24 replies to this topic

[Dynan]

https://www.washingt...-updates-video/

 

Perfect Booster landing and Perfect Capsule touchdown.

 

Brought back memories of the '60s, watching space flights with my chin in my hands on the floor in front of the black and white TV.

Edited by Dynan, 20 July 2021 - 08:37 AM.

[alphatripleplus]

Phew. Glad everyone is back safely.

[RyanSem]

Very cool booster landing. Love the parachute touch down too. Exciting!

[Asbytec]

I expected the chutes to open a bit higher than 2,000 feet. Chewed my finger nails...

[Astrola72]

Yachts are so yesterday. The rich boys all own rocket ships now!  

[BoriSpider]

Yes a great show. Loved the "air breaks" in the capsule landing. Have we done that before? And the rocket landing still gets me, like out of an old sci-fi novel. I was hoping for "inside" video but haven't seen any yet. Do amazon subscribers get 1st crack on that? My wife still thinks this is a waste of $$ with all the starving ppl out there. Not sure what to tell her, Have money, will travel, I guess.

[sickfish]

[BrooksObs]

What a joke! Nothing more than a rich man's stunt! The only reason these folks reached "space" was through the repeated nonsensical reduction in the agreed altitude at which "space" begins. Back in the 1950's, before our space program began, I remember that space was regarded as beginning at an altitude of 100 MILES. Only after the pilots of the X-15 rocket-plane lobbied congress to reduce the line at which space began so they would also be considered astronauts, just like the real Mercury Astronauts, was it reduced to the absurd 100 Kilometers (62.5 MILES)

 

An altitude of even 100 MILES isn't even rightfully "space", since no object could maintain a stable Earth orbit at that altitude because of atmospheric drag. 75 years ago German V-2 rockets were already attaining altitudes of 100 MILES plus in attacking London. Alan Sheppard only got a little higher in his first U.S. sub-orbital flight in the early 1960's and Sputnik, with a perigee of 134 MILES (its apogee was several times higher), lasted just a little over two months before being brought  down by atmospheric drag.

 

So, after three quarters of a century, if the best we can do with privately funded trips to "space" is a few seconds reaching 66 MILES can make its occupants regarded as having traveled to "space", than I can not regard it as more than just a silly stunt, not a real scientific accomplishment of any kind, regardless of today's "popular" thinking.

 

W.R.BrooksObs

Edited by BrooksObs, 20 July 2021 - 10:33 AM.

[rhetfield]

What a joke! Nothing more than a rich man's stunt! The only reason these folks reached "space" was through the repeated nonsensical reduction in the agreed altitude at which "space" begins. Back in the 1950's, before our space program began, I remember that space was regarded as beginning at an altitude of 100 MILES. Only after the pilots of the X-15 rocket-plane lobbied congress to reduce the line at which space began so they would also be considered astronauts, just like the real Mercury Astronauts, was it reduced to the absurd 100 Kilometers (62.5 MILES)

 

An altitude of even 100 MILES isn't even rightfully "space", since no object could maintain a stable Earth orbit at that altitude because of atmospheric drag. 75 years ago German V-2 rockets were already attaining an altitudes of 100 MILES plus in attacking London. Alan Sheppard only got a little higher in his first U.S. sub-orbital flight in the early 1960's and Sputnik, with a perigee of 134 MILES (its apogee was several times higher), lasted just a little over two months before being brought  down by atmospheric drag.

 

So, after three quarters of a century, if the best we can do with privately funded trips to "space" is a few seconds reaching 66 MILES can make its occupants regarded as having traveled to "space", than I can not regard it as more than just a silly stunt, not a real scientific accomplishment of any kind, regardless of today's "popular" thinking.

 

W.R.BrooksObs

I am sure that Musk will happily send you up on a privately funded SpaceX dragon capsule trip to the space station for a price.  At this point, it is a money thing rather than a technology thing (it pretty much always has been).  Remember that there is a Tesla floating around out past Mars right now.  Also that the Starship is not that far away from flying - and that one is intended to go at least back to the moon (if not farther).

[bobzeq25]

One of the most hopeful things I've seen in some time.

 

People who think this is some rich man's stunt, or who carp about "X" miles high, just don't get it.  It's a milestone on the way to space travel.

Edited by bobzeq25, 20 July 2021 - 10:44 AM.

