V-Band

Atmospheric Absorption of Millimeter Waves

Silicon Greybeard is talking about a satellite built for Boeing to test some V-Band communications gear. V-Band is very high frequency. At 60 Ghz it is much higher than the other frequency bands used for satellite communications.

The chart above illustrates how much a radio signal is reduced when it passes through the atmosphere. Note the peak right around 60 GHz, which is where the V-Band is. This makes it look communicating with a satellite using V-Band signals is going to a little difficult. So why would they choose to use such a frequency? As the Silicon Greybeard says, maybe they are not trying to communicate with ground based stations. Well, that's dumb. What else is there? Umm, other satellites, other spacecraft and best of all, UFO's.

Microwave Frequency Bands

RF's original chart used millimeters (mm) for some wavelengths and centimeters (cm) for some others. I changed it to use all millimeters.

Microwave Frequency Bands

The bump in the red line is because the F band overlaps the upper part of the W band.

Conspiracies Я Us

The Silicon Greybeard has a post up about just how corrupt the US Government is. I tend to agree. I suspect that the only reason things haven't gone completely to hell is that we have a large and fairly stable bureaucracy, most of which hasn't been corrupted. I've got a few things to say about how things got this way and what we can do about it, but that's going to take more energy than I have right now. I post something about it later, I hope.

Artemis

NASA's next-generation Moon rocket, the Space Launch System [SLS] rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifted off from launch complex 39B as part of the unmanned Artemis 1 mission to the Moon on November 16, 2022. [File: Joe Rimkus Jr/Reuters]

The SLS finally flew. I was beginning to wonder. Seems they have been working on this thing forever. Finally took off and sent the Orion capsule around the moon. Aljazeera has some pictures.

The Silicon Greybeard has been following the Artemis project.

I've also been wondering why the SLS project cost so much money. Finally turned up an answer. It wasn't that it cost so much, it's because Congress wanted to shovel money out the door and Boeing said 'we'll take it'.

Patriot of the Day

Samuel Whittmore monument

The American Revolution got started today 245 years ago. Samuel's story as recorded on this monument is amazing.

Via The Silicon Greybeard

Weak

I'm a funny kind of guy. Sometimes I am mentally energized can delve into fascinating subjects, other times I am reduced to listening to classic rock and playing solitaire.

Skimming the blog postings that show up on Feedly, I came across a couple that on a more energized day I might pursue, but today we're lucky to have some links.

RobertaX writes about the growing political divide in science-fiction fandom and mentions that Heinlein (Robert A.) worked on EPIC (End Poverty in California), Upton Sinclair's plan to socialize California during the great depression. Some people think his program served as a template for FDR's New Deal programs.

The Relative Size Of Particles
Click to Embiggenate

Bayou Renaissance Man Peter tells us about problems with African dust in BMW cars and M-16 rifles. Wikipedia has an article about dust. The stuff can get get really small. Sand particles are larger than dust. Watching Matt's Off Road Recovery videos, I learned that a little ground moisture can be the difference between getting your car's wheels buried and driving right over it. Also, it doesn't take much rain to turn some clay surfaces into skating rinks. Clay particles are smaller than sand particles. Clay particles may even be considered dust.

The Silicon Greybeard considers the unemployment conundrum. The signs are very clear that we are headed for some kind of economic catastrophe. Why can't I see what's going to happen? We have a growing homeless population, employers are having a hard time finding workers, the rent moratoriums might end. Some simple things are obvious. Prices are going up. Employers can solve their worker shortage by raising wages, but that means prices will go up even more. They will have to be careful though, raising prices will necessarily cut sales. Cut sales too much and you go out of business. Might be better to limp along with the workers you have and demand for your product exceeding your ability to produce. If the rent moratoriums end, lots of people are going to be out on the street, but that will mean lots of empty apartments and commercial buildings, which will mean lower rents. Not ending the rent moratoriums means those landlords who are carrying mortgages are going to lose their properties, but who will buy them if they can't collect any rent? You can bet that there is some serious pushing and shoving going on.

