To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Steam has a sale on

One of my first memories is sitting in a pleasantly dim living room watching a little black and white TV set showing men in spacesuits walking and jumping on the moon for the first time.
Odd to realize that we couldn't do it today. Well, we could, but we'd have to first spend years and billions of dollars to develop and build new Saturn V equivalents. There is a capacity we had in 1969 that doesn't currently exist because we let it lapse.
(Edited to add: That's an odd "we", now that I think about it. I'm Canadian, and we never had the capacity, only the Americans did; while if I go worldwide, I don't know if the Russians might still have some rockets hanging around they could strap together and send to the moon--they never actually did that, but I wouldn't be surprised if an Energia booster could have done it. But perhaps the main spacefaring country had the capacity and lost it)


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 18 July 2019 at 7:49 pm UTC

Everspace has 75% of discount but I doubt that any Linux gamer that wants to call himself that way doesn't have it yet :P

One of my first memories is sitting in a pleasantly dim living room watching a little black and white TV set showing men in spacesuits walking and jumping on the moon for the first time.
Odd to realize that we couldn't do it today. Well, we could, but we'd have to first spend years and billions of dollars to develop and build new Saturn V equivalents. There is a capacity we had in 1969 that doesn't currently exist because we let it lapse.
(Edited to add: That's an odd "we", now that I think about it. I'm Canadian, and we never had the capacity, only the Americans did; while if I go worldwide, I don't know if the Russians might still have some rockets hanging around they could strap together and send to the moon--they never actually did that, but I wouldn't be surprised if an Energia booster could have done it. But perhaps the main spacefaring country had the capacity and lost it)

The Russians landed a rocket (Luna 2) on the Moon in 1959. China landed on the far side of the Moon in January this very year and had previously landed a rover on the Moon in 2013.

I think you are a bit American-centric there ;)

edit: and SpaceX launced a Israeli funded lunar lander in February 2019 so the Falcon 9 have the capacity to at least send unmanned space crafts to the Moon.

Long list of landings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing


Last edited by F.Ultra on 18 July 2019 at 11:18 pm UTC

The Europen Space Agency also did some very interesting stuff. They made it happen to LAND a probe on a COMET. It started in 2004 and landed in 2016, after a series of flybys of a number of planets to gain enough speed to accomplish this. It is mind boggling if you think of the planning that has gone into this. I wonder if there was any coverage of that in the US or other regions.


Rosetta on Wikipedia
Flight Path of Rosetta


Last edited by Doc Angelo on 18 July 2019 at 11:42 pm UTC

The Russians landed a rocket (Luna 2) on the Moon in 1959.

With people in it?

The Russians landed a rocket (Luna 2) on the Moon in 1959.

With people in it?

You might think that Apollo 11 would not have been the first manned Moon landing if that where the case ;). I was referring to your "I don't know if the Russians might still have some rockets hanging around they could strap together and send to the moon--they never actually did that" since the Russians actually did send a rocket to the Moon (and did so several times).

Soon SpaceX will build the Falcon Super Heavy which will have capacity to send crews to both the Moon and Mars so there are still interesting times ahead!

The Russians landed a rocket (Luna 2) on the Moon in 1959.

With people in it?

the Russians got it all wrong we are not going to conquer the universe sending dogs and space monkeys.:D

Don't tell the French :-)

Animals had been used in aeronautic exploration since 1783 when the Montgolfier brothers sent a sheep, a duck, and a rooster aloft in a hot air balloon to see if ground-dwelling animals can survive

The most interesting stuff for us technology enthusiasts is that the Apollo 11 set the basis for the first computers by today standards it's more like a calculator, but nevertheless it was one of the first microchips.

I wonder if it is possible to run Linux on it.:D

the RAM memory is not even bits it's 2048 words.^_^ I don't know it's even slim for damn small linux.

And the ROM was Core Rope Memory, aka they had old ladies knitting 1:s and 0:s with magnetic rope which NASA jokingly called LOL (Little Old Lady) Memory :)

https://authors.library.caltech.edu/5456/1/hrst.mit.edu/hrs/apollo/public/visual3.htm

And here is the source code, it was all written and edited on paper:


Last edited by F.Ultra on 19 July 2019 at 12:34 am UTC

On the other hand it looks like the Russians didn't have much success with their computers their Argon System weighted 92 kg (202 lb) (the Apollo weigthed 30 kg, or 70 lb) and it was developed on 1969 http://www.computer-museum.ru/english/argon1.htm
The RAM capacity was 512 words. The soviets were always playing catch up.

Considering Russia had always been considered a really backward country by everyone in Europe, they didn't do that bad. And they stayed serious about space far longer than the Americans did; even when their economy imploded in the 90s they still did their best to limp along (which is why the US ended up having to hitch rides with them for years until Spacex got off the ground). I think the Russians still have a place in their heart for old fashioned manned space exploration that runs a lot deeper than the North American equivalent.
Meanwhile I suspect the Chinese don't really care--they're just doing it so they can say "We're a leading country now, we've got space capabilities like the big boys, so there!"

Meanwhile I suspect the Chinese don't really care--they're just doing it so they can say "We're a leading country now, we've got space capabilities like the big boys, so there!"

