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Test firing of new NASA methane rocket engine
video.google.com — At first it seems like nothing fancy... then... O *****!
- 2318 diggs
- digg it
- Radical5, on 04/21/2008, -63/+9that must smell really bad
- insertAliasHere, on 04/21/2008, -3/+77Methane is naturally odorless. They add a foul smelling compound to it to warn you of a leak.
- MacEnvy, on 04/21/2008, -0/+34I dugg you down by accident (sorry) but you're correct. The smell of "methane" that we associate with natural gas is actually the additive butyl mercaptan.
- theWrkncacnter, on 04/21/2008, -19/+2fart gas is smelly
- takamalak, on 04/21/2008, -0/+32That's because of the human additive: *****.
- ToadLeg, on 04/21/2008, -19/+6or in the case of cows: *****.
- schnikies79, on 04/21/2008, -0/+33@ToadLeg
Explain to me again how you get ***** from a cow. - ToadLeg, on 04/21/2008, -14/+5@schnikies79
I don't live on a farm. - schnikies79, on 04/21/2008, -0/+18@ToadLeg
Nor do you live on planet earth. Cow =/= horse. - ToadLeg, on 04/21/2008, -13/+3@schnikies79
What are you talking about? Horses don't produce nearly as much methane as cows. - schnikies79, on 04/21/2008, -0/+13lol, nevermind dude..
- ToadLeg, on 04/21/2008, -1/+18@schnikies79
Next are you going to tell me that moths aren't horses? - dawpa2000, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2The Infamous Moth Horse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5woNs9WRE
- ToadLeg, on 04/22/2008, -0/+3@dawpa2000: that's a butterfly, not a moth or a horse.
- schnikies79, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2thats awesome
- Pritchard, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2ToadLeg is a retard. Hahaha.
- ToadLeg, on 04/22/2008, -1/+3@Pritchard
and I got schnikies79 hook line and sinker.
related: http://www.xkcd.com/386/ - dawpa2000, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1@Everyone
This has got to be the most interesting line of comments I have seen today. - DharmaTurtle, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1"lol, nevermind dude.."
No, he got it, Toad.
- caramba420, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0Have you seen the movie Idiocracy by any chance?
- takamalak, on 04/21/2008, -0/+32That's because of the human additive: *****.
- weeeezzll, on 04/21/2008, -7/+3FYI: NASA likely adds foul smelling component to the methane they use for the same reasons it's added to consumer grade methane...
- Pissoff, on 04/21/2008, -0/+28FYI: NASA likely adds chocolate chip cookie smelling components to the methane they use.
Speculating is fun! - eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1No joke. I'm speculating on what I'll type as a reply.
- Pissoff, on 04/21/2008, -0/+28FYI: NASA likely adds chocolate chip cookie smelling components to the methane they use.
- gllopc, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Smell the meat, not the heat.
- weeeezzll, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2Link: http://smad-ext.grc.nasa.gov/emo/pub/P2/faq/Methan ...
- ClevelandBrown, on 04/21/2008, -1/+0way to pull a j-simpson
- OffPiste, on 04/22/2008, -3/+2I blame Bush. This kind of ***** will finally stop once we get Obama into office.
- insertAliasHere, on 04/21/2008, -3/+77Methane is naturally odorless. They add a foul smelling compound to it to warn you of a leak.
- DanBoodro, on 04/21/2008, -18/+148It would make a great lighter
- JT114881, on 04/21/2008, -1/+16*Pictures Spike from Cowboy Bebop lighting one up on an afterburner*
- Static88, on 04/21/2008, -0/+7This just made me so nostalgic...
- EvilGunOwner, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3There should have been a "Cowboy Bebop: Ten Year Anniversary Edition." Man, what a good show.
- GuacamoleSan, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2YES! YES! YES!
reminds me of the episode when that creature from the fridge attacks them and spike tries lighting his cig with the flamethrower, and then burns it away
- blahtastic, on 04/21/2008, -0/+7Except for the whole melting your skin off part.
- sponeil, on 04/21/2008, -2/+2It would make a cool light saber too. It may not make the same noise, and you may not be able to block someone else's with it, but it looks like you could get the length right, and it would definitely burn/cut through stuff. You might need a backpack for the fuel, though. Oh, and it might be kinda hard to hold onto. ;-)
- Cowboy1015, on 04/21/2008, -6/+3That video would be much cooler if someone's face got cooked by the afterburner.
