The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, August 27th, 2024 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript, and were taken from my chat log. Pantera’s video is embedded at the end – my thanks to her for providing it.
Meeting Overview
The Simulator User Group (also referred to by its older name of Server User Group) exists to provide an opportunity for discussion about simulator technology, bugs, and feature ideas.
Meetings are open to anyone with a concern / interest in the above topics, and form one of a series of regular / semi-regular User Group meetings conducted by Linden Lab.
Dates and times of all current meetings can be found on the Second Life Public Calendar, and descriptions of meetings are defined on the SL wiki.
Simulator Deployments
On Tuesday, August 27th, the SLS Main channel was restarted without any deployment.
On Wednesday, August 28th:
Simulators on the BlueSteel RC channel should receive the Picnic simulator update (which includes: llFindNotecardTextSync, llDerezObject, for the viewer side, group member lists can now be retrieved in a paginated manner).
Picnic also include the first of the region crossing improvements Monty Linden has been working on. These should see a) avatars already in a destination region getting better frame rates as others arrive in the region; b) crossing avatars with too many scripts will experience slower but smoother crossings.
Monty reminded people that region crossings involving vehicles are a more complicated issue and not part of this work.
The remaining simulator RC channels will be restarted without any new deployment / update.
SL Viewer Updates
Release viewer: version 7.1.9.10515727195, formerly the Atlasaurus-WebRTC RC (object take options; improved MOAP URL handling, WebRTC) promoted August 26.
Release channel cohorts:
None.
Combat 2 Updates
Rider Linden is proposing the following for respawn:
When death occurs, if a respawn location has been set the agent will be teleported to the specified location. If no respawn location is set, the region’s default death behaviour applies (for instance teleport home, or teleport to telehub). The agent’s respawn point survives region crossing and death teleports, but is cleared when the agent makes an inter-region teleport or logs out of Second Life. The following new functions have been added to LSL: llSetRespawnLocation(vector position, rotation facing); llSetRespawnLandmark(string inventory_name); llClearRespawn() and llHasRespawnSet(key agent_id)
He further indicated that he had looked at the above as not necessarily having to be tied to an Experience, they could be granted via a HUD, a regular permission request or an Experience, however questions were raised about managing unwanted scripted respawn being created by users and other potential complexities that may move these functions back towards being Experience based.
This led to a discussion on options and Combat, which ran through the majority of the meeting – please refer to the video below.
Kindroid AI NPCs & Companions
On Monday, August 26th, Linden Lab announced “the integration” of AI companions and NPCs using Kindroid (with the announcement causing some confusing in using both “experience” in generic terms and in reference to SL Experiences).
With Kindroid, you can create engaging and lively characters with lifelike memory, intelligence, and personalities that interact and engage in emotionally-deep and meaningful ways – and then bring them to life within our virtual world. Imagine crafting characters that add fun and engaging new narratives into your roleplaying adventures – or maybe you’ll create a companion that can serve as a language tutor or mentor – the possibilities are endless!
With its API, you can integrate Kindroid characters into your Second Life experience using LSL and scripting, just like other objects. Whether you’re looking to enhance social interactions or explore new storytelling possibilities, Kindroid offers an exciting new dimension for any Second Life adventure.
– From the LL announcement
The announcement provides detailed instructions on using LSL to link an Kindroid AI “chatbot” with objects in-world, with LL recommending the use of Animesh, and, for security purposes, the use of the Experience Key Value Pairs (KVP) database to ensure security of API keys.
I’m honestly not au fait enough with Kindroid or AI chat system (generative or otherwise) to pass considered opinion. However, given it is reported at after the initial free avatar, Kindroid requires a subscription (from USD $13.99) after the 3-day free trial and offers limited assurances on user data protection, then its hard not to raise an eyebrow. Anyway, the topic itself came up for discussion towards the end of the meeting. Please refer to the link to the announcement above and the the video below for more.
† The header images included in these summaries are not intended to represent anything discussed at the meetings; they are simply here to avoid a repeated image of a rooftop of people every week. They are taken from my list of region visits, with a link to the post for those interested.
