Editing 984: Space Launch System

{{comic
| number    = 984
| date      = November 30, 2011
| title     = Space Launch System
| image     = space_launch_system.png
| titletext = The SLS head engineer plans to invite Shania Twain to stand under the completed prototype, then tell her, 'I don't expect you to date me just because I'm a rocket scientist, but you've gotta admit--this is pretty fucking impressive.'
}}

==Explanation==
SLS, which stands for {{w|Space Launch System}}, is the new launch program being designed by {{w|NASA}} to replace the retired {{w|Space Shuttle}} launch system. In the first frame, [[Cueball]] is showing [[Black Hat]] something about the SLS, possibly a video on his phone or other portable electronic device.

As usual with his appearances, Black Hat is causing trouble. Specifically he asks if {{w|Nazi}} scientists are going to build NASA's new SLS program. Specifically he mentions the former Nazi party member {{w|Wernher von Braun}}, who was one of the developers of the {{w|Saturn V}} launch vehicle, who came over to America (from {{w|Germany}}) as part of {{w|Operation Paperclip}} and helped develop NASA's space program. The unfortunate reality of Operation Paperclip, and one that Black Hat aims to make people uncomfortable with, is that a significant number of ex-German personnel were Nazi party true-believers, and their defection to America effectively granted them amnesty of any war crimes.

Black Hat extrapolates this sad reality into an obvious troll attempt: that putting actual Nazis in charge will get you results. This assumption is obviously a bridge too far (which is the comic's punchline), but he gets his desired reaction out of Cueball, who is hanging his head (or staring him down- [[Randall]] has left no details to distinguish). First he makes it clear that the lesson is that you should put the Nazis in charge (and we saw from {{w|World War II|World War Two}} what that could lead to). Then when Cueball states this is a terrible lesson, Black Hat puts salt in his wound by suggesting that the only way to find a better lesson is to ask a Nazi for a better one - a consistent move if you apply his lesson, but a logic bomb because he suggests to put a Nazi in charge of finding another lesson other than "put a Nazi in charge".

The title text is a reference to {{w|Shania Twain}}'s song "{{w|That Don't Impress Me Much}}". Twain's lyrics include the line "Okay, so you're a rocket scientist / That don't impress me much". But, the title text argues that if she stood under the new SLS prototype, she would admit it was in fact, impressive. And it is thus the SLS head engineer (Garry Lyles) plans to invite Shania to do just that. Although he could still understand if she did not wish to date him, he would be surprised if she was still unimpressed.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, is holding something up to show it to Black Hat. It is small and rectangular with a black line in the middle (possible a rocket).]
:Cueball: Check out the SLS — 130 tons to orbit. Finally, rockets that improve on the ones we had 40 years ago.
:Black Hat: Are we getting Nazis to build those ones, too?

:[Text is written between two frames, with two smaller frames below. A line comes up to Cueballs first comment, showing that it is still the two from the first frame talking, but off-panel.]
:Cueball (off-panel): What?
:Black Hat (off-panel): When we first captured von Braun and his team, we had our engineers interview them, then ''we'' built the rockets. 
:Black Hat (off-panel): But our rockets kept exploding.
:[First small panel below the above text: A soldier with helmet and a machine gun is guarding von Braun who is tied to a chair, while being interviewed by an almost bald scientist (hair along the back of his head), who takes notes on a piece of paper.]
:[Second small panel below the above text: The same scientist standing with the paper, watches as a launching rocket explodes. The landscape behind shows a hill.]

:[A black frame with white text above the white Saturn V rocket flying through space.]
:Black Hat (off-panel): Eventually we gave up and had the German teams do it, and they built us the Saturn V Moon rocket.

:[Cueball is looking down, his hand with the thing he showed to Black Hat in the first panel hanging down. Black Hat looks the same.]
:Cueball: I'm… not sure what lesson to take from that.
:Black Hat: "If you want something done right, learning from the Nazis isn't enough. You have to actually put them in charge."
:Cueball: That's a ''terrible'' lesson.
:Black Hat: Then I guess you should get a Nazi to come up with a better one.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Space]]