An earlier post speculated about colonizing the largest of the asteroids in the asteroid belt.
The main problem is how to get there. The delta-v is 4k km/sec more than a Mars roundtrip mission.
One possibility is to use a nuclear thermal rocket to get there. The ISP is nearly double that for LH2/LOX, so you need less fuel for the same payload.
According to something I heard on the space show with one of the guests, a nuclear thermal rocket could make a big difference in a Mars mission. It could make a big difference in a mission like this too, at least I suspect that it would.
Here's the previous post on the subject.
Al Fin: "Cowboy Commentary", aka "Eat your veggies" The Flag banner is posted in order to defy those who would make patriotic symbols illegal or disreputable.
Monday, March 25, 2013
It may not be only the economic statistics that are fictional
Vox Populi via Instapundit
Excerpt
Comment:
Managing perceptions on a systemic level. Things aren't what they appear to be.
Anyway, I linked to this because of the mention of a "cult" like mentality. Indeed. I've dubbed it the Death Cult.
Excerpt
...book has become a national bestseller tends to indicate that there is something amiss with regards to the reported French criminal statistics, especially since we know that the FBI's criminal statistics are less than entirely consistent where racial matters are concerned.
Comment:
Managing perceptions on a systemic level. Things aren't what they appear to be.
Anyway, I linked to this because of the mention of a "cult" like mentality. Indeed. I've dubbed it the Death Cult.
Japan breaks China's stranglehold on rare metals with sea-mud bonanza - Telegraph
Rare earths without thorium. Sounds like good news, but it is not clear why thorium is a problem. It is radioactive, but only mildly so. It won't hurt anybody. There's a lot of fear out there of thorium, but that is hard to understand.
There was a lot of coverage on the subject of thorium in prior posts. My recollection was that thorium is found with rare earths. Thus, the monopoly is entirely avoidable. Makes me wonder why the monopoly was allowed to exist in the first place.
Summary:
There was a lot of coverage on the subject of thorium in prior posts. My recollection was that thorium is found with rare earths. Thus, the monopoly is entirely avoidable. Makes me wonder why the monopoly was allowed to exist in the first place.
Summary:
Japan breaks China's stranglehold on rare metals with sea-mud bonanza - Telegraph. Japanese scientists have found vast reserves of rare earth metals on the Pacific seabed that can be mined cheaply, a discovery that may break the Chinese monopoly on a crucial raw material needed in hi-tech industries and advanced weapons systems.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Don't take your eye off of Cyprus
Published on Zero Hedge (http://www.zerohedge.com)
Why Cyprus Matters (And The ECB Knows It)
By Tyler Durden
Created 03/23/2013 - 18:21
Many have asked why the bondholders have not been tagged in the Cyprus fiasco. That answer is simple. Most of Cyprus's bonds are pledged as collateral at the ECB or in the Target2 financing program. Then one may also ask why the bonds of the two large Cypriot banks are not being hit. The answer is the same; most are held as collateral at the ECB or Target2. In both cases, remember uncounted liabilities, the government of Cyprus has guaranteed the debt. Consequently if the two Cyprus banks default it is of small matter as the sovereign has guaranteed the debt. However if the country defaults and leaves the European Union then it will matter and matter significantly as the tiny country of Cyprus would wipe out the entire equity capital of the European Central Bank. While it is not a matter of public record it is estimated that Cyprus has guaranteed about $11.6 billion of collateral at the ECB.Update:
 |
| You're gonna need a bigger boat. |
Or try this:
 |
| Very sensible proposition, that's why it will never happen here. |
According to Instapundit, they've reached a deal. My impression is that it is sufficient to end the crisis if it raises enough money, and the Russians don't raise too much hell. Fear not, Western Civilization has been saved, for the moment at least.
AOSHQ: The 2012 Primaries Could Have Been Worse
Ace of Spades, HQ
Quote:
Comment:
That must have been about the time that I soured on Romney. He completely misrepresented what Newt said in the Florida debate, with respect to a Moon base. As far as the ad goes, it was Romney's style to attack, but strangely enough, he pulled his punches on Benghazi in the general election. Newt would have pummeled Obama on this. Santorum too, most likely.
As for the statement that "it could have been worse"--- meh.
Reading through my analysis, I am very pleased with what I wrote at that time.
Update:
It looks like I'm starting to be a little critical of what has been considered stalwarts of conservatism, like Ace.
Here's something else that has gotten my attention on that blog: Liberal Writer: Reports of the GOP's Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.
Rather than defend the culture, they are abandoning it because they feel that they can't win with the issue. Rather than admit their failings in losing what was winnable, they are blaming it on something external to themselves, like "low-information voters", and drawing the wrong conclusions.
It's not the low-information voter, it is a stultifying effect that Romney's attack on Gingrich demonstrated. Romney attacks something new, which could solve a problem, like NASA's lack of direction, while failing to attack the problem of big government itself. The failure in attacking big government comes from accepting the other sides' premises. Gingrich didn't accept the big government premise, he was attacking it. Yet, somehow, he became the big government advocate. In the case of the Moon base, the other side's premise which was accepted was that it would take a big government project that would cost a trillion dollars.
