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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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At the post mission presser, Musk was asked about the Dragon 2 manned missions to the ISS, and he commented that this year was still possible. The only holdup is getting NASA to sign off on them as being "man rated."
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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I saw a statement somewhere that several of the engines didn't fire to slow the booster down and so it hit the drone ship at 300mph damaging the ships engines.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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I think this a space age ego trip, which is unfortunate.
And then there is the problem of having more junk orbiting around out there.
Better would have been to use the risky first launch to put a scientific payload some place that the heavy lift capability of the rocket was uniquely able to access. Especially strange since the Silicon Valley denizens claim to be technologically sophisticated, and not at all averse to taking on risks. Apparently the best they could come up with was an advertising stunt.
What a waste.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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So very cool!!
Great - more space junk, aka litter. We’ve effed up this planet so let’s trash space now.
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Lennox
climber
in the land of the blind
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“As such, Falcon Heavy's success on its maiden mission is not a sure thing and so placing a satellite or some other operational payload on board wasn't considered a prudent move. Test flights typically carry a mass simulator, taking the place of the payload in the form dead weight, like concrete or steel blocks.”
https://www.space.com/39606-spacex-falcon-heavy-fourth-car-space.html
And this “space junk” is not in earth orbit. It is headed for a heliocentric orbit in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Oh, it’s not ‘junk’ by virtue of its orbit? That’s Trumpian Logic, sir.
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Lennox
climber
in the land of the blind
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It’s not dangerous junk, as it would be if it was in Earth orbit, so why should it be such a source of sour grapes?
A couple tons of concrete, which is a standard payload on an unproven launch vehicle, would have been better?
And if it were Trump's Junk he would have said it was the biggest, bestest, beautifulest, mostest importantest, payload in galactic history.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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A couple here might enjoy...
[Click to View YouTube Video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROnomVVQ2cU
I loved his commentary around the 8 minute mark regarding the car, Starman and Earth in the backdrop. So surreal.
I can't help but wonder if our descendants in 300 yrs, say, or 3,000, will do flybys of this Tesla and Starman and what they will think and if they will be wowed. Real Star Trekkie. Star Trek Voyager, in one episode, featured a 50s truck (edit: 1936) which Voyager encountered in deep space. Can't remember much more. Maybe it was the one with Amelia, the cryonic chambers, etc..
Yeah, here it is, thanks to Google AI...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_37%27s
Surprised I havent' heard any tweets, news outlets, etc.. referencing this STV episode.
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Zclipper69
Trad climber
mill valley
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Musk has for sure figured out the 420 to 1 mechanical advantage hauling ass system.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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“As such, Falcon Heavy's success on its maiden mission is not a sure thing and so placing a satellite or some other operational payload on board wasn't considered a prudent move. Test flights typically carry a mass simulator, taking the place of the payload in the form dead weight, like concrete or steel blocks.”
isn't the whole premise of private sector space voyaging that they can do it faster and better than NASA and are willing to take risks?
I can think of a number of things they could have done, and perhaps different orbits they could have achieved, with a payload they could have built on Silicon Valley tech know how.
Even hauling a very large jug of water would have been more useful than what they did.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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There probably were more useful things he could have done, somewhere in between a Tesla and a concrete block. Don't think you would have wanted to launch an expensive experiment on a rocket with a high likelihood of failing, but still, they could have found something.
But...
It was marketing. Musk is trying to get people excited about space. And I do think it's a little beyond just his own personal commercial interests. If putting something fun up there in a distant orbit helps motivate people for space and science, I'm OK with a little bit of fun.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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So I just happen to follow Paul Bloom on Twitter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bloom_(psychologist);
His tweet a couple of days ago links just perfectly, I think, to this thread and the views expressed here.
"There are 2 kinds of people. (1) Those who think that @elonmusk putting a car into space is exhilarating & admirable. (2) Those who think it's foolish & wasteful. You can tell a lot about a person based on their feelings about this.
(I'm in category (1), for what it's worth)"
https://twitter.com/paulbloomatyale/status/961021050875203584
Notables: (a) The word "wasteful." (b) "You can tell a lot about a person based on their feelings about this."
One might think climbers would be a bit more inclined to category (1).
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Its interesting...
Every local news channel here had that shot of the starman in the car...
A younger generation might get some inspiration?
What else drives a bump in math/science? Grumpy old dudes spraying about the waste of launching sports cars into space? Ha ha...
Innovation drivin' by the selfie...is still innovation.
The whole show is just kinda fun. And...that's...ok...
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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very deep analysis in a tweet, no doubt, I wonder if he cites them in his CV.
Inspiration comes from many different places for different persons, no doubt about that either. When you think about Musk's ambition to colonize space, a truly serious intent would build on what is known about the challenges. So as risky as a first launch of a heavy lift rocket might be, the opportunity afforded by a successful launch to preplace resources for a future program would seem rational.
And currently inexpensive resources on Earth, like water (required for life), are very expensive to lift into space, and potentially useful for future spacefaring enterprises.
My main criticism is really just voicing my disappointment. I think that Musk can essentially do anything he wants, if he can raise the funds, at the moment, but that he could also have been more serious about his planning.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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h-index, another cosmetic...
you can look mine up too while your at it
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