[JuanP]

For example, natural gas prices hit $1100 per thousand cubic meters (uncompressed) in east Asia this winter but Russia is selling its gas for under long term contracts to the EU for $170 per tcm. This is absurd. Russia has to stop being a charity provider for its enemies.

Russia is a one trick economy. It sells natural resources. Sure, they could be more $/unit efficient selling only into the spot LNG market during the winter. And sell far fewer volumes, for a smaller cumulative amount, than selling more volumes, longer, at a lower price, encouraging the demand to just keep demanding.

The USSR went belly up because they flew this idea right into the ground with oil and the low prices after the 1979 global peak oil. The Russians grow some damn smart folks (I've worked with more than a few), but collectively they tend to be stump stupid when it comes to the way their government handles their natural resource sales.

One can only imagine how incredibly stupid the Americans must be then, since they can't even send their own astronauts to the International Space Station without hitching a ride with the Russians. Also, just how smart are Americans that can't even build a proper missile defense system to defend the USA? Please enlighten me! By the way, you seem to be about as intelligent as the average American. And, no, that is not a compliment! Your calling Russians stump stupid appears to me to be nothing more than a projection on your part!

Do you have anything smart to say or are you here just to insult people who didn't do anything to you? Now that I insulted you, please tell me, does it feel nice to be insulted? You shouldn't do to others what you don't like them doing to you! Please try to pretend to be a decent human being, even if you are not!

[AdamB]

One can only imagine how incredibly stupid the Americans must be then, since they can't even send their own astronauts to the International Space Station without hitching a ride with the Russians.

Nothing wrong with paying to play. And I think Elon has the "Americans ain't stupid" angle covered pretty well, compared to both governments' space programs.

Your calling Russians stump stupid appears to me to be nothing more than a projection on your part!

I'm more than happy to listen to alternative theories on how Russia funds its government, other than through selling natural resources. And whether or not this is evidence of stupid, or just circumstance, them having plenty to sell. Automotive manufacturing perhaps? Food exports? Certainly military sales is in there.

Do you have anything smart to say or are you here just to insult people who didn't do anything to you?

We could talk about peak oil? And I grew up in a world where I have every right, and still do, to insult the Russians. And ChiComs as well.

Now that I insulted you, please tell me, does it feel nice to be insulted?

Obviously your experience in adversarial environments is meager at best, to think that what you have done is anything resembling an insult. The location where you wrote this alone precludes it from being personal.

You shouldn't do to others what you don't like them doing to you! Please try to pretend to be a decent human being, even if you are not!

By all means, feel free to object to what I write if you'd like. And no, I signed no agreement upon entering this place to be any particular kind of human being, decent or otherwise.

[Tanada]

One can only imagine how incredibly stupid the Americans must be then, since they can't even send their own astronauts to the International Space Station without hitching a ride with the Russians. Also, just how smart are Americans that can't even build a proper missile defense system to defend the USA? Please enlighten me!

While I was quite distressed that my government grounded the STS before an alternative means of preforming manned mission was available at long last those means are now in use. As of November 2020 Dragon launched by SpaceX is doing the crew exchange missions for the USA launched teams.
11-2020 crew launch

November 13, 2020, 11:02am
The first crew rotation at International Space Station to employ a SpaceX Dragon Crew Capsule launches November 14 at 7:49pm ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four will join the Expedition 64 crew already aboard ISS, forming Expedition 64/65.

The new crew module built by SpaceX, carries four astronauts in comfort unlike the cramped condition aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule which all astronauts used to reach space station since the US Space Shuttle program shut down in 2011. Crew Dragon restores American capability to loft astronauts into orbit without reliance on Russian launch systems. They will dock at ISS at 4:20am on Sunday.

The Dragon Crew capsule had its final test drive, over the summer when NASA astronauts Bob Behnke and Doug Hurley rode up to Space Station as the last test crew for the new capsule.

[JuanP]

One can only imagine how incredibly stupid the Americans must be then, since they can't even send their own astronauts to the International Space Station without hitching a ride with the Russians. Also, just how smart are Americans that can't even build a proper missile defense system to defend the USA? Please enlighten me!

While I was quite distressed that my government grounded the STS before an alternative means of preforming manned mission was available at long last those means are now in use. As of November 2020 Dragon launched by SpaceX is doing the crew exchange missions for the USA launched teams.
11-2020 crew launch

November 13, 2020, 11:02am
The first crew rotation at International Space Station to employ a SpaceX Dragon Crew Capsule launches November 14 at 7:49pm ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four will join the Expedition 64 crew already aboard ISS, forming Expedition 64/65.

