Moon Space Station?
The other bit of odd news in the article was that JAXA will use a NASA space station orbiting the Moon in 2025...since there is no firm plan for this beyond a few PowerPoint presentations, and 2025 is only 8 years away.
Posts by F111F
271 publicly visible posts • joined 27 Jul 2010
Sailor Moon? More like sail to the Moon: Japan vows to set foot on lunar soil by 2030
You're all too skeptical of super-duper self-driving cars, apparently
Thursday 15th June 2017 13:04 GMT
Re: Issues With Automated Traffic
1) Automated traffic would, by definition, be remotely accessible, as each vehicle will be coordinating with all the other traffic within a certain radius.
2) Traffic lights in my city are automated at the intersection, not from a central traffic control operation. People spoof the signals already, getting straight green lights (though only one case has been reported in our city).
5) Why leave this to some judge to legislate from the bench? We need to figure it out long before then.
6) So you'll be the sheep that lets a programming issue get him $$$ in fines and tickets?
7) LOL, we don't make it mandatory in a number of states to wear a helmet or protective clothing while riding a motorcycle, why would this be any different?
Thursday 15th June 2017 05:42 GMT
Issues With Automated Traffic
1) Some country will find a back door and program 150,000 head-on collisions at the start of hostilities.
2) Some script kiddie will not want to go to work/school and will hack the city traffic to cause gridlock
3) Some late for work/soccer practice idiot will buy a 1-time illegal "speed pass code" for $5 (same as a Pepsi) and cause chaos for everyone else as he/she streaks through traffic.
4) Adjusting to ever changing road conditions (degradation, repairs, upgrades, weather, rules and marking changes from one locality to another, etc) will be ginormously challenging.
5) How will liability be assigned for fatal or injurious accidents?
6) If the system doesn't see the speed limit change because a tree limb blocked the camera(s), who pays the ticket?
7) Will some gov't agency have access to your vehicle's information so they can trace your whereabouts in the past or even in real time? Is that a violation of either privacy rights, or self-incrimination protection?
Just some issues to think about...
PAH! Four decades of Star Wars: No lightsabers, no palm-sized video calls
Thursday 25th May 2017 02:18 GMT
Re: SW was never about our future.
I still think Kate was sleeping with her cameraman...about the only way she could get video from a hotel room window of the USAF F-111s flying overhead in the attack on Libya, and comment on it at the same time...not to judge, mind you, it was a neat bit of reporting.
Fake invoice scammers slurp $5bn+ from corp beancounters – FBI
Sunday 7th May 2017 11:13 GMT 
They claim pay, too...
My company (of 45-50 people) was sued for back pay from wrongful termination by an individual who never worked for the company, in a state we'd never worked in. We went to court with the documents to prove our company had never employed anyone by that name. It's happened before to us and turns out it's a fairly common scam. Whenever the company doesn't settle, the claimant just says: "It was an honest mistake, I mixed up (whatever)." The judge dismisses the case and it's too expensive to pursue charges (prosecutors are not interested in such small fry).
Boeing details 'Deep Space Gateway' for Mars mission staging
US Navy runs into snags with aircraft carrier's electric plane-slingshot
Wednesday 11th January 2017 15:24 GMT
Re: We all need less stress...
IIRC, the first USN attempts at catapults were with hydraulic systems, until the RN came up with the steam version. Apparently, steam can be "ramped up" to prevent instantaneous load on the aircraft (though it's still pretty damn quick), unlike hydraulics. EMALS probably has the same issue in programming the load on the catapult, ramping it up quickly enough to launch a fully loaded aircraft while keeping stress on the airframe below ratings.
Wednesday 11th January 2017 15:16 GMT
Re: Has surge recxently been redefined & I missed it?
The combat rating is 160 sorties/day, normally conducted in a 12 hour window. The remaining 12 hours are used for repairing said aircraft, performing inspections, and readying for the next flying "day" (which could be at night of course). This also allows for inspection and repairs of the launch and recovery systems, and other shipboard systems used to support flight operations.
The surge of 270 sorties/day is for short periods only, usually a few days. After that, aircraft and ship discrepancies and inspections build up enough to pull out of combat ops to repair/refit/inspect.
