You had me at "towell"!
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
761–770 of 926 posts
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#762It's such a shame that so many people with Elon kind of money aren't doing anything to transform us into a spacefaring species. Why doesn't apple have a mars program? What the fuck are people doing with all the money? Awesome work by spacex. They are peerless, except if you want to count massive superpower governments as peers.
Because they're too busy trying to save millions of people in third-world countries to care about first-world problems. Less snarkily, the pitch of Elon Musk is surprisingly selfish--he's basically doing this as much so he can get to Mars as anyone can. By contrast, people like Rockefeller and Carnegie in the past are largely responsible for endowing public culture in the form of museums, concert halls, public librar…
This is a joke right?
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#763Earlier quoted context omitted.
You make it sound easy, but NASA's current heavy lift rocket has spent billions more than SpaceX and the project is still years away from test launch.
Delta IV heavy looks pretty similar to the Falcon Heavy approach. I would imagine there was some knowdgle transfer there. That being said, SpaceX is taking a much more pragmatic and efficient approach to building rockets with far less bureaucracy. This is the epitome of private sector efficieny over government projects.
I recall reading SpaceX had to reinvent quite a few wheels because the existing private sector was far too expensive — everything from cryogenic pumps to sea recovery of lower stages.
The problem is lack of meaningful competition, rather than government vs. industry; governments can be very good when competing with other governments.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#764It's such a shame that so many people with Elon kind of money aren't doing anything to transform us into a spacefaring species. Why doesn't apple have a mars program? What the fuck are people doing with all the money? Awesome work by spacex. They are peerless, except if you want to count massive superpower governments as peers.
> It's such a shame that so many people with Elon kind of money aren't doing anything to transform us into a spacefaring species. "Elon kind of money?" Heard of government subsidies? https://ideapod.com/elon-musks-business-empire-fueled-4-9-bi... Edit: not taking sides and adding my subjective point to the article; just merely stating fact that Mr. Musk projects are in large part government-funded.
Literally everything Lockheed, Raytheon, ULA, and every other company with a building along the Dulles Corridor is government funded. Not a single one would have private funds as SpaceX did to develop capabilities not specifically requested in a government RFP. TLDR: You have no idea how the government works and why SpaceX is different - GTFO.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#765Devil's advocate, here. Am I the only one that find it quite disturbing that a private corporation taking over more public space? In the long run this stuff will bite humanity at large in the butt.
Quite the opposite - I'm really happy that now it's individuals taking over what used to be government monopoly.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#766Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can confirm this was the greatest thing I've ever witnessed in my life. https://youtu.be/AGPH_i0ZlyM?t=56
Official picture of the landing: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVZ0NPoU0AAMWk6.jpg
Here they are in full resolution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/with/25254688767/
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#767Earlier quoted context omitted.
I interviewed for the superlative job title “Spaceflight systems avionics software engineer”. Contrary to your experience, I found the process to be very casual. They told me not to bring my resume, but to put together a PowerPoint presentation about my life. For one of my interviews the interviewing engineer didn’t even show up and his boss came in later and said (paraphrased): “you made it this far so I guess you’r…
> but to put together a PowerPoint presentation about my life Wait what? This seems like a big red flag to me.
To be fair, they already had my resume from earlier-on in the application process.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#768"That core booster approached the platform as planned, but it unfortunately hit the water going 300 MPH and was lost, because some of its return engines failed to light" https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/06/spacex-landed-two-of-its-t...
> But the core, middle booster, which attempted to land aboard “Of Course I Still Love You,” a drone barge that SpaceX uses as a mobile, ocean-borne landing pad stationed in the Atlantic for its flights departing from Florida, wasn’t recovered.
“Of Course I Still Love You” is the name of a spacecraft in The Culture, a series of novels that inspired Elon Musk when he was young.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#769Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can confirm this was the greatest thing I've ever witnessed in my life. https://youtu.be/AGPH_i0ZlyM?t=56
There's something awesome (in the literal sense) and unsettling about watching something and being able to say "I am witnessing history".
I fell this is the most important moment in space exploration since the Apollo landing, but I don't see a big coverage in mainstream media. Elon is probably on the trajectory to be remembered as the biggest entrepreneur ever.
Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
#770On the one hand this is super exciting, I even cried. On the other hand, it makes me feel miserable: am I wasting my life? What have I done? Meanwhile Elon is sending reusable rockets to the space.
You and all (7.442 billion - 1) of the rest of us buddy.