Well, this kind of sucks. It's pretty widely viewed that, regardless of political leanings, Jim has done a fantastic job as administrator. I was hoping he'd stick around.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Even if asked by the President-elect Biden administration, <a href="https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JimBridenstine</a> told us he would pass on staying on as head of the <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a>, not for partisan reasons but to ensure that, politically, NASA has the best chance of thriving under new leadership. <a href="https://t.co/szjshdQJhK">https://t.co/szjshdQJhK</a></p>&mdash; Aviation Week (@AviationWeek) <a href="https://twitter.com/AviationWeek/status/1325766149074792448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He's been great. Many expected a crony to toe Shelby's line, but Bridenstine navigated things pretty well. I hope his replacement is successful. Never really had any expectations that Artemis would survive/succeed. Even the current administration wasn't funding appropriately (too much tied up in SLS).


To me, key is maintaining the commercial aspect of launches and a solid plan for ISS. Anything that funds Artemis is just gravy.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A ahead of launching four astronauts to the <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@space_station</a>; liftoff targeted for Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST <a href="https://t.co/dlMrPUpr4d">pic.twitter.com/dlMrPUpr4d</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1325931233784680448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Can't wait!! And they changed it to more agreeable time, which is nice.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> have completed certification of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CrewDragon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CrewDragon</a>! I’m extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft. More: <a href="https://t.co/VGPPAtSll3">https://t.co/VGPPAtSll3</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaunchAmerica?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LaunchAmerica</a> <a href="https://t.co/jUZx0BBPwb">pic.twitter.com/jUZx0BBPwb</a></p>&mdash; Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1326262588175380481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This doesn't technically qualify as Space Exploration but I didn't know where else to post it, so please delete if necessary.

That said, this is pretty freaking amazing and while the test only topped out at 100 MPH over 500 meters, it won't be long before they're up to 600 MPH, which would definitely change continental travel.




<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xKvbSboQ5_g" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hyperloop is such a strange effort. There are dozens of different organizations working on it, so it's really tough to keep track of what is signal vs. noise. Regardless, cool to see that someone is making progress at least!

I think it's neat, but commercial aircraft routinely fly at 550 MPH. West to east, anyway.

If it works and is economical (neither of which are at all guaranteed), the use case would be more along the lines of connecting nearby cities. Fort Collins to Denver in 10-15 minutes would be pretty sweet, for example.

Why would anyone want to go to FoCo?

LA to Vegas in 30 minutes would be amazing, as would LA to SF in 45 minutes or less.

I'd imagine there would be substantial benefits to the Midwest as well, like KC to Chicago or Dallas or Denver in an hour or less.

Of course, the first thing that came to mind was terrorism, which actually sucks and hope they can find some way around that possibility.

To bang college hotties at CSU

Perhaps you should take the trip.

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/10/...-live-america/

what

I was kidding. I like it up there, unless the wind is from the north.