John F Kross

Weird career path. Child of Apollo era. Trained as oral pathologist. Retired from medical communications. Now, Contrib Ed with Ad Astra magazine (my dream job).

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

Yes, CDR Wingstrong piloting LM Bumblebee in search of a safe landing zone.

[End Wokeness @EndWokeness]

The NFL just condemned this speech by Super Bowl champion Harrison Butker.

They 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 don't want people to hear it.

It would be a shame if you make it viral.

[National Space Society @nss]

SPACE AUTHOR & HISTORIAN ROD PYLE TO RECEIVE NSS' SPACE PIONEER AWARD AT ISDC-2024!

Pyle is being awarded NSS' prestigious Space Pioneer Award for Body of Work in Media, incl 20 Books, NASA Publications, Recording Space History & Excellence in Journalism.
https://t.co/WHBoZ0jfIV

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@DrPhiltill Better odds than some combat missions and the Apollo astronauts virtually all came from a military background (fighter jocks).

[rodpyle @Chryseplanatia]

How was NASA's Voyager 1 rescued from a close brush with oblivion, and what is its future? Join @tariqjmalik and me as we talk to Voyager Project Scientist Dr. Linda Spilker! @TWiT @pascalleetweets @nss https://t.co/826FEYYKZr

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@RealAceFox1 @TheRealBuzz Exactly. Midway probably would have turned out very differently.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@DrPhiltill How are these equations different from a truncated Drake equation?

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@SciGuySpace @lrocket Can't imagine SpaceX going public, which would constrain Musk's Mars plans.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@SciGuySpace Now, boosting HST to a higher orbit would have pushed the boundaries.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@SciGuySpace And the outcome is less predictable than the first space race round. China, with their LM-scale lander, will surely land on the moon by 2030 and probably before (2029 is 80th anniversary of the PRC). Not at all sure Artemis will beat that date.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@BellikOzan Yea, that's true, but also the boilerplate Orion on EFT reentered at 14k mph, if I'm not mistaken, not 25k mph with exponentially less heating (and shear too, I assume). Just a bad decision. Apollo deliberately burned SPS's engjne to test the heat shield at lunar return velocity.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@BellikOzan Have to wonder why EFT did not simulate a lunar return and whether heat shield problems could have been uncovered at that time instead of months ahead of a crewed mission.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@robert_zubrin @anders_aslund Make it make sense. I sometimes wonder if it is deliberate sabotage or ideological blindness or incompetence. And then I realize they are not mutually exclusive.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@spacekoala Agreed. Also, a large jovian-type planet to shepherd asteroids away from the inner system. IMO, stable Earth-like planets are extremely rare, and intelligence takes eons to emerge (at least a sizeable fraction of the age of the universe if Earth is any guide).

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@flyrogo @spacesudoer Yup. A Mercury 7 astro or Conrad Bertie.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@GregWAutry What makes the SoCal to LV train different from Newsom's folly? Serious question.

[BryceTech @_BryceTech]

In 2023, 97% of launched spacecraft were smallsats, showcasing substantial industry expansion.

Learn more in the latest Smallsats by the Numbers report: https://t.co/TS4WFQSQIG

#Smallsats #BryceTech

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@MrHrmpf @SPACEdotcom Communist China's 60 million dead and 10 million slaves might disagree.

[John F Kross @johnfkross2]

@Mr_K4ne_ @SPACEdotcom I think you meant Beijing Joe Biden.

[SPACE.com @SPACEdotcom]

Are we prepared for Chinese preeminence on the moon and Mars? (op-ed) https://t.co/0Izw7DlCYL