1 minute ago, scottiejohn said:

A one man company renting the MIR station?

 

Any chance of answering my point by point questions?

If you refuse to do so you will have next to no credibility (if you have any now) on this forum until you do so!

Nope.

 

I was involved in the Mir station long before my current companies were formed. The company that emerged from the Mir activity was MirCorp, but I was not involved in that company.

 

It sounds like the timeline is confusing you.

 

1998 (more or less): effort to rent Mir starts.

 

2000: I leave the project, MirCorp is formed.

 

2006: I start work on company #1

 

2009: Company #1 incorporated

 

2010: first payload to ISS flown

 

2018 (more or less): 2nd company founded.

Yes I have a question: why is the Artemis program an almost exact copy of the Apollo program designed by some Nazi engineer 65 years ago. Is NASA doomed, being a lazy bureaucracy incapable of innovation, a reflection of today's USA?

3 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

Yes I have a question: why is the Artemis program an almost exact copy of the Apollo program designed by some Nazi engineer 65 years ago. Is NASA doomed, being a lazy bureaucracy incapable of innovation, a reflection of today's USA?

Mike Griffin, a former NASA administrator, was intent on duplicating Apollo. He started the Ares program, which evolved into the current Artemis.

Here's something you have never seen before, a photo of an open SS-18 silo, just a few minutes after the missile was launched.

 

I was invited to the Baikonur cosmodrome to see a launch.

 

This is the rocket that Elon wanted for his first Mars project.

23 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

After a while, I became conversant in the engineering, and taught myself Russian. As a result, I was involved in passing legislation that enabled SpaceX, and was sent to Russia to rent the Mir space station. After that, I founded some space companies, we won NASA contracts, and the rest is history.

 

13 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Nope.

 

I was involved in the Mir station long before my current companies were formed. The company that emerged from the Mir activity was MirCorp, but I was not involved in that company.

 

It sounds like the timeline is confusing you.

 

1998 (more or less): effort to rent Mir starts.

It sounds like the timeline is confusing you.

 

It most certainly is as SpaceX did not start until after MIR ended!

 

As a result, I was involved in passing legislation that enabled SpaceX, and was sent to Russia to rent the Mir space station.

1 minute ago, scottiejohn said:

 

 

 

It most certainly is a SpaceX did not start until after MIR ended!

 

As a result, I was involved in passing legislation that enabled SpaceX, and was sent to Russia to rent the Mir space station.

1990: Enabling legislation for SpaceX passed:

 

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-10648

 

1998: Mir project begins

 

2001~: SpaceX formed (I was not involved).

2 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Here's something you have never seen before, a photo of an open SS-18 silo, just a few minutes after the missile was launched.

Here one just before it was launched;

Just now, scottiejohn said:

Here one just before it was launched;

See if you can find a photo of the silo after launch.

 

A couple more photos of the launch. The metal ring falls off the missile on the way up. The missile is in the red circle, I was 7 km away at launch.

2 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

1990: Enabling legislation for SpaceX passed:

 

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-10648

 

1998: Mir project begins

 

2001~: SpaceX formed (I was not involved).

You said "1998: Mir project begins"

I  say Mir was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001,

Are we talking about the same MIR;

You said earlier; "I was involved in passing legislation that enabled SpaceX"

Now you say "2001~: SpaceX formed (I was not involved)."

 

No wonder I do not believe a single word you print.

Good night and good riddance space cadet!

and here is a photo of me in the RSC Museum with the MirCorp guys (MirCorp was founded after this photo was taken). It's the Vostok 1 capsule.

1 minute ago, scottiejohn said:

You said "1998: Mir project begins"

I  say Mir was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001,

Are we talking about the same MIR;

You said earlier; "I was involved in passing legislation that enabled SpaceX"

Now you say "2001~: SpaceX formed (I was not involved)."

 

No wonder I do not believe a single word you print.

Good night and good riddance space cadet!

you seem confused.

 

"Mir project" = the effort to rent Mir. Not the Soviet Mir project, which started in 1975.

 

SpaceX was formed more than 10 years after the enabling legislation was passed.