Back in May 2023, I moseyed on over to the *80 Days* region, operated by Camila Runo and Jocelyn (ZamiTio), which at the time was presenting an opportunity to visit a small corner of America’s Old West in the form of Wind River, a small frontier settlement from (most likely, given some of the visual cues), the mid-1880s (see: 80 Days in the Old West in Second Life).
Located on a sky platform, the precise location of the setting wasn’t given at that time, although Wild River appeared to be far enough from any railhead to warrant stockades for cattle, either as a staging point or starting point from seasonal cattle drives to the nears railroad junction for shipping off to either coast.
*80 Days*: Copper Canyon, August 2024
To be honest, and reasons being what they were, May 2023 was the time of my last visit to *80 Days*, so I have no idea what happened between times and whether or not Wind River survived throughout the intervening period – my apologies to Camila and ZamiTio for my lack of visits – however, it is now part of an expanded setting within *80 Days*, entitled Copper Canyon and Wind River, of which the About Land description states:
Copper Canyon is a barren frontier area in the Old West. Under the burning sun lies an arid landscape of red rocks, forming the canyon after which the area was named. Wind River, in contrast, is a busy Wild West town amid high green hills.
– Copper Canyon and Wind River About Land description
As Copper Creek is at the ground level and the newer of the two locations, I’ll start there, and just as the description suggests, this is a desert location, suggestive of either the New Mexico Territory or Arizona Territory, but the exactly decade is unlear. The landing point sits on the north side of the region, tucked within a barn just within the boundaries of Copperburg, a windswept at dusty place in which Yul Brinner and his crew of unlikely heroes might well recognise as much as “Big John” Cannon.
*80 Days*: Copper Canyon, August 2024
Given the setting is intended for role-play, there are some rules to follow, (posted on the wall of the barn), and visitors are asked to consider changing into the period costumes offered via two packing cases. The female costumes fit a variety of bodies, and so should work in most cases – although I was a little disappointed to see they didn’t include the option for use to inhabit a more gun-savvy look in the manner of a Martha Jane Canary or a Myra “Belle” Starr or a Pearl Hart (to name but third women of the period adept with handguns and / or rifles, even if none of these particular individuals as far west as Arizona or New Mexico!).
The town has all the expected amenities – town hall, saloon, bank, sheriff’s office, and a well-stock general store – but it is perhaps a little past its prime; the wind and dust have weathered shingles and hoardings, a couple of business appear to be no longer in operation and the local shoe shop is doing its business no favours, given its shoddy state. Dominating the main (as in only) street is a gallows, suggesting that violence and frontier justice tend to go hand-in-hand here.
*80 Days*: Copper Canyon, August 2024
At the southern end of the town sits a pleasant little adobe-style home, where both chickens and bees are being reared to provide fresh eggs, poultry and honey. It offers a comparatively pleasant oasis of live and home tucked out of the reach of the wind, being largely sheltered from the latter as it sits in the lee of the slope rising up to the local church and neighbouring graveyard – a literal boot hill, if you will.
The church overlooks one end of the canyon from with the setting likely takes its name, one side of which is home to Pueblo-style structures sitting up on rocky shelves and reached by a steep slope. As with the little casa with its honey bees and chickens, these stacked “apartments” seem to exude more welcome and homeliness than the nearby town.
*80 Days*: Copper Canyon, August 2024
The canyon runs east and then north from the mouth facing the church, the red sandstone of its vertical, narrow walls doubtless giving it its name. It’s not hard to picture a posse blazing down the gorge, the should of gunshots echoing loudly as they give chase to bank robbers or other miscreants of a violent nature (or maybe just because they didn’t particularly like them!).
At its far end, relative to the church, the canyon opens out onto flatlands, the trail sweeping past the Wells Fargo station and back up into Copperburg.
Wind River is reached directly from the landing point for Copper Canyon; just click the large sign inside the barn to be transported upwards via the local experience (which you should accept if you’ve not previously done so). When I first arrived – again, within the town’s barn – I mistakenly thought this was more-or-less the same setting as I’d visited back in May 2023; but while there are a lot of commonalities, so to are there subtle differences, enough to make a renewed exploration worthwhile, even if you’ve been to Wind River in is past iteration.
