Chris Combs (iterative design enjoyer)
@DrChrisCombs
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@deehowardorg Endowed Assoc. Prof. @UTSA Hypersonics, aerospace engineering, fluids, aerodynamics, propulsion, energy, lasers, imaging, sports science πβοΈπ₯π₯
San Antonio, TX
Joined September 2018
THIS IS NOT A SONIC BOOM Okay folks, itβs been long enough. Time to finally address the biggest point of confusion on #AvGeek twitter: what exactly is going on with vapor cones? Letβs just say much of what youβve read is (probably) wrong. Wonder no more: a thread... 1/n
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If we were talking SpaceX I'd bet at this point a repair would happen in < 2 months But we're talking about the crumbling remains of a resource-strapped Russia with their focus on a foreign war. How long before a fix?
New photos of the damaged launch pad at Site 31 of Baikonur Kosmodrome were published in Telegram channels and on Novosti Kosmonavtiki forum. Sad to see it like this.
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Crazy to think that SpaceX is currently the only way to get to the ISS
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Wow Will the Russians soon be asking for rides on American Broomsticks?
Multiple sources report a collapse of the service access platform at Site 31 in Baikonur β the only facility that can support Russian crew launches and ISS operations. More details on the failed structure: https://t.co/iHkoRmX5Ix
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If you're short on time this Thanksgiving you could always try cooking your turkey with a rocket engine
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING Be safe out there you crazy pyromaniacs
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Not quite sure what this is trying to suggest in the context of SpaceX given that they: 1) would have likely folded in 2008 without government help 2) have absolutely vacuumed up government contracts ever since (plus the specific context here is commercial crew which was a
@DrChrisCombs Unfortunately the people who make up the political and bureaucratic class in DC that define our nations space programs are not βreasonable people who at a minimum respected what they were doingβ
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It's also frustrating the way this idea gets used to deflect any criticism of Starship. "You didn't believe in us then so who cares what you think now". By the time I finished grad school SpaceX was a powerhouse--I have never doubted the org in general. And most of this sentiment
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I get frustrated with the revisionist history of SpaceX doubt. It is silly to suggest "literally everyone" was counting SpaceX out in 2019 Recall in 2019 Crew Dragon already had a successful DM-1 and crew for DM-2 was named in 2018. They already had 70+ Falcon 9 launches by then
There was a time (2019) when literally everyone was counting SpaceX out β Boeing would clearly lead and own human spaceflight. 6 years later: Crew Dragon has had 18 successful crewed flights and Starliner has had zero
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This is lame SpaceX
After over a year, I finally received a response to my FOIA request regarding Starship Flight 5. TL;DR: NASAβs WB-57 footage isnβt releasable because it was shot purely as a paid service for SpaceX, and therefore belongs to the company (unlike FLT-1 & 2?). π @Gateway2Space
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Yeah if we ever end up in a conflict with China this is the kind of stuff that will absolutely be happening Satellites dropping like flies
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I'll admit it wasn't a terrible idea at its core (our government can be inefficient of course) but the execution was based on politics and vindictive agendas, so they focused on cutting $500k-$1M at a time to own the libs and make headlines instead of going after truly wasteful
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The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):
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The Shuttle program
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If you're hungry for pizza right now remember to support basic research
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Elon Musk is not inventing rocketry please stop comparing his company to the Wright Brothers π«
@DrChrisCombs isn't this kind of like denigrating the wright brothers because "the purpose of aircraft is for transcontinental flight" and, while the wright brothers' accomplishments were impressive, they never managed that
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I'm so exhausted with the Mandela Effect surrounding Falcon 9 It had a successful flight to LEO on its first launch It has failed 3 times EVER and is the most reliable rocket ever
@DrChrisCombs "Silly" though it may well be, it works. Falcon 9 didn't work when SpaceX started--but they were smart enough to keep trying, long before it was profitable. it's a good thing not everyone thinks like you.
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Can't wait for the inevitable Amazon Prime Rods from God intercontinental ballistic delivery service
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This argument is always so silly because when NASA/NACA first started blowing up rockets it was because our country did not yet have the technical expertise to make rockets work Today rockets are extremely mature, 70-year-old tech. Test failures will still inevitably happen but
@DrChrisCombs @woods_jus How many rockets did NACA/NASA blow up before Shepard? SpaceX does things differently. No one else is even close to what they're striving to achieve. SpaceX doesn't color within NASA's line--and that's why they'll ultimately succeed.
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