[Cali]

 

I think Musk gets it. The money to be made is in hauling Stuff into space, not people. The ISS, a Moon base, a Mars base, all of that needs Stuff. What? You discovered water on the Moon and on Mars?!? Well you're gonna need Stuff to process that water, and just like the Death Star you're gonna need armies of independent contractors to build it and they're all gonna need Stuff too. (You don't expect NASA to send up astronauts to install no-flow anti-gravity toilets, do you?) The money is in getting Stuff up there as cheaply and reliably as possible.

 

BTW - Reusable rockets that land by themselves at a launch site is pretty cool science but commercial hauling enterprises aren't interested in science unless it helps with the bottom line, which is why those rockets were developed to begin with. I guess NASA just didn't have the financial incentive.

 

Meanwhile, Branson is gonna be stuck in the mud with his glider.

 

Bezos may be able to pull it off with Stuff if he can guarantee next day delivery. Musk is too far ahead and has cred, especially with NASA which opens the door to other companies and countries who want to get their Stuff into space too. 

 

- Cal

Edited by Cali, 20 July 2021 - 12:13 PM.

[RyanSem]

I agree Branson's stunt won't be as long-lived as SpaceX or Blue Origin, but I don't think Virgin Galactic's schtick is in bringing Stuff to space. They're purely in it for the space tourism - which is valid. 

 

Meanwhile, while SpaceX is definitely the hottest contender out there now, after governmental agencies anyway, as we (hopefully) become a more spacefaring country, we'll need more than just one company able to shoot things into space. In the end there will be dozens, or hundreds of these companies (which will open up a new can of worms, but that's a story for a century from now). 

[Dave Mitsky]

https://spaceflightn...-status-center/

[Cali]

In the end there will be dozens, or hundreds of these companies (which will open up a new can of worms, but that's a story for a century from now). 

That's for sure.

 

- Cal

Edited by Cali, 20 July 2021 - 11:43 AM.

[Jim4321]

I've got a good friend who commented that she'd get excited when Bezos paid taxes at the same rate as she did.... 

 

I think it's pretty cool, but it's going to take a lot more than four passengers going more than suborbital to really impress me.  At 72, I'm not holding my breath.

 

Jim H.

[RobertJ]

Was it really safe for EVERYONE?

 

 

 

 

Is this considered astrophotography post-processing?

 

-- Robert

[Cali]

Was it really safe for EVERYONE?

 

220087998_2599203667055980_8033331885728413956_n.jpg

 

 

 

Is this considered astrophotography post-processing?

 

-- Robert

In the next few days Jeff Bezos and his fellow crew members begin to feel things are just a bit off, like the planet they left isn't the one they returned to ten minutes after launch.  And there's this persistent faint sound in the background ...

 

- Cal

Edited by Cali, 20 July 2021 - 01:03 PM.

[sickfish]

These are the 2 sites I use to follow launches.

 

 

https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/

 

https://nextspaceflight.com/

[BoriSpider]

Found an inside video of their time in "space" on YT. It looks like Branson's glider had more "floating room" than Bezos did which would be a plus I think.

[Cali]

Found an inside video of their time in "space" on YT. It looks like Branson's glider had more "floating room" than Bezos did which would be a plus I think.

I was watching the Bezos crew playing around while floating in the capsule and I kept screaming at the television, "LOOK OUT THE FREAKING WINDOW!"

 

Jeepers Creepers

 

- Cal

[cuzimthedad]

Just a heads-up folks. Any discussion about whether these individuals should be called astronauts or astronots should be had in this other topic here and not in this one. Thanks!

[BoriSpider]

I was watching the Bezos crew playing around while floating in the capsule and I kept screaming at the television, "LOOK OUT THE FREAKING WINDOW!"

 

Jeepers Creepers

 

- Cal

Yes I was saying the same thing.

[Mister T]

Yachts are so yesterday. The rich boys all own rocket ships now! 

BBUT MOMMMMMM!

 

Jeffs dad got him a rocket ship!,!!

 

 I hate you!

[DSOGabe]

All I can say is that if someone ponies up several million dollars to get a seat, then has to back out due to a schedule conflict, the person needs a better personal assistant! Or needs to look at a calendar once in a while

[sickfish]

They did a little hop again today, it brought a few experiments and artwork. Artwork?

https://www.upi.com/.../4361629921894/

 

While this little display was going on, SpaceX was loading a Falcon 9 going to the ISS leaving early Sat morning.

https://spacecoastda...turday-morning/

 

Message to Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, wake me up when you do something.