Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil • Hacker News Board

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#421

Post by wand3r » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 6:26 PM UTC

Tuna-Fish wrote: post #94

contingencies wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Musk was raised affluent in apartheid-era South Africa, his father had some connection to Zambian emerald trading/mining, and Musk's companies have benefited enormously from public contracts and policy. He's not stupid.

Musk has benefited enormously from public contracts and policy, but all the questionable ones are in Tesla (and especially originally solarcity, but that got folded into Tesla). The government contracts that made SpaceX were all open bid, where SpaceX bid an better solution than anything that any of the established companies did, at literally half the price. Falcon 9 was a massive gift to the US government, in that i…

Yes. Obviously, I wasn't implying he never benefitted from the government. It is just a wild retelling that he started a rocket company, solar company and car company to make huge amounts of money. Also, he was largely estranged from his abusive father since he emigrated to Canada at 17. I am sure he received help and money from his mother at points, but this idea he is some trust fund kid like Donald Trump. People really believe they would be as successful as him if they grew up being abused in an upper class family in apartheid South Africa. It doesn't make him a good person, and there is so much to criticism about him, that I think it actually detracts from legitimate criticism.

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#422

Post by YZF » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 6:33 PM UTC

jpleyden98 wrote: post #389

YZF wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely far from my expertise but I think you're contradicting yourself. I am talking about the formalization that is specifically the modern European Union. You are talking as if it's some inevitable consequence of earlier efforts. > Europeans who created the EU knew about balance of power geopolitics so well, they created this slow bureaucratic mess specifically to stop Germany and France sliding back into the s…

Presuming the EU just appeared out of thin air in 1992/1993 and ignoring the predecessor organisations which were crucial for the formation of the EU is just wrong. It's also not just about WW2, europe had at that point been at major war with itself in some form or another for well over a thousand years with only very brief periods of peace. Of course by the 1990s it wasn't top of peoples minds because there had been…

It was a pretty radical step change though? One currency. Freedom of movement and employment. The EU is almost like one country. The only thing really missing is having one military force and then it's basically like the United States of Europe. NATO is close to that. Maybe they don't want to lose all their UN seats though ;)

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#423

Post by Forgeties79 » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 6:36 PM UTC

YZF wrote: post #251

jpleyden98 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're just showing your ignorance and lack of knowledge about the history of the EU. Whilst the EU in it's current form did not exist until 1993, it's predecessor the European Coal and Steel Community was formed in 1950 with the Schuman Declaration: https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-histor... The primary goal of this was to prevent another war by joining european economies together economically.…

Definitely far from my expertise but I think you're contradicting yourself. I am talking about the formalization that is specifically the modern European Union. You are talking as if it's some inevitable consequence of earlier efforts. > Europeans who created the EU knew about balance of power geopolitics so well, they created this slow bureaucratic mess specifically to stop Germany and France sliding back into the s…

The modern EU was a decades-long journey, heavily informed by the geopolitical realities of constant horrific European wars, that this person has clearly laid out for you. I don’t understand what you’re trying to argue or achieve anymore.

The EU has clear predecessor initiatives and organizations that lead to its current form. Just like territories became states in the US, or the League of Nations lead to the UN. This isn’t a complicated concept we see it all the time. Something forms, it molds and changes over time, and eventually it becomes something else. But the roots are still clearly understood and are a part of its history.

The European Union is only a little over 20 years old. The economic and political union of Western Europe is an ~80 year old project that directly led to the European Union. You may as well take issue with people talking about England’s colonies prior to 1776 when discussing US history.

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#424

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

archole wrote: post #401

1294899 wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this downvoted? This is exactly how US foreign policy works. The only difference with Trump is that he says things out loud. This is 100% what is going to happen. US foreign policy relies on deception and decade long plans. The big plans are ruling the Middle East and squash opposition (Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq done, Iran pending). To that end Russia had to be kept busy, therefore the Ukraine proxy war, which…

Russia had to be kept busy, therefore Ukraine proxy war No one made Russia invade Ukraine, this is simply the centuries old russian imperialism against Ukraine. Also, Syria being in that list is silly. The Syrian opposition aren't vassals of the US. The US was never too keen to help them.

[deleted]

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#425

Post by jltsiren » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 7:24 PM UTC

nephihaha wrote: post #375

jltsiren wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are thinking about Vostochny in Russian Far East. Plesetsk was an early ICBM launch site that started doing orbital launches in 1966. It was the busiest spaceport in Soviet times, and the cumulative number of orbital launches from Plesetsk still probably exceeds those from Florida.

No, I'm thinking of Plesetsk because it is in Europe. It is much nearer to Moscow than Baikonur is. Since the USSR broke up, this is even more the case.

