The Space Thread - Launches, Events, Live Streams, Governments, Corporations, drama in Spaaaaaaaaaaaace

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MerelyAPlateOfSpaghetti said:
Have fun :)

Let's talk about controls, the first time I played KSP I used keyboard and mouse controls. This is perfectly doable, but stuff like the throttle control moves a step per press, so finding just the right balance of thrust can be tricky. At some point I got a HOTAS to play Elite: Dangerous and realized KSP picked up on the joystick half, which looks like this (Thrustmaster T.16000 joystick)
View attachment 9014897
It has a small throttle control slider at the bottom middle (plus a ton of buttons, 6 on each side of the joystick plus what's on the stick itself) and I found landing on Mun was a hell of a lot easier when I had access to that throttle slider because I can control the throttle ramping much more precisely than with the keyboard throttle controls. Now I will only play with it lol it's great
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I picked up a ThrustMaster HOTAS for ED a couple years back as well, great to know its useful in KSP!


Best of luck to SpaceX, I hope they nail it with the new design.
 
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question, but yes i Saw in reddit a thread asking why we should colonize Mars or what brings to the table colonizing mars and everyone on reddit was saying "there is no necessity is all dumb if you can colonize Mars you can fix earth and never leave it" and i feel that is true in some part but is the reddit nihilism that all those redditors say it that kinda bothers me off, so in general i'm asking the kiwis if all of you have a response on why we need to colonize mars?
 
Shadowmän said:
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question, but yes i Saw in reddit a thread asking why we should colonize Mars or what brings to the table colonizing mars and everyone on reddit was saying "there is no necessity is all dumb if you can colonize Mars you can fix earth and never leave it" and i feel that is true in some part but is the reddit nihilism that all those redditors say it that kinda bothers me off, so in general i'm asking the kiwis if all of you have a response on why we need to colonize mars?
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Why would somebody climb a mountain? Because they can.
 
Shadowmän said:
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question, but yes i Saw in reddit a thread asking why we should colonize Mars or what brings to the table colonizing mars and everyone on reddit was saying "there is no necessity is all dumb if you can colonize Mars you can fix earth and never leave it" and i feel that is true in some part but is the reddit nihilism that all those redditors say it that kinda bothers me off, so in general i'm asking the kiwis if all of you have a response on why we need to colonize mars?
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The "why" is in the "why not?" The technology needed to colonize Mars could be useful back on Earth. It would also move us up the tech tree towards being an interplanetary species. Mars specifically I don't see being a huge hub of human civilization any time soon, but the tech needed to start the process could lead to permanent human settlements on other places like Asteroids or even Planetoids like the Moon and Ceres. Which while lacking atmosphere and high gravity, do possess abundant minerals and water. Water being the principle thing needed for a stable human settlement. Its the one thing that would have to be sourced locally as its just not economical to ship water from earth to any hypothetical colony. On top of being useful "as is" , water can also be broken down into Hydrogen (fuel) and Oxygen (literally breathing air).

Reddit Nihilists also worried about "fixing the earth" should realize that if we get sufficient orbital infrastructure in place, virtually all of earths mining and manufacturing could be, in theory, done in Orbit, or on the Moon, or at any number of facilities in the Asteroid belt. Rare earths, even basic bitch shit like Iron. Its also far easier for such facilities to "send stuff down". Literally a drop pod into the ocean to get picked up by a boat. Imagine how much "greener" the earth could become if all that stuff was done in space rather then on the planets surface. Once a certain level of self sufficiency is established, all that the Earth would need to send up would be luxuries, soil and seeds. All very easily put at the top of a rocket.

This is also why SpaceX is a loooooooong stock to buy. For your grand children or great grand children. If they mange to continue as a company into this new era, it will be like buying stock in the Dutch East India company when they first incorporated. None of that companies initial investors saw a return, but those who kept their shares in the family? Bitcoin rich doesn't even start to describe it.
 
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We've been hanging out on earth for a while already and it doesn't seem like we're fixing it.
To actually colonise mars we'd need technological development in areas like... helping planets support life. Sustaining that as a system. Arcological science for hyper-efficient sustainable closed human habitation, particularly of the zero ecological footprint kind if we intend to live there without accidentally fucking up any life or evidence of it that might already be there.

