Space X

[Lurker]

I watched footage of the recent rocket launch and being a bit dim, I thought it had blown up.
But apparently “Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly”

 

[StevieB]

Still caught the booster on its return however, which is still a mighty impressive feat!

 

[Lurker]

Two rich boys playing my rocket is better than your rocket …..pathetic!

 

[eezageeza]

I watched footage of the recent rocket launch and being a bit dim, I thought it had blown up.
But apparently “Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly”

I saw that report too - the Americans are good at that sort of thing - reminds me of a US airforce report of a plane crash ....caused by "acute ground proximity" !

 

[AJB Temple]

To be fair, military and commercial aircraft do have ground proximity warnings and the system will shout "terrain, terrain".

We all need these rocket chaps. How would big brother cope without all the satellites whizzing around in near earth orbit? Bring back cartographers I say.

 

[StevieB]

Two rich boys playing my rocket is better than your rocket …..pathetic!

Yes and no - there is a really interesting YouTube vid of Neil deGrasse Tyson (US version of Brian Cox but more engaging) addressing exactly this and specifically the advancements made by commercial enterprise as opposed to government funding of space exploration/research. Effectively he makes the case that commercial/private interests have always gone hand in hand with exploration/advancement. He draws a parallel with exploring the New World and how this was financed and exploration of space. SpaceX is delivering commercial payloads and Starlink is not a government system. So while it could be defined as 'rich boys trying to get to Mars' there are also scientific and technical advances being made (such as catching and reusing boosters) that NASA et al simply wouldn't have funding to develop or deliver but can benefit from. I am not advocating for Musk and Bezos et al being pillars of society or acting solely altruistically (although Bill Gates is probably closest to this with his Foundation it is still only a fraction of his wealth) but it is definitely not a case of 'Billionaire manhood waggling' with rockets just to show they can.

 

[AJB Temple]

Yes I agree with Steve B actually. Whilst I think Musk is a nutcase, and has some distasteful (to me) views and behaviours, he is also a genius and in many ways a true technology visionary. As a result we have advances that civil servants and government agencies would never even think of outside fast paced war development. Bezos I am less sure - in his case it is more oodles of cash following on from barely taxed river shop destroying high streets everywhere and bringing junk made in PRC to a letterbox near you.

If anyone is going to make space launches cheaper, more reliable and less polluting it is going to be risk takers like Musk. I just hope it does not run in parallel with weapons development, though I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Windows]

What makes you think that Musk is a genius or a visionary?

 

[AJB Temple]

Windows, I will not get into a Musk debate. Look at his track record and separate that from the political and personal stuff. He spots opportunities brilliantly and has been the driving force behind many technology ideas. Even X has a long history.

 

[MattS]

I agree that Musk and other private entities have made technological advances beyond governments. But you can't get away from the fact it is in even if only in part a (as Steve put it) "manhood waggling" competition. It's that stereotypical male need to conquest, dominate and be first. I don't really get it and as such I find looking at the starts awe-inspiring and fascinating but don't see they need to waste money and resources going there!

 

[Windows]

I don’t want to get into a debate either. Just curious what you were seeing. From my perspective, he seems quite pedestrian. There are 10s to 100s of thousands of people like him working in tech at all levels just in the US. He has money which he has spent on things he’s interested in. I’m not seeing anything deeper than that.