The new crew module built by SpaceX, carries four astronauts in comfort unlike the cramped condition aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule which all astronauts used to reach space station since the US Space Shuttle program shut down in 2011. Crew Dragon restores American capability to loft astronauts into orbit without reliance on Russian launch systems. They will dock at ISS at 4:20am on Sunday.

The Dragon Crew capsule had its final test drive, over the summer when NASA astronauts Bob Behnke and Doug Hurley rode up to Space Station as the last test crew for the new capsule.

I stand partially corrected. The USA is capable of flying some of its astronauts to the ISS using American spaceships since last May, but not all of them. I was basing my comment on my memory of this:
"American astronauts to again use Russian Soyuz rocket to reach ISS as NASA ..."
https://www.rt.com/russia/517842-usa-use-soyuz-sputnik/

But then I found this:
"Roscosmos names Russian cosmonaut expected to fly to ISS aboard SpaceX ..."
https://www.rt.com/russia/518074-korsak ... acex-nasa/

Apparently, Americans are smart enough to fly some of their astronauts to the ISS using American spaceships since last year, but not all.

[AdamB]

Apparently, Americans are smart enough to fly some of their astronauts to the ISS using American spaceships since last year, but not all.

Some Americans. I wouldn't lump them all together, any more than we should peak oilers or Russians. As I said, the Russians I've worked with are smart cookies. Maybe their political class is just more craven and inflicted with scumbaggery even worse than the American one is all?

[Tanada]

Biden cancels Elon Musk's adventures in space

New president is making his space policy increasingly clear: America will remain grounded for the time being.

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The United States is in a titanic struggle with the People’s Republic of China for the dominance of space.

Although the Americans have been to the moon and sent multiple, advanced probes to the surface of Mars, since the end of the Cold War, U.S. space policy has languished in neutral. Due to this, new competitors, namely China, have arisen to challenge the dominance of the Americans in the ultimate strategic high ground of space.

China has grand ambitions for space. Not only does China plan on beating the Americans to the Martian surface by the end of the decade, but Beijing wants control of the vital orbits around the Earth. By controlling these orbits, China’s military would enjoy significant advantages over the American military. Beyond that, China plans on strip-mining the moon for valuable resources.

The Americans, though, have always had a silver bullet in its competition with China for space dominance: a vibrant and innovative private sector. Specifically, the growing number of private space start-ups, such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Thanks to his reusable rocket design, Mr. Musk’s company has already cut down on launch costs by a staggering 40 percent. SpaceX insists that it can cut those costs down further. What’s more, SpaceX rockets are entirely indigenously produced. And as the ongoing race to Mars between the United States and China intensifies, Mr. Musk’s new deep space reusable rocket Starship, might just be the vehicle that gets American astronauts to Mars before China can get its taikonauts to the Red Planet.

Certainly, the Starship reusable rocket is unproven. In another America, this experimental craft would elicit wonder and its development would be encouraged. The Trump administration exhorted SpaceX to vigorously move ahead with its Starship program.

The United States, however, has a new president. And President Joe Biden is making his space policy preferences increasingly clear: America will remain grounded for the time being.

On Jan. 28, SpaceX was set to put its Starship rocket through another test in the blue skies above Texas. The objective of the test was to get the massive rocket up to 12.5 kilometers — about seven miles — above the Earth and then spin the giant rocket around so that it could make a vertical landing.

Sadly, the visionary goal of getting Americans to Mars first came crashing down when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which, under the Trump administration had allowed for SpaceX to conduct their important test flights, ordered Mr. Musk to cancel the Starship prototype test.

The FAA did not cite its reasoning behind ordering the cancellation of the launch. Many have speculated that the cancellation was brought about due to safety concerns. After all, in December 2020, SpaceX did a test of the experimental rocket. The Starship prototype made it to a height of 41,000 feet. Once it reoriented itself, in order to allow for the rocket to land vertically, the great silver spacecraft promptly did a bellyflop that ended in a massive explosion.

Despite this, SpaceX learned many valuable lessons from the December failure that were to be applied to the Starship launch in January. In science, the only lasting failure occurs when one does not test a new idea or hypothesis. This axiom is especially true in the context of the new space race between the United States and China.

It’s likely that the FAA’s decision to cancel the launch is part of a wider Biden administration effort undo the Trump administration’s vibrant space policy. Plus, former President Trump’s space vision was explicitly aimed at countering advances made by China in space. It is unlikely that the Biden administration seeks to continue that policy, as the Biden team attempts to stabilize deteriorating relations with Beijing over the next few years.

