This is more a note to myself than anything, but you might find it interesting as well. JPL has put together an overview called the Basics of Space Flight, covering topics like orbital mechanics, experiments, and communication. It’s supposed to have a bent toward unmanned missions, but a lot of the principles are the same. I look forward to reading it.
Monthly Archives: December 2003
Heinlein the Prophet
No link, sorry. But I’m re-reading Friday by Robert Heinlein and our heroine has just arrived in the Confederacy of California:
“But only in California will you find the clear-quill, raw-gum, two-hundred-proof, undiluted democracy…They elect everybody, from precinct parasite to the Chief Confederate (“The Chief”). But they unelect them almost as fast. For example the Chief is supposed to serve one six-year term. But, of the last nine chiefs, only two served a full six years; the others were recalled except that one who was lynched. In many cases an official has not yet been sworn in when the first recall petition is being circulated.”
Creepy, eh?
If you build it, they will…. commando?
Say it ain’t so…. Our fun little Segway is now being considered as a tool in “a plan to develop battlefield robots that think on their own and communicate with troops.” Does every toy have to turn into a war toy?