** The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond **

[robfosters]

Why does it look like a sex toy though!

 

[Stumble Bum]

I saw this last week.

 

[bliss]

The blurry blob has launched!!!

Really wish they'd stop providing such underwhelming footage.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

I'm still not entirely sure what the endgame for Blue Origin is.

New Shepard is intended to provide frequent opportunities for researchers to fly experiments into suborbital space.

https://web.archive.org/web/20130413023319/http://www.blueorigin.com/research/research.html

Just little hops like this for tourists, like Beardy Branson or to actually be useful.

Little hops? they went to space.

Yup.

No.

 

[JRS]

Down safe

 

[Firestar_3x]

Looked like the perfect mission.

 

[Flibster]

Little hops? they went to space.

Just. Ok, it was better than Branson's effort. But SpaceX's first crewed mission went to the ISS and stayed there for six months.

 

[Minusorange]

Bit too quick, I'd rather go on Branson's space toy

 

[Flibster]

Get the camera crews out of the way and allow the recovery team to do their damn job.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Just. Ok, it was better than Branson's effort. But SpaceX's first crewed mission went to the ISS and stayed there for six months.

I wish people would stop comparing every one else's space efforts to SpaceX's. It risks stifling progress. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[bliss]

I wish people would stop comparing every one else's space efforts to SpaceX's. It risks stifling progress.

I won't compare the missions. But I'm always going to critique the footage quality. They have enough money to be doing so much better.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

I won't compare the missions. But I'm always going to critique the footage quality. They have enough money to be doing so much better.

Rather they spent the money on the actual rocket.

 

[bliss]

They owe you nothing. It's not even publicly funded.

Still nothing wrong with wanting to see them maximise the exposure and excitement of these launches. These streams are as close as all of us will be getting to enjoying the thrill.

Edit: they did. Likely with money to spare.

 

[Longbow]

I wish people would stop comparing every one else's space efforts to SpaceX's. It risks stifling progress. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Wish all you want, they are both new age rocket and space exploration companies that were founded about 20 years ago, people are going to make comparisons.

 

[JRS]

Wish all you want, they are both new age rocket and space exploration companies that were founded about 20 years ago, people are going to make comparisons.

Yeah, and look what SpaceX went through on the way to where they are

 

[Raymond Lin]

In the climate of finite resources, climate change, pandemic, trying to move away from fossil fuel.....what's this spending millions flying to space and land again 11mins later? Just to get a high view from above?

It doesn't take science forward, it doesn't take you from A to B, it looks to me this is nothing more than an expensive theme park ride.

 

[Firestar_3x]

In the climate of finite resources, climate change, pandemic, trying to move away from fossil fuel.....what's this spending millions flying to space and land again 11mins later? Just to get a high view from above?

It doesn't take science forward, it doesn't take you from A to B, it looks to me this is nothing more than an expensive theme park ride.

For one it moves forward reusable and cheap(er) travel into space, companies like these will be transporting people in and out of space colonies one day.

 

[JRS]

In the climate of finite resources, climate change, pandemic, trying to move away from fossil fuel.....what's this spending millions flying to space and land again 11mins later? Just to get a high view from above?

It doesn't take science forward, it doesn't take you from A to B, it looks to me this is nothing more than an expensive theme park ride.

For one it moves forward reusable and cheap(er) travel into space, companies like these will be transporting people in and out of space colonies one day.

For another this flight wasn't actually using fossil fuels for the rocket. Liquid hydrogen and LOX

 

[Longbow]

In the climate of finite resources, climate change, pandemic, trying to move away from fossil fuel.....what's this spending millions flying to space and land again 11mins later? Just to get a high view from above?

It doesn't take science forward, it doesn't take you from A to B, it looks to me this is nothing more than an expensive theme park ride.

Demand drives innovation, these reusable rockets didn't exist 20 years ago.

I could equally ask why do people fly to the south of Spain, just to get some better sun? Well yes. I'll agree to ban space tourism, as long as we ban other tourism too, which produces more pollution and pandemic issues. Have you been on a plane in the last 10 years?

 

[VaderDSL]

In the climate of finite resources, climate change, pandemic, trying to move away from fossil fuel.....what's this spending millions flying to space and land again 11mins later? Just to get a high view from above?

It doesn't take science forward, it doesn't take you from A to B, it looks to me this is nothing more than an expensive theme park ride.

To be fair, the development of self landing rockets is quite a leap forward. Who knows what it’ll lead to, if starship etc or blue origin etc are able to perfect their re usable rockets, others might be able to do so. This all increases competition and who knows, access to orbit might become cheap enough for companies/governments to access alternative power generation options? Imagine vast solar arrays in orbit beaming down microwave power to areas of the globe where electricity isn’t easy to come by, maybe it allows for countries/regions to completely remove gas, coal power stations?

Cheap, reliable access to space might open up areas we can’t yet even think about, maybe in the future all mining on Earth will be banned, maybe rare elements will need to be mined from asteroids? Not saying it will, just contemplating.