A Walk In Space

This morning, I got to watch two commercial astronauts take a walk in space using commercially developed EVA suits via a commercially designed and built spacecraft. I can’t tell you how amazing and important this is both technologically, socially, and economically.

I’ve already seen what I believe are some bad takes. Most revolve around ‘NASA did this years ago’ or ‘bunch of rich people doing rich people things’ and I think both are tremendously wrong. Let me tell you why.

Go back and look at what it took for NASA to develop the first EVA suits, then look at what it then took to develop the EVA suits used on ISS. Now, then look at how much it took to develop same and how many years it took. Now, if you want to have a little fun, look and see if any of the developments, materials, etc. are subject to patents.

You might be surprised on that score. Private companies that develop certain materials, products, etc. can and do patent them even if the work is either for or used by NASA. There is a fascinating story behind some specialty LEDs as just one example.

So, while it has been done, look at what Space X did in a relatively short period of time (at least by NASA timelines). They designed, developed, tested, and refined an EVA suit that could be used on this flight. What’s more, the spacewalk today was intended to test that suit and that’s what was done. Simple engineering test, but with profound impact as I will be willing to bet that the suit is further refined and upgraded by the end of the year.

In “traditional” space development, the process would likely involve a beltway bandit or two for analysis, design review, etc., then a new design, then a rather lengthy development process and in a year or three (or decade) there might be a new and very expensive EVA suit produced. If you really want to know what I think of the process, think Starliner from Woeing.

In fact, rather than years I bet Space X has a refined suit ready for further use and testing by early next year. That the next spacewalk is more ambitious and will once again not only allow things to be done now, but result in further refinements and upgrades. Rapid refinements and upgrades based on actual use testing. Just like what they are doing with launch.

While we are at it, take a look at the revolution Space X has already kicked off in spacesuit design. They look like spacesuits, they fit a wide variety of people, are comfortable and easy to use (according to reports from those who have used them), and it was all done relatively rapidly and economically. Now, compare and contrast to what NASA has done and the development cycle of same. Next step: look at the time and expense developing NASA’s modular EVA suit design, that only fits a limited range of body types (in practical terms), how long it took to develop, the cost of development, and the pace of refinement on same.

Just as Space X has changed the economics of launch, they are now on the path to change the economics (and ergonomics) of the USE of space. What do you want to bet that they have also already looked ahead at some specialty suits?

So, no, this morning was not something mankind has never done before. It’s more important and paradigm shattering than that. Just as they are revolutionizing launch, this is the first step in revolutionizing the use of space. Change and testing in weeks/months, not years or decades. This will also have the ability to reduce costs as well, which further opens up space and space resource exploration and exploitation. Have spacesuit, will travel.

Nor was this morning some rich man’s indulgence. It was an engineering test and proof of concept, that will help open up space to all. It is a major step towards that future Heinlein and others envisioned where average people could go and do rather than just an elite few. The elite few are making that future possible, yes. But what they did this morning opens the door to an affordable, effective, and non-government controlled access to space, and to living and working in same.

If the governments (including ours) don’t kill Elon and Space X over X and other politics, we have a future in space. We have reliable and increasingly economical launch capability. We have just demonstrated the ability to live and work in space. Next step, habitats. I’m going to skip Starlink (and Boring) for today, though it has a role in this as well.

Welcome to a potential great future. Pity so few people will notice it, or recognize what happened this morning for what it is. For those who do get it, hang on, the ride is going to get bumpy but if we and Space X survive, we are on track to truly become a spacefaring species.

D.D. Harriman, call your office.

(Mr. Musk to the white courtesy phone please. Mr. Musk to the white courtesy phone please)

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Marooned

I’ve not said a whole lot about the fiasco that is Woeing’s Starliner and the crew stranded on the ISS so far, but the cartoon I saw yesterday with Starliner as the SS Minnow and Gilligan in a space suit knocking on the hatch of the ISS was a good push. Besides, I had promised to write something in this post, and it is past time.

