Sturgeon

Jeeps, that is one hot rig!

I was just on ATK's Facebook page for work, and oh man:

First, there was the Antares rocket explosion, and now SpaceShipTwo has crashed, killing 1 pilot.

It seems the craft exploded after lighting the engine. Test flights are always a risk. Growing up as the brat of a test pilot, this has always been on my mind during these sorts of things.

Post more details here as they become available.

Seconded. Also an expanded post on nuuuuuuuukes iiiiiiin spaaaaaaaace

Re-reading his article... There is so much wrong with it; some of which I haven't addressed before. I'm very tempted to do a straight fisking of it, but I don't know that anyone would read it.

I do not think Mr. Williams has the strongest grasp of the actual mechanics of terminal effectiveness. For one, his barrier penetration equation seems highly questionable to me.

Duplex doesn't really mix well with the sort of ballistic performance he wants.

His objection to flechettes is related to terminal effectivess.

Really, though, it's very obvious to me that Mr. Williams is stuck in the past in this matter. He suggested the GPC first in 1971, and it was not a new idea then.

This thread is for the discussion of the "general purpose cartridge" concept and the ongoing debate surrounding both it and current infantry weapons and their ammunition.

First, Tony Williams' article on his "GPC" idea, and why it should be the next infantry small arms ammunition paradigm.

Next, my rebuttal. And my second rebuttal. And my third rebuttal.

Discuss.

I will begin. Ever wonder what a Mercury-derived Lunar mission would look like? Something like this, maybe:

Or maybe you've always been convinced that the US Air Force had a secret Gemini-derived Lunar program. Well, they didn't, but the Kerbal States Air Force did!

The launch of the KSAF Air Force Orbital Surveyor:

In orbit around the Mun after having released its unmanned lander:



The launch of the Munar Occupied Laboratory:



The Munar-Lander Big Gemini, a ten-man Gemini-derived Munar lander:

The Munar Populator Mission launches its five Kerbals, each in separate B-58 Hustler-derived Landing Vehicles, on their journey to the Munar surface:



Shhhh! It's the KSAF's sooper sekrit Munar base!

Oh that is a good choice, Jeeps!

I am currently working my way through The Hermetic Millennia, by John C. Wright. What are y'all reading?

Went ahead and stickied the page.

I feel this is pretty obviously true. However, they seem to work well enough as general purpose boxes with guns and missiles on them, and that's OK, I guess. I also think this goes double for the Brad, which has really be crammed into the scout role where it obviously doesn't belong.

Which is acid named after ants!

According to Assault Rifles and Their Ammunition, it was 55gr at 3,120 ft/s, compared to 55gr at 3,280 ft/s for M193 and 62gr at 3,100 ft/s for SS109.

Weren't these all related to F-104 and U-2 development?

Since this forum is primarily intended as a place to collate and discuss research, I have decided to integrate relevant blogs as subforums within each forum category. Not only does this organize the blogs according to their usual subject matter, it also allows posters to reach the blogs easily, without having to use the blogs tab. Further, it also allows me to integrate other relevant websites that may not be blogs into the site where they belong (e.g., Logical Increments).

Currently, blogs and sites listed as subforums come from my blogroll and bookmarks, but if I've missed any or if there are good blogs that belong here that I do not read, please PM me with the link(s).

The integrated external links are being updated all the time to keep the forum relevant, so be sure to look for new sites every time you log on!

I just use Windows 7. But I am not an OS junkie.

Daniel Watters' theory on this is that one of the limiting factors is how thin the cleaning rods can be made without being too fragile for grunts. I don't know to what degree he was joking in saying this.

Very early on during SCHV research, calibers of .18, .22, .25, and 27 were tested, and .18 was determined to be unfeasible. I'll have to take another look to recall why, exactly.

In theory, calibers smaller than .22 offer lighter weight while retaining acceptable ballistics, but micro-caliber bores do come with a host of problems. Sabot ammunition is a possible solution, though that invites issues of its own.

Oh man. Dat parallel staging.

Newegg had a sale on SSDs, so I picked up a 256gb one for a bit less than a hundred bucks. What're the tech savvy users' opinions on SSDs? Are they the wave of the future, or really not that much better than HDDs?

There is a TeamSpeak 3 server available for use by Sturgeon's House forum members. PM myself, Unstart, or collimatrix to be vetted and given access.

I am personally in favor of using NERVAs/etc for space exploration. Rocket propellants are pretty dangerous as it is; I don't think you're substantially raising the danger threshold by using nuclear reactors.

As the title suggests, please read this post before you yourself posts.