*80 Days*: Wind River, August 2024
The town itself remains much the same, although static NPCs have been added. The main street carries familiar clues as to the likely period; Grover Cleveland’s portrait remains pride-of-place in the town hall, suggesting he’s the sitting President, and the Sheriff’s office bears a Wanted poster for Dave Allen “Mysterious Dave” Mather (although this appears to have been joined by one for Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith II I don’t recalled seeing from my previous visit, but I could be mistaken). However, things have also changed within the town; the combines roles of MD, dentist and vet once held by A.J. Simmons are now under the purview of one Sam Vimes M.D.
Further out of town to the west can still be found the Native American encampment which forms an informal museum on Native American life – one of the teepees contains hanging dreamcatchers with portraits of Native Americans. When touched, these will provide a notecard providing brief notes on the People and their history (and please note, this setting is not intended to be historically accurate in overall style, containing as it does artifacts from different tribes, its function is as a generic setting representing in general terms (and as a museum) of Native American life, rather than being the focus on a specific tribe or group.
*80 Days*: Wind River, August 2024
It is off to the north where there are perhaps more obvious changes to the setting – horseshoe ranch appears slightly different in layout to my pictures from May 2023, while some of the buildings around the cattle pens on the north side of town appear to have been shuffled around – which gives the feeling that as with real life, nothing is ever static, building can be knocked down and replaced – or extended, at least, which could be the case with the ranch house.
As with Copper Canyon, Wind River has a Wells Fargo station a short distance from town. Also offering a small general store, the station offers a map of the Territories and their surround from 1867, and if you sit in the stagecoach waiting outside, you’ll be teleported to Lost Mesa within the Western Territories role-play estate (and the stage coach there will return you to Wind River). similarly, sitting in the wagon just across the trail from the Wells Fargo office (and conveniently placed next to a road sign pointing to its destination) will carry you to Blind Horse Creek, another Western RP region.
*80 Days*: Wind River, August 2024
Photogenic and rounded-out by a very nicely-done sound scape, containing some nicely subtle historical touches and with opportunities for horse riding (or wear your own!) the combined *80 days* Old West settings make for an engaging visit.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week through to Sunday, August 25th, 2024
This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Release viewer: version 7.1.9.10515727195, formerly the Altasaurus RC, promoted August 26.
Serena Arts Centre, August 2024: Raven Arcana – From Coast to Coast
‘Twas back to Serena Arts Centre for me of late to view two exhibitions of art, one of which opened mid-August 2024, and the other a little later in the month, both by artists whose work I always enjoy seeing.
Having opened on August 16th, From Coast to Coastby Raven Arcana is the older of the two exhibitions, and thus the one I’ll cover first. Located in one of the two geodesic domes within the Arts Hub, this is a collection of Second Life images depicting – as one might expect from the exhibition title – coastal scenes; and the do so quite beautifully.
As I noted a year ago 2023, Raven is a gifted landscape photographer who captures the beauty to be found in settings right across Second Life, using both the viewer’s camera and a diplomatic application of post-processing. In this she uses an eye for subject and presentation to great effect, match the degree and style of her post processing very closely to the subject matter of the image in question.
Serena Arts Centre, August 2024: Raven Arcana – From Coast to Coast
Thus, when viewing her work, one can quickly and seamless drift from views with sharply-defined foreground elements as if captured on a photographic roll or a digital medium to present a faithful and crisp reproduction of all the camera saw, and then on to an image suggestive of soft-focus and perhaps the use of a filter to present and dream-like quality; thence forward to a picture evoking the sense that that artist abandoned her camera in favour of an easel and paints. All of which is more than evident within From Coast to Coast.
These are pieces with a tremendous sense of mood and emotion awaiting discovery, together with pointers to the wildness of nature. There is the suggestion of an idyllic morning in which the Sun is burning off dawn’s mist and promising a fine day’s fishing; then there are the memories seemingly captured on canvas of a trip of a remote coastal setting; or the subtle reminder of the power of nature’s breath through the bent form of a tree, the tug of kites against the tethers holding them to the land, or the passage of boats under the power of even the gentleness of breezes.