I meant that Vostochny is the one that is supposed to reduce their reliance on Baikonur, while Plesetsk is more like the Russian equivalent of Vandenberg. During Soviet times, Baikonur was the premium spaceport for all the big high-profile missions. Plesetsk was a boring mundane place, where the military launched spy satellites and things like that every week or so for >20 years.

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#426

Post by pvaldes » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 7:31 PM UTC

anonymars wrote: post #156

xyzelement wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it mean that? Europe has had a space agency for a while now. So this story isn't "Europeans finally started to launch for space" but a private European company chose to launch from a continental location. It's funny how we can't be celebrate a European achievement without trying to interpret it into relationship to the US.

Have there been other rocket launches from continental Europe?

> Have there been other rocket launches from continental Europe?

Yes. A Spanish private company launched the Miura 1 from Huelva (South of Spain) in 2023.

In any case it was programmed to reach only 46 Km high in the first attempt, and suffered damages after landing in the ocean at the expected coordinates.

It seems that a loan to finish its successor, the reusable rocket Miura 5, were granted in April of this year and that its first test flight is expected for the end of 2026, so Germany is not the only European country trying this.

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#427

Post by bahmboo » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 7:32 PM UTC

flohofwoe wrote: post #345

bahmboo wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking at a map Norway is on the same continent as Vietnam so that statement makes no sense. Please have some sort of context and understanding before making such statements. They "seem" to be part of Europe but they have historically wanted to have it both ways: one foot in one foot out. Go research it yourself I am probably totally wrong! HN comments are not a reference source.

There's a clearly defined border between the continents Europe and Asia. I guess the confusion comes from thinking of "European" as some sort of cultural identity (which frankly doesn't exist, unless you only look at the last hundred years or so, and even that is generous), instead of the people living in the geographical region called "Europe".

This is false. Europe and Asia are on the same continent on the same tectonic plate.

Your 2nd point is spot on. This is where the cultural distinction matters.

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#428

Post by JohnTHaller » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 7:42 PM UTC

ericmay wrote: post #418

JohnTHaller wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you honestly say with a straight face that you believe Jared Kushner is in Moscow negotiating in good faith with Putin with respect to Ukraine? Especially given his lack of experience and multiple corruption accusations and investigations. And that Trump has illegally withheld Ukrainian assistance in the past and stopped it in the future. Given that Trump's "peace plan" is essentially for Ukraine to give up even…

> Can you honestly say with a straight face that you believe Jared Kushner is in Moscow negotiating in good faith with Putin with respect to Ukraine? I can't say anything other than what is officially reported. Everything else is a conspiracy theory. While I definitely agree with you that he's inexperienced, who exactly from Europe is flying to Moscow and attempting to negotiate? You can't just sit here and say the U…

You said:

> Why didn’t the other parties do anything or immediately declare war on Russia besides just the United States?

I pointed out the fallacy of your statement. The US didn't declare war on Russia. And the fact that the EU isn't a party to the Budapest Memorandum, so they're not supposed to be defending Ukraine from Russia.

Now, you're saying that the we should ignore the Budapest Memorandum and negotiate in good faith with a tyrant like Putin that never negotiates in good faith. And violates agreements without thinking twice. And that somehow sending a fraudulent "negotiator" like Kushner is somehow a good thing and the US acting in good faith.

Also:

> I can't say anything other than what is officially reported. Everything else is a conspiracy theory.

The actual reporting by multiple news organizations contains far more factual details than anything 'officially' released by a convicted fraud and adjudicated rapist. Or his sycophants.

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#429

Post by NetMageSCW » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 7:47 PM UTC

nine_k wrote: post #207

postingawayonhn wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they've had a space agency, but the only launchers are expensive legacy vehicles. This launch is a move towards lower cost and more frequent launches, that in the US are provided by SpaceX.

It's not even the US in general, it's SpaceX specifically. Only the US and China have demonstrated reusable rockets, and only SpaceX demonstrated the actual reuse, the cadence and the economy of scale that it brings.

Didn’t Blue Origin already reuse a booster?

Re: Private German rocket makes history, reaches orbit from European soil

#430

Post by NetMageSCW » Sun, Sep 06, 2026, 7:48 PM UTC

torginus wrote: post #374

nine_k wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not even the US in general, it's SpaceX specifically. Only the US and China have demonstrated reusable rockets, and only SpaceX demonstrated the actual reuse, the cadence and the economy of scale that it brings.

Reuse might turn out not to be the future - and its SpaceX has embraced this internally. At least not full reuse, or not the way most people think of a reusable spacecraft as a reusable aircraft. A reusable rocket engine might only have 2-3 flights in it, if that, with some routine inspection and maintenance between them. 3D printing has been a game changer that basically allows you to crank out rocket engines from r…

There’s absolutely no reason to believe rocket engines can only do two or three flights. SpaceX has demonstrated ten times that with F9 and with Raptor testing.