And we have liftoff

[icanhelp1]

Mining for He3 on the moon’s surface could someday provide unlimited clean energy.

Scientists estimate that the Moon has over one million tons of Helium-3 which was transported by solar winds and is a renewable resource. Scientists estimate that 25 tons of Helium-3 could power the United States for an entire Year.

https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA010...t/day 05/studentHandouts/5thSHO5.6Helium3.pdf

Helium-3 (He3) is a gas that has potential to be used to produce energy here on earth. However, there is very little Helium-3 on Earth. Helium-3 is produced by the sun and carried by solar winds. Our atmosphere prevents Helium-3 from reaching earth, but since the moon has no atmosphere, there is nothing to stop Helium-3 from reaching the surface of the moon and being absorbed by the moon’s soil. Scientists estimate that the Moon has over one million tons of Helium-3 which was transported by solar winds and is a renewable resource. Scientists estimate that 25 tons of Helium-3 could power the United States for an entire year. This much Helium-3 could be transported from the Moon to the Earth in a ship the size of the recently retired space shuttle. If the United States were able to mine the Helium-3 on the Moon, it might solve our energy problems.
Not many people have ever heard of Helium-3 and even fewer understand how it could be used. Currently, many countries on Earth use nuclear power plants to produce heat, which turns water into steam to generate electricity. These nuclear power plants use a process called nuclear fission, which creates radioactive waste that is dangerous and expensive to store safely. On the other hand, Helium-3 is used in a process called nuclear fusion that combines the Helium with a substance called Deuterium. When the two are combined, energy is produced, but no harmful waste is created.

 

[icanhelp1]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kb...bundance-of-rare-nuclear-fusion-fuel-on-earth

 

[icanhelp1]

Without rocket technology and space travel we don’t have GPS.

 

[dmallord]

Without rocket technology and space travel we don’t have GPS.

But ... we will still have AAA road maps, right?

When we mine that helium and bring it back, won't it just float back up off the planet and into space again? That puts us back into the same conundrum as before – unless we can contain the helium in those party balloons or something equivalent.

Let the creator of Space Force get right on that solution - it seems to be something he is filled with whenever he spouts off at a rally or in a courtroom lately. He could ask Captain Marvel to lend us her ship when she returns from finding a planet for those aliens. Hey, there's an idea! Ask her to find a home for the aliens coming across the border from Mexico and Canada and that other foreign country - Florida. Hell yeah! And a separate planet for the 'gang of eight.' Can't wait for that to happen.

 

[HisArpy]

Without rocket technology and space travel we don’t have GPS.

More interesting is how much space exploration has contributed to new developments and theories in math and science and health.

 

[domroger]

How many millions of tons of crap and fuel does it take to get four people into space and some numbskulls think we can move billions of people?

Easier to contact a Piersons Puppeteer,they can move worlds.

 

[icanhelp1]

More interesting is how much space exploration has contributed to new developments and theories in math and science and health.

Space research and travel has added immensely to all categories of science and technology. I’d rather see money invested in space research than littering our landscape with big fans and millions of acres of solar panels. He3 is promising, just need the intestinal fortitude to intensify research in cold fusion and spread our wings, get to the moon and establish a long term mining operation. IMHO

 

[Fuzzy1975]

Space research and travel has added immensely to all categories of science and technology. I’d rather see money invested in space research than littering our landscape with big fans and millions of acres of solar panels. He3 is promising, just need the intestinal fortitude to intensify research in cold fusion and spread our wings, get to the moon and establish a long term mining operation. IMHO

Yes, lets do the hard stuff first.....

 

[Bray123]

By all means, defund road repairs and health services. Those things raise taxes.

But spend billions on firing crap at Mars and we might end up with a pen that writes upside down and that's cool.

 

[jaF0]

Where's your multi billion dollar rocket ship spaceman?

Blown up Sir!!

 

[RoryN]

Pretty much this:

Sorry, doubters: Starship actually had a remarkably successful flight​

(Excerpts)

Starship launches are clarifying events. Pretty quickly after liftoff you find out who understands the rocket business, and who are the casual observers bereft of a clue...