Serena Arts Centre, August 2024: Raven Arcana – From Coast to Coast
Then there is the evocation of emotions within us, something perhaps best seen within Across the Pond. To me a powerful story of contrasts and emotion; the figure silhouetted against the lowering Sun at first offering a sense of piece and calm; but then the presence of the lowering, darkening clouds, the hint of turbulence within their visible parts and the distant foaming of a wave breaking over rocks, a combination perhaps indicative of the silhouetted figure’s state of mind mind be more tumultuous than their observation of the setting Sun might suggest. But I’ll leave it to you to discover what stories From Coast to Coast might whisper to you.
Located in the Centre’s other geodesic dome is Sisi Biedermann’s Magic Art.
Serena Arts Centre, August 2024: Sisi Biedermann – Magic Art
I’ve made no secret of my appreciation for Sisi’s digital artistry, and I regard her as one of the most engaging digital mixed-media artists in Second Life. Her work is both utterly unique and without bounds, covering everything from the natural world through in-world settings to the fantastical and even touching on the abstract and the near-surreal. As such, I’ve never failed to find it completely captivating in its richness of imagination, style and colour.
With Magic Art, Sisi presents a collection primarily – but not exclusively – on gardens and plants / flowers. I’ve no idea if the pieces are the result of places Sisi has visited within the physical world (as can be with other elements of her work in past exhibitions), or the result of Second Life explorations (elements within some seem to suggest they might have hailed from in-world – although they could just as easily come from the physical realm), or are purely the result of Sisi’s vivid imagination and her skill in the use of multi-media and digital tools.
Serena Arts Centre, August 2024: Sisi Biedermann – Magic Art
Not that knowing the origins on the pieces particularly matters; as noted, Sisi’s art is visually captivating and rich in the suggestions of life as well as with colour, whatever the source material. As such, this is another display of her work I have no hesitation in recommending.
With both exhibitions within easy walking distance from one another across the centre’s main plaza, making for a very easy visit to both. And while there, why not take time to visit Elvira Mistwood’s exhibition of enchanting digital pieces, located in the Centre’s north-east corner gallery building.
August 27th is due to see the launch of a ground-breaking flight into space which is both daring and possibly questionable. Entitled Polaris Dawn, it is slated to be the first private-venture / commercial spaceflight to feature an EVA – “spacewalk” – and a flight that will carry humans the farthest from Earth since Apollo.
The mission is due to lift-off from Kennedy Space Centre at 07:38 UTC on the morning of August 27th, carrying four “citizen astronauts” into a highly elliptical orbit around the Earth. This will reach a maximum apogee of 1,400 km, putting the crew inside the Van Allen radiation belts, thus providing one of the medical goals for the mission.
Polaris Dawn is one of three such missions that are being led and paid for by billionaire Jared Isaacman. It will mark his second flight into orbit; the first being in 2021, when he paid for and led the Inspiration4 private mission also using SpaceX. This mission flew a crew of paying private citizens around the Earth as part of a multi-million dollar fund-raiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee (and for whom Polaris Dawn is continuing to raise money). However, Polaris Dawn is far more ambitious.
The Polaris Dawn crew. Credit: Polaris Dawn
Following launch, the Crew Dragon vehicle, comprising the capsule Resilience – also the craft used for the Inspiration4 mission – and a power and propulsion service module (“trunk” in SpaceX parlance) will be placed into an orbit with an apogee of 1,200km, which all then be raised to 1,400 over a number of orbits. These initial orbits will repeatedly pass through South Atlantic Anomaly, exposing the crew to the same amount of radiation in just a few orbits as a crew on the ISS would experience in some 3 months in space. The purpose of this is for researchers to gain, “Valuable research into the health effects of space radiation and spaceflight on the human body.”
