Why I suspect Apollo was a hoax.

[ka9q]

the ISS is an inflatable?

I don't remember who made this claim and in what context. Was it somebody claiming that rockets don't work in vacuum so it's impossible to put anything into orbit outside the atmosphere?

If so, it would be amusing to estimate the ballistic coefficient of an "inflatable ISS", and how many milliseconds such an object moving at the observed velocity within the atmosphere would take to completely vaporize.

(The ballistic coefficient of an object is the ratio of its mass to its cross sectional area times its drag coefficient. I.e., a balloon would have a low mass and a high cross sectional area, so it would have an extremely low ballistic coefficient. It would therefore decelerate very quickly in an atmosphere.)
 

[bknight]

the ISS is an inflatable?

I don't remember who made this claim and in what context. Was it somebody claiming that rockets don't work in vacuum so it's impossible to put anything into orbit outside the atmosphere?

If so, it would be amusing to estimate the ballistic coefficient of an "inflatable ISS", and how many milliseconds such an object moving at the observed velocity within the atmosphere would take to completely vaporize.

(The ballistic coefficient of an object is the ratio of its mass to its cross sectional area times its drag coefficient. I.e., a balloon would have a low mass and a high cross sectional area, so it would have an extremely low ballistic coefficient. It would therefore decelerate very quickly in an atmosphere.)

IIRC it was Neil commenting on the ISS being a balloon, not a metallic satellite.

[ka9q]

IIRC it was Neil commenting on the ISS being a balloon, not a metallic satellite.

I forget -- did Neil believe rockets couldn't work in space, or was that somebody else?

There are so many whackjobs out there with so many off-the-wall beliefs that it's getting hard to tell them apart without a scorecard. It used to be (so it seemed) that all we ran into were people who thought Apollo was faked, but that space flight was otherwise real.

But all of a sudden there seems to be a big influx of people who insist rocket engines can't work in space where there's no air to push on, and of the even-farther-gone flat earthers.

So many of these "independent critical thinkers" repeat so many of the same talking points that either there are a lot of sock puppets out there, or (more likely, I think) some nutjob's book or website suddenly got a lot of attention from a lot of like-minded people who are now merely repeating the same claims.

[bknight]

IIRC it was Neil commenting on the ISS being a balloon, not a metallic satellite.

I forget -- did Neil believe rockets couldn't work in space, or was that somebody else?

There are so many whackjobs out there with so many off-the-wall beliefs that it's getting hard to tell them apart without a scorecard. It used to be (so it seemed) that all we ran into were people who thought Apollo was faked, but that space flight was otherwise real.

But all of a sudden there seems to be a big influx of people who insist rocket engines can't work in space where there's no air to push on, and of the even-farther-gone flat earthers.

So many of these "independent critical thinkers" repeat so many of the same talking points that either there are a lot of sock puppets out there, or (more likely, I think) some nutjob's book or website suddenly got a lot of attention from a lot of like-minded people who are now merely repeating the same claims.

Not going back into the thread, I don't believe he thought rockets wouldn't work, just that manned work outside a vehicle, thereby construction the ISS.

[Dr_Orpheus]

But all of a sudden there seems to be a big influx of people who insist rocket engines can't work in space where there's no air to push on, and of the even-farther-gone flat earthers.

Then you've got Heiwa you believes unmanned spaceflight is possible, but not manned because safe atmospheric reentry is impossible.  I think he got banned from some ultra-nutty forum for promoting the mainstream lie that rockets work in a vacuum.

[Zakalwe]

Then you've got Heiwa you believes unmanned spaceflight is possible, but not manned because safe atmospheric reentry is impossible.  I think he got banned from some ultra-nutty forum for promoting the mainstream lie that rockets work in a vacuum.

Wasn't that Cluesforum? You know you are in the company of complete nutters when Bjorkmann appears to be the most sensible of them all!

[bknight]

Then you've got Heiwa you believes unmanned spaceflight is possible, but not manned because safe atmospheric reentry is impossible.  I think he got banned from some ultra-nutty forum for promoting the mainstream lie that rockets work in a vacuum.

Wasn't that Cluesforum? You know you are in the company of complete nutters when Bjorkmann appears to be the most sensible of them all!

LOL   That is a refuge for the clueless.

[Dr_Orpheus]

Wasn't that Cluesforum? You know you are in the company of complete nutters when Bjorkmann appears to be the most sensible of them all!

I think it was Clueless forum.

[smartcooky]

Then you've got Heiwa you believes unmanned spaceflight is possible, but not manned because safe atmospheric reentry is impossible.  I think he got banned from some ultra-nutty forum for promoting the mainstream lie that rockets work in a vacuum.

Wasn't that Cluesforum? You know you are in the company of complete nutters when Bjorkmann appears to be the most sensible of them all!

You should try Godlike Productions... just make sure your coffee is nowhere near your monitor or keyboard. The level of stupid there can be breathtaking at times.

[Philthy]

This place makes GLP seem like it's populated by geniuses.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?board=20.0

Phil

[frenat]

This place makes GLP seem like it's populated by geniuses.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?board=20.0

Phil

True, but I think the troll content is higher than GLP there.  Most of the flat earthers there don't really believe it and are just trolling.  Even a few of the moderators fall into that category.  While there are trolls at GLP, there are far more that truly believe the crap they post.

[bknight]

This place makes GLP seem like it's populated by geniuses.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?board=20.0

Phil

True, but I think the troll content is higher than GLP there.  Most of the flat earthers there don't really believe it and are just trolling.  Even a few of the moderators fall into that category.  While there are trolls at GLP, there are far more that truly believe the crap they post.

Why do you believe that "Most of the flat earthers there don't really believe it and are just trolling"?  I find it hard to decipher whether they are or aren't.

[frenat]

This place makes GLP seem like it's populated by geniuses.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?board=20.0

Phil

True, but I think the troll content is higher than GLP there.  Most of the flat earthers there don't really believe it and are just trolling.  Even a few of the moderators fall into that category.  While there are trolls at GLP, there are far more that truly believe the crap they post.

Why do you believe that "Most of the flat earthers there don't really believe it and are just trolling"?  I find it hard to decipher whether they are or aren't.

Hang around long enough and you'll see many are not consistent.

[raven]

This place makes GLP seem like it's populated by geniuses.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?board=20.0

Phil

True, but I think the troll content is higher than GLP there.  Most of the flat earthers there don't really believe it and are just trolling.  Even a few of the moderators fall into that category.  While there are trolls at GLP, there are far more that truly believe the crap they post.

Why do you believe that "Most of the flat earthers there don't really believe it and are just trolling"?  I find it hard to decipher whether they are or aren't.

Hang around long enough and you'll see many are not consistent.

That hardly proves they're trolls though.

[smartcooky]

This place makes GLP seem like it's populated by geniuses.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?board=20.0

Phil

You do realise that the site is actually a Poe?

The people who started it were on the wind up; they created a one-stop-shop where flat earthers could make public fools of themselves, while the site owners cashed in on sales of coffee cups, T-Shirts and other accessories to the delusional  disciples.