A mind-melting meeting at SpaceX, and a lot learned on both strategic (goals) and tactical (implementation) levels that will improve my work. Unbelievable sights and experiences; more than a dozen gleaming Merlin engines in production ["These will be in space in 4 months," an engineer told me]; grilled by a panel of engineers RE our suit performance; saw their prototype space suit; tried out their launch seat (similar to the seat configuration we're using to design our suit); made good connections; maybe set up a consulting relationship. The visit gave me three concrete ideas to implement ASAP for innovative solutions to some old problems of ensuring astronaut safety in launch-to-orbit and re-entry. Not my photos (not allowed), showing a Dragon capsule mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket, a Merlin engine and interior of the double-decker Dragon capsule, my focus as space suits are closely tailored to particular spacecraft interiors. Feel as though I've had 3,000 cups of coffee. A lot more to report in near future. Ad astra per aspera!
Note: SpaceX is a commercial venture that could collapse at any moment, but Elon Musk's Tesla Motors exists largely to ensure the success of SpaceX, whose ultimate goal is to establish a new branch of human civilization on Mars. Will Elon Musk give up SpaceX and concrete steps towards settling Mars? To that he said "I never give up. I would need be dead or completely incapacitated."
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