Language Log writes about people crying about certain words. Effing morons. At the end he quotes from a story in The Atlantic:

But these sanctions are based on no general agreement among even sensitive, sociologically concerned people. Couched as compassionate counsel, this list is mostly a series of prim concoctions by people who, one suspects, simply need more to do. In the end, working to change conditions is much more important than obsessively curating the words and expressions we use to describe them.

 Right on, dude!

SpaceX Starship Test Hop

Starship SN8 20km Hop w/ corrected landing burn.
C-bass Productions
It looks real, it fooled me the first time I watched it, but then I read the blurb and realized it's only a comptuer generated simulation.

This video is of a planned test hop to 50,000 feet. It's a little unnerving when they shut the engine off at the top. They aren't in orbit, there's nothing holding it up anymore, it's going to start falling and if they can't restart the engines, it will smash into the ground.

Seems odd that 3 engines would be enough to lift such a large vessel, but it's mostly empty, much like a beer can with a couple of ounces of beer left in the bottom, so 3 engines is plenty.

Via Silicon Greybeard, my go to guy for SpaceX related news.

Skulls of My Enemies

Skull of My Enemy

The Silicon Greybeard give us a glimpse of his life as a keyboard warrior:

My coffee mug these days, a gift from a Christmas party exchange at some time in the past. I refer to this as drinking out of the skulls of my enemies. Except that snowmen aren't my enemies.  I've never even seen one in real life.  No snowmen have ever plotted attacks on me or my family.  That I know of. 

Ralphie

SpaceX Starship

The SpaceX Starship Full Wet Dress in Texas on Monday, December 23, 2022

The Silicon Greybeard has a post up about the SpaceX Starship. Nothing Earth shattering, I just like to keep tabs on Elon's pet project. They continue to march along, making incremental progress. The pace feels more like NASA in the 1960's when there was always a rocket launch / disaster in the news, not like the glacial pace that NASA has been taking since the end of Apollo.

More Good News from NASA and SpaceX

SpaceX Falcon rocket and Dragon Crew capsule on their way
 to the ISS (International Space Station) - Trevor Mahlmann

The Silicon Greybeard has a report on the latest launch of a SpaceX rocket. Good news all around.

The above photo is just nuts. It must have taken some planning, and Trevor would have had to be quick on his feet to capture the entire arc of the launch AND the palm trees.

Rockets

Finalists For TROPICS Mission

The Silicon Greybeard has a fine post up about rockets and spaceflight. This picture (above) caught my eye, or rather the numbers that go with it. NASA solicited bids for a satellite launch for next year. Three companies bid. Their proposed launch vehicles are shown in the picture above. The Astra Rocket 3 was the winning bid at $8 million dollars. How much did the other guys want? Rocketlab's Electron bid was higher, but SpaceX's bid was also $8 million dollars. How about them potatoes?

Rocket of the Day

The Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage carrying British OneWeb satellites being transported to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.  Roscosmos photo from TASS.  Photo taken March 2, 2022.

Here we have a perfect example of how well cooperation works between warring factions - it doesn't. Silicon Greybeard has the story.

Engine

I turn Fridge Compressor into 4 stroke Engine
Lets Learn Something

This is a gear head fantasy - let's make an engine out of a bunch of junk! Compare and contrast this project with The Silicon Greybeard's engine building project. We have two techniques as different as can be, but still working toward the same goal. 

This guy doesn't use any machine tools, a drill press and an angle grinder are his tools of choice. The TIG welder is biggest gun in his arsenal. When he gets to setting up the ignition system, and he starts pulling out what look like new parts, it's almost like he's cheating. But all those electrical parts cost like next to nothing compared to anything made out of metal. They only become expensive when you happen to need the exact one necessary for your 2019 Super Whizbang, and that's only to pay for the warehouse full of parts and the clerk that are sitting there waiting for you to need what they have.

This video has been out less than a week and it already has over two million views. Looking through my YouTube history, the only ones that have those kind of numbers are music videos.

On My Mind

Several things have been ticking over in my mind, but between my lower energy level, and my everyday obligations (which includes an hour of reading and 2 or 3 hours of Behzat Ç.), I haven't put up any posts, so I thought I'd just go over them briefly.

