Live rocket launch

[Alien 13]

Looking forward to this one, thanks for the reminder John...

Alan

[Stu]

Thanks @John, had been wanting to catch this one. Fingers crossed all goes well

[Alien 13]

T-30 minutes..

Alan

[Stu]

 Cool! Up and back in about 10 mins!

[Alien 13]

Great launch and flight and great to have good conditions too....brilliant stuff.

Now off to visit an astronauts shop to spend some money 😋

Alan

Edited July 20, 2021 by Alien 13

[John]

Excellent flight - they must be thrilled to bits with that one !

I'll never get the chance of either but I think I would prefer the Blue Origin flight to the Virgin one (sorry Richard !).

 

[Ags]

Yes, Blue Origin looks safer, and it is a proper rocket.

[markse68]

when it landed did it jet out a last second cushion of air or was that just bow wave pressure? 16mph sounds like still quite a speed to hit the deck! Landing in a capsule like that seems more authentic.

Mark

edit: yes! I thought it looked a bit much for just the bow wave- “Then, the capsule will fall back to Earth under parachutes, using a last-minute retro-thrust system that expels a “pillow of air” for a soft landing at 1.6 km/h in the Texas desert.”

[Cornelius Varley]

One small step for man, one giant joyride for billionaire kind 

[tomato]

Well, we at least get to see some great footage from their indulgences, and I do respect the faith they have in their respective vehicles to take the ride.

So why doesn't Mr Musk go one better and orbit the globe with his outfit?

 

[JamesF]

1 minute ago, tomato said:

So why doesn't Mr Musk go one better and orbit the globe with his outfit?

He's worried that we might not let him back down

James

[Mognet]

Next Blue Origin launch is scheduled for 14:00 UTC Wednesday having already been postponed due to wind

https://www.blueorigin.com/

[IB20]

Was it something he ate?

[UKDiver]

On 21/07/2021 at 11:21, tomato said:

Well, we at least get to see some great footage from their indulgences, and I do respect the faith they have in their respective vehicles to take the ride.

So why doesn't Mr Musk go one better and orbit the globe with his outfit?

 

He doesn't need to. His team have already sent people to the ISS.

13 minutes ago, IB20 said:

Was it something he ate?

Trouble with Nibbles?

[Ags]

I don't understand why the media is talking up the personal "competition" between Musk, Bezos and Branson. You simply can't compare Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic to SpaceX. SpaceX has transformed the launch industry, racking up scores of technological firsts and putting multiple civilian and government crews into orbit, not merely suborbital hops. Reporting focussed on which billionaire got into their rocket first reduces it all to the worst kind of personality culture.

Having said that, the only one I would fancy going on would be Blue Origin. It seems the safest option, and 10 minutes in space is long enough for a lifetime. Virgin Galactic doesn't appeal - it's not a rocket, and I think it is the least safe of the three.

The only one I have any likelyhood of getting on is suborbital Starship to Australia!

Edited October 12, 2021 by Ags

[JamesF]

12 minutes ago, Ags said:

Reporting focussed on which billionaire got into their rocket first reduces it all to the worst kind of personality culture.

That's a huge element of modern life for many people though

James

[Ags]

But if you are anti-space exploration, this kind of reporting would turn you off more, as it makes it sound like the entire space industry is just big boy's toys and ego trips.

[tomato]

I agree SpaceX’s technological achievements are far in excess of the others, but from what I can see of Mr Musk, he isn’t short on ego so I am not surprised that the media has picked up on the story that to date he hasn’t gone for an orbital flight to go one better than Messrs Branson and Bezos.

[CedricTheBrave]

11 minutes ago, tomato said:

I agree SpaceX’s technological achievements are far in excess of the others, but from what I can see of Mr Musk, he isn’t short on ego so I am not surprised that the media has picked up on the story that to date he hasn’t gone for an orbital flight to go one better than Messrs Branson and Bezos.

he has said that he has no intention of going either

[Alien 13]

Just over 30 mins to go where no Star Trek captain has gone before...

https://www.blueorigin.com/

Alan

[Alien 13]

T-4 mins to go..

Alan

[Mognet]

The booster landing is always amazing to watch

[Paul M]

It's an impressive launch vehicle but the capsule, well, Crew Dragon it ain't!

Surely it's just a bargain basement container to allow carriage of people (score the points) and not the basis of a future transport.

It reminds me of the carriages on one of Blackpool' s Pleasure Beach rides 😎

[Sp@ce_d]

Glad he's finally Boldly gone.. he's certainly "touched" by the experience.. got me going.

[Alien 13]

4 minutes ago, Sp@ce_d said:

Glad he's finally Boldly gone.. he's certainly "touched" by the experience.. got me going.

and me, very moving.

Alan