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Bezos is in the can...
NeoBlackdog
Member Posts: 17,275 ✭✭✭✭
They're in the capsule and waiting for launch.
Comments
In a few minutes. Warp factor 10 Scotty, CAPTAIN SHE CAN'T HANDLE THAT! I DON'T CARE SCOTTY WARP 10!
Well, the son of a gun did it. Pretty impressive.
350,000+ feet, the booster bullseyed the landing pad, and the capsule landed safe. The oldest ever and the youngest ever to go to 'space'.
I still think his politics are idiotic, but I gotta give him and his crew credit for quite an accomplishment.
How come the 'climate change' weenies aren't protesting the tons of toxic smoke and waste these billionaires are putting into the atmosphere to satisfy their egos?
Right now, they should have their poster girl Greta on TV, saying "how DARE you Mr. Bezos?"
What a waste. Proved he had the money but actually was just a pure waste of time and money . So what now... send folks up for a 10 min joy ride. His capsule won't take many rides at the cost. He got his 15 min of fame.
Besides the money, it takes a lot of guts. I hope what they did helps the technology for the future. It could help many things including the military. They are pioneers and you might not be aware of the good that results for a couple of years.
That rocket is steam powered. No kidding. It burns oxygen and hydrogen, and the exhaust is 6000-degree water.
They keep claiming that the ticket price for subsequent flights will be something like $250,000 each for six passengers. I think that's BS. No way they can fly that thing (counting all the costs) for $1.5M. I'd bet that just the turn-around maintenance costs more than that.
I'm just glad he's not on the planet right now.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
...With a few hundred BILLION in Bezos pocket, and three million dollars of paying passengers per flight, the guy will end up making money as launch costs go down...he didnt make billions by being stupid...
...Plenty of people with big bucks to burn...almost 1,500 folks have made their down payment for that 10 minuet ride to space, sure there will be a lot more...
It was quite an accomplishment proving what private enterprise can do cheaper than the government. Get out of the way, a guy with a dream coming through!
I am still more impressed by the way the boosters land under their own power rather than being jettisoned to fall to earth. 10 years ago that was only science fiction. I know they recovered the shuttle boosters but those didn't exactly have a controlled decent. Bob
I saw a poll the other day I forget the percentage but a lot of people wanted him to stay in space! LOL.
Good for him, I never had the vision to imagine an on line book and music seller becoming the behemoth it is today.
Mr P, it was a sub-orbital flight lasting 10 minutes and 20 seconds. Straight up and right back down.
"Besides the money, it takes a lot of guts. I hope what they did helps the technology for the future. It could help many things including the military. They are pioneers and you might not be aware of the good that results for a couple of years."
I agree, jimmyjack, I admire this guy for doing this.
He has never been of this planet.
The capsule would never handle an orbital flight and re-entry speeds, just as Branson's space-plane would not.
These are interesting because they are privately funded, but when we look to history, are less significant, IMO.
Comparing Bezos to Shepard's Mercury-Redstone flight, shows 65 miles vs. 101 for Shepard. Both are rocket launches that simply go up and down, but Shepard was in a capsule that was designed to handle re-entry.
Comparing Branson to the X-15 shows 52 miles high vs. 65 for the X-15. Both were air launched, and both were controllable in the atmosphere.
I applaud these efforts for the technical challenges that were overcome, but do not see either platform as having a future other than space tourism to a very limited altitude. If they can make money on it, however, both will be worthwhile ventures.
I would not put my trust in either of these vehicles for what you get for the flight, but respect the courage of all of the those who have and who will.
The future for exploration currently lies with Space-X and the Boeing Starliner program. Both of which are at least partially funded through NASA contracts.
Brad Steele
I agree.
No matter what anyone says about Branson or Bezos or Musk...............what all of them have done is admirable, and has injected some private money and resources into space exploration..........giving it a big nitro boost.
Our space program was stalled for so many years. Heck, we were relying on the Russians. This sudden injection of AMERICAN billionaire's dollars is a good thing. I can see a point where NASA, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin.........all collaborate.
All in all...............I think it was a good day for the crew, a good day for TEXAS.............and a good day for the USA.
I could see a day, especially with Branson's design, that we could be doing commercial sub-orbital civilian transportation. L.A. to London in an hour? Sure, but it'll cost you!
The Concorde would fly NY to London in less than 3 hours.
Wonder if they served lunch or was there just pretzels
"No matter what anyone says about Branson or Bezos or Musk...............what all of them have done is admirable, and has injected some private money and resources into space exploration..........giving it a big nitro boost."
More like: No more than an extravagant flaunting of wealth in a time when many 'working folks' are struggling to meet the expenses of a very conservative existence. "Space exploration" is a gigantic waste of resources. If there IS something out there, it will get HERE sooner or later and will be far more advanced than we can handle when it arrives.
It's a cliche, but you could have said the very same thing about Columbus and Magellan.
Let us not forget the 1,000s that are employed by these three in the engineering, design, manufacture, maintenance and operation of these endeavors. They are spending their money employing people with the intent of creating an experience that will sell and support itself. Most of the money is spent here in the US of A, lifting the lives of those who are directly employed and lifting the lives of those who provide the goods and services for those lifted lives.
Putting resources to work to employ people is about as American and positive as you can get. Would you rather they be forced to give the money to government? Keep it in a trust fund for their kids? Or should they be forced to share it with the masses, lifting those would do little or nothing in the name of equity?
No, comrade, this is not a waste of resources. This is spreading the wealth through employment, innovation, and vision. You know, capitalism in all its glory.
Brad Steele
Don't you love it whenever one of the media's approved people does something, anything, and the media rushes to claim that he/she just "made history." Sorry, nothing historic about a billionaire taking a ride like a sack of beans doing nothing along the way except enjoying the view. No, history was made some 60 years ago when REAL heros like Sheppard and Glenn took the first HISTORIC suborbital flights.
But is was historical in the same way that the Bucks just won the NBA finals is. For either one, they will be able to say "On this day in 2021..." That, whether you categorize it as such or not, is history.
JMHO
the guy is one brave fellow . if I was the richest man in the USA ( possibly in the world ) the last thing I would do is launch my self into space too me its like a super rich version of here hold my beer
I would tend to want to have the safest life possible to make sure I live a long , long time .