 

 

 

My favorite photo from the SS-18 launch (not my photo), I was inside the plane at the time.

 

After the launch, and the party, we had to fly back to Moscow. Unfortunately, the TU-154 aircraft engines wouldn't start. After long hours on the swelting tarmac, the engines wouldn't start, and the small airport didn't have a starter.

 

So a mechanic tried Russian style repair, he hit the engine with a hammer.

 

And off we went.

Any questions about space, really?

How big is the entire universe?

The visible universe is about 93 billion light years across, but what is out there, beyond our horizon?

Is it finite or infinite ♾️?

14 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Any questions about space, really?

How big is the entire universe?

The visible universe is about 93 billion light years across, but what is out there, beyond our horizon?

Is it finite or infinite ♾️?

Sorry, that's astronomy, not my field.

 

I am just an itinerant guitar player/space systems architect.

More on the renting Mir project:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/23/magazine/american-megamillionaire-gets-russki-space-heap.html

 

I was long gone by the time this news broke.

 

And this:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphans_of_Apollo

 

There was a documentary about the renting Mir project. I saw the movie at some enormous theater in LA, with my girlfriend. She was duly impressed by my appearance in the movie.

 

Neither of these deal much with the origins of the project, which is when I was involved. My goal was to use an electrodynamic tether to raise Mir's orbit so it could be stored for future use (like now). I still have my copy of the RSC Energia technical feasibility report.

 

I bailed on the project when the plan changed from storing Mir to operating it right now (in competition with the International Space Station). I saw the danger in competing against NASA's #1 cash cow.

9 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

Sorry, that's astronomy, not my field.

 

I am just an itinerant guitar player/space systems architect.

Fair enough. Let's talk about Russian space systems then. What os the overall quality of Russian space equipment?

How does it compare to NASS and European space programs?

 

On 1/27/2024 at 4:14 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO Elon is an idiot. A very rich idiot but still an idiot.

 

Rather than Mars, why doesn't he try to fix the problems on Planet Earth and do some good?

 

Actually, if he went and lived on Mars, Planet Earth might be better for it, so carry on Elon!

The search for knowledge and adventure has its own rewards. That is what makes us human.

 

One either gets it, or doesn't.

 

Elon Musk may well be a character and somewhat eccentric, but all of us have quirks. Few of us have genius, fewer still with genius put to productive work. The species benefits from guys like Musk, character flaws and all.

On 1/23/2024 at 1:32 AM, Yellowtail said:

So, with all you've done, how is it you ended up on a bragging about banging bargirls and being obsessed with Trump? 

Not so surprising. Men are men, with a variety of likes and dislikes, passions, and proclivities.

 

Richard Feynman was known to play bongos naked atop buildings at Caltech, and he also was rather fond of "Gentlemen's Clubs".  Graham Greene, although a writer (and former spook), not a scientist, was chasing bargirls in Thailand before agogos even existed.

 

I've long had an appreciation of Danderman123's contributions to this site, but after reading of his background, I have additional respect for the man.

2 hours ago, Walker88 said:

Not so surprising. Men are men, with a variety of likes and dislikes, passions, and proclivities.

 

Richard Feynman was known to play bongos naked atop buildings at Caltech, and he also was rather fond of "Gentlemen's Clubs".  Graham Greene, although a writer (and former spook), not a scientist, was chasing bargirls in Thailand before agogos even existed.

 

I've long had an appreciation of Danderman123's contributions to this site, but after reading of his background, I have additional respect for the man.

Yeah, and at the same time he was playing guitar, founding NASA and learning Russian he was farming in the Coachella Valley. Defiantly a man among men. 

Finally!

 

After following that link through the NY Times paywall, I finally understand who you are. 🙂 Why all the secrecy and intrigue? You've created a number of doubters on this thread.  IMHO, this thread would have been far more concise had you provided your identify in your first post.  Now the vast majority of posts in this thread are nothing about space projects but more about 'calling you out' (my comments included).

 

Your background makes for interesting reading as well.  You've had good success, except perhaps with the US taxman! 🙂  I would not regard you as a space systems specialist, because that conjures up (in my mind) a person who is a technical guru in space/satellite systems.  Rather, you are an entrepreneurial businessman in the telecoms and space sector, and there's nowt wrong with that!