On the second day of the flight, the orbit will be lowered and circularised at 750 km as on-board experiments are carried out, including testing the viability of the SpaceX Starlink system for use in crewed missions “to the Moon, Mars and beyond”. Then, on flight day 3, the EVA will be carried out with two of the crew carrying out the spacewalk in a manner harking back to the early days of spaceflight.
In the modern era, EVA – extra vehicular activities – are carried out in self-contained suits complete with life support systems – backpacks, if you will – to supply them with breathable air and vital cooling. The suits the Polaris Dawn crew will be using aren’t self-contained per se; they have no backpacks but instead rely on an umbilical connected to the spacecraft to provide the wearer with air and cooling. This is where some has raised concerns about the flight, together with the manner in which it must be carried out. Resilience does not have an airlock through which EVAs can be made; instead, the entire vehicle will have to be depressurised and the forward hatch (normally fitted with the mating mechanism for docking with the International Space Station) opened., exposing the craft’s entire interior to the vacuum of space.
A tale of two Dragons: The Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon Resilience (l) and the Crew 9 Dragon Freedom being prepared for launch at the SpaceX facilities at Cape Kennedy. Credit: SpaceX
This means the vehicles electrical and power systems have had to be specially updated for the flight. As there is no airlock, it further means that all four crew must be in EVA suits for the spacewalk to take place. As space suits work at a lower atmospheric pressure than the human body is used to, any EVA generally requires the astronauts spend time within an airlock pre-breathing an oxygen mix to remove nitrogen from their blood and organs – which might otherwise cause decompression sickness (also called “the bends”) when returned to a normal atmospheric pressure.
However, as Resilience doesn’t have an airlock, the entire crew will commence pre-breathing roughly an hour into the mission and continue to do so over the first two days of the mission as the pressure within the craft is reduced from 100.0 to 59.6 kPa (14.5 psi to 8.65psi), and enriched with oxygen, meaning all four crew with have to go through decompression after the EVA and prior to their return to Earth – the overall mission elapsed time expected to be around 5 days.
The 15-20 minute spacewalk itself will be carried lout by Isaacman and a Sarah Gillis, the senior space operations engineer at SpaceX, with retired US Air Force pilot Scott Poteet (mission pilot) and SpaceX lead space operations and a mission director Anna Menon remaining in the main capsule ready to provide assistance. The purpose is ostensibly to test the new SpaceX EVA suit – an evolution of the suits used by crews flying to the ISS aboard Crew Dragon, but featuring improved insulation and thermal protection (adapted from elements of the spacecraft’s own thermal insulation), improved mobility and helmets equipped with heads-up displays.
The new SpaceX IVA (intravehicular activity) / EVA suit, to be tested by Polaris Dawn. Credit: SpaceX / Polaris Dawn
Polaris Dawn is a fascinating venture, although it might be argued that several of its goals might be achieved just as well through other means. It’s also something of a high-risk venture for those directly involved as crew and for private-sector spaceflight as a whole. If successful (as I hope it will be), it could open the doors wide for more private-sector activity in space; however, if it fails, it has been claimed it could have major repercussions on commercial spaceflight, up to and including plans by Axiom and Blue Origin / Sierra Space and others to operate orbital facilities intended to replace the ISS.
Starliner Update: A Tale of Two Returns
On August 24th, NASA provided an update on the overall status of the Boeing Starliner CST-100 Crew Flight Test.
Originally stated to last a little over a week in early June 2024, the flight – with astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams – has experienced a series of issues relating to the propulsion / manoeuvring systems on the Starliner’s service module, forcing it to remain at the ISS.