Amazon files patent for 'Death Star' flying warehouse
Europe trials air-traffic-control-over-IP-and-satellite
Don't panic, friends, but the Chinese navy just nicked one of America's underwater drones
China is building a full scale replica of the Titanic to repeatedly crash into iceberg
New British flying robot killer death machines renamed 'Protector'
Tuesday 6th December 2016 14:50 GMT
Re: Wedding Parites
While living in Saudi Arabia, I heard my Saudi counterpart's smartphone on speaker with sounds of gunfire. I joking asked "Family reunion?" His reply: "Yes! We were celebrating a wedding!" I asked if they fired the guns in the city, and the answer was yes, they did, but they used the small bullets as they "disintegrate in the air". I corrected him, but not sure if it really sunk in...
Just what Europe needs – another bungled exit: Mars lander goes AWOL
SpaceX starts nine-day countdown to first flight of the new Falcon
Google snaps Dutch woman completely taking the piss
US Treasury: How did ISIS get your trucks? Toyota: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
NASA greenlights SpaceX and Boeing to carry crew to ISS in 2017
UK.gov STILL won't pop a cap on stolen mobile bills
Adobe axes R&D lab in China, insiders blame mandarins and pirates
NASA said a 60ft space alien menacing Earth wouldn't harm us: Tell THAT to Nicaragua
Applelutely fappulous: Fashionistas bow down before the JESUS PHONE
Chumps stump up $1 MEELLLION for watch that doesn't exist
Galileo can't do the fandango: Two Euro GPS nav sats sent into WRONG ORBIT
SpaceX prototype rocket EXPLODES over Texas. 'Tricky' biz, says Elon Musk
Climate: 'An excuse for tax hikes', scientists 'don't know what they're talking about'
Welcome to the ISS. Don't mention Ukraine if you ever want to leave
Tesla's top secret gigafactories: Lithium to power world's vehicles? Let's do the sums
Wednesday 28th May 2014 13:54 GMT
Re: Battery recycling
That's EXACTLY what happened to the US in the Gulf War. They brought all these recycling containers, had everyone trained to separate and segregate properly and thought the Saudis would be quite happy. They were quite pleased with themselves. Then, some TCNs (third country nationals, probably Bangladeshis) just picked up each container, dumped it into the common garbage truck, and drove off to the dump. LOL!
Microsoft Cortana EULA contains the Greatest Disclaimer of ALL TIME
NASA spots new Mars meteorite crater
SpaceX billionaire claims Air Force official 'likely' made job-for-spy-sat-contract deal
Saturday 24th May 2014 09:39 GMT
Re: I reckon Musk has the goods on Correll about trying to get a job off Spacex
I don't have any evidence either that Aerojet's real reason is to schmooze more contracts, but having been in a company that did get contracts from the military, it was standard practice. We'd hire retired civil service or military (including me), for two main purposes. First, to bring expertise on a current contract effort, and second, use our contacts and knowledge to get our business development team positioned to make a sale. We weren't allowed (depending on rank and whether or not you had access or oversight over government contracting) to work on any project we had access or control over, or even help on the bid for about two years after we departed government service. So, while Correll may not be directly working with any projects he was associated with, he will be certainly opening doors for the business development team and pointing the company to work that the government wants to outsource, or can't get done in the normal scheme of things (not enough manpower, facilities, etc).
...Mine's the one with the retired ID in the pocket...
Space Station in CRISIS: Furious Russia threatens to BAN US from ISS
Russia to suspend US GPS stations in tit-for-tat spat
Wednesday 14th May 2014 15:00 GMT
Re: Oderint dum metuant
Gee, where to begin on a reply which demonstrates so clearly the neo-Euro viewpoint, where you rage against those who have stood by and with you for generations, securing the lifestyle to which you are used to.
Yes, I have been around the world at various US, NATO, Japanese, and Saudi bases, I proudly say that, having stood watch on the walls and guarding the gates that have protected Europe and the world for 70 years now, a second generation as my father also stood watch in the Fulda Gap and on the battlefields of Vietnam.
Yes, we do go around with weapons locked and loaded, for Bear, pirates, etc, You should be thanking us for doing so, but no, you're petulant about being reminded of your own weakness.
And that brings us to the current weaknesses of Europe's militaries. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a steady and significant decline of will, capability and lethality. With the sole exception of the UK, not a single European ally had the ability to transport, sustain, or maintain their forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. In every single case, the US had to step up and keep units in the fight to cover for European ineffectiveness. Finland has just concluded that Sweden's military cannot fight beyond the first few days of a war, for lack of supplies, transportation, and sheer lack of numbers. Although not a NATO partner, Finland was planning on Sweden coming to the fight, but now will have to look at Norway and NATO.
