Category Archives: Uncategorized

Was SpaceX’s Starship Inspired by a 1950s Sci-Fi Movie?

Posted on July 4, 2025 by engineerzero

I happened to view a youtube video about underrated classic science fiction movies. One of them was called ‘Rocketship X-M.’ As I watched, my mouth slowly dropped open. An awful lot of coincidences to unpack here! And are they just … Continue reading →

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Saturn’s Moons by Size

Posted on March 13, 2025 by engineerzero

Astronomers recently announced that they have identified 274 moons around Saturn. I asked Grok for a numerical breakdown of size class vs. number of moons in that size class. Two facts stand out. Now let me put on my Interplanetary … Continue reading →

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A Simple Solution to the Lunar Probe Tip-Over Problem

Posted on March 8, 2025 by engineerzero

Grok reports: The Intuitive Machines lander, named Athena, touched down near the Moon’s south pole on March 6, 2025, but appears to have tipped over on its side, repeating the fate of its predecessor, Odysseus, which also tipped over after … Continue reading →

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Can the Space Age Destroy Itself?

Posted on February 17, 2025 by engineerzero

The book, When the Heavens Went On Sale, by Ashlee Vance, tells of a company called LeoLabs which operates a network of radar stations around the world. The stations track every object in Low Earth Orbit (= LEO, hence the … Continue reading →

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The Square on Mars Not So Easy to Dismiss

Posted on February 7, 2025 by engineerzero

There are people who think they are doing a service to ‘Science’ by ‘debunking’ any indication of the extraordinary. This trait is on display with their dismissive response toward the recent publicity regarding the so-called Square on Mars. In case … Continue reading →

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Grok plays Path of Exile 2 for Elon

Posted on January 18, 2025 by engineerzero

I mean, I don’t know this for sure, but that’s how I would place the bet. If you’ve been living on Earth more than week or two, you probably know who Elon Musk is, but you may not know who … Continue reading →

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Was Newton All That?

Posted on January 14, 2025 by engineerzero

This book was written in 1958. I like older books for biographies because they focus on what the person did rather than his personal life. In the case of Newton, a modern book would probably spend an inordinate amount of … Continue reading →

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Firefighting Drone Train

Posted on January 8, 2025 by engineerzero

Imagine a train with rail cars filled with thousands of drones that are programmed to fly buckets out to the Pacific Ocean, scoop up water, and drop on brush fires. The train goes along the California coast to where its … Continue reading →

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Re-Entry: Space vs. The 40 Hour Workweek

Posted on January 6, 2025 by engineerzero

This is Eric Berger’s second book on SpaceX, the first being Liftoff. Liftoff was about the founding of SpaceX up to the successful launch of the Falcon 1. In this book, Berger covers the story of SpaceX up to the … Continue reading →

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Remembrances of Tech Revolutions Past: My Years at General Motors

Posted on December 30, 2024 by engineerzero

You may have seen the Bill Gates comment on My Years With General Motors: ” . . . probably the best book to read if you want to read only one book about business.” Well, what if you want to … Continue reading →

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