I’ve been worried about the Starliner effort for a while, as it has had far more problems than I would have liked from the start. Now, any new effort is going to have things crop up, as it is never as easy as people make it out to be to go from paper to actually bending metal. The best laid plans, and blue prints, rarely get everything just right; tech, particularly new or upgraded tech, rarely works as planned; and, I think the only time one sees complex systems flawlessly integrate at first try is in the movies.

Space is hard and harsh. Spacing is even harder.

That said, a lot of the basics are known and should — at this point — be well understood. The basics can, and should, be tweaked at need, but such shouldn’t be that difficult. Now, developing totally new systems, trying new things, and facing a huge amount of regulation (call it that for now) from an agency that is one of the most risk-adverse on the planet, and things can and do get interesting.

It can be done, if one has a “can-do” attitude and is willing to innovate, take risks, and even on occasion “discuss” things with said agency. Just look at Space X for what happens then.

When you have a company, however, that is “old-school” in many respects as to innovation, risk, etc.; and, said company has gone woke and turned away from what made it successful to start with, well, you get the current mess with Starliner.

Which is why I also keep hearing the voice of Martin Caidin pop up every so often. People have brought up his book and the movie Marooned in regards the current situation with the crew trapped on the ISS. A few have pointed out that he also wrote the book Cyborg which became the television series The Six Million Dollar Man. Few realize the sometimes pivotal roles he played in aviation and space over the years.

In the interest of full disclosure, Martin and I were friends and I acknowledge he was a better friend to me than I was to him. We even waged a futile effort to save the old Aviation/Space Writers Association at one point, an organization which I had joined in part because of Martin. If you cover aviation, particularly aviation accidents, you really should try to find a copy of the AWA guide to covering air accidents as it is still fairly spot on. I will also acknowledge that Martin was a bit of a character.

He was also one heck of a practical engineer who had a gift for science. For those of a nuclear war bent, you might want to notice who was heavily involved in exploring (and more) the concept of firestorms from nuclear blasts. Martin also was involved with a number of aviation advancements, as well as with historical preservation. Space also has his imprint upon it. Some of the books (and stories) he wrote were done as a way of exploring topics that certain establishments didn’t want to explore or were reluctant to explore. Fairly common in some ways for science fiction, but Martin truly ran with it.

Martin also understood that advancement (literary, scientific, or engineering) means risk. He understood calculated risk. Which is why I suspect some of his commentary on the current situation might veer a touch towards the pungent. Especially in regards the possibility of the crew being told to ride the capsule down. Marooned was fiction (and a bit of a push towards developing a rescue capability), and should stay that way.

Right now, the capsule is blocking some urgently needed real estate, namely one of two docking ports. If the software got changed to remove the remote/independent separation ability because of NASA “regulations” the situation is even more rich in irony. That said, it needs to be cleared. That said, with the cascade of failures in Starliner, I would not ride it down nor would I order anyone to ride it down. Frankly, I think the best option right now is to try to update the software and risk bricking it. If it works, port cleared and the capsule can be sent back to Earth where if it survives re-entry it can be studied. Medium case is clearing the port and adding a rather large chunk of space debris to LEO. Worst case is that it bricks and the port remains blocked. It’s blocked already, so not seeing a true downside to trying.

I’m not going to say that Woeing needs to go completely back to the drawing board, but I think they might want to consider going pretty close to it. They may also want to look at adopting the old model of operations from when they were Boeing (and successful) and putting the engineers back in charge. Radical, I know, but it is what is needed.

If they do, expect support from me and from elsewhere I suspect we might hear some clapping and some pithy comments about it taking long enough, get to it.

By the way, I would commend almost any of Martin’s fiction and non-fiction (!!) to you. Among other things, he wrote a guide to surviving nuclear war that is not only good, but also applicable to general preparedness if I remember correctly. Heck, I need to try to find a (reasonably priced) copy if I can. If you haven’t seen it, the movie Marooned is pretty good. Again, read his works as he was more of a key figure in modern aviation and space than many realize.

