WT: Pork Rockets

Episode Notes

The episode opens with a long discussion of Artemis/SLS, which the hosts describe as a politically driven NASA program built to preserve existing contractors rather than as an engineering-first project. They argue it was shaped by pork-barrel politics, hydrogen’s complexity, and sunk costs, and they debate whether the program should keep going, whether the public should call it out more directly, and whether any government backup system should be structurally different from private launch providers.

The conversation then moves through several space and tech stories: Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster failure where the escape capsule separated as designed, Rocket Lab’s successful mission and the tougher funding environment for smaller space companies, and a discussion of BlueWalker 3 and the tradeoff between bright low-Earth-orbit hardware and better telecommunications. The hosts also react to a Nazi space-mirror concept and spend time on the Brellyon/Borelion ultra-reality display, before closing with media picks including Toem, Cobra Kai, David Milch’s memoir Life's Work, and Andrew’s discussion of publishing deals and Masterclass.

Key topics

• Pork-barrel politics and contractor favoritism in NASA programs: The hosts explicitly describe Artemis/SLS as a congressional compromise meant to keep existing contractors funded, not a program designed primarily around spaceflight goals.
• Hydrogen propulsion as a recurring reliability problem: Hydrogen is repeatedly described as difficult, leaky, and responsible for added complexity in launch systems.
• Budget overruns and sunk-cost concerns: They discuss Artemis/SLS as already massively over budget and criticize continued funding as sunk-cost thinking.
• SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab as contrasts to SLS: The episode compares legacy NASA development to private launch companies, including SpaceX’s fuel choices, Blue Origin’s New Shepard mishap, and Rocket Lab’s successful mission.
• Space industry consolidation and acquisition dynamics: The hosts discuss whether larger space companies could acquire smaller ones, and why mergers between giants like SpaceX and Blue Origin would be difficult.
• BlueWalker 3 and concerns about bright low-Earth-orbit satellites: They discuss the reported brightness of BlueWalker 3 and the tradeoff between astronomy concerns and global cellular coverage.
• Nazi space mirror idea: They react to a YouTube discussion of a Nazi plan for a giant space mirror or sun gun, mainly to note its technical absurdity.
• Brellyon/Borelion ultra-reality display: They spend a substantial segment on the display concept, its optics, pricing, preorder status, and possible office use.
• Deadwood, David Milch, and memoir discussion: Brian talks about Life's Work and the discussion expands into Deadwood’s history, cancellation, and immersive production.
• Publishing deals and author compensation at scale: Andrew discusses high-end publishing deals, ebook economics, and Brandon Sanderson’s Kickstarter as examples of how top authors can negotiate differently.

Picks

• Bryce Castillo: Toem — Bryce recommends this as a short, charming photo-based game that is visually similar to Hidden Folks. He notes that it is fun, cute, and free on PlayStation Plus.
• Justin Robert Young: Cobra Kai — Justin explicitly says he loves the season and is 'in' on it, recommending it as a fun show that reliably delivers karate fights every episode.
• Brian Brushwood: Life's Work — Brian clearly recommends David Milch’s memoir, calling it quite good and emphasizing that it is honest, revealing, and painful in a worthwhile way.
• Andrew Mayne: David Baldacci Masterclass — Andrew recommends the Masterclass after spending hours with it and says the writing advice was spot on and very useful, especially for someone at a high level.