Boeing had thought they’d found a way to address the core issues as a result of a series of comparative “hot fire” tests on Earth and aboard the vehicle at the space station, however, a detailed review of the data from the last set of tests carried out at the end of July revealed what appears to be wear-and-tear on valves within the system might might also impact the reliability of the vehicle’s thruster systems during critical manoeuvring prior to the service module being jettisoned during a return to Earth.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams will remain abord the ISS through until early 2025 and return to Earth aboard the Crew 9 mission vehicle. Credit: NASA
While Boeing has remained adamant the vehicle can make a crewed return to Earth, after seeking input from multiple internal teams, and with the shadows of the Challenger and Columbia disasters ever-present, NASA has made the decision not to use Starliner to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth. Instead, they will now return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew 9 / NASA Expedition 72 Crew Dragon, something I’d speculated might be the case when last reporting on this situation back on August 11th:
The most likely scenario for this would launching the Crew 9 mission with only two people on board – most likely Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Nick Hague, leaving 2 seats free for Williams and Wilmore (although their space suits are different to those used by SpaceX, so this would have to be worked through). Wilmore and Williams would then remain aboard the ISS as a part of the Crew 9 rotation (Expedition 72), returning to Earth with Cardman and Hague in March 2025.
– This column, August 11th, 2024
(side note: One small adjustment to the above statement is that it appears as if cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will fly the mission in order for NASA to maintain its seating agreement with Roscosmos.)
This means Starliner will now make an automated return to Earth some time ahead of the Crew 9 launch, currently slated for no earlier than September 24th. As I also noted in my August 11th piece, Starliner can in theory do so; unlike Crew Dragon, it is fully capable of fully automated flight, the system being tested during the unscrewed Orbital flight Test-2 in May 2022. The wrinkle here being that OFT-2 used the Starliner SP2 capsule, not Calypso, and so the latter doesn’t have the necessary flight software aboard; instead, Boeing will have to configure, test and upload it, a process which will take a number of weeks.
Whilst NASA management remain convinced Boeing and Rocketdyne will overcome the issues with the thruster systems on Starliner, the entire matter is embarrassing for the US agency, and particularly for Boeing, which has already seen direct losses in share value directly as a result of Starliner’s issues. Boeing have also faced penalties and the need to cover the additional costs involved in having to fly a second Orbital Flight Test mission – and may yet need to meet those of a second Crew Flight Test; NASA has left the need to fly such a mission open, and will decide on it once Boeing are in a position to demonstrate the underpinning problems with the Starliner propulsion systems have been resolved.
RFA Core Stage Explodes at SaxaVord
Britain’s first vertical space launch facility, the SaxaVord Spaceport, located at the northern end of the Isle of Unst in the Shetlands, became the focus of attention on August 19th, albeit for the wrong reasons.
A private venture, SaxaVord was licensed for up to 30 rocket launches a year at the end of 2023, and operations were due to commence this summer via Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA). A German commercial space launch start-up founded in 2018 with the aim of providing a smallsat launch vehicle called RFA One, capable of lifting a maximum payload of 1.6 tonnes to LEO, 450 kg to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and a maximum of 150 kg to geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), RFA have the stated goal of producing the RFA-One via a production line process “like a car”, enabling them to provide a rapid launch provisioning service out of SaxaVord and other commercial launch locations.
The core stage of the rocket – which overall will be a 3-stage vehicle some 30 metres tall with a 2 metre diameter and feature two sub-orbital stages and an upper stage called Redshift, which doubles as an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) – has been undergoing a series of tests at SaxaVord over the past few months in readiness for the first launch.
The first indications of problems for the RFA One test, August 19th, at SaxaVord Spaceport. Note the plume of ignited gases on the left of the vehicle’s base. Credit: RFA / SaxaVord Spaceport CCTV
However, on August 19th, during the latest hot fire test with the stage, something went wrong. Intended to be a hot-fire burn of all nine of the stage engines – only four having thus far being fired in any single test, some was seen to go wrong within seconds of motor ignition, While the majority of exhaust gas and flame was being directed down though the elevated launch stand, a powerful jet of ignited exhaust gases could be seen leaving the base of the rocket horizontally.
The motors all rapidly shut down, but the base of the rocket and its launch mount were by that time – around 6 seconds into the test – already on fire, and ignited gases continued to stream from the side of the stage, causing a fire on the launch stand itself. At some 38 seconds after ignition, the lower portion of the rocket was on fire and fames quickly engulfed it and the launch stand prior to the rocket collapsing and exploding.
Following preliminary analysis of data and footage of the event, RFA stated on August 24th that the most likely cause of the incident was the failure of an oxygen pump within one of the motors which started a fire beneath the stage that quickly spread to other propellant lines despite the automatic shut-down of the motors. Fire suppression systems on the stage and the launch mount were then overwhelmed, leading to the loss of the stage.
