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maryjane
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SEP 15, 07:24 PM
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SpaceX is set to hurl 4 civilians into high (360 miles up) Earth orbit for 3 days. Either an all expense paid 3 day vacation of a lifetime or a quick real world test of the abort system.
I very much envy them.
https://www.cbsnews.com/liv...am-today-2021-09-15/
If all goes well, Take That! Bezo and Branson...[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-15-2021).]
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maryjane
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SEP 15, 07:39 PM
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williegoat
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SEP 15, 08:20 PM
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Thank you for letting us know. That was great!
I didn't hear a word about it on the news, but I guess spaceflight has become routine. I can remember as a kid, everybody across the country would be glued to the TV. Or as a schoolkid in central Florida, we all went outside to watch the flame rise in the sky.[This message has been edited by williegoat (edited 09-15-2021).]
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maryjane
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SEP 15, 08:58 PM
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It was Great! I was pretty nervous waiting for the merlin to shut off and separate but it all went without a hitch.
From the first artificial satellite in orbit, to the 1st (and so far only) men on the moon, and all the accomplishments and disappointments in between to space tourism, it's been quite an exciting life of observation.
And 1st stage nailed the landing, again.
Release The Dragon!![This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-15-2021).]
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Rickady88GT
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SEP 15, 09:23 PM
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And to think some years ago, I expressed distance from NASA and got ridiculed for it. Private capitalism can do better. NASA has been a waste of money for a long time.
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maryjane
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SEP 15, 09:46 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Rickady88GT:
And to think some years ago, I expressed distance from NASA and got ridiculed for it. Private capitalism can do better. NASA has been a waste of money for a long time. |
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I assume you didn't watch the launch or hear the closing comments from SpaceX headquarters and SpaceX's chief of operations publicly stated something close to "We didn't do this alone. We want to thank NASA, the FAA and the ground crews here and at Cape Canaveral for all their assistance and expertise"
(something along those lines anyway)
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Rickady88GT
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SEP 15, 10:14 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
I assume you didn't watch the launch or hear the closing comments from SpaceX headquarters and SpaceX's chief of operations publicly stated something close to "We didn't do this alone. We want to thank NASA, the FAA and the ground crews here and at Cape Canaveral for all their assistance and expertise"
(something along those lines anyway)
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Yes you are correct, in this assessment of my involvement. BUT you are incorrect in my assessment of the picture at large.
Help is help, even if the help is stolen. It is what it is. Call it as you see it. NASA definitely helped,... but definitely didn't do it.
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maryjane
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SEP 15, 10:45 PM
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I don't think NASA is a waste of $$. They do what congress authorizes and funds and too often congress mandates which contractors NASA has to use (Boeing and Martin for instance) and much of that is because of what certain congress members insist on for their home districts. SLS is a prime example. When the shuttle program ended some congress members insisted the next big project be built using some of the same parts and plants the shuttle program used in order to save jobs in those districts. That project is the behind schedule over budget in question Space Launch System. Europa Clipper is one of the congressional mandated parts of the space program that was to be launched by SLS but that finally went away and it will be launched by Falcon Heavy instead, since gawd only knows when Boeing and the rest of the SLS contractors will get their act together.
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Rickady88GT
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SEP 15, 10:53 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
I don't think NASA is a waste of $$. They do what congress authorizes and funds and too often congress mandates which contractors NASA has to use (Boeing and Martin for instance) and much of that is because of what certain congress members insist on for their home districts. SLS is a prime example. When the shuttle program ended some congress members insisted the next big project be built using some of the same parts and plants the shuttle program used in order to save jobs in those districts. That project is the behind schedule over budget in question Space Launch System. Europa Clipper is one of the congressional mandated parts of the space program that was to be launched by SLS but that finally went away and it will be launched by Falcon Heavy instead, since gawd only knows when Boeing and the rest of the SLS contractors will get their act together. |
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I totally appreciate your input and opinions, but on this one, I probably differ. The reason,... IF, NASA does what the Congress tells them to do....like defend Islam for example,...then they don't do what I expect them to do. They aren't my right hand man, and I understand that, BUT by definition, if they do what Congress tells them to do they are doomed for failure.
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maryjane
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SEP 15, 11:35 PM
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You're way out in the weeds grasping at straws now.
Why, would congress tell NASA to defend Islam?
NASA is not an active part of the dept of defense, NASA has no armed rockets, and does nothing other than providing launch for space exploration, private and DoD satellites. When NASA launches a private company satellite, payment goes to Dept of Treasury.
NASA doesn't build rockets and certainly not for the armed forces. Private companies do, funded by congress. The early space rockets were all derivitaves of USAF and US Army rockets. Redstone, Navahoe, Atlas Jupiter etc came from US Army Ballistic Missile Agency and it's programs.
The closest NASA ever came to having an armament on a rocket was Al Shepard's 6 iron golf club and ball.[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-15-2021).]
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