All of Alan's art is fantastic, and the Easter eggs in the converted LOX tank / habitat are a joy.
12.02.2026 13:47
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All of Alan's art is fantastic, and the Easter eggs in the converted LOX tank / habitat are a joy.
While the percentages are off, it is closer to reality than I would often care to admit. Spinning it around can let you get insights into the geometry that fixed views don't.
One of the advantages that Westinghouse was trying to sell their concepts on was that their LightWeight Nuclear Propulsion (LWNP) system had the same volumetric efficiency as marine gas turbines. The 1970s designs were informed by the airborne reactor and nuclear rocket work of the 1960s and 70s.
As a former resident of Ohio, I take great pride in pointing out that because there are multiple state universities in Ohio, it is AN Ohio state university.
Taking one outside in the middle of the summer, I had one shatter while I was holding onto the frame, and let me tell you, it's an experience. You can see it happening in your hands and know that there is nothing you can do to shape the outcome.
Yeah, there were 4 serious proposals, of which all but the most basic (extend the flight deck over the aft missile spot, and extend the hanger to accommodate 2 VSTOL or 4 helos) were found to offer insufficient volume and stability. The Invicible was not serious.
books.google.com/books?id=TGU...
Vertical landings for the vehicles embarked (USN Type A, B, & C V/STOLs). Most of the airgroup would have been Type A (utility) for ASW/AEW/Missileer missions (think Grumman 698 or MDD 260).
That was from a drawing included in a Proceedings (July 1978) letter from Commander Ronald Ghiradella, USNR. You may note that in the original artwork the forward flight deck is slightly low. That is exaggerated in the version from the 1991 book "The Hybrid Warship" by McLaughlin seen here.
Disclaimer, nothing I say should be interpreted as speaking for any employer past or present (such as USACE, BPA, or BuRec).
Batteries & existing low carbon sources (Hydro & nuclear) solve so many of the outage problems when combined with long distance transmission lines. There is a HVDC line from Celilo, Or to Silmar, Ca & you can track when the sun comes up in SOCAL by the water passing through turbines in the Columbia.
Movie you have watched more than six times with a GIF, Hard Mode
With the DC-10/MD-11 grounding I had joked about this was how TriStar could still win, but I may have been hit with the dodgeball of prophecy.
An FD Scale render of the Boeing 2707 with a paint scheme that is based on the Loewy livery used on the VC-137s after 1962 and the VC-25As
Looking back, I should have used my Loewy livery on the Boeing 2707-300
🌏 If you see this, quote your blue artwork! 🔵
Yeah, this is on my wall at work.
It's a system that is expanding the reach of electricfied transit without needing the full size batteries common on battery only electric buses thanks to under-wire charging. It still exists because the population served fights tooth and nail every time the possiblity of retiring it is proposed.
A movie you've seen more than seven times with a gif
Well, this aught to be different.
A stitched together image of a partially reusable rocket with a stretched S-IVB upper stage with an aerospike J-2, and blended body first stage made of multi-lobe RP-1 tank, two multi-lobe expendable LOX tanks, and powered by two F-1 engines. Stitched together from pages 9 and 10 of https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19680002466
Sometimes people share with you some of the most awe inspiring concepts imaginable. HT to @eofpi.bsky.social for biblically accurate reusable rocket tankage.
ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19...
It's both not inflatable, and not a Russian proposal. ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19...
Specifically, this one: ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19...
It really feels like the type of review done to show how limited the concept is, even relative to the CTV on Altas (although most of the document looks at Titan & Ariane V).
ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19... PDF pg 100. The functionality would be similar to HTV's unpressurized section but with a lower payload. The impression I have is that it was included as an alternative for not developing a cargo transfer tug for Ariane/Titan (later ATV), with limited utility.
Actually y'know, fuck my doomerism.
The concept is mostly referenced in post-Challenger liquid booster studies as a marginal abort mode to show the relative safety improvements that shuttle liquid boosters offered in multiple-engine-out abort conditions.
The paper that outlines the concept is "SPACE SHUTTLE GUIDANCE FOR MULTIPLE MAIN ENGINE FAILURES DURING FIRST STAGE" doi: 10.2514/6.1987-2398 by Steven J. Sponaugle & Stanley T. Fernandes at McDonnell Douglas.
I have never seen this actually simulated before, thanks to Giulio Dondi for taking my suggestion!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8aH...
His abort videos are a lot of fun to watch, and this is the most extreme.
I was there, twenty years ago in the last great Verses War between the Trekkies and the Warsies....
Everyone forgets that Picard was a rabble-rouser in his youth, nearly being killed in a fight over a bar game. A fight he almost won despite being outnumbered and without his saber....