- uiguy3, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1... If you were Paul Bunyan.
- BruceBogtrotter, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4"Let me try to spark up my bowl with this rocket engine." *dies*
- EvilGunOwner, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3...for a Zentraedi.
- Hartley1942, on 04/21/2008, -0/+6I want that for my Pyro in TF2.
- Evi1d33d, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Yea he needs a buff.
- jaewon223, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1The title woudl have been better if poster said Fart Rocket engine instead of Methane rocket engine
- Naryuu, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2the rockets little boom and the dust kicking up reminded me of dragonball Z
- JT114881, on 04/21/2008, -1/+16*Pictures Spike from Cowboy Bebop lighting one up on an afterburner*
- RuthlessPirate, on 04/21/2008, -64/+3O ***** is probably what that thing smells like after burning off all that methane.
- darienphoenix, on 04/21/2008, -0/+72Methane is odorless.
- cr42yr1ch, on 04/21/2008, -15/+3***** in the methane is, however, not odourless.
- allengeer, on 04/21/2008, -0/+10***** in the methane is added to gas lines so that you can tell when there is a gas leak. in the methane they are using for this rocket engine... it is odorless.
- blahtastic, on 04/21/2008, -3/+1I think he meant fart methane. Like from cows/people.
- RuthlessPirate, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1hey ***** you guys... my farts stink and I was trying to be witty.
- allengeer, on 04/21/2008, -0/+10***** in the methane is added to gas lines so that you can tell when there is a gas leak. in the methane they are using for this rocket engine... it is odorless.
- N0vember, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0Especially after it has burned, i.e. when there is no more Methane...
- cr42yr1ch, on 04/21/2008, -15/+3***** in the methane is, however, not odourless.
- NaibCZ, on 04/21/2008, -0/+31by burning methane you get carbon dioxide and water...I doubt water smells bad :)
- ToadLeg, on 04/21/2008, -6/+2Have you ever boiled a pot of water before? Oh, man, keep the windows open! And if it's foggy outside, and when it is there is often also carbon dioxide out there - just stay inside, man.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3Oh water smells down here. Holy Christ run for cover when the sprinkler systems kick in.
- JamesRocks, on 04/21/2008, -6/+1they add sulphur to gas to make it smell bad and that is probably what's in our *****.
- neuens07, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1no
- BarnabyJones, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1What about H2S?
- darienphoenix, on 04/21/2008, -0/+72Methane is odorless.
- 1359399, on 04/21/2008, -19/+4Niiiiice! Could I fit it to my George Foreman grill?
- thatsbologna, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3what the hell made you think of a george forman?
- jhop, on 04/21/2008, -19/+12Neat, but the video's been a round for a bit... Dugg.
- PigGeneral, on 04/21/2008, -12/+55Nifty. I was kind of hoping it would push the test bench a little.
- Fokma, on 04/21/2008, -2/+26Yeah... as cool as it looks, you wonder how much propulsion it actually creates.
- hotbeefman, on 04/21/2008, -2/+1escape velocity + a little
- bwa236, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1GENIUS, you must be a rocket scientist
- cornflakepirate, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Actually, wrong. Rockets provide continuous thrust so reaching escape velocity isn't necessary in order to go to space.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity
"For a given gravitational field and a given position, the escape velocity is the minimum speed an object **without propulsion** needs to attain in order to "escape" from gravity, i.e., so that gravity will never manage to pull it back."
- hotbeefman, on 04/21/2008, -2/+1escape velocity + a little
- whxre, on 04/21/2008, -5/+5don't know why you are getting dugg down.. i was wondering that as well
- poopdigger, on 04/21/2008, -1/+57I think the point of the test bench here is that its not supposed to move.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -0/+9That's exactly why it WOULD be interesting to see it move. Eh? Eh?? *waits for light to flicker on*
- Peavey, on 04/21/2008, -0/+10The light flickered, but then he realized that NASA is going to design a test propulsion unit with a maximum theoretical force and build the test bench to not move when that amount of force is exerted.