Paul Spudis has claimed that a cislunar transportation system ( Moon base ) can be built for about $90 billion. It is far less than a trillion and would fit into existing budgets. It would only take a different set of priorities to achieve this---not additional spending. The numbers have been vetted by none other than NASA's own people in Huntsville. So, when Romney says it would cost a trillion, he has thrown cold water on something that is a real proposal and deemed it "grandiose" and "zany". It was no such thing.
So, what we end up is with a guy like Romney, who either doesn't know this or doesn't care. This is the kind of thinking that has kept America back for the last 40 years in space, and it is not confined to space, I suspect. In addition to space, there's an invention called a molten-salt reactor that's been around that long too, but hasn't gotten support.
All we need is some new thinking and Romney killed that. Along with that, he killed the GOP's chances to win last year.
It makes little sense to take the wrong lessons from this defeat, which is to accept even more of the premises of the opposition.
But that may take some new thinking, which is too hard for some people, I suspect.
Quote:
If you haven't totally suppressed your memory of the 2012 primaries, you'll recall that Mitt and Rick split Iowa, Mitt took New Hampshire, and Newt won big in South Carolina. Newt looked to solidify himself as the one and only viable not-Mitt candidate in the race. But, an awful debate performance and a Mitt Romney attack ad barrage sealed Newt's fate[ emphasis added]
Comment:
That must have been about the time that I soured on Romney. He completely misrepresented what Newt said in the Florida debate, with respect to a Moon base. As far as the ad goes, it was Romney's style to attack, but strangely enough, he pulled his punches on Benghazi in the general election. Newt would have pummeled Obama on this. Santorum too, most likely.
As for the statement that "it could have been worse"--- meh.
Reading through my analysis, I am very pleased with what I wrote at that time.
Update:
It looks like I'm starting to be a little critical of what has been considered stalwarts of conservatism, like Ace.
Here's something else that has gotten my attention on that blog: Liberal Writer: Reports of the GOP's Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.
I don't think the GOP has to be pro-gay marriage.*...* You may have guessed my own position has shifted from "I'm against it" to "I no longer care." I think it's a rather undemocratic situation to have so many millions of people be completely unrepresented by either party on an issue of importance to them.Now, here's the GOP, losing an election that they could have won, and drawing the wrong conclusions from it. It looks like Ace is doing the same danged thing.
Rather than defend the culture, they are abandoning it because they feel that they can't win with the issue. Rather than admit their failings in losing what was winnable, they are blaming it on something external to themselves, like "low-information voters", and drawing the wrong conclusions.
It's not the low-information voter, it is a stultifying effect that Romney's attack on Gingrich demonstrated. Romney attacks something new, which could solve a problem, like NASA's lack of direction, while failing to attack the problem of big government itself. The failure in attacking big government comes from accepting the other sides' premises. Gingrich didn't accept the big government premise, he was attacking it. Yet, somehow, he became the big government advocate. In the case of the Moon base, the other side's premise which was accepted was that it would take a big government project that would cost a trillion dollars.
Paul Spudis has claimed that a cislunar transportation system ( Moon base ) can be built for about $90 billion. It is far less than a trillion and would fit into existing budgets. It would only take a different set of priorities to achieve this---not additional spending. The numbers have been vetted by none other than NASA's own people in Huntsville. So, when Romney says it would cost a trillion, he has thrown cold water on something that is a real proposal and deemed it "grandiose" and "zany". It was no such thing.
So, what we end up is with a guy like Romney, who either doesn't know this or doesn't care. This is the kind of thinking that has kept America back for the last 40 years in space, and it is not confined to space, I suspect. In addition to space, there's an invention called a molten-salt reactor that's been around that long too, but hasn't gotten support.
All we need is some new thinking and Romney killed that. Along with that, he killed the GOP's chances to win last year.
It makes little sense to take the wrong lessons from this defeat, which is to accept even more of the premises of the opposition.
But that may take some new thinking, which is too hard for some people, I suspect.
Walter Russell Mead's Blog: Medical Breakthroughs And Smart Policy
Via Meadia
Quote:
The Blue Social Model has failed. Just another example of how and why this is true.
Quote:
The combination of rapid change with rigid policies and institutions is a recipe for disaster...The age of static institutions and stable bureaucratic organizations has gone for good, and we have to figure out what comes next.Comment:
The Blue Social Model has failed. Just another example of how and why this is true.
PJ Media: Obama Pressures Netanyahu into Humiliating Apology to Terror-Supporting Turkey Over Flotilla Confrontation
Quote: "Israel will come to regret this capitulation."
Comment:
Obama strengthens the hand of the jihadists and weakens Israel and the United States. It is part of his War on America under an Orwellian guise of peace.
Comment:
Obama strengthens the hand of the jihadists and weakens Israel and the United States. It is part of his War on America under an Orwellian guise of peace.
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