Posts by Vulch

Re: Never trusted SystemD

It's a classic case of "Something must be done. This is something, therefore it must be done".

Re: How do you launch 64 satellites from a single rocket?

It was something like four slightly larger satellites deployed from the second stage, then three dispensers with a varying number on each separated. The three dispensers then released thier satellites over the next half hour or so. Because of the orbit the various separations were out of range of ground stations so no video.

Re: Apparently flamingos and unicorns also

*End* of November? Luxury!

...Or a 16 pin DIL TTL chip which has the ability to become more firmly attached to the underside of your foot for several steps.

Re: The ISS is getting short of parking spots

Although the new Russian docking ports will only be used by Soyuz and Progress. Dragon, Cygnus and HTV currently are berthed at CBM ports. The new crew capsules from SpaceX and Boeing will use the IDA ports.

Re: Hippy-friendly hybrid-electric rocket motors

The pumps use a number of battery packs and as each one is depleted it is jettisoned, lightening the load.

Re: Eproms?

You need to watch the address bus width. The ARM processors used by Acorn, including the StrongARM, used 27 bits (I think, getting on for 20 years since I left Acorn) of the notional 32. More recent versions use the whole 32 and I think RISC OS 4 and 5 are intended for the full width architecture. It may or may not be possible to build for the older architecture.

Only if they do without a reliable return capsule. The Soyuz is only rated for 6 months (some sources say 200 days) life on orbit, so having launched on June 6th MS-09 needs to come back in early December.

The limit is apparently seals and washers in the manoeuvering systems, the propellant used makes them start to degrade.

Re: Machine names

Space Intruder Detector, in orbit 180 degrees away from the moon to give warning of UFOs coming from that direction so Gabrielle Drake in her purple wig could launch Interceptors.

IRTA as cabinet of Ginsters. Government by meat pie sounds a plausible method...

Re: Drawer full of leads

I also have a "Muker" plug in monitor

Oooh, want. And thanks to the magic of the internet will have one Soon (tm).

Re: Pointless?

"Wine? Isn't that something users do?" - BOFH

Wine is what they drink, whine is what they do.

Re: Nose, face, bite ...

During the initial Galileo negotiations one EU member insisted on a clause excluding non-EU states from access to certain capabilities of the system. Would you like to have a guess which one it was?

Long time ago the ITV company I worked for decided to invest in a company that was strapping broadcast quality film cameras to big RC helicopters. They decided to do an item for the local news about it so set off with a news crew and the drone operator in a proper Castle Air helicopter and the drone flying below them along a valley. Unfortunately, this being before YouTube, the footage from the helicopter of the drone saying hello at speed to the viaduct everyone had forgotten was there isn't online and the film from the drone didn't survive the 16mm camera on the drone being converted to shrapnel.

Re: Tortuga bound

A big ship that's carrying on on its way with not the slightest interest in your desire for it to follow you into port. You're going to have to try and get your loot off something that is underway and making frequent random course changes because its unauthorised boarding detectors have gone off.

May not happen. PBCOBE was out in Australia recently to do a Stargazing Live Australia and mentioned the BBC weren't enthusiastic about more.

Re: Sir Nelson??

ITYM Sir Francis.

The current King of Spain is bearded...

Re: 5...4...3...2...1...>

Walter and Donald (Deke => D K) Tracy, the forgotten brothers.

Re: "The Strait of Hormuz"..

The Strait is quite shallow, full sized subs going through need to be very careful if transiting while submerged.

Re: Shovelling shedloads of sheet glass in the shithouse?

African or European?

Re: Units

Very obvious in the coverage yesterday. Everything was given in obscure units, mph, feet, pounds, etc.. The only metric unit I noticed creeping in was a mention of crossing 100km altitude.

Re: Silent Running...

Morgan Freeman has been trying to get Rendezvous With Rama made for 20+ years.

Re: Something to look forward to

I ought to bookmark the article, currently trying to sort out the models from 5 years ago looking for a replacement for the one from 10 years ago.

Re: Phone design

That layout twists the wrist uncomfortably, better off with speaker on the thumb and mic on the little finger.

Re: What about collisions with spacecraft on the way to Mars

The Tesla orbit is inclined to the ecliptic by a degree or two so will be above or below traffic travelling between the planets.

Mostly because it is designed for direct entry from interplanetary cruise. It never enters Mars orbit.

Re: Mickey Mouse?

They've bought the feature film side and some of the TV production, not the news part.

Frankie and Benjy Mouse should be able to help with that.

Re: Well the smoking gang...

2 side walls would class it as outdoors

Actually two complete walls class it as *indoors*. The wording is "50% or more", not "more than 50%". Generally smoking shelters have a missing panel in one of their remaining sides to make sure they're under the 50% limit.

Re: Jabba the Hutt in 1983’s Return of the Jedi

No, Jabba was always in RotJ along with slave bikini Leia. He was pasted into an extra scene in the original Star Wars though.

Known as the Sieve of Eratosthenes.

Re: What's the record?

The current hyperloop test tracks are short. Show me a steam train that can do 0 to 200km/h and back to 0 within 500m.

Re: Obligatory...

Weight, extra moving parts (you really don't want a wiper or brush to get stuck halfway across a panel) and I think the amount of dust collecting on the panels was one of the things that was quantified by Spirit and Opportunity. Previously the amount of dust expected was "some".

The plan is to run sub-orbital stuff like the Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2s out of wherever is chosen rather than orbital things.

CRS-13 has been pushed back to the 8th now, Iridium is on course for the 22nd/23rd from Vandenberg so the fairings problem looks like it is being managed. Zuma is likely to take precedence as a paying customer over the Heavy though so we'll probably not see the Heavy launch this year. https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/

Has the feeling of something that wasn't there in one image, was for the next two and had gone again by the time the fourth image was taken. All they know is the event started after the first and before the second, and finished after the third but before the fourth.

Re: An eccentricity of 1.2 ...

Voyager 1 - 3.72, Voyager 2 - 6.28

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/science/hyperbolic-orbital-elements/

Elliptical orbits to their Jupiter encounter, then a boost from each subsequent encounter.

A MAMIL got convicted of furious cycling in Cambridge a while ago without fatalities, for some reason he'd decided the best time for "training" was middle of the night as night clubs kicked out.

Similar tale told about a Cattle Market back home. Customs and Excise turn up near the end of the day to dip Land Rover tanks looking for red diesel. First farmer comes out and starts a long argument with the C&E officers about how they don't need to test his tank. In the mean time everyone else hops into their Landie and depart, the parking area being a triangle of open space between a couple of roads with no fences or hedges there's no hope of delaying them. Finally exasperated C&E get an answer to their repeated question of why they don't need to dip the tank, "This one runs on petrol".

[In the UK fuel for agricultural machinery isn't taxed but mustn't be used in road vehicles, there's a red dye added to trace it]