The location of the SaxaVord Spaceport, Scotland
Also commenting on the incident, SaxaVord management indicated that despite the fire and explosion, the launch stand and its supporting infrastructure had not suffered “major” damage. However, all activities at the launch facility are now suspended pending an investigation with will involve the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which has regulatory oversight of UK launch facilities.
The lost of the stage means that RFA’s plans to launch before the end of summer 2024 are at an end; whilst it is too early for a new date to be provided, the company indicated it is now looking towards the first half of 2025 as the period in which they may attempt their maiden flight.
No-one was injured during the incident, and two other launch developers, HyImpulse (also from Germany) and US-based ABL Space Systems, have indicated the incident does not affect their own plans to operate launches out of SaxaVord.
Juice-y Images of the Moon and Earth
In my previous Space Sunday update I wrote about the European Space Agency’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (Juice) and its (then) upcoming gravity-assist around Earth and, preceding it, a swing around the Moon in what would be the first Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist (LEGA) manoeuvre ever undertaken by a space probe from Earth.
The Moon imaged by ESA’s JUICE on August 19th, 2024, when it completed a fly-by of the Moon, during which it came to within 700 km of the lunar surface. Credit: ESA/Juice/JMC
The manoeuvre marked the first of a series of complex fly-bys for the probe – launched in April 2023 – all of which are designed to accelerate it to a speed of 2.7 km per second and throw it out towards Jupiter’s orbit, where it will intercept the planet in 2031. As noted in my previous report, the Moon fly-by on August 19th saw Juice pass around the far side of the Moon at just 700 km above the lunar surface, allowing the spacecraft’s course to be precisely adjusted for its passage around the Earth, which it reached on August 20th, passing around the planet at a distance of 6,807 km.
The manoeuvre acted as a slingshot, accelerating the spacecraft and hurling it back around the Sun ready for its next planetary encounter, this one with Venus in August of 2025. After this, JUICE will swing by Earth twice more, in 2026 and 2029 – the latter of which will boost it away from the inner solar system and an 18-month voyage to Jupiter.
An image of Earth captured by ESA’s JUICE during the second part of the LEGA fly-by on August 20th. Credit: ESA/Juice/JMC
The images here show both the Moon and Earth on August 19th and 20th respectively, with the spacecraft visible in both as a result of its orientation during the fly-bys.
New Deer Isle, August 2024 – click any image for full size
Second Norway is a excellent place in which to have a home in Second Life, particularly if you like driving, sailing, and / or flying. It’s a place I’ve written about a few times in these pages, particularly during the period of the estate’s uncertain future back in 2020, and its rescue by Vanity Bonito and following it into her network of estates where it remains to this day, managed by one of her highly-capable teams (see: Second Norway: the future is bright).
It was also in 2020 that I made the decision to move to Second Norway myself, and it has been my primary home in SL ever since; it’s an exceptionally comfortable estate in which to live and has a great mix of public and residential places for those looking for somewhere to visit or somewhere to live. One of the locations offering a mix of both is New Deer Isle, a Full private region leveraging the available Land Capacity bonus and offered to people to visit by designer and holder, Kaiden Glocke Tray (KaidenTray). Within the region, he has brought a touch of New England’s charm to Second Norway, as the About Land description notes:
Welcome to the New Deer Isle, inspired by the state of Maine in the United States. There are limited rentals here, fishing, sailable waters and it is near a drivable road that leads to Mainland adventures! Explore, enjoy our events have a wonderful time!
– New Deer Isle About Land description
New Deer Isle, August 2024
As with myself, Kaiden has been featured in Linden Lab’s Spotlight series, where is work as one of the foremost (and award-winning) Second Life landscapers is justifiably highlighted. His attention to detail within his designs – something very much evident within New Deer Isle – makes his work a must-see, and this particular region is an absolute delight to visit, whether you teleport in directly, or opt to visit via ‘plane or boat.