- mdmadph, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1You mean kinda like they designed the Bikini Atoll bomb with a "maximum" theoretical force of like 5 megatons or something? :P
Sometimes things aren't what you expect! - bwa236, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2is it me or did the test bench move just a little bit when the rocket actually fired? re-watch between 5-6 seconds. it definitely adjusts
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -0/+9That's exactly why it WOULD be interesting to see it move. Eh? Eh?? *waits for light to flicker on*
- provibe, on 04/21/2008, -0/+110What they don't mention is that all of the world's clocks now need to be set ahead by 15 seconds due to the increase in the earth's rotation.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -9/+1Do we still compare digital time with the sun dial?
- david468, on 04/21/2008, -0/+5Yes.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -9/+1Do we still compare digital time with the sun dial?
- radioshack7, on 04/21/2008, -0/+9If you watch closely, you can see the engine shift a bit at the moment of ignition.
And the sound of the ignition is awesome. - camino262, on 04/22/2008, -0/+3FYI - It is actually called a static test stand, and engineered not to move. There are stress/strain gauges that measure the amount of thrust the rocket is producing. I have had the opportunity to see one of these tests in person.
- Fokma, on 04/21/2008, -2/+26Yeah... as cool as it looks, you wonder how much propulsion it actually creates.
- MacBandit, on 04/21/2008, -11/+5Old but still awesome!
- apache2, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1he's right , this rocket is nearing it's 1st birthday
we need to push faster if this is considered new ;P
- apache2, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1he's right , this rocket is nearing it's 1st birthday
- hermes369, on 04/21/2008, -11/+77And I've tested this principle out with a lighter and yoga.
- delvach, on 04/21/2008, -0/+21Meanwhile, at a nearby Emergency Room... "Doctor, we've got another one. I'll spread the cheeks, you get the gauze."
- sdcarter, on 04/21/2008, -0/+9Yoga-fire!
- TomTruelle, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1***** YEAH DHALSIM!
- jjb123, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1I read that as yogurt.
- BoneStamp, on 04/21/2008, -7/+98If you made a really small version as a cigarette lighter then you'd sell a ton of those. Those cone shaped fire things look amazing.
- deaconyermouf, on 04/21/2008, -0/+56They're called Mach (or Shock) diamonds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -8/+3Ooooh, look at ME... I'm a diamond, I'm a diamond. *claps in self-amusement*
- Static88, on 04/21/2008, -1/+10Diamonds cant talk...
- DeathMarcher, on 04/21/2008, -3/+4Maybe not, but they can sing!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Diamond
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -8/+3Ooooh, look at ME... I'm a diamond, I'm a diamond. *claps in self-amusement*
- maveric101, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1yeah, the diamonds are pretty cool.
my uncle is actually working on this; he sent me the video a few months back.
- deaconyermouf, on 04/21/2008, -0/+56They're called Mach (or Shock) diamonds:
- thehuntedpossum, on 04/21/2008, -25/+9Horribly old, this has been out for months.
- LtXenodite, on 04/21/2008, -2/+14Doesn't mean everyone trolls Digg 24/7 and sees every single story.
- MrSlumberjack, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1Since when is Digg the center of the internet?
- thatsbologna, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2....WHAT?!
- MrSlumberjack, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1What I'm saying, is that LtXenodite has made an assumption that just because someone said a video is old, that it has been on digg before. It probably has, but that is not my point. My point is, just because someone says something is old doesn't mean that it has been on digg before.
- thatsbologna, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2....WHAT?!
- MrSlumberjack, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1Since when is Digg the center of the internet?
- LtXenodite, on 04/21/2008, -2/+14Doesn't mean everyone trolls Digg 24/7 and sees every single story.
- moocowrat, on 04/21/2008, -4/+43strap that on some wheels and i call shotgun!
- Intamin, on 04/21/2008, -3/+2It's not gonna matter where you sit--you'll be dead anyway.
- Verytastycheese, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Yeah but it wouldn't be as fun in the back seat.
- Intamin, on 04/21/2008, -3/+2It's not gonna matter where you sit--you'll be dead anyway.
- nycmac247, on 04/21/2008, -13/+1omg south park - methane fart mobile
- ophello, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1omg - youre a moron.
- nathangl, on 04/21/2008, -21/+4holy ***** i have never seen this posted before!