Concern over Mr. Musk’s Martian intentions is likely another factor for the FAA’s cancellation of the Starship launch. Last year, Mr. Musk indicated that any future SpaceX Martian colony would not be “ruled by Earth-based laws.” The problem for Mr. Musk is that SpaceX has been awarded lucrative contracts by the Earth-based U.S. government. If SpaceX were to create a colony on Mars, because of the company’s contractual relationship with the U.S. government, Washington very much expects that colony to be an American endeavor.

Lastly, Mr. Musk has been publicly supportive of the recent “GameStonk” controversy. A group of anonymous, individual investors on Reddit decided to engage in a little activism by inflating the stock price of Gamestop, a video game retailer. Melvin Capital, a storied Wall Street investment firm, was forced into bankruptcy by this move (they took the other side of the bet, attempting to short the Gamestop stock).

The “GameStonk” event was so significant that the Biden administration is vowing to prevent something similar from happening again. Congress is even getting involved. Because of Mr. Musk’s prestige and his vocal support for the Redditors who helped to take down Melvin Capital, it is possible that the Biden administration was punishing Mr. Musk by canceling the Starship launch at the last minute.

It is not only Mr. Musk who suffers from the FAA’s cancellation of the SpaceX test flight. We, the American people — and the entire effort to beat China to Mars — suffer. The Biden administration’s decision to increase regulations on the private space launch services sector and slow down their operations, as evidenced by the recent Starship launch cancellation, will only help China in its ongoing mission to defeat America in the new space race.

SpaceX Grounded

[jedrider]

China could have Mars, especially for manned exploration.

Robotic missions, I'm all for, however.

[JuanP]

"Another SpaceX Starship prototype explodes during high altitude flight test"
https://www.rt.com/news/519620-spacex-s ... explosion/

"SpaceX has crashed another prototype of its Starship, which the company’s boss, Elon Musk, hopes will someday take people to the Moon and Mars. The rocket exploded during landing after a high-altitude test.
Starship prototype Serial Number 11 (or SN11) took off from a launch pad at SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas on Tuesday despite thick fog in the area.

Raptor engines lifted the rocket to an altitude of 10 kilometers. SN11 then killed two of its engines one after another in order to descend, only firing them up again when close to the ground.

The plan was for SN11 to tip upright and safely touch down on the launch pad, but the test was cut short by a massive explosion."

I think wasting money and resources on this project while we are destroying our planet's biosphere is beyond retarded. I will never understand how humans can be so stupid and so smart at the same time

[Outcast_Searcher]

"Another SpaceX Starship prototype explodes during high altitude flight test"
https://www.rt.com/news/519620-spacex-s ... explosion/

"SpaceX has crashed another prototype of its Starship, which the company’s boss, Elon Musk, hopes will someday take people to the Moon and Mars. The rocket exploded during landing after a high-altitude test.
Starship prototype Serial Number 11 (or SN11) took off from a launch pad at SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas on Tuesday despite thick fog in the area.

Raptor engines lifted the rocket to an altitude of 10 kilometers. SN11 then killed two of its engines one after another in order to descend, only firing them up again when close to the ground.

The plan was for SN11 to tip upright and safely touch down on the launch pad, but the test was cut short by a massive explosion."

I think wasting money and resources on this project while we are destroying our planet's biosphere is beyond retarded. I will never understand how humans can be so stupid and so smart at the same time

Watching Youtube videos of apparently honest customers showing how Tesla "FSD" often works VERY poorly reminds me a lot of this.

One wonders how much crashing / expoloding must go on at SpaceX for Musk to wake up and admit that perhaps, there might be a problem.

Self promotion only goes so far as Trump amply demonstrated. Given random claims -- Trump and Musk are quite similar over time.

[billybell]

I think Elon Musk is one of the geniuses of our time. The bureaucrats can delay all they want: the future of space is here, it's called SpaceX.

[theluckycountry]

I think Elon Musk is one of the geniuses of our time. The bureaucrats can delay all they want: the future of space is here, it's called SpaceX.

Oh dear, another Elon worshiper... The future of space? You must be young, and American? Let me enlighten you, the US in the 1960's landed manned missions on the moon, several of them. What musk is doing now is not even as impressive as the efforts 50 years ago. "Starships" Pleeeeese, what a total crock of marketing. These are just basic chemical rockets with upgraded steering abilities. When I compare them to the Saturn-V heavy lift vehicles of half a century ago I see little difference.

