Archeology

Version Control, Engineering and Rocket Engines

Every Rocketdyne engine was fine tuned and perfected by hand, from plans, that were modified but not updated. This means that each engine was unique. It would take trial and error to build them again.

With GIT and other forms of version control the entire process could theoretically have been logged and preserved, not so, in this context. Interesting video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovD0aLdRUs0

Perm 36 YouTube Video Visit

Last night I watched a video about a visit to Perm36 but it covered just the trip. The video below is far more complete and informative. I am currently reading Gulag by Anne Applebaum, rather than The Gulag Archipelago, like she mentions. I started reading it decades ago but never finished it. I read A day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch in a single day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgtjgPtGmx0

Reading Gulag, The Gulag Archipelago and other books helps give some context to what Soviet Russia was like. As I read Gulag by Applebaum I get the feeling that Soviet Russia was about enslaving people to make profit for some whilst everyone else suffers. From this perspective what the Soviet Union would morph into, at the end of the Soviet age would make more sense.

The Marble Quarries of Carrara

There is a rock quarry where we can climb not too far away. The rock is different so easier to climb. I don’t think climbing on marble would be a good climbing experience. What is interesting about this image is the scale of the quarry. This is Luna Marble.

The huge marble quarries of Carrara, Italy were first opened by the Romans in the 2nd century BC, their highly prized stone used to create many of Rome’s grandest monuments. They have since produced more marble than any other site on earth. Spot the diggers to see the epic scale! pic.twitter.com/zM8hpytEd0

Apollo Comms - A Series on YouTube

I have not studied electronics but I have studied the Google IT support course among others so I have some basics of how computers and tech work. This type of documentary series is interesting because it brings history to life, and explains how things work. It is not sensationalist, does not use too much music and more. It just guides you through how technology works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v49ucdZcx9s

I was surprised to hear that transmission was as low as 2 watts and as high as just 11 watts. I also learned that for some communications they used just two watts of power for Apollo 13, 57 hours into the mission, to reduce power consumption. Of course on Earth they had a 270ft antenna to receive the signal. Compare this to a radio station that may use 50,000 watts. I don’t remember how many watts were used in satellite broadcasting but from a quick skim it’s about 20 watts but this goes to smaller and smaller dishes on earth. Starlink uses about 2 watts of power.