But they sure were right there to provide a bunch of stuff we said we'd never use again due to safety concerns, huh?

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NASA didn't make the demand to reuse old shuttle parts and shuttle part suppliers.

No, thats what happens when you have to build a rocket to the specifications of politicians who know about space as much as a 2 year old toddler.

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And with Nelson now telling Congress they are in a space race with China, we'll probably start seeing more money directed at LEO and Lunar missions.

frankly, as it should. If you give them a blank check, you end up with SLS.

Sounds good, but unless they have a way of landing the satellites gently I doubt many existing satellites are built sturdy enough to stay in a good condition for reflight.

We should probe in directions that make the most sense, that is all. We probably are in many areas.

There is nothing wrong with that, all this,is our understanding of the universe, it keeps getting finer and more accurate as we probe deeper.

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Ah yes, the Space Fairy. A magical creature who, if you put your rocket fuel under your pillow, returns a satellite or scientist to you. Truly a Wonder.

Ok I see what you mean, but that’s still a mono surface in a slight delta shape. Nothing close to most modern paragliders other than the fact that the pilot is sitting underneath attached by lines. There are mono surface paragliders but the shape is completely different. Closer to some of the recent steerable reserve chutes though!

No, not thinking of hang glider wings in this case (or specifically what we call Rogallo wings now)! Francis Rogallo had a number of different ideas, and some were closer to what we think of now as paragliders, and were the thing that later inspired proper paragliders. Have a look at the pic of Francis half way down the page here, and the model on the right of the pic:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/paraglider-nasa-almost-could-have-used-didnt-bring-astronauts-back-earth-180972106/

I think it was closer to a steerable parachute than a modern paraglider though.

(My only solo flying experience is doing my UK paraglider “elementary pilot” qualification in Spain a few years back, maybe at some point I progress to CP ;) )

You’re thinking of hang gliders / delta wings. Paragliders are a whole different thing (entirely made of tissue with lines, folds into a backpack, often mistaken for a modern parachute). Source: have flown both but am paragliding pilot.

I knew my paragliding license would come in handy. Send me up!

(…/s)

Yep, in fact the modern paraglider was also derived from a Rogallo concept too! So, this is not a new idea, quite the opposite!

Reminds me of the Rogallo wing prototype for the Gemini capsules.

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Folks I have to come clean. I am blind. Like, completely blind. I can't see anything, not even like shadows. I have been just guessing these 25 years. Every step I took, every time I waved back at a stranger at a distance; whenever I played videogames. All guesses. I can't read or write, I am simply mashing away at different parts my phone right now. I do not know what reddit is, me typing all of these words is simply coincidence.

I know this might come as a shock to many of you who know me to be a woman capable of sight, but it was all a trick. Whenever I had to read, I just guessed. All of my academic achievements were just luck, I just pretended I could read and write and I kept being awarded high grades. I do not know what horses look like.

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it was wrong