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SpaceX

The NROL-108 Mission’s Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad this morning.

SpaceX launched another rocket from the Kennedy Space Center today. It was the 102nd launch of their Falcon 9 ship.

The first-stage booster landing safely at Kennedy Space Center today.

The first-stage booster on this mission was making its fifth landing — the booster is apparently the most expensive part of the rocket.

Watching these launches live on YouTube is something that’s always interesting.

The payload for this mission was a ‘Spy’ satellite of some sort — the customer (The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office) asked SpaceX not to broadcast its deployment.

Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX, has set his sights on getting to Mars. The Falcon 9 can deliver about 4,000 Kg to Mars. The far larger StarShip, which is in part designed to get humans to Mars, made a test flight last week which Musk described as a success. (It exploded on landing but they got good data.)

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Mending

A couple of years ago, I needed something warm to wear for the winter.

I decided that I wanted a natural fibre, specifically wool.

I found a shop selling knitwear made from Donegal yarn. I selected one that I liked and paid up.

Over the course of the following two years, I found myself wearing this jumper almost all the time, regardless of the weather.  I liked the look and the feel of it, so why not?

Last week I noticed a hole in the left elbow. Luckily, my mother offered to mend it. The jumper is now once more wearable in public.

I hadn’t had to spend money on a replacement and I had helped preserve the planet’s finite resources.

With this in mind I was pleased to read about the EU’s ‘Right to Repair‘ legislation — a giant step in the right direction.