- XombieRobot, on 04/21/2008, -0/+5You're on digg too much buddy.
- zaldoe, on 04/21/2008, -18/+11wasn't this on digg before?
hell who cares, stuff like this never gets old - fr3ddie, on 04/21/2008, -25/+16and this test only cost 12 billion dollars!
- 2ndrookie, on 04/21/2008, -9/+45I'd rather my tax dollars goto Space Research any day than goto Bush's pockets.
- directrix13, on 04/21/2008, -7/+5I agree, but you might have to concede that one way or another the money is probably still going into Bush's pockets.
- ophello, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1right, bush is just getting rich stealing taxpayers money and he's still in office and no one has caught him...WTF..think about the stupid ***** you think before you say it.
- directrix13, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Who said anything about stealing?
- gandhii, on 04/21/2008, -0/+10And whose ass are you pulling those numbers out of and then misrepresenting? Its just a video and a small description. There is no mention of costs of the test or the development project as a whole.
- 2ndrookie, on 04/21/2008, -9/+45I'd rather my tax dollars goto Space Research any day than goto Bush's pockets.
- Ganja420, on 04/21/2008, -7/+217The rocket is fed Taco Bell the night before
- daftperception, on 04/21/2008, -30/+1fail
- Peavey, on 04/21/2008, -1/+21^^^ fail.
- Pritchard, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Thanks for the example. I wasn't sure what fail looked like before now.
- daftperception, on 04/21/2008, -30/+1fail
- dunyasi, on 04/21/2008, -6/+0Cuban cigar lighter?
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/21/2008, -0/+6maybe for an entire army
- dunyasi, on 04/21/2008, -4/+0lol
+1
- dunyasi, on 04/21/2008, -4/+0lol
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/21/2008, -0/+6maybe for an entire army
- knobtwiddler, on 04/21/2008, -2/+73didn't i hear about liquid methane oceans in saturn's moon titan a while back- "Titan: the gas station of the solar system"
- dema, on 04/21/2008, -1/+14Stop by the Malachi Constant Methane Station & Food-Mart for all your travel needs!
- Sornos, on 04/21/2008, -0/+6Dugg for Sirens of Titan reference. *hat off*
- delvach, on 04/21/2008, -3/+33Sweet, we totally get to decimate a new planet now!
- Static88, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3I smell 'An Inconvenient Truth 2: The Fight for Titan'
- joeydoo, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1***** Titan. Suck that bitch dry. It's already all smoggy, we'll probably clean it up anyway.
- RareSaturn, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2not a planet.
- booshack, on 04/21/2008, -1/+6White House press release: New intel linking Saturn's largest moon to Al Qauda, more at seven.
- orangekid13, on 04/21/2008, -8/+2titan's oceans are made of methane until we land there and take off again
titan will be no more as soon as that flame kisses the surface, and we'll be able to watch it burn from earth with basic telescopes- ohmysac, on 04/21/2008, -0/+13You need an oxidizer for things to burn, such as oxygen. Methane alone will not ignite.
- itzmattu, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4Even with oxygen in the atmosphere, methane will only combust under very specific percentages of oxygen to methane levels.
- orangekid13, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1omg i was ***** kidding
- JonTheGoose, on 04/21/2008, -0/+11We could set up a gas mining colony there and have Billy Dee Williams run the place.
- caramba420, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0That's funny, but his name is Lando Calrizzian in real life.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Trembles at the thought of discovering an ash trey on Titan.
- MrSlumberjack, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3Yea.. watching this video and reading that article about Titan within a couple days of each other has made me really excited about the future of NASA
- vorbalhorde, on 04/21/2008, -0/+9We could get more methane from Uranus. Sorry.
- dema, on 04/21/2008, -1/+14Stop by the Malachi Constant Methane Station & Food-Mart for all your travel needs!
- RubineBoy, on 04/21/2008, -6/+1I believe Steve Fossett was the first one to use one of these in a balloon.
- icecycles, on 04/21/2008, -16/+2Cool, but buried for old news that's been on the front page before.
- nutzngum, on 04/21/2008, -14/+1/* insert fart joke here */
- theghoul, on 04/21/2008, -2/+20som'bitch that looks powerful.
Notice how the mount jumps forward during the second stage.
