Marcus House weekly video post (Starship 12 launch date)

Yours truly would love to be there at Starbase to see that sucker launch. But there's a problem... Maybe more than just one problem.

6 Humanoids You Can Actually Buy in 2026!

Wonder when they'll make some fembots? Austin Powers should like that. But maybe not the guns in the jumblies.

Faster than light speed

Maybe even ludicrous speed. Don't know about plaid.

Not exactly germane to the discussion, but here goes anyway

This may not be the best time and place for this, as it isn't the usual fare on this blog.

It might be better at the Version 3 location. But it will go here because I wouldn't exactly know where to put it in that blog.

The school this kid went to was pretty close to where I was being treated while in Irving Texas in 2017. It caught my eye.

 

Texans drafted this guy. Here's an interview of him when he was in high school

Check out newest Texan Febechi Nwaiwu in high school!

Dude was a beast and a great kid and interview

Rooted for him since then and so glad to have him on the squad @officialfeb_54 https://t.co/trRwqRIr0G

— Jeremy Beadling (@JeremyChuggs) April 25, 2026

SpaceX's Starship getting close to launch time

Problems with SpaceX's Raptor 3 engine?

It's been several months now since the last launch. Also, this is a brand new rocket on a brand new launch pad.

An "expensive hole in the ground" is a worrisome prospect. Hopefully, SpaceX has tested this thing six ways to Sunday, and back again.

Is this real, or just somebody's imagination?

Here's another video from AlphTech. (Ooops! Not the same folks.) The idea is the same as the one I suggested awhile back. The one I based my suggestion upon was the Saturn V model. The Saturn V model was 100% expendable. It shed mass as it went along. The first two stages did the major part of getting to lower Earth orbit. The third stage, which was called the S-IVB, finished the orbital lift, and did the trans-lunar injection burn that sent about 100k lbs of what was left towards lunar orbit.

Each part of the mission sheds mass, and thus reduces the amount of fuel needed to complete each part of the mission. By the time the lunar module set itself down on the lunar surface, there was just 1 more module left to finish the ascent back to lunar orbit. The lunar module itself was discarded, leaving only the command module to power itself back to Earth, and re-entry.

The Starship model is very fuel inefficient. That's why it needs all that refueling. With a powerful rocket, they still cannot achieve what the Saturn V did, even though the Starship system is over twice as powerful.

SpaceX has a problem on its hands. It is trying to do something the hard way. The easy way is to downsize the ship, and that is what AlphaTech is showing with this video. It isn't a radical idea. It is essentially how it was done over 50 years ago.

This tried and true method would deliver a super Apollo mission. It would carry more cargo, but it would still use the same Apollo-era methodology. Why change methodologies into something super complex like SpaceX is attempting? SpaceX needs to change their approach, but how does AlphaTech know that SpaceX is actually considering this change of methods?

Starship's Raptor 4 engines

A little too long of a video, and loses focus a bit. If it is about the engine, then stay on topic. Anyway, worth watching, but maybe not all the way through. I didn't.

Blue Origin reflies used booster, nails landing. Main mission fails, however.

 

The comparisons beg for attention...

However, the New Glenn rocket isn't as impressive as Starship's Booster. By the same token, Starship has yet to put anything in orbit yet. The landing of a big booster downrange like this is something that SpaceX MIGHT consider. But I wouldn't be the ranch on it.

Some of these news items could become far more significant going forward

Mars news that was overshadowed by the Artemis mission:

Want to remember this gadget

Vortex tube: Surely there's a way to use this thing in order to do practical and useful things