Charlie StrossFLASH: Elon Musk reveals latest SpaceX rocket:
(Shamelessly lifted from @hedgehog1963.bsky.social — https://bsky.app/profile/hedgehog1963.bsky.social/post/3lgaqzitcr22r)
A Tattered Scrapbook@cstross Oh look! It’s an early rocket by the man who put the Americans on the moon!
@cstross I often think about this when people tell me that there is no innovation without capitalism. The space race was Korolev against von Braun. Capitalism’s major contribution was in not punishing a Nazi scientist for working prisoners to death on his war crime rockets. (And I know I’m over-simplifying, but, you know, that appears to be the name of the game)
Nefarious Celt@Tattered @cstross I always like to think that in part it was thanks to the British government. Who dismissed BOAC staff in Canada. If there isn’t a group of people who can pull rabbits out of hats woth beggar all resources and impossible timescales it is an engineer who worked for the British government.
(British space museum. Leicester)
(British space museum. Leicester)
@NefariousCelt @cstross Warren Ellis wrote a super little comic on the idea of what would have happened if the Brits had liberated Peenemunde. (Ministry of Space: Art by Chris Weston). Good engineering; nasty politics. The history of Britain in a nutshell.