Then it burps after eating gravity.- TomTruelle, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2dugg for the use of the word ''som'bitch''
- wireframework, on 04/21/2008, -12/+4Dugg for the unnecessarily dramatic but still awesome firing sequence.
- mllawso, on 04/21/2008, -1/+7Where was the unnecessary drama?
- sicilian890, on 04/21/2008, -16/+1damn playa, ***** nitro. I want one of these for an exhaust pipe.
- getrealnow, on 04/21/2008, -3/+3wat
- JedicodeWarrior, on 04/21/2008, -11/+3How'd you get a cow to fart that long??!!
- Suricou, on 04/21/2008, -4/+33The flame is a very odd shape - bright spots at regular intervals. Some type of standing wave effect?
- edmcguirk, on 04/21/2008, -0/+24I can't watch video at work but I believe they are called Mach Diamonds.
- Static88, on 04/21/2008, -3/+2Do you work in a prison? :|
- smrekar, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1I heard they're coming to america.
- L0C0loco, on 04/21/2008, -0/+17Search on the term "shock diamond". The periodic pattern of bright diamonds in the jet are due to the shock wave reflecting off of the outside of the jet and recombining (to increase temperature and burn residual fuel). Look closely at the thickness of the jet and you'll notice that it varies periodically also with a minimum diameter at the shock diamonds.
Old or not, it still is cool to watch. - Nighthawke, on 04/21/2008, -0/+12A classic example of Mach or Shock diamonds would be the SR-71 Blackbird on afterburner. Its P&W J-75 "Godzilla" engines generating 32,500 lbs thrust on reheat, creates 25 ft long tails of man-made hell, containing no fewer than 13 shock diamonds.
- joeydoo, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2Godzilla engines!!!!
- playuhh, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1i just dropped my waves/modern physics class today =(
FAIL ='(- bwa236, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1modern physics was the best physics class i ever had. just wait until you see e/m, quantum and theoretical... you'll see what I mean.
- unearth, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Well I was going to explain it further, but digg just deleted the bottom 2/3 of my comment because I used an evil "less than" symbol. Awesome.
- edmcguirk, on 04/21/2008, -0/+24I can't watch video at work but I believe they are called Mach Diamonds.
- UnknownTarget, on 04/21/2008, -3/+10It's not NASA's engine, it's XCORs.
- gandhii, on 04/21/2008, -2/+12Who was contracted by NASA. ie.. it's NASA's.
- DanaG, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2NASA contracted with XCOR because they have experience with hydrocarbon fueled rocket engines going back for years; N2O/ethane, N2O/alcohol, LOX/alcohol, LOX/kerosene, and LOX/methane.
It's not like NASA went to XCOR and said, "we'd like you develop a methane-fueled rocket engine for us" and XCOR said, "wow, what a great idea". NASA went to XCOR because they had the experience they needed.- Peavey, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2And the point of this argument would be...?
- FreDre, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1@Peavey
More info on the subject
- DanaG, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2NASA contracted with XCOR because they have experience with hydrocarbon fueled rocket engines going back for years; N2O/ethane, N2O/alcohol, LOX/alcohol, LOX/kerosene, and LOX/methane.
- gandhii, on 04/21/2008, -2/+12Who was contracted by NASA. ie.. it's NASA's.
- smackjack, on 04/21/2008, -3/+105WE REQUIRE MORE METHANE GAS
- fluxion, on 04/21/2008, -0/+8just wait till we start making vespane rockets
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -3/+1What's this "we" *****? I'm just here to watch.
- RogaDanar, on 04/21/2008, -2/+2Two men enter...
- fluxion, on 04/21/2008, -0/+8just wait till we start making vespane rockets
- Culyt, on 04/21/2008, -4/+80Stop ***** bitching about dupes, if its on the front page them obviously enough people haven't seen it to consider it interesting. Besides its cool enough to watch again anyway.
- Incomp3tnt, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I just played it 3 times over. Awesome!
- jeffsback2223, on 04/21/2008, -14/+1They blame cows for releasing methane gas into the air when they burp, supposedly contributing to global warming. If thats so much of a problem, what the hell would a Methane rocket do!?
- bootfail, on 04/21/2008, -0/+15A methane rocket burns methane. A cow does not.
