$28 Million US US For Three Minutes Of Weightlessness
invite response
2021 Jun 13, 5:07am 369 views 6 comments
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1
Booger
2021 Jun 13, 5:27am
Booger
2021 Jun 13, 5:27am
You could think of it as a silly waste of money, but then you realize that some people got work out of it.
3
rocketjoe79
2021 Jun 13, 6:49pm
rocketjoe79
2021 Jun 13, 6:49pm
But....SPAAAAAAACCCCE!!!!!!!
This is a publicity stunt. Rides to space are super expensive vanity money disposal schemes. So you can brag to other super-rich folks who haven't yet been to space. Then brag that "of course the money goes to charity" so you can be doubly vain. At the same time getting tax write-off.
All the while, Musk plods along, providing real launches for real payloads, orbiting the world's largest internet satellite network, earning money to seed humanity off-planet to ensure the survival of the species. Ho-hum.
This is a publicity stunt. Rides to space are super expensive vanity money disposal schemes. So you can brag to other super-rich folks who haven't yet been to space. Then brag that "of course the money goes to charity" so you can be doubly vain. At the same time getting tax write-off.
All the while, Musk plods along, providing real launches for real payloads, orbiting the world's largest internet satellite network, earning money to seed humanity off-planet to ensure the survival of the species. Ho-hum.
Elena is a master of asking brilliant, yet simple questions. Her first question about passengers to space is as follows:
"Are Jeff Bezos or Sir Richard Branson in danger of serious injury or death if something goes wrong in one of these space flights?"
I pointed out to her that Sir Richard has virtually no risk when he takes his flight on the spaceplane. If the rocket motor fails to ignite after the spaceplane is dropped from the carrier plane, he can glide back to the spaceport and land. Jeff Bezos will be sitting on top of a flying bomb for the first minute or two of the flight. If something goes wrong at that early point in the flight, the rocket will crash back on the pad. We will witness a fiery explosion. NASA demands an abort system in case of a problem like this. The testing process is rigorous. Will it work if there is a real disaster? No one can say for sure.
Elena's second question is as follows:
"Are Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos using the most- advanced technology in these spacecraft?"
I answered "no." Sir Richard Branson is using rocket plane technology that has been around since the 1940's. Jeff Bezos is using space capsule technology that has been around since the late 1950's. I told her that Space-X is the company always at the leading edge of technology.