Apparently there was a failure in one the fuel management plumbing systems and one of the engines exploded. They *think*.
Now…I know enough about flying machines only to be dangerous. I am talking out of my arse. But.. Hell’s bells - lookit the bloody engines on this beast:
Starship is currently running the Raptor 2 engine. Lookit all that garbage and plumbing n’ corruption bolted on to it! That looks like something Jack or Cederq would build! And you’re going to literally put tons of dynamic harmonic loads on it? Rocket engines are so elegantly simple in concept and operation - the Raptor 2 looks like it was built by harelip retards. Somebody should be spanked - flogged for the Raptor 1! That thing’s a mechanical abortion that gives me a headache just looking at it!
I’m not so sure this is an enstupidification or DEI problem. This looks like a failure of the KISS concept. The Raptor 3 design does away with all that junk on the previous versions. The tall foreheads are saying that this simpler engine will eliminate the parts that caused the last Starship loss.
There’s been a lot a hot air coming out about the impending Artemis moon missions and how a big part of the mission profile is about putting diversity, rainbow flags and rubber dildos on the moon. I dunno but to me… putting a bunch of DEI flunkies on the moon with overly complex equipment like that…?
It’s not something I will want to watch…
Brother, Elon's way is: build it NOW, if it crashes, change it. But do it NOW. If you & I stand any chance of a vacay on the moon, it's Elon or nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe best part is NO part! The SIMPLER the BETTER!!! Look at the cars of the 70's and 80's and all the "life support" for emissions that was on them! Then look at the 1976 Honda Civic (the one I had). It had NONE of that crap! The Japs REDESIGNED the ENTIRE ENGINE to meet emissions standards. It ran SUPER LEAN. So lean, in fact, that it a spark plug would never ignite the mixture. The Japs' answer? A really small 2nd intake valve that let in a really small amount of RICH mixture. The spark plug lit off the rich mixture, which then ignited the lean mixture. Kind like the primer on a bullet! There was almost NOTHING to break on that car. I didn't even have a catalytic converter! It didn't NEED one!
ReplyDeleteThe exhaust smelled like a lit Coleman lantern! My '97 Jeep Wrangler is another one. It almost NEVER breaks down because there's almost nothing TO break down. When it comes to mechanisms, Less is ALWAYS better!
Raptor 1 looks like my car engine once the plastic covers are removed.
ReplyDeleteputting a bunch of DEI flunkies on the moon with overly complex equipment like that…?
ReplyDeleteIt’s not something I will want to watch…
That's because you're not thinking. Please note that I'm not adding a sardonic confirmation to my original thought. I'm trying to be nice about it. See?
Take engine number one, for instance. Now then, just imagine it's hooked up to its fuel tank, and you've got a pavement ape, a 450 pound (204 kg) she boon, and a drug running taco bender with $3000 worth of Craftsman hand tools, a cold twelve pack of Red Stripe beer and a spliff of Acapulco Gold. Order them to do an oil change and watch the fun develop. About the half-hour mark give them a book of directions and offer up a pound of c-notes if they get it all done in the next half-hour. Take bets on the minutes or fractions thereof before somebody really screws the pooch and we get the Big Bang!
...and show's over.
Air and space travel looking like the Indy Jones quip:
ReplyDeleteFly yes. Land, no.