- bullox, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4Back to Chemistry 095 for you
- beoir, on 04/21/2008, -1/+3Methane is a much more potent green house gas than CO2, so taking it out of the atmosphere and burning it to CO2 and H2O should slow global warming (although its usually taken out of the ground). Anyway I doubt nasa is worried about the global warming effect of a few rockets
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Why are we so worried about trapping green-house gases? Don't they just seep out via the hole in the O-zone? Who says two wrongs don't make a right? ;.p
- N0vember, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0But you're right, we should think about capturing all this useful methane the irresponsible cows are wasting, and use it in our rockets !
- MrMax99, on 04/21/2008, -7/+17Haha I like the little fart at the end.
- delvach, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Wonder if it's carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen to cool 'er off at the end.
- ophello, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2simple minds are easily amused
- bootfail, on 04/21/2008, -17/+32What a bunch of ***** comments. They are either fart jokes, "hey holmes, put that on my car.", "would make a bitchin' lighter", or OLD OMFG.
- danielsamuels, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4Or "That would smell" even though it is odourless.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1Yo holmes put that on my accordian!
- danielsamuels, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4Or "That would smell" even though it is odourless.
- eigenweasel, on 04/21/2008, -3/+224For those of you without Flash installed, it goes:
sssssssssssssSCHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO- nystigmus, on 04/21/2008, -11/+1iPhones just click on download for iPod/PSP and voilĂ ! Flash?
- Static88, on 04/21/2008, -1/+7For those of you without an iPhone, it goes:
sssssssssssssSCHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - itzmattu, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2XD
- floridiot2, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2The whistles go woooooooooWoooooooooooo
- HomeBoy123, on 04/21/2008, -6/+1Reminds me of the Anubis in Freelancer
http://www.elite-games.ru/images/freelancer/univer ... - Jenadae, on 04/21/2008, -3/+11I actually just said out loud "wooow...."
- jboettcher, on 04/21/2008, -3/+8Ok - we're mining Titan for sure now.
- nickrollout, on 04/21/2008, -1/+0Replace "mining" with "taking over".
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Taking over? From whom? .. I WOULD suggest "claiming", but there aren't any natives to "claim" it from. We'll just call it: Havin' a look-see.
- nickrollout, on 04/21/2008, -1/+0Replace "mining" with "taking over".
- farrc, on 04/21/2008, -1/+12That thing blows
- luckyguy2000, on 04/21/2008, -8/+0im sorry, it remained at "nothing fancy" for me. i had a huge expectation after that headline...
- crapmatic, on 04/21/2008, -0/+10http://www.xcor.com/press-releases/2007/07-01-16_X ...
Only 7500 lbs of thrust, but still cool.- Manhigh, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3Not enough for a launch vehicle but way more than necessary for orbital transfers.
Plus methane is easier to store in a liquid state than LOX/LH2, and more efficient than hydrazine. - HenvY, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1I'll hope you'll excuse my ignorance, but it looks pretty tiny. If they just made a BIGGER version, wouldn't it provide a lot more thrust?
- scarecrow91, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0This probably wouldn't be used as a launch rocket. It is more likely to be used after the ship is already in space as a more efficient, but weaker, thruster. So it wouldn't need to be any bigger.
- Manhigh, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3Not enough for a launch vehicle but way more than necessary for orbital transfers.
- aajjcckk, on 04/21/2008, -14/+6It's a real shame the powers that be are still conning the world into thinking that propulsion methods that "chuck something out the back" due to some combustion or chemical process are the be all and end all. I mean really, how 18th century. Actually, how 11th century (the year 1232) : http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blroc ...
It's really high time we publicly transitioned to electrogravitic systems (where electromagnetism is used to basically switch off gravity, effectively), rather than keeping this tech for deep black projects. There are plenty of scientists and engineers working with electrogravitics today (and have been over the years), largely sworn to secrecy, and if you read the landmark book "The Hunt For Zero Point" by Nick Cook (editor of world leading defence industry magazine "Jane's Defence Weekly", so hardly a kook) you'll know that there was a largescale out-in-the-open effort by leading aircraft/defence manufacturers (e.g. Lockheed, Boeing etc) in the 1950's to develop electrogravitic systems, with multiple early successes before it "went black" and a deliberate program of public ridicule was started (nicely tying in with UFO lore) to cover their tracks (which leads ultimately to any "tinfoil hat" or sceptical comments in response to this post).- gquaglia, on 04/21/2008, -1/+5Well if you could invent such a thing, you will be a rich man. Scientists are simply working with what they have and trying to make it better.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1No, you'd be a dead man.