Also, while I’m thinking about it, Stephen Green at PJ, and both David Strom and Jazz Shaw at Hot Air are doing some really good space and science coverage. Check them out.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Starship 4th Test Flight

Wow. What a flight! David Strom hits things on the head here, and I very much agree with his close: Elon Musk is a figure out of Heinlein. Love him or loathe him, he is making indelible changes on the world. From my viewpoint, most of those are good. Especially when it comes to getting us off this mudball.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to know and spend time with some interesting people, and to have done work for NASA twice. Today showed me several things I’ve been told were impossible, but I just watched them play out in realtime.

More years ago than I care to think about, Jerry and Roberta Pournelle took a callow young science writer under their wings. This led not only to interesting dinners but inclusion on several discussions of science and technology, often centering on spaceflight and heading out from Earth. Some discussions of such may have been a bit spirited, but it is interesting how they often led to investigation, experimentation, and change.

While my memory is not what I would like, I do seem to remember that Jerry was somewhat strongly of the opinion that landing rockets upright/vertical a la Golden Age science fiction was impossible. I’ve been watching SpaceX stick vertical landings on droneships for a while now and smiling. To be honest, think Jerry would be delighted at being wrong and seeing what is going on.

I’ve heard similar, but not nearly as spirited (and innovative) discussions at NASA at time or two. Then again, far too many there were wedded to the long, slow, expensive process at NASA. NASA is not only risk averse, but anything that smacked even slightly of failure was something never to be done again. NASA did not fail, it only succeeded — at great cost, lots of time, and one-off hardware. What Elon and SpaceX are doing is the best way to do real development: speculate, build, test, refine, test, refine, test, and then move out. Doing that is almost guaranteed to cut your development timeline by two thirds if not more.

Now, let’s look at all the pretty pictures, and even more importantly the massive amounts of data, that we got during reentry. Let me repeat that: DURING REENTRY. Another thing I was told at various times was impossible, beyond technical capabilities, etc. Never happen. Heh. Right. All made possible via Starlink and innovative thinking. If you think Elon’s companies aren’t meant to work together… I have suspicions about The Boring Company, which is anything but boring…

Now, when it comes to burnthrough the conventional wisdom was that pretty much any burnthrough was a catastrophic event. Even a pinprick spelled doom for a craft, and the idea that any external component or system that experienced such could function afterwards was nonsense! Nonsense I tell you Sir! Cough. Guess what I watched today? Heck, they invited some burnthrough by deliberately leaving off some tiles and putting sensors and such there because that data was needed. Not in a critical area, but still…

When the flap began to burn through, I kept expecting to see the rocket tumble and fail. Instead, I saw — even with the damage to the camera — the flap move and operate, and the ship continue to maneuver and function. That was amazing, and again I had been told impossible. I’m beginning to think Elon’s breakfast consists of multiple impossible things each morning.

Perfect mission? No, but an amazing success anyway. Right now, looks like they hit all the major goals, including getting massive amounts of data so they can improve and try again. In fact, a surface reading indicates that nothing that did go wrong requires the FAA to investigate and delay work on the next TEST flight according to the paperwork. That said, the Biden Regency hates Musk and has been trying to throw wrenches into the gears as they can, so I really do expect them to try to find a way to do so now. The offset to that is that the military and the Intelligence Community are now both having to back Elon given their dependence on SpaceX for reliable and cost-effective launches. That may reduce the interference. We can but hope.

As I’ve said before: Earth is the cradle of humanity, but crib death is still a thing and we need to be out on as many worlds — large and small — as we can as fast as we can. Even if not for survival per se, it is also a good idea for political survival. See Kotani and Robert’s Island World/Act of God series for the latter.

Right now, Elon and SpaceX are our best shot at getting that underway. We need them, so keep them in your prayers as there are a lot of people who want them to fail. Heck, need them to fail.

As far as living and working in space full time, think we still have some research to do. Some recent investigations into blood and other issues long-term for those in space raises some concerns. I’ve talked before about the issues with reproduction in space.

Which reminds me, the Chinese investigations underway with fish are a thing to watch. This could provide lots of good data not only on how they do in microgravity. This ties into issues of food in space and reproduction in space, and may be a good step towards ensuring safety on both fronts. I suspect that some gravity is going to be needed, but how much is the question. One that can be easily and fairly quickly answered at need.

That, however, is for the future. Right now, today’s test flight was amazing. Not only visually, but operationally and from the standpoint of gathering data.