Leading with words like "failure" and "explosion" are kind of like putting the headline “Derek Jeter had a strikeout” on a news story about the 2001 World Series game in which he later hit a walk-off home run. Like, it’s accurate. But it’s a lazy take that completely misses the point....

...the Starship upper stage successfully completed hot-staging and pulled away from Super Heavy. If you're not impressed, you should be. This is world-class engineering completed on an insanely compressed time scale...SpaceX had just launched the largest rocket the world had ever seen, a flying skyscraper largely built with private funding. If it were almost any other rocket in the world, it would have been judged entirely as a success because first stages are disposed of.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/...-starship-launch-was-actually-a-huge-success/

Complain away.

 

[jaF0]

Dun blowed up is not 'successful'.

 

[RoryN]

Dun blowed up is not 'successful'.

If it's the only/best way to get the data you need to be successful in the future, it is.

Failure towards success isn't a complicated concept. People are just being obtuse because they don't want or support that success.

 

[RoryN]

Next Starship launch attempt scheduled for tomorrow, 8AM EST.

 

[RoryN]

Sorry, Starship haters - looking like a bad day for you so far.

 

[RoryN]

Still flying as I post this...

 

[RoryN]

...and done. A milestone flight with major objectives reached.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

It exploded on the way down this time instead of on the way up.

 

[RoryN]

It exploded on the way down this time instead of on the way up.

Looking more like it broke up in the atmosphere upon re-entry.

Booster made it more our less upright back to the water; not enough engines re-lit to slow it down.

Plenty of success to justify going full speed ahead on a new launch tower.

 

[RoryN]

First flight: 4 minutes
Second flight: 8 minutes
Third flight: 50+ minutes

 

[RoryN]

Fourth flight underway.

Booster lost 2 engines during the flight, but it appears that the booster was still able to execute a soft, vertical landing in the ocean per their objective. This was a first, and apparently accomplished under duress.

Ship still soaring in space at this point.

Horrible morning so far if you are against space travel. This will likely fast-track mass construction of Starship.

 

[RoryN]

The ship came through the atmosphere. It started coming apart.

It apparently was still able to complete a maneuver to land, re-lit its engines, and soft-landed per their objective.

SpaceX likely just won the space race.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Fourth flight underway.

Booster lost 2 engines during the flight, but it appears that the booster was still able to execute a soft, vertical landing in the ocean per their objective. This was a first, and apparently accomplished under duress.

Ship still soaring in space at this point.

Horrible morning so far if you are against space travel. This will likely fast-track mass construction of Starship.

Let's hope it can put a man in orbit soon, so we can catch up to the Russkies in this dadgum space race!

And to think Rightguide was ready to concede the space race when they launched Sputnik!

Hey Siri! Add Tang breakfast drink to my grocery list!

 

[Lazaran]

The ship came through the atmosphere. It started coming apart.

It apparently was still able to complete a maneuver to land, re-lit its engines, and soft-landed per their objective.

SpaceX likely just won the space race.

Who is SpaceX competing with in the niche that “Starship” occupies???



Side note:

Starship is destined to have a “Titan” (the submersible) event, and it will be interesting too see if commercial space flight can survive it.

Also:

With Musk involved, I suspect the results of the “Starship” program will be the techno- snake oil salesman’s standard “over-promised (hyped), under-delivered” product.

We shall see.

 

[RoryN]

Who is SpaceX competing with in the niche that “Starship” occupies???

Blue Origin (Amazon), Lockheed Martin, Boeing...and, in a sense, NASA.

With Musk involved, I suspect the results of the “Starship” program will be the techno- snake oil salesman’s standard “over-promised (hyped), under-delivered” product.

I can't stand Elon. However, so far, this particular project is exceeding expectations to the nth degree. It seemed like a snake-oil pitch - the results have proven it's the real deal, and then some.

NASA previously said what's been done already couldn't be done.