---

Radiation in deep space is a real problem. Spaceships in science fiction always seem to have big windows that offer a spectacular view of the stars. I'm thinking spaceships destined for long term voyages, like years, would need to be like a ball made of concrete or steel and would certainly have no windows. There would cameras on the outside and video screens on the inside, but no windows. Criminently you say, what's the point of going way out there if you can't actually look at anything? If we wanted to see digital reproductions of the universe, we could just have stayed home and sent robots to take pictures for us.

Well, we could, except for the time delay. If you want to actually do anything out there, like, say, pick up a rock, it's better to be Johnny-on-the-spot. You should be able to exert adequate control over anything within a thousand miles. Hmm, a thousand miles is going to take about five milliseconds, round trip will take 10. Turn that into Hertz and we get a low pitched hum. Electrical equipment hums at 60 Hz. Seems like there are some doctors who are performing surgery remotely. I wonder what the delay time is on live internet video.

Okay, you could probably teach a robot to pick up a rock, but it's going to be a while before a robot can do everything a person can do, and even when that happens, there are still going to be people who want to go out there and do it for themselves, even if they are only doing it through digitally controlled Waldos.

---

Most of what we know we acquired by instinct. Walking, talking, listening are all things we all learn how to do before we can even begin any formal education. Somewhere in those first dozen years we pick on social behavior, how much pushing, shoving and yelling is required (stand up for your rights) and how much is too much (or you might be arrested by the police). We learn to identify emotions in other people. We learn to identify people, but that might be hard wired into the brain, maybe no learning is required. Yes, you need to see someone at least once to be able to recognize them again, but I don't think any learning is needed. It's just something you are born with.

All this readin', writin' & rithmetic are just icing on the cake. On some cakes the icing adheres well and can be piled to prodigious depths. On others it just slides right off and none of it ever sticks.

Why are pastors known as shepherds and their parishioners known as sheep? Because most of his flock are as dumb as sheep. Readin', writin' & rightmetic may as well be a foreign tongue. Silicon Greybeard was talking about people not being numerate, which is like literate except with numbers.

In their day, pastor's were essential to keeping society well ordered and on an even keel. Religious gatherings have been going on for so long I wouldn't be surprised if it was in our DNA.

Is the time of pastor's over? Despite all the mayhem loose in the world, I think pastor's are still a force for good in our society.

---

I'm trying to stop thinking about the election. It's not going to make any real difference who wins. All politics is just a big circus designed to keep us distracted while the king monkeys steal all the monkey biscuits.

Some people are hollering about fraud. Given that everything is being done by people, I am sure there was some fraud somewhere. Whether there was enough to sway the election doesn't matter. What matter's is whether the various state justice departments decide to investigate, what they find, and how vigorously they prosecute any cases that come to light. All this vague, national agonizing doesn't matter a whit.

---

Money for nothin' is great (unemployment checks, welfare checks, stimulus checks), but what we really need is something to do. People with no resources and nothing to do are going to find something to do and it will probably be destructive. Yes, there are some people who are just going to be ornery and contrary no matter what you do, but there are a good number of people who just need someone to follow. Maybe he'll lead us to greener pastures. Or maybe he'll lead us to hell. 

The COVID-19 lockdown is bullshit. The longer it goes on, the more destruction you are going to see.

Quote of the Day

🚀💥 SpaceX's Starship Explosion 🚀💥 This video repeats the same 18 second sequence several times. 
The Silicon Greybeard has a report on the recent SpaceX test, wherein I found this pithy observation.

Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo asks Elon "So, what did y'all learn from this event?"
Elon replies "There’s a puck at the base that takes the engine thrust load. Don’t shuck the puck!"

Airplane of the Day - Santa & UFO

Christmas Eve. Roswell, New Mexico. 1949

Okay, technically not airplanes, but they could be considered aircraft. Anyway, Merry Christmas.

Via The Silicon Greybeard

Mighty Servant 1

Drone ship OCISLY (Of course I still love you) being loaded onto transport ship MS1 (Mighty Servant 1) in the Bahamas

OCISLY (Of course I still love you) is a barge that SpaceX uses as a landing platform to recover boosters from their Falcon 9 rockets. 