Space X is simply NASA outsourced. Where do you think all the funding comes from, all the rockets scientists and engineers for that matter? Did Elon design these rockets? He couldn't design a firecracker.

[theluckycountry]

[b]Biden cancels Elon Musk's adventures in space

New president is making his space policy increasingly clear: America will remain grounded for the time being.

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The United States is in a titanic struggle with the People’s Republic of China for the dominance of space...

ANALYSIS/OPINION? More like Spin and obfuscation. Musk could move his "Amazing" space launches anywhere on the planet, that is if he controlled the company. It's controlled by US government spending though, and the US government is BROKE.

According to Grid’s analysis, SpaceX and Tesla have received more than $7 billion in government contracts alone, as well as billions more in tax breaks, loans, and other subsidies...

In October, the Department of Defense awarded SpaceX a $149 million contract to build missiles-tracking satellites. SpaceX has been selected to build its first government-ordered satellites. SpaceX had 40% of a $40 billion contract with the US military to launch new Space Force rockets.

SpaceX recently made a splash when they launched a Tesla Roadster into space. There was no government funding involved in the launch, which was a test of the company’s new Starship launch vehicle. The nearly $1 billion subsidy for SpaceX, a component of the FCC’s $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, was granted in December 2020

Yes SpaceX gets private funding, but it's small potatoes compared to the slush fund the US government setup for it. The US government is it's biggest customer and it's withdrawn it's spending.
Just another sign of Empire collapse.

https://www.eclipseaviation.com/governm ... he%20world.

[AdamB]

He couldn't design a firecracker.

Not only could Elon design a firecracker, he could build a car (something a well known Chinese mining colony can't do) and then build a rocket (something else a well known Chinese mining colony can't do) to launch it to Mars.

Dunno....sounds like more of a jealousy complaint against standard American hegemony exceptional there Lucky.

[evilgenius]

You know, if these complaints were directed at Branson I could see it. Virgin space whatchamacallit.

The things I don't like about Musk are the things he can't see in himself. I think he is somewhat autistic. That means that he can come to conclusions without truly understanding why he did. His brain hands him its synopsis without an explanation package. I think, what he does in response is to make up the reasons with his intellect. Usually, they make sense, even if they aren't the actual reasons. His only problem is that he has built a yes man, brown nosing operational structure around himself. Nobody else is going to tell him the truth, if his reasons aren't the reasons. He prefers the theater.

[theluckycountry]

What is spaceX doing exactly? It's shuttling a few deadbeat astronauts to the ISS so they can chat with school kids on radio link, and it's filling near-earth space with thousands of additional and unneeded satellites so Musk can make money selling bandwidth for youtube vids. Then of course there is the Marketing videos depicting future mars colonies. Gotta keep that dream alive


Space junk is a huge problem—and it’s only getting bigger

Of known and tracked space junk 70 percent is in low-Earth orbit, which extends about 1,250 miles (2,000 km) above the Earth's surface. The debris field shown in the image above is an artist's impression based on actual data.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/scie ... space-junk



Yeah it's depressing but you don't need to worry about it, just go back to watching Disney movies, they're much more entertaining than reality.

[Newfie]

Yeah, you have an excellent point about space junk.

I have never been fond of Musk, I have always seen him as a talented salesman (AKA Con Artist).

You ever hear of The Boaring Company?

[theluckycountry]

No, never heard of it? Do tell.

In other news: The Atlas 5, the workhorse of the US space program, has been in service since 2002. It's had 97 successful missions delivering everything from satellites into LEO to servicing the ISS, sending rovers to Mars, etc etc. But it had one fatal flaw.

The Disappointing Truth About The Blue Origin BE-4
2:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXEOVufxOyY

[Newfie]

The Boring Company was a Musk startup. He tried various schemes to milk money from US governments.

He proposed a high speed rail tunnel from DC to NYC. Good idea except the soil SUCKS for tunneling.

Then he tried to foist it on Chicago in a bait and switch.

[theluckycountry]

Oh yes he's a total salesman, practicality or reality never comes into it. The thing is the American public, and to some extent the Australian public too, are totally sucked into him. It's the tech messiah complex. They all want to believe in a hitech future to solve the Earth's problems and give them holidays on the moon and they need a focus for all those visions of utopia. Mush is the visionary and tells them exactly what they want to hear. Cars that don't run on oil! Wow!! No they don't run on oil, they run on coal

[Newfie]

He had a pretty strong following here on PO for a while.