The Thargoid situation continues to escalate with 3 human stations attacked by a new class of thargoid, the Medusa. I head out to the affected area to fly through hazardous conditions and rescue civilians trapped on the stricken stations.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBeb_0_NsJQ
A huge part of rocket science is the system of tanks, piping, valves and burners which deliver the fuel from the tanks to the engine. I try to explain why different designs exist and the advantages that more complicated designs deliver.
To be clear, I'm not a rocket scientist, I only play one on the internet.
Rocket engine diagrams are largely from Wikipedia with some
Modification for narrative purposes
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gas_generator_rocket_cycle.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pressure_fed_rocket_cycle.svg
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Expander_rocket_cycle.svg
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staged_combustion_rocket_cycle.png#mw-jump-to-license
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QXZ2RzN_Oo
Back in 1994 Elon Musk was another new graduate in Silicon Valley doing whatever work he though would be interesting, this lead him to work with 'Rocket Science Games' who at the time thought the future of gaming would be build around live action cutscenes, I'm so glad they were wrong.
His 2 game credits are
Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loadstar:_The_Legend_of_Tully_Bodine
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs: The Second Cataclysm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillacs_and_Dinosaurs:_The_Second_Cataclysm
You can also play a web browser version of Blastar, a game with about the same level of gameplay as these epic CDROM productions, but without the production values.
https://blastar-1984.appspot.com/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLywBJCOK6Q
I've not nowhere to expand to, and none of the neighbours look to be pushovers given by inability to support large fleets, so it's time to start building new homes for my citizens in deep space.
Also, realizing that some of my refugees would be much happier living on an ocean world.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5sNOhkPeCU
If you're interested in playing Eve Online you can sign up for an extended free trial: https://secure.eveonline.com/trial/?invc=5e220162-831d-4e3b-b6cc-09a8bd191d30&action=buddy
Titans at 15km long supercapitals, they come with a giant 'doomsday' superweapon which will incinerate a regular capital ship in one shot, they carry smaller Capital sized weapon batteries and have the ability to support regular fleets with their jump bridge capabilities and jump clone facilities.
Building one of these in game takes months, and costs the equivalent of 3-4000 US dollars if you were to convert PLEX rather than making the money in game (depending on the exchange rate).
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2R8DSLvEW4
Last night Elon Musk posted a pair of low resolution images showing the new Raptor engine getting ready for testing at the Mcgregor, Texas facility. Raptor is a next generation design using full flow staged combustion cycle, a design which has never been successfully flown, but offers superior performance and reusability.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdwy9fzQzl4
An extended answer to a question I keep seeing - can spacecraft avoid the furious heat of reentry by slowing down before reaching the atmosphere, or, but flying above it until slow enough to avoid it.
The footage is from the Artemis 1 mission reentry.
Follow me on Twitter for more updates:
https://twitter.com/DJSnM
I have a discord server where I regularly turn up:
https://discord.gg/zStmKbM
If you really like what I do you can support me directly through Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/scottmanley
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kl2mm96Jkk
Lunar Flight is and indie game by Shovsoft for the PC, it's a lightweight sim of flying a spacecraft around the surface of the moon, running missions to make money and upgrade your ship - it's quite fun and is available from Steam, Desura, Gamersgate and more -
http://www.shovsoft.com/lunarflight/
75% off Until the 25th of May too!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzFYL7g_K7M
Another installment of my long running series where I attempt to answer questions from my supporters over at Patreon without the aid of a safety net! This month there's questions about laser propulsion, magnetic fields, volcanoes and cooking a turkey during reentry.
If you really like what I do you can support me directly through Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/scottmanley
Follow me on Twitter for more updates:
https://twitter.com/DJSnM
I have a discord server where I regularly turn up:
https://discord.gg/zStmKbM
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Cqn6VMF9c