Ontopic Mission to Uranus

You get a battery and you get a battery! Everyone's getting a battery!!!!

Course, it is China, so who knows what is the actual deal.

That will suck for Australia(#1 producer) and Chile(#2) who export much of their production to China.

"actual deal" - yeah, they might be trying to manipulate the market, seeing as how they are keeping it very hush-hush on the tech involved.
 
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https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-was-sold-faulty-aluminum-in-19-year-scam/

@Mustard Dispenser

The space agency previously said the 2009 Orbiting Carbon Observatory and 2011 Glory missions malfunctioned when the protective nose cones on the Taurus XL rockets failed to separate on command.

However, a joint investigation involving NASA and the Justice Department revealed that the problem was caused by aluminum extrusion maker Sapa Profiles, which falsified critical tests over 19 years.

Employees at the company's Portland, Oregon, facilities tweaked failing tests so materials appeared to pass from 1996 to 2015, according to the Justice Department.
And the hits keep coming.

This shit is fucked up

 
Armor improvements always intrigue me for some reason.

Unoptimized Metal Foam working as well as steel plate is a pretty interesting development.


in todays world though, we're not stopping 50 cals, we're stopped molten copper slugs from EFPs, or just pure explosive force, or i guess shrapnel which might be closer to a round.
 
in todays world though, we're not stopping 50 cals, we're stopped molten copper slugs from EFPs, or just pure explosive force, or i guess shrapnel which might be closer to a round.
The article indicates it is really good at absorbing explosive forces like mines or such but yeah, EFP is a whole nuther level. Shrapnel generally has very poor velocity. This 3 ply plating would take shrapnel with ease.
 
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James Webb completes last test of an independent subsection and can now move onto full assembly testing before being strapped to a rocket.

 
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Tonight is a good night to look at Jupiter, as it is at opposition. A good pair of binoculars and you'll be able to see Jupiter and the 4 Galilean moons, maybe even tease out some of the cloud structures of Jupiter if the atmosphere is stable where you are. Rises in the east shortly after sunset, for people in North America that is.
 
Tonight is a good night to look at Jupiter, as it is at opposition. A good pair of binoculars and you'll be able to see Jupiter and the 4 Galilean moons, maybe even tease out some of the cloud structures of Jupiter if the atmosphere is stable where you are. Rises in the east shortly after sunset, for people in North America that is.
I'd need a tripod still with my shaky hands. :(
 
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James Webb completes last test of an independent subsection and can now move onto full assembly testing before being strapped to a rocket.

this is excellent news.
 
I'd need a tripod still with my shaky hands. :(
Given how much further south you are than I am, I'm guessing Jupiter is probably more overhead, no? Get a lawn chair and prop your elbows on the chair. Works well. I was looking at Jupiter through my bathroom window last night while taking a leak. Was too windy to be outside though with my telescope to look at Jupiter with any great detail. Plus the Moon is past first quarter so it is quite bright out.
 
Given how much further south you are than I am, I'm guessing Jupiter is probably more overhead, no? Get a lawn chair and prop your elbows on the chair. Works well. I was looking at Jupiter through my bathroom window last night while taking a leak. Was too windy to be outside though with my telescope to look at Jupiter with any great detail. Plus the Moon is past first quarter so it is quite bright out.
Not a bad idea. I assume it should still be pretty visible tonight as well?
 
Good grief. I even read through that and still have no idea what I'm looking at!
It takes a little time to understand it. Here's the cliff notes version:

Transparency = clouds or fog or smog or smoke (forest fires etc)
Seeing = winds in the upper atmosphere. Wind is bad; it makes the objects ripple, similar to mirage with heat waves.
Wind also matters too. Calm conditions mean your scope won't be bouncing around.
Temp & humidity matter more about chances of dew forming on mirrors.
 
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