Bosnia and Libya are perfect examples of how European militaries simply cannot function without direct US support. In neither case could Europe a) work together, b) provide enough forces, or c) support said forces for more than a few days. In both cases the US had to provide leadership, planning, sustainment, and crucial force multipliers (tankers, EW, transports), to get the job done. Europe simply can't defend themselves let alone project power in any meaningful manner.
Other than the UK, our NATO allies don't train enough, aren't modernizing effectively, and are rapidly degenerating into ceremonial forces, who look good in parades but can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. The Russians know this, they know Europe is once again weak, despite the bluster about Crimea and the Ukraine. There is absolutely nothing Europe could, or would do militarily, if Russia simply took the Ukraine. Mark my words, they WILL take the Eastern Ukraine, either peaceably, or just roll the tanks in and end all the speculation.
So go ahead, look down on the ones who hold the wolves at bay, the ones who do the hard, dirty work in places you can't, and wouldn't dare to go. We'll still be out there, keeping your butt safe, at least for a little while longer. Keep it up, the anti-American rhetoric. Soon enough you will get your wish, and the US will turn to isolationism once again, and when the wolves are prowling about, you will remember when there used to be guards keeping your family safe, because you won't have the nerve, tools, or training to.
Anti-American sentiment is on the rise because the pampered European peoples (and many Democrats) want desperately to believe the age of war is over. All you have to do is talk it out, or just lecture sternly, pointing one's finger at said culprit. Reminds me of the movie "Demolition Man"... You field militaries who expect that just showing up will cause the bad guys to quiver in their boots and meekly repent. Or, all that's needed to stop aggression is a talk show host, who looks very sad at the bad guys, and they repent on air. You don't like being reminded that there are genuine psychos out there, some in command of armies, and others in charge of entire nations.
Boku Haram is a perfect example. Almost 300 girls in Nigeria are kidnapped and who does the world turn to? You somehow expect the US to have the ability to travel halfway around the world, take out a brutal thug, and rescue the girls, overnight. Oh that's right, we can only do that if we have the experience, training, and equipment, in the right place, which none of the mainland European militaries have. Even France had to use US C-17 transports in their latest African rumble, as the A400M is not ready for action. Neo-Euros lament a strong US presence world-wide, but can't man-up to take our place on the wall or at the gates. We could go into Nigeria, but how many of you Neo-Euros would decry the US acting unilaterally once again? Why should we put more of our young people on the thin red line when (in this case) Nigeria won't. The same will be asked of Europe. Why should we stay when you obviously won't hold up your end of the bargain?
So, to wrap-up, get your house in order and step up to the job, or stop yer whinin', 'cause it's startin' to seriously bug me and my friends.
Wednesday 14th May 2014 10:17 GMT
Re: Where have you been Murphy?!
You should be terrified of us. Because we kick rear end and take names, unlike the rest of the milquetoast nations in Europe, excluding Britain. Bosnia, Georgia, Crimea, and now Eastern Ukraine, all show just how weak the European militaries really are. The single factor keeping some sort of stability is the freakin' lopsided amount of funds the USA pours into NATO every year.
And I have traveled the world, served in the military, was stationed in Europe, and have a far more intimate knowledge of why planet Earth has had no, as in zero, world wars since 1945. The single largest reason you enjoy the prosperity you currently have is due to the sacrifice of the US men and women willing to guard the walls and gates of the world. We ensure the air and sea lanes are open for commerce, free of charge. We gave the Internet to the world. We opened up our GPS assets for all to use, free of charge. Frankly, if it weren't for the USA,'s Marshall Plan the European economy would still be climbing out of WWII's destruction and Europe would be a forgotten player on the international stage.
We don't ask for your money, we don't ask for services, we don't ask for your vote. A simple "Thank You" will suffice.
Wednesday 14th May 2014 10:01 GMT
Re: Where have you been Murphy?!
No. The US and the UK were fighting 3 nations (Germany, Italy, and Japan) on 3 continents (Europe, Africa, and Asia) and across two oceans (Atlantic and Pacific). The USSR fought exactly one nation and fought on exactly one front in Europe, (Eastern) while the Allies were fighting entire theatres of operations in Europe (Southern and Western, three, if you count ops in Norway), Northern Africa, India/Burma/China, Southern Pacific, Western Pacific, and the Atlantic.
So, the bulk of the winning in WWII was done by the US and the UK, not the USSR. To give due credit, the Soviets held the cream of the German army at bay for years and bought enough time for the Allies to launch the largest amphibious assault the world has ever seen, and hopefully ever will see.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