Those coming by air can avail themselves of Toka airfield (which has gained a surfaced runway since my last flight in, when it was still grass, but is still better suited to smaller, lighter aircraft than airliners or the like). Those flying-in to Toka will have the opportunity to see some interesting warbirds dispersed among the stands and hangers, and will find New Deer Isle just a short walk across the bridge at the airfield’s southern tip
New Deer Isle, August 2024
If coming by boat, a trio of short piers are available on the west side of the setting. These appear to have rezzing open should your boat get returned. There are also some moorings across the water on the east side of New Deer Isle, located at the Crowded Retreat yacht club – but at the time of my visit to New Deer Isle, Crowded Retreat (also designed by Kaiden on behalf of region holder Cr0wd), was listed as Closed – Under Construction, so I did not venture into it and thus cannot say what mooring, if any, is currently permitted there; however, it might become the subject of a return visit in due course!
It’s at the moorings on the eastern side of New Deer Isle that I’m going to start with my meandering description, as this is home to the XX Motorcycle Club, an open-to-all hangout and (I assume) the space for the events mentioned in the description. It is here that some of Kaiden’s little touches can be appreciated – the club’s bar contains all the typical detailing one might expect: pool, beer, darts, places to sit (table and booths).
New Deer Isle, August 2024
However, a wander upstairs will reveal something perhaps a little more nefarious. Dominated by a pair of tables set out as if for a board meeting (except for the hand guns, baseball bat and knuckle dusters in evidence, together with a rack of semi-automatic rifles behind the chair at the head of the tables!), are racks containing a sizeable about of bundled paper money and bullion. Also to be found is a board indicating the crew is either planning a raid on “Lind’n Bank”, which appears to be in Moscow(!), or about to make a trip to Mordor and Mt. Doom(!!) . quite which it might be I’ll leave you to decide; I just love the humour evident here 😀 .
From the entrance to the motorcycle club’s hang-out it is possible to make your way eastwards to the local town (which is also home to the land landing point for those teleporting in). This offers a wealth of detail along its various roads and along its waterfront. It is here that the local Rental Office can be found by those interested in making one of the available houses in the region their home. The rental office opens out onto a marvellously detailed waterfront market which, in a mirroring of so many such markets in the physical world, also runs down one of the town’s little streets.
New Deer Isle, August 2024
The market has a real sense of life about it – aided by the presence of the static NPCs found in and around it, some shopping, others sitting and watching, some taking photos and some serving the shoppers. More NPC figures are scattered around the town to add a sense of life to it, whilst down along the side street occupied in part by the produce market, can be found the Vintage Market, a place of little boutique shops (and a little gallery) very much of the kind one might find tucked away within a little town like this.
The road continues beyond the vintage market, becoming more a footpath as it accesses the more rural centre of the region, a place where horse graze in a field and one tethered to a hitching rail ready to offer those who wish a ride around the setting’s paths and roads – oh, and if horseback riding is not your thing, then there is also a bicycle rezzer back at the town, if you prefer. This area acts a buffer between the public areas of the region and the more private rentals.
New Deer Isle, August 2024
The latter take the form of three large houses, each with a stretch of private beach and private moorings for boats. The road leading to them also provides access to the local farm – but please also note that while the farm’s outbuildings are mostly on public land, the farmhouse itself and the outhouses closest to are form a private residence. For those seeking a place to live closer to the town, at least one little place is available on the town’s north side, close to where a footpath swing around the coast to reach the local shop and boat yard, a little picnic spot also close to hand.
Also reached via the road leading to these houses is the local farm, the fields and barn of which appear open to the public. However, the farmhouse itself is a private residence. There’s another townhouse just downslope from it, but I’ve no idea if that is intended for rent or not. This part of the region also has a little coastal part leading around to the local bait
New Deer Isle, August 2024
I admit I did have some choppiness with FPS rates while wandering, possibly because of the amount of work my viewer was trying to do while loading everything, but a quick adjustment to draw distance largely corrected this, and it certainly didn’t stop me from exploring and enjoying my time wandering. I think next time, tho, I might just try boating over form my home island!
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 