- alittleroy101, on 04/21/2008, -0/+111232 is the 13th century, not the 11th.
- aajjcckk, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Good point, my mistake.
- eShinn, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2I very nearly coughed on my spit when I read that. Quite amusing
- bullox, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4I agree. This is still Space Travel 1.0. We won't get anywhere interesting until at least 3.0.
- beoir, on 04/21/2008, -1/+3I'm not 100%, but I'm pretty sure what your saying goes against commonly accepted physics theories, but i guess if your the next Einstein then all the power to you
- Jio666, on 04/21/2008, -2/+4"The Hunt For Zero Point" Review:
http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2002/08/05 ...- aajjcckk, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2And of course the author of that review is a world class engineer and scientist who has in depth knowledge of black projects, rather than a lame-ass journalist who doesn't have a clue what they're talking about, right?
RIIIIIIIGHT.- iamprsn9, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2...Wow did you even read the article. It takes an objective review of the book and complements Nick Cook as an editor of, 'the bible of the defense establishment, known for its no-nonsense, nuts-and-bolts reporting." And goes on to say that, "A former Jane's editor tackling this topic is enough to make you take a second look."
- aajjcckk, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2And of course the author of that review is a world class engineer and scientist who has in depth knowledge of black projects, rather than a lame-ass journalist who doesn't have a clue what they're talking about, right?
- aajjcckk, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2Dismissive comments, dismissive reviews of the book. And of course, you're all world class engineers and scientists with years working in cutting edge research and a good working knowledge of black projects right? If so, then I accept your replies. If not then please get a clue and realise you are not qualified to pass judgement on whether this exists or not.
And it's no use rolling out some lame "mainstream science doesn't accept this" nonsense - stuff in black projects is black for a reason.- iamprsn9, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1And also unprovable
- gquaglia, on 04/21/2008, -1/+5Well if you could invent such a thing, you will be a rich man. Scientists are simply working with what they have and trying to make it better.
- Shinbone, on 04/21/2008, -8/+2Dude, that's a freakin' year old...
- ligyron, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2I'd still call it new though, as it's still in development. Not like it's something we've been using for the past several months
- MrFurious2k, on 04/21/2008, -3/+4I've give someone a dollar if they try to cook a hot dog on that thing.
- yaddayaddayoda, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1It's been done, by Rutan and the guys who built SpaceShipOne.
- edmcguirk, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2There's a very old film I've seen on TV showing the first test of the throttle-able rocket on the X-15.
The rocket is shut off but won't restart, they tell the pilot to hit RESET and BOOM. The pilot survived and it is a cool video.
Anybody know of a link to it?- Nighthawke, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2Yup, know of it. Scott Crossfield was in Vehicle #3 for that test. A leaky LOX valve filled the engine chamber with gases and when they called for restart it chainfired, blowing half the vehicle up and shoving the other half forward 15 feet. Scott was not hurt, but crewmembers trying to save him were burned badly.
- BelatedHero, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4http://youtube.com/watch?v=WXpEPZ6ZZIs
- kb29, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2I just had an "oh, *****!" moment.
- chaos7, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2AWESOME
- Falor42, on 04/21/2008, -5/+0jeesh, can someone light a match already...
- TitanX13, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1you dont have to worry its odor less. if it was a fart you would be smelling the sulfur
- Namco, on 04/21/2008, -7/+4Saw this over a year or two ago, but still digg worthy!
- molennick, on 04/21/2008, -2/+1I would say it was digg worthy a year ago, when it was a new development. NASA has yet to unveil additional info. The engine itself is still cool as all can be though!
- javafreakin, on 04/21/2008, -3/+2electrogravitic? haha - i'm guessing you failed physics.
- dhughes, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1 It's former secret codename was Blue Angel.
- mundus, on 05/15/2008, -11/+2OM NOM NOM NOM
- neuens07, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1no
- vinztan, on 04/21/2008, -3/+1Reminds me of Eve when I turn on my afterburners.
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