Express train to space, mind the gap!
Oh that's excellent.
Loved the video.
Toy train stories are like number 13 buses - you wait ages for one and then two turn up at once. Following our report earlier this week on wooden train outfit Bigjigs' audacious bid to run the West Coast Mainline franchise, we received news of a US dad who dispatched his young son's model locomotive to the stratosphere. It …
A quick bit of very trainspotterish research reveals Stanley is a hybrid design based on tank engines produced by Leeds manufacturers Hudswell Clarke, and Kitson
Or more likely a quick bit of lawyerish research would probably reveal that Stanley is a train name that is not a trademark of Britt Alcroft
The animations were very good, will show to my children tonight.
BTW don't knock our railways too much, there were quite a few very clever people involved.
So we started the tilting trains, worlds fastest steam & Diesel, steam heavy freight locos capable of an easy 90mph, most powerful Diesel in 50s and 60s at less than half the weight of the most powerful US loco, and most recent a heavy freight Diesel specifically designed to out pull the equivalent US design.
Be proud of them
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Actually the Kerosene and Hydrogen Peroxide propellant mix was specifically shosen because is is a "cold" fuel, the expansion (that produces the thrust) is caused by chemical decomposition over the catalyst and not by compustion (as in the NASA stuff). This resulted in less heat sheilding and a reduced requirment for blast-proofing at the launch pad, iirc.
OK my spelling and grammar are bad!
But seriously, what would happen if this thing fell some place dangerous?
Are these people insured?
What precautions are taken to avoid accidents?
Accelerating from the edge of space and landing on a person/car/home is going to cause a lot of damage :P
Seriously .... listed/read to this
german.about.com/library/blmus_nena99luftbE.htm
www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=99%20luftballons%20lyrics&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDYQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZLIn0JNC57c&ei=tg3wUM_-GNGU0QXTxoDwDw&usg=AFQjCNF0VXFEmZxM3idM4m48aqTaRJDayg&bvm=bv.1357700187,d.d2k
They don't accelerate all the way from space - they accelerate a bit, then slow* with a parachute, then slow further as the air gets thicker.
* Yes I know slowing is acceleration, but clearly not in the way that "K" meant.
Landing on stuff is one of the things you look at when you release a balloon - you look at the weather patterns all the way up if you can (and with the internet you can get some idea). Sometimes it will be wrong, but that's why you do it in the middle of nowhere, not from a London rooftop.
I was going to post a well-considered rebuttal to your posts but, in the end, the best I can come up with is:
Oh, fuck off, you miserable bastard!
Countdown to similarly 'sucking-last-ounce-of-fun-out-of-life' legislation outlawing "Unauthorised Launching of High Altitude Craft" for Health & Safety or Anti-Terrorist reasons in ten... nine... eight...
Meanwhile back in the 'having an ounce of humanity' part of the human race: Kudos to that dad for giving his wee boy a magical memory he'll treasure for the rest of his life.
Be quiet! The only thing I could moan about was the Dad's rather annoying trendy beard but I bet he's a real hero to his kid and the the kid's mates at school as well.
If this convinces his kid or just one kid in his son's school to follow a career in science, I'll let the Dad's beard thing go!
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"Really? A story from August 2012?"
Well, indeed. It's a great video, but it was a great video when it turned up in my social media 5 months ago.
Where is el Reg getting its stories from? Are you trawling through ancient copies of broadsheets' technology pages in dentists' waiting rooms? Have you considered getting a twitter feed and doing a bit of web-surfing yourselves? I hear it's quite the coming thing.
That is a most well-thought out project and a stunningly well-thought-out video. Not only was the staging perfect, the animation was wonderful and the music was excellently appropriate and low-key. The kid will have a wonderful bit of memorabilia to show later in life.
It should be required viewing for all those who thought that Colostomy Explosion was perfect for their "scale model aircraft in flight over pastoral scene" or "Lego Project Build" video.
Now son, go clean your room or I will take away your favorite toy...and SEND IT INTO SPAAAACE!
(Actually, now that I think about it, I think I would have been a lot more motivated as a kid if my parents had said "Son, if you clean your room, we'll take your favorite toy and send it into space!")