Keep doing the impossible Elon and SpaceX! We need this more than most may realize.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

LTS: Metal Containers

Rather than press ahead as planned, recent weather has caused me to reconsider and move up my planned discussion of metal containers for Long Term Storage (LTS). No, not terrestrial weather, but space weather — specifically solar weather.

If you were fortunate enough last week to have a clear sky (we didn’t, alas), the aurora borealis was seen with the naked eye as far south as parts of Texas. Normally, such is only seen at the higher latitudes such as in norther Alaska and such. Thanks to some very energetic solar storms and coronal mass ejections, we have had quite the light show.

All well and good, but if you are not familiar with the Carrington Event you should read up on it and the potential for the Sun to do much worse. Let’s face it, the event allowed telegraph operators on both costs to disconnect their batteries and keep operations going for hours, which means a tremendous amount of energy was getting pumped into our Earthly system. It had some amazing effects then. Dumping that much or more on us now has the potential to be catastrophic.

Now, in terms of normal preparedness, metal cans meet a lot of needs. They are long lasting, resistant to a variety of harms, can be easy (if heavy) to carry, etc. There are commercial containers available, but I tend to be cheap so go for mil-surplus you can get for a good price (normally, but not as much recently).

I like the cans as they come in different sizes, the gaskets are usually good and will stay that way (resilient), and even if buried good for a decade or three. They can hold ammo, cigars, and a lot more. They are great for controlled environment storage. For cigars (before I effectively stopped recently) for example, I lined a can with Spanish cedar, loaded in my cigars with cedar sheets in between layers, threw in some Boveda packs (the single best way to get perfect humidity for storage of cigars, guitars, and much more), and checked on them every six months to a year. They are also the best option for semi-dangerous storage, things that are flammable or could otherwise do damage if stored improperly. Also, with padding, great for storing fragile items.

Metal is going to be the most protective material for any storage, much less long-term. It gives a range of options to you and can be modified at need. Drawbacks are weight (good cans are heavy, but you don’t want cheap and thin cans) and cost.

Now, given our recent solar weather, here’s another advantage to metal cans — they can be shielded. The can itself can provide some level of shielding, and my plan if there was advanced warning on a nuclear exchange was to put as many of my electronics and chargers in a metal can as possible. To make it even better, keep it in a basement, or better yet a shielded area in a basement and run a lead to a good ground, and you’ve got decent protection for those electronics. Key is, you want the items unplugged (longer the “tail” the greater the chance for EMP or anything else to burn out the electronics, and the tail doesn’t get much longer than the miles and miles of lines bringing you power to your home), shielded by other metal (grounded by preference, and underground and grounded if at all possible), and powered down.

For LTS of goods, metal is great. For LTS of foods, it is not necessarily as good. Some metals can and do leach like bad plastics. Some metals can oxidize in ways that can harm food. So, if you want to use metal cans for LTS of food, go in layers. Use mylar bucket liners (available in a variety of sizes) plus mylar food storage bags (just like you would for LTS of food in food-grade plastic containers), and you should be good. Just use good quality cans that are properly finished. Using Cousin Abdul’s homemade cans with his special “secret” finish is not the way to go. Go good mil-surplus or storage grade commercial, it is worth the money.

Oh, if you are going to go for LTS of musical instruments, wooden items, or items needing a bit of humidity, look at using both large mylar bags (sealed with Boveda or other inside) inside metal which also has a controlled environment. Two or more layers of protection, plus the metal will give maximum protection to the contents. You can go for certain grades of plastic case (think Pelican as one brand), but keep in mind price will be high, it may not be the same formulation as even a few years ago, and plastic will go brittle before metal.

For truly critical items, consider some form of normal case, inside plastic, inside metal. This works for artwork, instruments, and much more. Put the final case into storage in a geologically-stable area underground, and you are golden.

For home use, you can get a lot of protection via layering. Depends on what you are trying to protect, why, and for how long.

