# The Great Ongoing Space Exploration Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [November 16, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703 "2020-11-16T12:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 98
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1942 "2025-03-08T14:55:20Z")
Pictures of Blue Ghost from Lunar Recon Orbiter (easier once it alternates between before and after) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Y79w3U3jJZw/maxresdefault.jpg "Blue Ghost M1 observed by NASA’s LRO") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y79w3U3jJZw) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1943 "2025-03-08T18:25:47Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > > [@PastTense](#): > > > > and Mars > > Elon may have a word for this. > > I hope it is “fuck”. AFAIK, Musk never planned for his Mars colonization dream to depend on NASA at all. At most, a diversion to the Moon via the Artemis program was a way to get some development funds. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1944 "2025-03-08T20:13:16Z")
Musk is a very odd egg. A few years ago some of us hoped that he would be a space tech pioneer, doing what NASA couldn’t or wouldn’t to get a real space program working. But it seems he has developed weird obsessions in many kinds of political, mostly right wing issues. Of course Howard Hughes did good work for a while and then went off the rails. And Heinlein’s D D Harriman was also a questionable ‘robber baron’… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1945 "2025-03-08T21:41:13Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Musk is a very odd egg. You misspelled egominiacal narcissist sociopath. [![](https://i.imgur.com/MP4x8pI.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/MP4x8pI.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1946 "2025-03-08T21:54:37Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > But it seems he has developed weird obsessions in many kinds of political, mostly right wing issues. Developed, or has just become more open at letting his asshole flag fly now? Hard to tell. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1947 "2025-03-09T06:49:17Z")
Based on internal engine bay & attic video of the Starship IFT-8 flight, which has not been publicly released, resonance was indeed the cause of the ship destruction. It grew in amplitude as the propellant tanks emptied out and modal characteristics of the vehicle changed. The resonance caused leaks which in turn altered the thermodynamic state of the propellants reaching the engines. This caused the engines to either shut down or destruct. That in turn caused a fire in the released attic propellants. The alterations SpaceX made from IFT-7 were not sufficient to dampen the resonances, so the mode of failure was essentially the same. SpaceX had attempted to mitigate the issue and did an expanded hot-fire test of Starship to take data under similar circumstances, but the resonance persisted in the actual flight. Here is the manifold piping in the Starship attic. You can see that they attempted to even out the propellant flow between engines. But you can also see how resonance modes could arise in the piping. [![](https://images.spot.im/image/upload/v200/540780dd-9811-47a1-9c22-092c784fc81b) ](https://images.spot.im/image/upload/v200/540780dd-9811-47a1-9c22-092c784fc81b) ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1948 "2025-03-09T12:25:42Z")
So is that a Martian tripod now? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1949 "2025-03-09T14:13:00Z")
All helicopters want to crash, and all rockets want to blow up. Getting either to fly means fighting their fundamental nature. ETA: okay, it’s somewhat comforting to know it wasn’t a brand-new problem that magically came out of hiding when no one was looking. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1950 "2025-03-09T18:28:06Z")
If that is really an accurate quote, it does seem to suggest a psychopathic personality… Unfortunate. Of course some genuine geniuses like Newton were also total assholes… ☹ Not that I’m suggesting Musk is in that league! ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1951 "2025-03-09T21:53:43Z")
I love it…brings Apollo vibes! ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1952 "2025-03-12T23:30:03Z")
> **[SpaceX delays flight to replace NASA's stuck astronauts after launch pad problem](https://apnews.com/article/nasa-stuck-astronauts-spacex-boeing-4ac5006ba792eb86aaccb12f8174493c)** > > A launch pad problem has forced a flight delay to replace NASA's two stuck astronauts. The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months in orbit. The company did not immediately announce a new launch date, but noted the next try could be as early as Thursday night. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1953 "2025-03-12T23:33:01Z")
Scrub due to hydraulic issues on the ground systems. Didn’t yet get to fueling. Good to see the lack of go fever. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1954 "2025-03-13T19:40:28Z")
I love this sort of speculation as it gets my mind racing. > **[Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope...](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/james-webb-space-telescope/is-our-universe-trapped-inside-a-black-hole-this-james-webb-space-telescope-discovery-might-blow-your-mind)** > > "I think that the simplest explanation of the rotating universe is the universe was born in a rotating black hole." I’ve heard this sort of argument before and that we cannot rule out that the universe is inside a black hole. It’s total speculation of course, but endlessly fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1955 "2025-03-13T20:18:38Z")
Given the afaik random orientation of galaxies, I don’t know how they would count which way all the edge-on cases were rotating. And of course you would have to consider any angular momentum from galactic clusters as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1956 "2025-03-13T20:21:01Z")
Hmm, so maybe the universe has net angular momentum. It does put a wrinkle on the nature of the original singularity, though. That singularity already had exceptionally low entropy. Putting another constraint on it like having net angular momentum makes it even more improbable. Going just based on entropic concerns, one would expect non-rotating singularities to vastly outnumber rotating ones. Then again, that singularity is already so improbable that it demands another explanation (like not being a singularity at all, and the big bang arising from a cyclic universe or a “big bounce” or something), in which case maybe angular momentum isn’t all that surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1957 "2025-03-13T20:23:24Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Going just based on entropic concerns, one would expect non-rotating singularities to vastly outnumber rotating ones. How so? Of all possible values for rotation, isn’t “zero” rather narrow? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1958 "2025-03-13T20:37:09Z")
Well, I should say small rather than precisely zero. If you flip 10100 coins, you’d expect the final result to be _very_ close to 50/50. Getting a result of 66/33 is exceptionally unlikely! ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1959 "2025-03-13T20:57:55Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > so maybe the universe has net angular momentum You may remember that Godel came up with a solution to the Einstein field equations in which time travel is possible in a rotating universe? [time travel is possible in a rotating universe?] [time travel is possible] [time travel] And now I have tested it, said Wen\*… - (I assume everyone here has read Pratchett… Thief of Time?)… ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1960 "2025-03-13T21:00:01Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > I love this sort of speculation as it gets my mind racing. > > [Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind | Space](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/james-webb-space-telescope/is-our-universe-trapped-inside-a-black-hole-this-james-webb-space-telescope-discovery-might-blow-your-mind) > > I’ve heard this sort of argument before and that we cannot rule out that the universe is inside a black hole. It’s total speculation of course, but endlessly fascinating. I hate clickbait-y titles: our universe wouldn’t be “trapped” within a black hole, it would have been _born_ as the inside of a black hole. Black holes in our universe would also NOT be “gateways” to these other baby universes, as a whole host of bad things would happen to oneself if one tried to dive into one (i.e. nobody can survive such, either hitting the hypothesized firewall at the event horizon or getting spaghettified afterwards, or something equally deadly). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/1961 "2025-03-13T21:02:29Z")
Closed time-like curves are fun. Though I did see a “proof” recently that they can’t result in a paradox, basically because the nature of entropy reverses when you get about halfway around the loop. So when the loop closes back on itself, the state of the passengers is back to where it started, and nothing very interesting happens. ETA: The paper: [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6382/ad98df](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6382/ad98df) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=97) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=99)