Please Remain Seated During the Future
From Knight Rider dreams to Tesla’s airborne Roadster: a cheerful defence of engineering excess, childhood wonder, and letting Musk’s critics enjoy the ride.
Propulsion
24posts
Beyond Rockets: The Andromeda Dreamer Gently Pirouettes into Space
For 60 years we’ve reached orbit on chemical rockets — controlled chaos transmuted into mach diamonds. Stunning when they work, devastating when they fail.
Old Fire, New Fire: Why SLS and Starship Burn So Differently
A clear look at why SLS and Starship represent two very different rocket philosophies, from propellant choice to reuse.
Memory by Round-Trip Time
John Carmack’s fiber-loop memory idea opens a strange door into latency, physics, and unconventional computing architectures.
Between Zero and Infinity: How We Reason About Life in the Universe
The search for alien life is not just an engineering problem; it is also a lesson in reasoning under deep uncertainty.
Noyron: Engineering Machines by Code, Not Guesswork
Noyron points toward an engineering future where machines are designed through code, simulation, and computational discipline.
Helium-3 on the Moon: the “Moon” movie fuel, and the reality check
The Moon’s helium-3 dream is seductive, but the physics and economics demand a much colder reality check.
Alcohol in Space Travel: Fuel for Humans and Rockets?
Alcohol in space is more than a joke: it touches chemistry, culture, propulsion, and the rituals humans carry with them.
Honda’s Rocket Road Trip: From Civics to the Cosmos
Honda’s rocket ambitions suggest that precision manufacturing may travel farther than anyone expected from the automotive world.
Round and Round We Fly: Are Circular Runways Aviation’s Next Big Spin?
Circular runways sound absurd until they force a fresh look at wind, traffic, airports, and aviation design assumptions.
Resonance: When the Universe Finds Its Frequency
Resonance can create music, destruction, and unexpected engineering trouble when systems find the frequency they cannot ignore.
Starship Flight 9: Skipping the Rehearsal, Aiming for the Stars
Skipping a rehearsal can look reckless or efficient; Starship Flight 9 offers evidence for both interpretations.
Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines: A New Frontier in Propulsion
Rotating detonation engines promise a propulsion leap by turning controlled explosions into continuous, efficient thrust.
The Future of Space Telescopes: Embracing Soft and Liquid Structures
Soft and liquid telescope structures may sound strange, but they could solve problems rigid hardware cannot.
The Galactic Dilemmas: Why Star Trek and Star Wars Characters Don't Use "Obvious" Tactics
Science fiction battles often avoid obvious tactics because drama, world-building, and physics rarely want the same thing.
The Great Slosh: Rocket Fuel's Dance and How We Keep It in Check
Rocket propellant does not sit still, and controlling its motion is essential to steering a vehicle safely.
Explore NASA’s Software Catalog: Free Downloads for Technical Applications
NASA’s software catalog offers a practical reminder that space research often leaves useful tools behind for everyone.
Glass in Space: An Essential Material in the Final Frontier
Glass is easy to overlook, yet space exploration depends on its optical, structural, and protective roles.
Decoding Rocket Science: From Space-Bound Vessels to Model Rockets
From model rockets to launch vehicles, rocket size is really a negotiation among mass, thrust, drag, and purpose.
The Metric System and Other Units: The Pitfalls in Space and Engineering
Measurement systems can seem mundane until mismatched units threaten engineering, navigation, and mission success.
Rocket Launches and the Gravity Turn: Navigating Space on a Cosmic Curve
The gravity turn explains why rockets arc into orbit instead of simply climbing straight toward space.
Rocket Engines, Acoustics, and the Resonance of Launch
Rocket launches are acoustic events as much as mechanical ones, and vibration can be a serious engineering enemy.
Calculating the Ideal Size of a Rocket Engine and the Decision to Combine Multiple Engines
Choosing rocket engine size is a balancing act between thrust, reliability, plumbing, cost, and mission flexibility.
The Power Behind SpaceX Starship: Raptor Engines and The Future of Space Travel
Raptor engines are more than Starship’s power source; they embody SpaceX’s bet on reuse, methane, and scale.