That's also the story behind the current push to the moon by India. It's not so very different than the political motivations behind the original US/Soviet push to the moon either. Personally I couldn't care less about the national motivations to fund space exploration, well as long as unlike a significant segment of the US they don't include massive defunding efforts, provided the people doing the actual work are motivated by the science and/or the steady march of human progress more than by the jingoistic competitive BS that moves national policy most places that try.

the Russians got it all wrong we are not going to conquer the universe sending dogs and space monkeys.:D

Microorganisms, then?
---

I'm all for humans getting off this rock, but I would hate to see willful neglect, territoriality, and greed perpetuated in space, beyond what has already occurred thus far (which is a pittance compared to the full potential of human wrong). Heedless pollution (necessitating more initiatives like CleanSpace One),[1] treatment as a playground for the wealthy, inadequate oversight of those who have designs on avariciously cannibalizing resources or expanding property holdings, etc. are not desirable outcomes to me.

I would hate to think that (far beyond my lifetime) there might be a profusion of Starbucks in space.[2]

[1] Even with great care, some pollution will always occur, but pollution can definitely be mitigated beyond what certain vested interests are inclined to do.
[2] Not to be confused with Starbuck; Kara Thrace version is my preference :)


Last edited by vector on 19 July 2019 at 4:53 am UTC

Worth mentioning Endless Sky and it's twin Naev are both free on Steam these days.

Everspace has 75% of discount but I doubt that any Linux gamer that wants to call himself that way doesn't have it yet :P

Well, if you're still unsure if this game is for you, watch some streams coming up tomorrow evening and on Sunday morning (cest) and put your questions in the chat ;)

Regarding the moon shots, although I was around for earlier launches, the first Apollo launch I can remember would have been Apollo 13. I was sitting on the floor with my family in the living room. I can't remember what exactly I was thinking at the time, but my impression is that I was aware it was something important. I should ask my parents about watching the Apollo missions ...

Regarding the sale, there are some really good deals to be sure, but nothing that's tempting me to spend beyond what I've just spent at the Summer sale. I don't think I'm going to live long enough to play the games I already have.


Last edited by Nanobang on 19 July 2019 at 12:25 pm UTC

That's an odd "we", now that I think about it. I'm Canadian, and we never had the capacity, only the Americans did

Hey, don't talk yourselves down, eh?

Soon SpaceX will build the Falcon Super Heavy which will have capacity to send crews to both the Moon and Mars so there are still interesting times ahead!

Exactly. Although, as I understand it, Musk wants to skip the moon and go straight to Mars (before 2030, which, given the greater challenges involved, isn't that much further off than 1969 was when Kennedy announced his ambition). But I'm pretty certain Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin intends to go there.

(Also, since I'm posting YouTube links, for anyone interested in the AGC, this playlist is essential.)

That's an odd "we", now that I think about it. I'm Canadian, and we never had the capacity, only the Americans did

Hey, don't talk yourselves down, eh?

Thanks for the shoutout! Oh, yeah, the whole Avro Arrow thing. Man I was pissed off with James Diefenbaker when I learned about that. We had the best damn fighter plane in the world, would have spun off to lots of Canadian high tech industry, and he canned it.

But still that doesn't change my overall negative opinion on the soviets, on latin america they brought us the guerrilla, and funded the Cubans, and the Cuban militias trained local guerrillas like the ones we had here (montoneros), so I have a very negative opinion on the soviets.
(Sorry if I'm being off-topic)

In the same way USA, sponsored military coups. And it is't a binary problem (i.e. Russia vs USA), Africa is a showcase of how first world countries do nasty things just for the "profit"

Every one has a dark side...

That's an odd "we", now that I think about it. I'm Canadian, and we never had the capacity, only the Americans did

Hey, don't talk yourselves down, eh?

Soon SpaceX will build the Falcon Super Heavy which will have capacity to send crews to both the Moon and Mars so there are still interesting times ahead!

Exactly. Although, as I understand it, Musk wants to skip the moon and go straight to Mars (before 2030, which, given the greater challenges involved, isn't that much further off than 1969 was when Kennedy announced his ambition). But I'm pretty certain Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin intends to go there.

(Also, since I'm posting YouTube links, for anyone interested in the AGC, this playlist is essential.)

Yes Musk personally wants to skip the Moon and head directly to Mars but SpaceX is a commercial space company so while they might be putting their own money into Mars, others are free to rent their rockets for other missions which is how they of course make their money.

That is why they list the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) as having the following functions:

• Mars colonization
• Earth–lunar transport
• Multiplanetary transport
• Intercontinental transport
• Orbital launcher
• Space tourism

So Dead Space is soon coming :-)

But still that doesn't change my overall negative opinion on the soviets, on latin america they brought us the guerrilla, and funded the Cubans, and the Cuban militias trained local guerrillas like the ones we had here (montoneros), so I have a very negative opinion on the soviets.
(Sorry if I'm being off-topic)

Don't tell the CIA. I'm pretty sure they don't want the "Reds" to get all the credit for the mess in central/southern America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change#Cold_War_Era
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change_in_Latin_America
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_violations_by_the_CIA#Assassination_and_targeted_killing

Regarding the importance of exploring the moon, I had the honor to attend this talk, _very_ inspiring:
The Moon: Gateway to the Solar System - ​Richard Campbell


Last edited by jens on 27 July 2019 at 7:20 pm UTC