Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT December 1-5, 2014 (2845-2849)
BenRG:
--- Quote from: GarandMarine on 07 Dec 2014, 04:40 ---Didn't SpaceX's last test shot blow up?
--- End quote ---
Stuff occasionally breaks. However, this was after several nominal test flights by the same vehicle. Yes, you read that right, a rocket, identical to a model intended to fly into space, flew several times up and down with precision landing.
Kugai:
One wonders if China's entry into the space business is not providing the spur that the competition against the old Soviet Union did during the early days of the Space Race.
ESA has been silent for quite a while, I wonder what they're up to - or have they given up and thrown in their lot with the NASA? I hope not.
BenRG:
--- Quote from: Kugai on 07 Dec 2014, 12:15 ---One wonders if China's entry into the space business is not providing the spur that the competition against the old Soviet Union did during the early days of the Space Race.
--- End quote ---
Only in a very unusual way. The way the Chinese are offering cheap space launch has spurred a rush to lower prices. SpaceX, who have always been looking to do cheap launch, are way ahead. However, I'm sure that other companies will try to reduce their costs too. Only Lockheed and Boeing, guaranteed USAF launch cash via their ULA joint venture, are unlikely to follow suit.
--- Quote from: Kugai on 07 Dec 2014, 12:15 ---ESA has been silent for quite a while, I wonder what they're up to - or have they given up and thrown in their lot with the NASA? I hope not.
--- End quote ---
ESA have made some bad decisions, specifically in throwing in their lot with the Russians for a medium-lift LV in the form of Soyuz. They are also hobbled by the continual turf war between Germany and France over who will supply the parts for the next-generation Ariane-6 launcher. I won't expect too much from them at this stage.
Honkytonk:
The ESA are cosntantly hamstrung by themselves and their very nature unfortunately. Their problems are many but essentially boil down to:
A. They're a European institution... and yet not part of the EU - meaning countries like Swtizerland etc. can get involved, but that also means there is less money available, and when it is invested Germany (who are normally the largest investor) and France (who own the main launch centre and so have a big say) can never agree on anything.
B. They have a notoriously bad track record when it comes to following through with ideas (there's a space centre in Belgium where schoolkids go, kind of like a European space camp, and amongst myriad other cancelled programmes, they actually have a big static model of the planned reusable ESA space plane that was built as a prototype shell before the programme was canned)
C. Germany and France can never, ever agree on anything. ANY. THING.
D. Contracts are split along investment lines - i.e. Germany puts in the most money, Germany builds everything. This bothers a lot of the countries involved who get very little economic kickback from their investments. 'cough' France 'cough' United Kingdom 'cough'
E. Germany and France can never, ever agree on anything. ANY. THING.
Mind you, the ESA has done some amazing stuff. The next generation of Global Positioning systems will all be based on ESA satellites (Galileo), there's ESA money going into the British engineered and built Skylon spaceplane which could very realistically be the near future of orbital flight/transport, and, oh, that little thing called Rosetta and tiny washing-machine sized lander called Philae that landed on a god-damn comet only a couple of weeks ago.
McFace:
Each time I read Friday's comic, what Clinton says in the 2nd panel make me more and more angry.
There is being protective, and then there is being a controlling douche. :x
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