The drone ship (essentially a barge) is floating in the center of the picture. The bow section of MS1 (Mighty Servant 1) is on the left and the stern portion is on the right. The body of the ship that joins these two sections has been submerged to allow the OCISLY to float right over it. When it is in position, the MS1 will pump the water out of the ballast tanks and the whole ship will rise until the deck is above the surface, lifting the barge with it. Then they will drive to Vandenberg AFB in California via the Panama Canal.

Via Silicon Greybeard, who has a post with the whole story.

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab | Mid-Air Recovery Demo
Rocket Lab is in the business of launching small satellites into orbit. Now they are trying to recover their booster using a helicopter. An empty booster doesn't weigh much, and with the right parachute it should fall slowly enough that a helicopter could catch it. You would have to be in the right area to even have a chance of catching it, and that might be a little difficult. This demo is still a good trick.

SpaceX had a boat that they were going to try and catch fairings with. I haven't heard anything about it lately. We shall see how Rocket Lab's experiment plays out.

Via The Silicon Greybeard

SpaceX Starship/Superheavy Launch and Catch Animation

The Silicon Greybeard  reports that they are testing this mechanical monster. I think the idea is that if they can catch the falling rocket by its grid fins, they can dispense with the landing legs, which is going to save considerable weight, which would be very good. Whether they can make this scheme work is another question. From what I have seen of the successful booster landings they have made, they have sufficient accuracy. It just seems very risky. If something goes wrong, the tower as well as the rocket could be damaged. But being as the tower is a ground based structure, if should not be nearly as expensive as a booster with its phalanx of very expensive rocket motors. So damaging the tower may be an inconsequential risk.

I still like rockets that land on their tail fins.

Destination Moon - Entertainment Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo

Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Lunar Lander

The Silicon Greybeard reports on  Lunar Lander. He quotes from this story:

Firefly Aerospace completes Blue Ghost moon lander for January 2025 SpaceX launch

It sounds cool and it sounds like it is getting launched to the moon in January. These lines from the story caught my eye:

Blue Ghost will carry a variety of payloads to the moon, some of which are in support of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. CLPS pairs scientific payloads developed by NASA with commercial lunar landers headed for the moon on private missions. 

They bestirred me (was I triggered?) enough to comment:

". . . commercial lunar landers headed for the moon on private missions." I am curious to see just what those turn out to be, and if any of them will be long term successful. Tourists would have to be #1. At current cargo rates you should be able to put a person in orbit for $100K. In a capsule designed for people it would be more. I expect that within five years you will be able to buy a seat on a rocket to the moon for a million dollars. You know there are a bunch of people out there with money who would jump at the chance.

I am sure there are any number of schemes in the works. Tourism might not be the biggest enterprise in the long term, but it ought to be a big seller to start with. Maybe enough to even make it real business. 

Power for you, Power for me

India. Construction of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

I was just reading about 'load balancing' for electrical power utilities, and it occurred to me that we are overlooking something here. Seems to me that while everyone is concerned about the cost of power, residential users are more sensitive to power rates than businesses are. I'm not sure why this is. Perhaps because electrical power is such a small part of the budget for any kind of going concern, except perhaps for an aluminum foundry, but for a family living on wages, the power bill can be significant.
    I remember seeing an episode of Connections a while back where the hero was talking about how India was planning on building a giant new power plant to provide more power, but if they would have just replaced all their inefficient refrigerators with more efficient ones they could have cut their electrical consumption by a like amount. Supposedly replacing nine zillion refrigerators would have been cheaper than building a new power plant. They built the power plant anyway.
    Dustbury calculated that some personal computers cost as much to operate for a year as they cost to buy. I'm not sure I buy that, but doing the calculations to figure out if he is right or not would be a lot like work, and what I really want right now is a nap.
    I'm wondering if maybe we should have a sliding rate for electricity and water usage. Everyone gets their first kilowatt (or megawatt or whatever) for the same low rate. If you use more, the rate goes up. People who hold their consumption down to 'authorized' levels get off with a small bill. Wasteful sinners have to pay.

Inspired by Tam and The Silicon Greybeard