We're much better at doing that practical tech development thing when we have hard and cool goals. A lot of shit redditors take for granted is thanks to the space race, which was secretly just so we could have ICBMs originally, but then it turned out to be pretty fucking sweet in general and now you don't have to have a map in your glove box anymore.
 
Shadowmän said:
so in general i'm asking the kiwis if all of you have a response on why we need to colonize mars?
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"The rocket will free man from his remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It will open to him the gates of heaven."
And also: "Man belongs wherever he wants to go — and he’ll do plenty well when he gets there."
 
Secret Boots said:
A successful and self-sufficient colony on Mars also means independence from Earth, in case of any planet-destroying cataclysmic events.
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Unless that happens because we broke some galactic law by going there. Like "oh shit, these retarded monkeys are infectious now."
Hopefully, anyway. That'd just be a good policy to have. Yet another reason to go imo.
 
Gimmick Account said:
now you don't have to have a map in your glove box anymore.
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True, but you still should (and know how to read it) just in case. I've had times where I have GPS signal but no data so the app doesn't work to get directions. I've also had GPS devices get confused and route me to the last address I went to (instead of the one I just entered) so I've just learned to have backup options lol
 
Good evening Gentleman. Launch date and time has been set for Flight 12 and the prototype v3 Starship.

May 20

6:30 PM ET

*edit* now May 21




SpaceX delays Starship flight 12 launch a day. What time is liftoff?​

Here's the latest on the 12th-ever flight test for Starship, which SpaceX refers to as flight 12.​


If you've been eagerly waiting all 2026 to see SpaceX launch its gargantuan Starship rocket, you'll have to wait just a little bit longer.

After unveiling the first target launch date for Starship in seven months, billionaire Elon Musk's rocket company announced it's bumping the next flight test for the world's largest rocket. But not to fret: The delay is only by another 24 hours.

The next time a Starship gets off the ground in South Texas, it will be the largest rocket SpaceX has ever built. The debut of the new-generation Starship, known as Version 3, comes as the company races to have the spacecraft ready for NASA missions to the moon.

Here's the latest on the 12th-ever flight test for Starship, which SpaceX refers to as flight 12.

Starship: Inside SpaceX's critical 12th launch of megarocket

When is the next Starship launch? SpaceX delays flight test a day​

SpaceX announced that the launch window for Starship's 12th flight test now opens at 6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 20.

The new target date comes after SpaceX had originally indicated that it was working toward a May 19 launch of the world's largest rocket. No reason was given for the delay.

As it has since its maiden launch in April 2023, Starship will once again get off the ground from SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border.

What is Starship? World's largest rocket bound for moon, Mars​

Standing at more than 400 feet tall when fully stacked, Starship is regarded as the world's largest and most powerful rocket.

SpaceX is developing the rocket to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.

In the years ahead, a lunar lander configuration of Starship will be critical to NASA's ambitions of returning astronauts to the moon under its Artemis program. Musk additionally dreams of sending humans aboard Starship to colonize Mars.

Closer to home, Starship is designed to carry larger versions of the company's Starlink internet satellites and other payloads to Earth orbit.

What is flight 12? SpaceX to debut Version 3 (V3) of Starship​

At 407-feet tall, the next-generation Starship due to launch will be the largest version of the vehicle SpaceX has ever built. If all goes to plan, that prototype, known as Version 3 (V3,) will be the one to reach orbit and be capable of refueling midflight – a capability that will allow for distant missions into space.

Similar to previous designs, the fully integrated spacecraft is composed of both a 236-feet-tall lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy, as well as a 171-feet-tall upper stage simply called Starship. Powered by 33 of SpaceX's Raptor-class engines, the booster provides the initial burst of thrust at liftoff, while the vehicle is where the crew and cargo would ride in orbit after the stages separate.

The main objective of the flight test, as SpaceX explained online, is simply to test both new pieces of hardware "in the flight environment for the first time."
 
