Re: Podcasts

"Conflicted" is really good, and tangentially military given that it mostly relates to conflicts and conflict zones. Season 1 is a rundown of the War on Terror and its ramifications through a conversation with Aimen Dean who was a double agent within Al Qaeda and then worked in banking tra...

Re: Boeing Starliner CST-100 Abort Test

Blimey, I had a friend die in the crash of a small aircraft precisely because of a pin that was not properly inserted and impossible to visually inspect. Reading the same basic thing coming up in the failure of a safety system (albeit in a test) of an aircraft designed almost 50 years later has hit ...

Re: Unexplained Russian Explosion

MH370 didn´t have a 100MW or so beacon shouting "look at me, shoot at me" during its whole flight. This is something I've seen taken as assumed in this thread. I may well have missed it, but i there any evidence that this cruise missile is being designed for high speed flight requiring an...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

Considering how close it was to the boat it looks like a single engine went out a single digit amount of seconds too early. So by any measure that's incredibly close. I wonder if this is one of their less preferred failure types. The descent profile has the booster aiming for a spot some way from t...

Re: Fly past for crew of Mi Amigo on 75th anniversary of their loss

I walked through that park going to school every day, walking on a parallel path to the Mi Amigo memorial and never knew it was there. This was a lovely tribute, I'm sorry to no longer live close enough to have been there.

Re: Nuclear warhead-free ICBMs

I'd be concerned that any country detecting incoming ICBMs won't have any way to determine whether they are conventionally or nuclear armed, and they or their allies would therefore be highly likely to react accordingly for nuclear incoming. This could be very very bad for everyone concerned, and I'...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

According to Elon Musk on Twitter, this is what happened: "Grid fin hydraulic pump stalled, so Falcon landed just out to sea. Appears to be undamaged & is transmitting data. Recovery ship dispatched." Scott Manley then asks him if there's only one hydraulic pump, and Musk answers: &qu...

Re: Progress Launch caught by ISS HD Cam

A beautiful sight. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy watching it.

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

......... ,the Starship (Enterprise) never did land on any planet surface now did it?? Veridian III ? OK, it was a "you have to walk away" from kind of landing. :-) Voyager did, all the time it seemed for a while. And they kept using the same animation sequence also :D. This renaming busi...

Re: Top Gun 2: Maverick - Aircraft, filming, production & rumors thread

LMP737 wrote:

A more realistic movie would be Mav flying for an airline on his second or possibly third marriage.

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

That's a funky looking boat. I'm guessing that this is so that they can catch 2 fairings on thee net and not need a 2nd boat. Have one aim for the left side of the net and the other for the right. It is such a huge increase in area, I wonder if that is in part so that the approach paths are entirely...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

I'm pretty sure they remove the legs when they put it on the trailer for sending off for inspection. So they would have then reattached the legs before launch. Most likely the software and such expects the legs. So while they may be dead weight it reduces risk. Maybe in the future they'll come up w...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

Can you show where this info came from, "but given that we know this is a military payload". The only thing I have read is that no one agency has claimed ownership on the Zuma. I did read that the NRO has said it is not their's. Perhaps that was laziness on my part, I certainly didn't mea...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

Thanks Nomadd, that makes perfect sense.

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

Going back to the Zuma situation...if the payload adaptor failed to release, wouldn't the 2nd stage and payload still be in full orbit at that time, and thus trackable? I suppose the 2nd stage could be commanded to de-orbit the whole lot after the failure, but I can't imagine them wanting to do that...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

Thanks @flyingturtle very interesting! :) I guess I might play Kerbal a bit... :) Kerbal Space Program will do wonders for understanding the basics of orbital mechanics. It helped me understand the basics of this stuff so much more. Going from ROCKETS ARE COOL to more, And this is why rockets are c...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

More pictures, link will only work for those on Facebook but I guess SpaceX will have posted them elsewhere too.

Re: The Burans Engines

I'm guessing that the Buran's engines are primarily for orbital maneuvering after the ENERGIA has done the job of getting it into orbit initially. Basically adjusting orbits, de-orbit burns and such.

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

Would it be possible to use a heat shield? I'd think that this kind of tech might be the way to go for a 2nd stage. But I'm probably wrong because SpaceX keep proving me wrong (which is awesome). I had been thinking that the fairing halves would always be way beyond economic recovery and that in 20...

Re: Swarming UAV footage released

I guess the point is that you can have a couple of crates of electronic components and a crate of each of the 3d print build mediums with a few printers and have all you need to quickly make 100s of these things in the field in a much more logistically convenient way than shipping 100s of the drones...

Re: Blue Origin Test Flight

That is the point that Musk has tried to make a few times (somewhat inelegantly I think, a bit too much hubris in him perhaps - earned but still). The New Shepard is just going straight up and then falling back down. It is not doing the extensive navigating that the F9 booster must do to complete i...

Re: Blue Origin Test Flight

I find it interesting that the booster landing strategy is very different from the SpaceX approach. The thing literally hovers for a short while before settling down. SpaceX's strategy is to aim right, come in hot and do one mighty retro boost just above the pad. Falcon booster is much larger, I im...

Re: Rosetta's Philae Probe Has Landed On A Comet!

I feel an XKCD is needed.


Well done Rosetta, Mission accomplished!

Re: Help a Writer Out?

There are plenty roles other than fighter jock that military pilots can have in a conflict zone, but perhaps narrowing down a suitably plausible path for your character could benefit from knowing a bit more about what you need. If your character is deeply affected by the things that they have seen, ...

RE: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/maxter" class="quote" target="_blank">maxter</a> (<a href="#176" class="quote">Reply 176</a>):<br/><i>Yes I wait for the day we get an unobsured...

