3 ms·

I won't argue with that, but that isn't true in the case of the X-37, which is why it glides into landing. Elegance in engineering is fulfilling the requiremen

• njarboe 9y ago
  Following this principle I sometimes think the new east span of the Bay Bridge is/was a $6 billion boondoggle. The historical (and I thought, beautiful) original span was not retrofitted because Caltrans said they could build a new span for less that would have a longer lifespan. The simple, cost effective viaduct design was rejected as not grand enough for a Bay Area bridge and a short decorative, self-anchored suspension bridge was added to the viaduct for an extra $5 billion. It would sure have been nice if that money had been spent on a couple of additional bridges across the bay. One from the 101/380 to the 880 near the Oakland airport would sure help the traffic problems some. With interest rates near zero, I'm sure the finances for a toll bridge would work out. Just need the political will.
• jessriedel 9y ago
  Yea, I'll withdraw "inelegant" from my original comment, since I was mostly intending to dispute (concurring with colordrops) the suggestion by Animats that wings are more advanced than capsules. ("It's time to get past capsules".) I wouldn't say the shuttle was a pillar of elegance, but I'm happy to agree that wings can be elegant on the right spacecraft (although, as I alluded to, the intuition that they are less wasteful than consuming fuel can be a bit misleading). Thanks for your comments.