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Shadowmän said:
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question, but yes i Saw in reddit a thread asking why we should colonize Mars or what brings to the table colonizing mars and everyone on reddit was saying "there is no necessity is all dumb if you can colonize Mars you can fix earth and never leave it" and i feel that is true in some part but is the reddit nihilism that all those redditors say it that kinda bothers me off, so in general i'm asking the kiwis if all of you have a response on why we need to colonize mars?
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we should focus on colonizing the moon before mars

its far far far closer so mining and manufacturing will be far easier and cheaper there

venus and the moon chilling out together rn
 
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Starship pushed back again to 5/21.
IMG_20260518_214822.jpg
 
Shadowmän said:
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question, but yes i Saw in reddit a thread asking why we should colonize Mars or what brings to the table colonizing mars and everyone on reddit was saying "there is no necessity is all dumb if you can colonize Mars you can fix earth and never leave it" and i feel that is true in some part but is the reddit nihilism that all those redditors say it that kinda bothers me off, so in general i'm asking the kiwis if all of you have a response on why we need to colonize mars?
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The issues you need to resolve to live in space is fundamental. If you learn how to live there you learn how to live anywhere.

More importantly, increasing the places we can inhabit is the most worthwhile thing humans can do. It's literally expanding into a secondary world.

There are tropical islands which has pretty much eternal summer. Getting food is easy, fish and gather plants. No need for gruelling farming. You can spend your entire life just letting time pass, accomplish nothing, never changing, and after you are dead your life has meant nothing.

Or you can fuck off up north, learn how to survive winter (horrific, murderous, absolutely awful winter), spend generations figuring out how to solve endless problems and actually trying to get somewhere, change things for the better, become something less pointless.

What's more valuable, moving to a new house and refurbishing it to be nice, or spend a year or two posting on Reddit? If the former, why?

What's going to be more helpful in fixing the earth - learning how to survive on Mars, or spending your days on Reddit, playing video games, ignoring your kids, and working a 9 to 5 in software, business, hr, etc?

How many redditors are actually working with 'necessary' things?

Our lives on average are mostly pointless. We should try to accomplish things to make them less so. Expanding humanity is noble as far as meaningful things go.
 
They really need to overperform on this Starship launch. Scott said they'll push out some faux Starlinks with cams to get shots back and around Starship after launch, that'll be nice. I guess they're not going to return the booster to catch again, which kinda sucks publicity-wise.

I'd guess the delays are weather now which is fine, but I really hope this is a solid one. Need this for HLS progress at the least.
 
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Seriously. Humanity needs to establish a colony on the far closer moon before tackling the far more problematic in the short term but higher potential in the long term Mars. We need to have proven long term habitation buildings, hydroponic food farms, labratories in low gravity, EVERYTHING in low gravity working before tackling Mars.

VISITING Mars, absolutely we should do it and soon but Musk et al. are foolishly optimistic and begging for a failure if they try to establish a colony so far away from resupply and/or rescue first.
 
The Un-Clit said:
Seriously. Humanity needs to establish a colony on the far closer moon before tackling the far more problematic in the short term but higher potential in the long term Mars. We need to have proven long term habitation buildings, hydroponic food farms, labratories in low gravity, EVERYTHING in low gravity working before tackling Mars.

VISITING Mars, absolutely we should do it and soon but Musk et al. are foolishly optimistic and begging for a failure if they try to establish a colony so far away from resupply and/or rescue first.
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Agreed. If something goes wrong on the moon colony, we could get up and help reasonably quickly (pending launch vehicle assembly and all that). If something goes wrong on Mars there is a good chance we won't be able to even launch to help them for a year depending on where Mars is in orbit. The stakes are a lot higher so we can't afford to go to Mars early.
 
Pretty sure (like, I think it's been made explicit a bunch of times) that it's a hype thing. We did the moon and then did it a couple more times and we were gonna do moon stations but then everybody had stopped really giving a shit by that point.
Talking about Mars gets the people going, so it's a lofty goal to get the funding and brains and contracts you need to do everything else necessary on the way, and those things are/were almost certainly the actual goals. And I think I remember that including some testing on the moon, but I don't feel like googling that.

The trouble with the moon is it's kinda pointless living there unless you're (a) building a secret nazi laser base or (b) practicing to go to Mars or something. If it's for the latter you might as well say that's what you're trying to do in the first place.
Sort of an "aim for the moon and if you fall short and hit a mountain it's still pretty cool you hit a mountain" thing. Except Mars is the moon, because the moon doesn't get to be the moon anymore since it sucks.
 
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