RE: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYZLxr3L4E

Skip to the 29 minute mark if you want to see the landing only.

RE: Turkish Jets Chased Away By Fighter Jets

I've just had a search around and couldn't find anything relevant so asking here, does the F16 have some sort of extendable stair that can be deployed from the cockpit? If not I'd imagine it would be pretty much impossible for the pilot to get back into the aircraft on the old airfield after the ATM...

RE: SpaceX's Grasshopper

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/2T2X1" class="quote" target="_blank">2T2X1</a> (<a href="#152" class="quote">Reply 152</a>):<br/><i>I wonder if the available fuel would allow f...

RE: SpaceX's Grasshopper

https://vine.co/v/euEpIVegiIx

Video of the landing here, they were much much closer to success this time, perhaps without such massive last moment corrections becoming necessary it would have worked out perfectly.

RE: Military Fighter Planes - Any Cargo Hold?

I seem to remember an incident where a US<acronym title="Air France">AF</acronym> jet (I think it was an F-4 but I'm uncertain and my google-fu isn't up to finding specifics at the moment) was returning to it's UK home base from Germany where the radar had been removed for overhaul. The empty radome...

RE: Rosetta's Philae Probe Has Landed On A Comet!

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/dvautier" class="quote" target="_blank">dvautier</a> (<a href="#32" class="quote">Reply 32</a>):<br/><i> I think that something that weighs a fe...

RE: Rosetta's Philae Probe Has Landed On A Comet!

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/KarelXWB" class="quote" target="_blank">KarelXWB</a> (<a href="#20" class="quote">Reply 20</a>):<br/><i>Quoting GST (Reply 19): It gets 1.5 hour...

RE: Rosetta's Philae Probe Has Landed On A Comet!

It gets 1.5 hours of sunlight over the course of the comet's approximately 12 hour day. Not nearly enough to run continuously or anything like it, but given that it can go into a charging "standby" mode I would be amazed if they do not continue to get data from it from time to time. We can hope that...

RE: Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two Had An Anomaly

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/dtw2hyd" class="quote" target="_blank">dtw2hyd</a> (<a href="#57" class="quote">Reply 57</a>):<br/><i>Spaceship program proved that the old theo...

RE: Canada's Last Airworthy Avro Lancaster Off To UK

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/prebennorholm" class="quote" target="_blank">prebennorholm</a> (<a href="#25" class="quote">Reply 25</a>):<br/><i> It makes sense because, if I ...

RE: Canada's Last Airworthy Avro Lancaster Off To UK

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/buckeyetech" class="quote" target="_blank">buckeyetech</a> (<a href="#19" class="quote">Reply 19</a>):<br/><i>Couldn't agree more. As much as I ...

RE: Will You Help Me Write A Movie?

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/boacvc10" class="quote" target="_blank">boacvc10</a> (<a href="#84" class="quote">Reply 84</a>):<br/><i> GST, did you happen to know the OP wate...

RE: Will You Help Me Write A Movie?

I hope nobody minds the thread bump, this movie has actually been made and is to be released in the US and a few other places next month. I don't know about any of the other participants in this thread when we were discussing this but I wasn't expecting the project to get completed, what with the de...

RE: In Flight Refuelling Question

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/KC135TopBoom" class="quote" target="_blank">KC135TopBoom</a> (<a href="#5" class="quote">Reply 5</a>):<br/><i> Other airplanes like the <acronym...

RE: X-47B Carier Landings

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/Oroka" class="quote" target="_blank">Oroka</a> (<a href="#26" class="quote">Reply 26</a>):<br/><i> But really, no, a unmodified B-2 couldn't han...

RE: X-47B Carier Landings

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/checksixx" class="quote" target="_blank">checksixx</a> (<a href="#22" class="quote">Reply 22</a>):<br/><i>Where exactly would you put 2 more peo...

RE: SAM-2 (S-75) Rocket Engine Manuals Wanted

Beautiful. I take it the 747 was not for sale in the flea market?

RE: SAM-2 (S-75) Rocket Engine Manuals Wanted

I have no idea about the answer to your query, but please feel free to point me in the direction of places where aviation flea markets exist that include rocket engines!

RE: Air Force One Takes Trump's Parking Spot

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/canyonblue17" class="quote" target="_blank">canyonblue17</a> (<a href="#32" class="quote">Reply 32</a>):<br/><i/></font></td></tr></table> Are y...

RE: Brilliant Design Defies Obsolesence?

Perhaps the definition of the word "never". Chariots were used in battle for thousands of years but are sure as hell obsolete now.

RE: Best Looking Fighter?

If we're talking modern fighters I'd have to agree with you that the Rafale is stunning. I can think of nothing sexier flying today.

If you want to go historical too, my all time aerocrush would be a DH Mosquito painted night fighter black.

RE: Saab Viggen Reverse Quickturn Video

I don't know about calling any military unhealthy due to it not having seen combat in the service times of it's members. So long as sufficient investment is put into realistic training, you learn from the mistakes of others who do go to war, and up to scratch equipment you should be competative. Tru...

RE: Saab Viggen Reverse Quickturn Video

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/celestar" class="quote" target="_blank">celestar</a> (<a href="#9" class="quote">Reply 9</a>):<br/><i/></font></td></tr></table> As I understand...

RE: SpaceX's Grasshopper

Yes they do if working correctly, but the [remote] potential for harm remains which is what I was referring to.

RE: SpaceX's Grasshopper

<table border="0" align="CENTER" width="95%" class="quote"><tr><td><font size="2" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva" color="#9A9DA0">Quoting <a href="/profile/zanl188" class="quote" target="_blank">zanl188</a> (<a href="#5" class="quote">Reply 5</a>):<br/><i>Quite a bit of fuel would be needed to get a...