So.. you're going to be a lawyer then?

We put a lot of meaning on 'Boots on the ground.'

Stop living in a gravity well and we wouldn't have to expend energy to get out of it!!

I already work on STEM, without the E, but a little bit of M.

Or expectations!

Or are you a doctor?

also Canada. because we don't use metric in contexts like this

Cooler with orange, and lighter.

Remove all the tanks and shit on the bottom to really save weight and just let the shuttle fly? It's not rocket science.

Found the Kerbal Space Program player?

I won't go too specific but my background is in biotech.

US just put enough into the CHA stat to decide which achievement is worth bragging about.

How are you doing m without being m?

It's regulatory requirement to use calculators in my field to make calculations, so that has been saving me.

Though isn't that decreasing the aerodynamics and increasing the friction?

"Lower the inertial mass." -- Miles O'Brien, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Season 1, Episode 1.

I enjoy walking and don't mind walking even for 40 minutes in the morning. Not every day, but if it fits in the schedule it gives me more movement in practice than a bike (also due to some local circumstances).

The point was more generally that walking is a great alternative. Everyone hypes bicycles, walking has no lobby and is one of the healthiest things to add to your day.

Also, if the goal is to lose weight, cardio is fine but only supportive at best. It's way more effective to eat less calorie dense food than trying to run/bike it off. The difference between an hour walking and biking is negligible for most people compared to dietary changes.

In the cycling community we call those guys Freds.

And it's more of a light ribbing than a condemnation, since at least they've got themselves on a bike.

This is such a cool fact; I'm a sucker for these things, I'm saving this post.

Lower the inertial mass

—what to say when you want your obese Trekkie friend to take care of their health

IIRC the original Shuttle design called for an ejection mechanism around the entire cockpit. During STS-1 and I believe STS-2, which was also Colombia, there were extra emergency mechanisms present, but I don’t think the seats themselves ejected through the roof like a fighter pilot’s would. For the most part though these were useless as they could not be used above 30,000 feet or something like that so it could only be used during the first minute or two of the flight.

Several of the safety mechanisms and other things that were going to be part of the original design that had not already been scrapped for weight (like jet engines for powered decent) were scrapped for weight when the DOD stepped in and offered NASA extra money for the Shuttle if the Shuttle could hit very specific, higher and less fuel efficient, orbits. This came from an offhand comment that Jimmy Carter made, and then had to make good on the threats and implications of.

Probably, but the slowest part of the trip is in the most dense air. Probably still a net benefit!

Tsss, it's barely 1/6th of a skateboarding rhino.

That's why American Airlines had the "cheat line" livery. Bare hulls saved them enough weight to carry like an extra 2 passengers.

Plus, polished metal on airframes looks sweet IMHO. Real "DC3 golden era of aviation" vibes.

And why McLaren went with a silver colour

You can just be quiet, what has snarky ever done to you?

Pooler? Coocollo? Picoler?

Coolio.

Someone remove the white paint

You weigh in beavers?

There's a bell curve. If you burn out too quick you're not gonna get nearly as much cardio, and the torque required to move a real clunker is extra stress on your joints. Plus it's just not as much fun, cycling is a sustainable exercise largely because it's fun. But it's very true that a decent workout bike can be had for $100 if you look. My two workout bikes were both built in the 90s.

Steel is real. The road feel difference between carbon and steel is negligible, steel is usually way cheaper, survives a whole lot longer, is more often built to widely compatible standards, is fully recyclable, and in my humble opinion just straight up feels better under you on a ride. As for weight, unless one is a pro race cyclist there is never any reason to chase gram shavings, you will almost always lose more weight and go faster by working out your own body. But FWIW my default steel rig is 19 pounds and competes on weight with most carbon builds.

It was really funny about a decade back watching the entire bike industry all at once acknowledge friction coefficients, and suddenly the tires all went from 24mm/90psi to 38mm/40psi. All because the roadies started riding on gravel.

You could argue that TPI tubes / tubeless made larger road tires practical. But we all secretly know it was because people at the time just thought thin tires looked cooler and "more aero".

Oh man you just brought up repressed memories of the biggest Trekkie nerd in elementary school making fun of me for my obesity.

If the point is to burn calories, then shaving weight off your equipment is counterproductive.

But if it makes you want to ride more, then great!

https://youtu.be/THNPmhBl-8I

Nice username

If it's just the shuttle, the odds of the wrong part disconnecting when you hit spacebar go way down.

And you could just use standardized metrics that is used by the entire world. Like many Americans claim they can. Yet here we are.

Well, I never used any unit of measurement in any of my comments on this post, so...

Yeah but does it have protective properties? Like idk maybe it adds corrosion resistance or sth

No the purpose of the white pant was to help keep the external tank cool to reduce fuel boil off. The foam insulation was incredibly rough, not something a thin layer of paint could smooth over.

To many significant digits. It's 300kg

Good article for pointing out that specific rocket math. The optimistic tone of that article, though, is very much a product of its publication date of February 2020. The space programs have suffered major technical, financial, and political setbacks since then, and the geopolitical moment doesn't really lend itself to megaprojects like moon missions.

For most of the shuttle, yes, but the removal of the paint from the tank specifically was because the tank had a foam coating that was not actually meaningfully protected by the paint.

So using fewer calories.

The difference between an hour walking and biking is easily 10+ miles, not exactly negligible if you have somewhere to go.

What kind of madman is gonna argue against walking? 😅 Get some sleep bro

But honestly: you looking for a hobby? Go cycling all you want. You looking to get somewhere? The place will not change position at random. You know where you want to go. In my reality bike or foot rarely matter if I'm going to the supermarket or wherever. Just leave 10 minutes earlier and you're good. In this kind of situation, your choice is between losing a few more kcals by walking or saving a few minutes by taking the bike. Both are good options, neither is going to make you fat or thin. If that's your goal, eat less calorie dense food.