Talk:1596: Launch Status Check

Looks like a Falcon Heavy to me. :) So I guess the bird is some kind of falcon. 162.158.34.147 08:21, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Could it be related to this? First flight of Falcon Heavy delayed again. 108.162.229.121 10:04, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, during rocket launches they use visual inspection to ensure nothing is close to the launch vehicle. I don't know if large birds are an issue for a rocket, but I can well imagine they are. In classical XKCD fashion the characters totally go overboard on that tangent. 162.158.91.160 08:26, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Rockets generally produces lot of noise and hot gasses. I doubt any bird is stupid enough to stay around THAT. Also, there is no air intake on rockets - it's hitting the air intake of motors which is dangerous to aircraft. -- Hkmaly (talk) 14:17, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Birds have damaged aircraft windscreens. I believe the bipod ramp that brought down Columbia was smaller than a large bird. It's not at all clear that a bird will be able to take evasive action. Rockets accelerate hard, and a birds normal collision avoidance is to dive, which doesn't help when a rocket is headed straight up.

Unrelated: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/roadkill_prt.htm --198.41.235.101 20:29, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

It could be a reference to "The Martian" where a bird flies into view on the Live Feed as they are about to launch the supply probe. It later fails when it tries to go sideways. RIIW - Ponder it (talk) 10:35, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Reference and coincidence are not synonyms. reference: a thing you say or write that mentions somebody/something else [1]. 108.162.221.17 15:19, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

I changed the transcript a little - it's clear from the comic that there are at least four people involved, as opposed to a back-and-forth between two people.173.245.53.29 17:00, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Ah... the person who discretely (and/or discreetly!) added the link the Atlas V, regarding the rocket profile, I think you've nailed it. Looks very much more like the New Horizons launch stack than any of the alternatives I've so far reviewed. (I checked Atlas V, when looking around, but must have missed the half-height double-booster-set/large-shroud picture further down that page. For better comparison: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NewHorizons_Rocket_Bly.jpg ) 141.101.75.185 18:04, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but what exactly does Randall's drawing having a resemblance to a type of real-life rocket have anything to do with the point of the comic? The comic is more centered on the foolishness of Ground Control then what kind of rocket is being used. Or maybe it's that very same Ground Control writing the explanation and getting distracted so easily ( ._.)..... Schiffy (Speak to me|What I've done) 23:27, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Let us not forget the brouhaha over Space Frog (ABC News Coverage) and Space Bat (NASA Press Release). --Run, you clever boy (talk) 00:28, 29 October 2015 (UTC)