NASA has been given billions for a new rocket. It's called the SLS. That was the cheap option. Building a new rocket through the many private contractors that actually build it would have been a never ending nightmare.

SpaceX has made rocket engines more powerful and more advanced than any organization has done before. The Raptor is by far more than NASA would've gone for because those other companies would've said it's too hard.

I think you fail to realize how difficult it all is. More money to NASA wouldn't solve anything right now, we wouldn't be getting a new rocket, NASA doesn't even want a new rocket to maintain. They like having a private contractor with their own complete rocket with everything handled on their end, and NASA simply paying for a launch. SpaceX is the biggest reason and the biggest advocate of fixed price contracts compared to the old companies like Boeing and their failed Starliner still wanting cost+, that's another win for NASA and space progress as well

Optical media is still cheaper and simpler to manufacture though. Blu rays max out right now at 128gb with BDXL triple layer, no copper or silicon or crazy expensive photolithography machines. 128gb of flash is still a higher material and product cost and will for some time.

Unfortunately many are working on bringing workers back in the office full time even if they're don't need to be for their role. Amazon is an example of one planning on going back soon, many smaller or lesser known companies I'm sure are doing the same.

It's unfortunate

Yeah on the ducting and airflow front that is something I've wondered but haven't got far enough to know if I'm good or not. It's a 1,980 sq ft house with 3 bedrooms, 1 per bedroom upstairs and 2 downstairs for even coverage would probably be the move. I'd probably go central if possible but go ductless if I couldn't get the CFM with current ducting.

Amazingly it's more efficient to generate electricity with a gas turbine and use an electric heat pump than to use it directly at 95% efficiency. Gas turbines are usually 60% efficient since they don't use steam turbines, they use essentially a turbojet.

But with the new generation capacity being a large portion of renewables and grid scale energy storage projects such as moss landing and others will help stabilize the capacity, it's really a short term problem. Meanwhile the electric based appliances you have will only get more efficient as the grid gets more efficient and the gas ones will stay the same.

The natural gas shortage in Europe kinda got me on a motivated fast path to delete my gas service in the PNW. First step was a hybrid electric water heater replacing my gas one, utility offered a $500 rebate on that. Next step is induction electric range. Third step is heat pump HVAC.

As much as natural gas is the new hot thing for energy and transportation, I figure with the war it may be shorter lived or stalled a bit for something better due to prices. Hopefully we can regulate production in the US as well and stop fracking so much.

And SpaceX is far from alone is missing targets. ULA is behind on Vulcan, Blue Origin is way behind on New Glenn and BE-4, Boeing is exceedingly late on Starliner service.

It's almost like rockets are hard or something and one hiccup in hardware development puts everything back.

There was confusion once a while back. This time it moved and a lot of it is missing, presumed as used. They were 2 different events

They were supposed to get paid, but the contract fell through. SpaceX was fighting to get properly paid, and the DOD also wanted to as well. There were issues that had to be ironed out.

But also the government is very much happy to take Starlink over their own constellation. SpaceX even created the Starshield network for high security and private comm

The problem is they wanted to go orbital all along. They thought the suborbital ride was a stepping stone in technology and would ultimately get them there smoother than SpaceX. It turned out their engines were a dead end and didn't help in developing BE-4, it also did nothing with the tech of landing an orbital class booster going much faster and on a parabolic arc.

They're older than SpaceX by a couple years too.

Even if farmers had rights to seeds, barely any if any farmers have bothered to collect seeds anyway. It's not worth the effort for the cost of seeds