Just some quick food for thought this morning. The world is wonky. The Sun is being interesting (keep an eye on Space Weather Here). Be prepared. Remember, keep your family and real friends close, your preparations as complete as possible and as close to your vest as possible, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Intelligence, OST, Thoughts

This is still going to be shorter than I would like, but things are afoot. I will say that the whole “Intelligence” issue that was supposed to be such a major security threat to the US seems much more a lack-of-intelligence/too-much-politics issue though it does raise some interesting possibilities.

Going back to my original post, FM made some very good comments I urge you to read. Nukes in space don’t do like they do on the ground. Take a look at what happened with Starfish Prime for an example. Not too long after, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which happened to ban such activity well before the Outer Space Treaty (OST). While Vladimir has pulled Russia out of most treaties of late, officially no one has set anything off in near-Earth orbit or deeper space since then.

I do seem to recall someone proposing to use nukes to clean up debris in Earth orbit, but that may have been during some informal discussions. Regardless, the idea and the originator were figuratively beaten about the head and shoulders. Just going to say look to Starfish Prime for reasons why.

Russia does have ASAT weapons and they do work. One was “tested” not too long ago and the ISS and other objects are still having to maneuver to avoid the debris created by the destruction of an old (Soviet?) Russian satellite. That is about all I can say on the topic of ASATs and SDI.

I will note that, in my personal opinion, a lot of marxist/communist fellow-travelers in the U.S. have long used the OST to hamstring both civilian and military space activities to the benefit of the Soviets and now Russians. According to them, any effort ground or space to develop SDI was a violation of treaty and some of them worked very hard to kill our efforts.

A good bit of focus of such efforts now is not just military, but commercial. Under the OST, most commercial is effectively banned if not formally banned. This, along with the ridiculous pious hand waving and screaming about how doing orbital extraction and processing would be an environmental disaster (yep, that’s a real thing), as would any human habitation on any celestial body be it the Moon or an asteroid. And, yes, there are real efforts underway to enact treaties and laws to ban such. Pay attention, as they really do want you and humanity as a whole trapped.

Personal opinion is that the OST has been twisted beyond pretzel status from the start, and is a treaty from which we should (must) formally withdraw. The non-binding Artemis Accords are somewhat better, but we need clear support for commerical, private property in space, and the use and exploitation of resources. Without such, any business will be taking a huge risk to pursue such.

There have been rumors for a while, that while a signatory to the OST, China was looking to violate it by claiming if not the entire lunar surface, good and important chunks of it. Including use of military force to defend such claim. Is such possible? Yes. Is it probable? Not at this time, not with the economic and other crises facing China and the CCP. That said, China is pushing hard to not only move into orbit, but have footholds elsewhere as well. It will be interesting to see where that goes.

Before I forget, again, the banning of WMD (nukes) from space not only was to protect Earth and the magnetic fields, but to keep things simple in regards attack detection. FM may have brought this up, but having nukes in orbit greatly complicates attack detection. Is that a nuke or a data/sample return mission (keep in mind that many spy satellites physically returned film and other media to the ground for quite a while)? When weapons can come from any direction, including straight up, it does indeed make it difficult for the defenders. See also yesterday’s post.

So, winding up. Could Russia use nukes in orbit to take out satellites, including via use of undeclared weapons put up as part of other payloads? Yep. Are they likely to? Different question, and I hope not. I will simply say I don’t think that would work out they way some seem to think it would. Should we leave the OST and any other binding or non-binding agreement that limits commercial activities? Yes. A thousand times yes.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

About That Intel Issue

That is so serious it is requiring multiple meetings, lots of SCIF briefings, and is apparently being leaked madly in the name of saving the Republic (cough, choke, wheeze). Oh, and is also being linked to crucial, crucial I say funding for Ukraine and is so important no money can be wasted on our borders… Sigh.

For now, color me skeptical, unimpressed, and needing jusssssst a touch more info (/end Harry Doyle/Bob Uecker voice) to be convinced. Right now, the bookmakers are putting good odds on it being the Russians, in the library with a candlestick, er, in space with nukes.

Okay, I’ll bite. One, nukes are about the only credible threat Russia has right now, and even it is a bit wobbly in my opinion. I still subscribe to my ‘tyranny of the 20 percent’ concept in which I think they (or us) will be lucky to get 20 percent of the weapons and/or weapons systems to work. Just look at how well Nikita’s, er, Vladimir’s demo launch worked during Biden’s visit to Ukraine.