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Yeah, and at the same time he was playing guitar, founding NASA and learning Russian he was farming in the Coachella Valley. Defiantly a man among men. 

Won't you have to eat some crow when you 'do a little research'.

 

As a maga, you probably want that crow well done and with lots of ketchup.

13 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Fair enough. Let's talk about Russian space systems then. What os the overall quality of Russian space equipment?

How does it compare to NASS and European space programs?

 

 

 

The Russian space program is dying.

 

Much of the money allocated to it is stolen.

 

The engineers who designed their best systems are long dead.

 

The Soyuz spacecraft design is now 60 years old, and the replacement has taken 10 years of work and still isn't ready.

10 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Yeah, and at the same time he was playing guitar, founding NASA and learning Russian he was farming in the Coachella Valley. Defiantly a man among men. 

The farming in the Coachella valley came after I retired.

 

And, no, I didn't found NASA.

 

It's gratifying that you think my career is amazing.

10 hours ago, simon43 said:

Finally!

 

After following that link through the NY Times paywall, I finally understand who you are. 🙂 Why all the secrecy and intrigue? You've created a number of doubters on this thread.  IMHO, this thread would have been far more concise had you provided your identify in your first post.  Now the vast majority of posts in this thread are nothing about space projects but more about 'calling you out' (my comments included).

 

Your background makes for interesting reading as well.  You've had good success, except perhaps with the US taxman! 🙂  I would not regard you as a space systems specialist, because that conjures up (in my mind) a person who is a technical guru in space/satellite systems.  Rather, you are an entrepreneurial businessman in the telecoms and space sector, and there's nowt wrong with that!

I'm not Walt Anderson, but I did work for him in Russia.

 

Here's an "inside baseball" story: At one point in SpaceX efforts to design a rocket engine (Merlin), Elon had a moment of doubt, and started looking to buy an engine. The best out there was the NK-33, but Aerojet had already scooped up all production from the factory. So, I was asked to find more.

 

I suspected that the design bureau in Samara still had some in storage (the engines had not been in use for 40 years by then). So I arranged for a visit to Samara.

 

Russians don't trust foreigners, so the first piece of business is to drink. I was seated at a table where everyone had a bottle of vodka in front of them. Which we drank during a long series of toasts.

 

Apparently, I passed the test, since I was led into the bowels of the design bureau, and shown maybe a dozen pristine NK-33s. And after that, taken to a private villa on the Volga river.

 

But, Elon fixed his engine, so those engines in Samara were used by the Russians on a Soyuz variant.

Any thoughts on the news about Russia launching a nuclear powered anti-satellite system?   Bluff of reality?  Should the US restart the Star Wars programme in response?

Just now, Kinnock said:

Any thoughts on the news about Russia launching a nuclear powered anti-satellite system?   Bluff of reality?  Should the US restart the Star Wars programme in response?

The left killing Star Wars was a sad day for the US. 

1 minute ago, Kinnock said:

Any thoughts on the news about Russia launching a nuclear powered anti-satellite system?   Bluff of reality?  Should the US restart the Star Wars programme in response?

The Russians clearly didn't watch "Gravity". Exploding a nuke in space would result in widespread damage to Russian systems.

Just now, Danderman123 said:

The Russians clearly didn't watch "Gravity". Exploding a nuke in space would result in widespread damage to Russian systems.

But maybe the nuclear element is a reactor to power laser weapons, rather than a bomb?

 

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

The left killing Star Wars was a sad day for the US. 

Clearly, you are misinformed.

 

The Dems favored point defense, Reagan had dreams of an orbital based shield, but it was infeasible.

 

I knew the guys who convinced Reagan to do Star Wars, they just wanted a reason to launch a lot of rockets.

 

The one concrete benefit of SDI was the DC-X test vehicle, which demonstrated vertical rocket landing. I was a big fan.

Just now, Kinnock said:

But maybe the nuclear element is a reactor to power laser weapons, rather than a bomb?

 

LASERs are better ground based for many reasons. And an orbital LASER has another name: "target". Same with the space nukes.