First, it's appropriate for me to introduce this forum to the new posters that may be reading this. Sturgeon's House is a forum for those concerned with technical topics. Those of us that make up the core of the website are those who value good information over bad, who value the best sources and documents over those poorly executed. We thrive on sharing primary sources with each other and discussing them. As I once said on another forum, it doesn't matter if the airplane looks good, it matters how well it flies. That's how we feel about sources and documents here on SH. It has to make sense, and it has to fit within the ever-refining context in which it exists. In short, SH is a document-based forum, in the same way that 4chan is an image-based forum. 

Before you post, I think it's fair that you know that in this forum I intend to hold everyone to a - relatively speaking - higher standard of posting. It's my goal to make this forum a place with not only a high signal to noise ratio, but also a place with a high level of cultivated humor and levity. So at once, I expect posters to take posting seriously, but also to not take posting seriously. It's easier than it sounds, I think. Perhaps, instead, I should say: "The quality of posts should be high, but the subject need not be serious."

If you're new to the forum, the safest course of action to being accepted here is to try to post sources without commenting on them, and to pay attention to the forum Nobility (they are tagged as such). If you find something interesting, post it without making any comment of your own. For instance, perhaps post a documentary and ask "what does the forum think of this?". Be sure to pay attention to the responses you get, especially those of the Nobility. They should tell you a lot about how we do things at SH, and what a good or bad document looks like.

If I were a new poster here, I'd tackle technical subjects first (by posting sources without commentary), then once you've gotten a few likes from the Nobility, maybe try your hand at humor or the more recreational areas. I would not try to post anything about politics or religion until you are very well established on the forum.

I do not enforce any moral codes here on SH, only anti-obnoxiousness and anti-spam rules. Your language will not be censored, but your content may well be, especially if it contributes nothing to the discussion or is otherwise a deliberate attempt to reduce the value of content on this website. The lack of censorship here at SH is not an excuse to be a cad.

There are three basic guidelines to posting at SH that were for a long time unspoken but understood by everyone here. However, since we have grown in membership, it is worthwhile to state them openly:


1. This forum was created to be a place where technical discussions can take place without drama. That is a burden every single poster needs to bear, and it comes before anyone's honor, reputation, etc.

2. No one on this forum is an "untouchable"; not even I am, though as a general rule it's stupid to piss off an admin.

3. Any shitstorms that occur are to be worked through, and must not be allowed to wreak permanent havoc on the forum's membership. This is the Internet, and no grudges or bad blood are really very real. If you have a problem, you can work it out like adults. There is no "or else", just work it out.

4. Keeping the post quality high here is a group effort. Think of it like a group hike - you don't have to like everyone you're marching with, but if someone stumbles or trips up you pick them up and help them, you don't break your own leg in escalation. Posting here is like that - if someone else, regardless of what you think of them - falters in posting well, do what you can to keep the conversation on track and the posting quality high.

Lastly, I recommend you read over BabyOlifant's posting rules, which, while they don't always fit exactly right on this forum, are a good starting point to posting well:
 

Quote

 

BabbyOilFaint's Remarkable Guide to Not Shitpoasting So Damn Much:

 

Step One: Acquire alcohol of between 3-12% ABV. Imbibe at a rate somewhere at the mean of "nursing the bottle back to health" and "trying to beat a German at a drinking competition." Note: Do not ever try to beat a German at a drinking competition. No really, I nearly killed a Berliner by giving him Dogfishhead 90 Minute. Note (2): Do not drink to impress. We're trying to gudpoast, not vomit.

 

Step Two: If your post is about anime, Doctor Who, House, Sherlock Holmes (the Benjamin Cumberbatch one), or anything else that is SNCA, don't post it. That's "Shit Nobody Cares About" for those of you who don't lurk at ED.

 

Step Three: Edit your posts. Sometimes you won't say what you really mean. Sometimes what you really mean is stupid. Editing is the solution. Having said that, don't edit away your major errors to avoid taking responsibility for them.

 

Step Four: If you have a questionable idea, use Google to find out if it's idiotic.

 

Step Five: Internal consistency is not the final arbiter of sound logic. If logic is an airplane, it's not good enough that it just looks good, it has to fly.

 

Step Six: The more links you forge, the more people will get out of your posts. Always hyperlink.

 

Step Seven: Condescension and pretension are forgivable. Being wrong is not.

 

Step Eight: Don't post SNCA.

 

Step Nine: Don't bait others to post SNCA.

 

Step Ten: The Golden Rule: Read what you write out loud.

 

Step Bonus: Copypasta Donward's poasts.