u/Icy_Park_7919

Setting aside the lack of engine noise and vibration, the clutch is the one thing I wish I had on my Del Mar.

It’s doable though… If I could add one feature to the bike, it would be a virtual clutch. Yes. A left hand lever. Not only because my left hand feels empty, but I’d love on occasion to disengage the engine brake.

Think of a red light. The engine brake will take you all the way to a full stop. It would be great to be able to pull a lever to coast at snails pace just before getting to a full stop.

Lane filtering in heavy traffic would also benefit from that, especially when the pack is slowing…

Similarly, I’d love to be able to coast, rather than engine brake when I’m coming down a mountain…

I get that the roll fwd regen is doing the exact opposite, as in you could a custom ride mode with zero regen and play with the roll fwd to engine brake when you need. But the missing clutch lever is exactly the one thing I’m missing for this ride experience to feel complete.

One can dream. What do you think?

Hi, Bob.

Something's been nagging at me watching Season 5, and I want to know if others have noticed it too. I’m seeing NASA fading out of the story. Is there more to it?

**In-universe:**

NASA feels increasingly sidelined. Seasons 1-2 were essentially a NASA show. By Season 4, Helios was stealing the spotlight and NASA felt more like a bureaucratic obstacle than a protagonist. Now in Season 5, with the story centered on Mars autonomy and private enterprise, NASA seems to barely register. Happy Valley's tensions are framed as Earth vs. Mars, not NASA vs. anyone. Is this intentional, NASA losing relevance in the alternate timeline the same way institutions do in our own? Or has the writers' room just moved on from the agency entirely?

**Behind the scenes:**

Here's something I dug into that surprised me. NASA as an institution was apparently *never* formally involved with the show. In a 2019 interview, technical consultant Garrett Reisman (former NASA astronaut, then at SpaceX) said they tried to get NASA's approval and support but were turned down. The agency was overwhelmed with the Apollo 11 50th anniversary and wasn't comfortable lending its weight to a show that alters iconic historical moments. The real technical consulting came from Reisman personally, plus Michael and Denise Okuda. And Reisman's IMDb credits only run through Season 2.

So there's no NASA license to revoke, no PIO announcement to look for. NASA was never really "in" to begin with.

Do you think NASA's diminished screen presence in S5 is a deliberate narrative choice reflecting its reduced power in the alternate timeline?

Anyone know if there are *any* NASA-connected consultants still credited in Seasons 3-5?

Edit: HT u/oot42 Garrett Reisman is credited as technical consultant in every single episode, for all 5 seasons. Also on IMDb. (per IMDB)