For as much as I am NOT a fan of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, and would like to see us either re-negotiate the majority in light of commercial operations or withdraw from them, there are some interesting and needed weapons provisions that I think are good things even though I’m also more than a little suspicious that China (1983 signatory I think) is well on its way to scrapping some key lunar and orbital points. For that matter, I’m pretty sure Russia has already violated it a time or two (but that’s true for pretty much every treaty they have signed).

Until there is more information, there’s not a lot that can be said — which is not going to stop the grifters and pundits from putting forth thousands of empty words. I’m going to wait and see what comes out other than leaks, then offer some analysis and thoughts. Until then, just consider my cynicism as a given.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Congratulations SpaceX!

For all I would have loved for Starship to have hit fractional orbit and then landed in the Pacific, for a second integrated test flight it was a success. Frankly, that they pulled off the hot-stage separation is amazing, and it was not something I was counting on seeing.

As it is, it happened. All the engines lit and stayed lit until shut off on the first stage, and everything was nominal until after the hot-staging. All the engines appeared to be functioning normally on the second stage right up until the self-destruct engaged. I’m curious as to why they had that system on the second stage, and if they plan to continue to do so. The initial word seems to be the pad is good, so no major repairs or upgrades needed (we hope).

Best of all, they seem to have gotten lots of good data that are going to allow them to go in, figure things out, and make improvements to the next system. Lather, rinse, repeat. It really is the best way to develop new systems. Getting things to orbit, especially with a system significantly larger and more powerful than the Saturn V, is not easy. Just look back to the early days even before NASA, where launches rarely worked as planned. Some of the videos from the Navajo (Nevergo) and other early rockets are quite spectacular.

It didn’t end in the Pacific, but it was a good mission in terms of data. Here’s hoping that they can analyze, adapt, and try again as soon as possible — esp. if the Biden Regency will get out of the way. Earth is the cradle of humanity, and it’s past time we left the cradle.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Two Reads

Sorry not to have been posting more, but life has been keeping me on my toes. Lots I do want to talk about, from the invasions here and in Europe to the full-on assault on the Constitution. Need to get back to posting more regularly on preparedness as well.

But, I do have two good reads to recommend to you this morning. The first is from VodkaPundit on the “failed” Ukrainian counteroffensive. Quick question to ponder as you read: can you remember a single time our military and intelligence leadership, as well as corporate media, have been right in any regard to Ukraine? The second is a book review, said book I now want to read as it takes a different look at slavery in the U.S. and how we may be on a very wrong path in regards our future in space.

Whole big discussion needs to be had on that, and on the idiocy being pushed that colonizing space will be as bad or worse than colonization here on Earth and will destroy the beauty in the skies. There is a reason for the attacks on farmers and on any effort to build a better future. More soon, I do hope.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Coulda Woulda Bonesa

When it comes to joint repair and replacement, there are two different issues that have to be addressed. One is the replacement itself, the construct that replaces the bone involved. The other is the material that normally fills and cushions the joint. I’ve actually had exposure to two different efforts to address those issues, and one of the reasons I’ve held out this long is the hope that advances in both areas would be more readily available.

Let’s start with the replacements. Currently, these are often metal and solid metal, which is very unlike the structure of normal bone. Bone itself is very porous on the inside, with the outside being solid and relatively smooth. This can and does create problems when trying to mate two very dissimilar structures. The differences in mass and other factors can create fractures and other issues.

Many years back, a company was doing work through the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space (CCACS) at the Colorado School of Mines, on a advanced bone replacement materials. The immediate goal was to get the data needed to create foaming metallic-ceramic replacements that would have the porosity of normal bone as well as the hard surfaces needed for the ball or socket. The idea was to be able to custom make these in the OR, as since the reaction was exothermic they would be sterile at manufacture. The long-range goal was to create a material that would do the same, but as bone and marrow grew into it, the material would dissolve so that at the end of a given time you would have all new and healthy bone and the replacement, having completed its duties as a scaffold, would have passed from the body.

