As A Life Long Lawn Chair Astronaut, Congratulations to Blue Origin Team And Crew! To Jeff, You’ve proven Your Dream. To Wally...You’ve finally crossed the thin Blue Line.
The competitors seem like having differing approach from launching to returning and landing back to earth, especially the vehicle design.
So it looks like space tourism is now a thing... and the monies will help fund further growth and push development of low cost, simple safe, reusable launch solutions. Also cheaper platforms / launches for low orbital experiments. A hypothetical question (assuming one wants to go) and assuming a similar price ... based on all know data would you fly Virgin or Blue Origin. The big blue looks safer / less to break and bigger windows, also greener from some metrics and of course past the Karman line. Overall it looks like Virgin is a more immersive experience and you get to land wheels down / not under a chute (but more things to break). I would probably go Virgin Galactic.... .
Neither, I don't consider what Branson and Bezos do space travel, would at least like to be in a (low) orbit.
We get the message this is a dead thread …. but it will be in the news at some point if people like or not.... British spaceflight to become reality as government provides launchpad for spaceports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/tec...off-uk-coast/ar-AAN0lt1?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531 Let all go out an buy some watches …. the irony :-O
Part II is out. Wow. Someone was speaking about the lack of escape systems…that’s covered round the 10min mark.
I laughed at that harder than a probably should have . It's funny because it is true. It is also not funny....because it is true. What a crazy world, but everyone makes their own choices.
Aim was to be funny more than stop this thread. Common thing with these rich guys is like going to the shop and forgetting your wallet half way there. Dipping your toe in the ocean instead of Surfing Bring on going to space, but making it somewhere is more the real deal. I am trying not to be too much of a downer here as I know it’s some of you other guys enjoyment.
Politics/ethics aside, yes. I find it fascinating and am super thrilled to see such enthusiasm for space exploration. However it is hard to ignore the fact that perhaps the money could be better used elsewhere, or the idea of "ok so what is the point of spending all this money for space anyway". I've heard arguments on both sides. But at the end of they day it is their money and they can do what they want with it. That's how I see it....
"The NASA budget is 4/10's of one penny on a tax dollar. If I held up a tax dollar and I cut horizontally into it 4/10's of 1% of its width, it doesn't even get you into the ink.'" - Neil deGrasse Tyson SpaceX's proximate goal is to make the first fully reusable rocket. I wasn't alive during the era of moon landings. But I can glimpse some of that awe through the landing of the Falcon boosters. And later of the landing of Spaceship. And it is important that we have that. Meanwhile, a single B-2 Spirit Bomber cost almost a billion dollars, all told.
Ok I’m going to admit I donated to get into the drawing for the virgin galactic flight. The money to enter does go to a charity so that’s cool but i figured what the hec. I know I won’t win, well the odds are greatly against me but I used to buy one lottery ticket a week and I think my chances are a little better than winning the lottery. Surprisingly my wife wants to go if we win. I think one of us should stay here just in case an O ring or bird takes us out. So yeah pretty good chance I will go with Branson next ride. I’m gonna wear four watches unless it’s against the rules. Ok that was fun. The cool part of entering a drawing like that is those few seconds you spend thinking you might win but that has passed now. I hope whoever goes enjoys it.
VG grounded indefinitely by FAA. https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-grounds-virgin-galactic-indefinitely