I do wish either or both were available today! Unfortunately, I seem to recall that the research ended with the loss of Columbia and have not been able to find out much since I started trying to research it.

Now, the tissue that fills the gap in the joint is somewhat the ‘Holy Grail’ as my surgeon and I discussed yesterday. Yes, we did discuss the advanced materials and the state of current research. When I was at Purdue, I had the honor of working with the legendary Leslie A. Geddes. Short version is that he and his team not only developed early astronaut physiological monitoring systems (portions of which are still in use today), but also pioneered the implantable medical device field and regenerative medicine. There’s a reason he was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2006 and it’s well worth reading even a short biographical sketch on him.

I’ve been following regenerative medicine and wish it was just a little further along (and covered by insurance). Part of the problem for me is that the osteoarthritis has done a lot of damage, and there is very little “pad” left in the joint. The majority of the area has none, and I’m pretty much bone-on-bone movement now. There are a couple of different prospects for having the body generate new filler, but neither appear to be quite where I need them to be. Five years from now may be a different story. In fact, I tried volunteering for some studies both to buy time/get some relief and help advance that research. Still wish that would have worked out.

If anyone hears of related research efforts, let me know as I would like to know more about them.

Next, Er, Steps

I want to follow up on last week’s posts a bit and also look ahead to a few other things. Meantime, if anyone does know of research being done that I’ve missed, please sing out!

The immediate first step is do some fairly straight-forward research. The thing to do is both replicate and expand the FEE experiment from Spacelab J so that several generations of frogs are raised in five different gravitational environments: microgravity, lunar gravity, Mars gravity, something between Mars and full, and full gravity. Harvest samples at various stages for detailed study on the ground, to make sure there are not subtle chemical or other changes taking place. That will provide a lot of good data, including on what level of gravity is needed for proper reproductive development. Multi-generational gives us a look at the long-term.

It may be that Lunar- or Mars-level gravity is sufficient. If not, some type of centrifuge arrangement should work. Follow-on research as to intervals of gravitational exposure should provide the data on if constant gravity is needed or not.

I would also recommend expanding the research to include fish and shrimp. Self-sustaining aquaculture would be a good way to ensure protein and other nutrients for planetary or asteroid colonies. We just need to be sure that it can be done in other than full gravity. Again, let me plug the Act of God/Island Worlds series as they touch on this a bit.

If there is interest, I can try to do a longer post on how aquaculture could be used as part of the life support system. The short version is that the “waste” from the fish and fish processing can be converted to fertilizer and/or feed, and there are ways to possibly use plankton and/or algae for photosynthesis on top of that. The fertilizer could be used to support growing rice and/or other crops.

BTW, “Eric Kotani” was the pen name of astrophysicist Yoji Kondo, who not only wrote entertaining fiction, but used it to explore concepts and possibilities. Full disclosure: Both he and John Maddox Roberts showed me great kindness over the years, and talking with either was always a pleasure.

As noted in the books, the growth of rice developed for low-gravity and confined conditions would not only provide a much needed grain, but the stalks could be used for weaving tatami-style mats to help soften what is likely to be a rather austere environment at first. Again, plant growth could be a very useful part of the environmental systems. Not to replace, but to augment and provide redundancy. The fact that plants actually need a very narrow range of light for growth, which can be provided with low-energy/low heat (heat and heat dissipation being an issue for orbital operations) LEDs, makes it feasible.

As an aside, lots of science fiction has including using grass as a carpet, particularly in space habitats. The idea is intriguing but is going to take more than just creating soil or such to lay down and grow the grass. Given problems with water, humidity, and the fact that microbes love microgravity, my suspicion is that a rather technologically advanced flooring system will be needed. Something that can provide a base for growth, the ability to provide water and other nutrients as needed, the ability to remove excess moisture, and monitor growth and other factors.

Now, as for the act of reproduction itself, no need for formal research. If informal research has not already begun, it will soon and humans are an inventive and adaptive species. Especially when it comes to sex.

Let’s just be sure that when the inevitable happens, we know what is needed for a healthy pregnancy for humans, and healthy development for food sources and pets.

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Space-ing Is Hard

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