The Off Topic Topic

[HVC]

we haven't littered enough on earth, now we're sending junk to mars? is the car up on blocks at least, to complete the red neck image?

[Josquius]

SpaceX just launched a Tesla Roadster towards Mars playing Bowie on the stereo. Well played.

That seems awfully wasteful to me. Getting stuff outside of earth orbit is expensive. Couldn't they have sent a more valid probe up there?

It was a test flight and Musk estimated it had a 50/50 chance of success, so no.

Those cars aren't cheap.

And I'm sure a few quick experiments could be cobbled together without breaking the bank in the way regular probes can

[crazy canuck]

SpaceX just launched a Tesla Roadster towards Mars playing Bowie on the stereo. Well played.

That seems awfully wasteful to me. Getting stuff outside of earth orbit is expensive. Couldn't they have sent a more valid probe up there?

It was a test flight and Musk estimated it had a 50/50 chance of success, so no.

Those cars aren't cheap.

And I'm sure a few quick experiments could be cobbled together without breaking the bank in the way regular probes can

And miss out on the cross marketing opportunity?

[frunk]

Those cars aren't cheap.

And I'm sure a few quick experiments could be cobbled together without breaking the bank in the way regular probes can

The cost to launch dwarfs the cost of what you are launching, so it doesn't really matter what the roadster costs.

[Liep]

I don't really think there are any meaningful quick experiments that you could just launch into space, maybe. Plus, as cc says Tesla will be mentioned in every newspaper.

[Admiral Yi]

Musk thought the Roadster made more sense than the boring machine.

[dps]

SpaceX just launched a Tesla Roadster towards Mars playing Bowie on the stereo. Well played.

That seems awfully wasteful to me. Getting stuff outside of earth orbit is expensive. Couldn't they have sent a more valid probe up there?

It was a test flight and Musk estimated it had a 50/50 chance of success, so no.

Those cars aren't cheap.

And I'm sure a few quick experiments could be cobbled together without breaking the bank in the way regular probes can

Nobody wants to put their experiments on a flight that has a 50% chance of failure.  Apparently it's common practice to put some dead weight on a rocket test flight to simulate a normal payload.

[Malthus]

we haven't littered enough on earth, now we're sending junk to mars? is the car up on blocks at least, to complete the red neck image?

Hey, it's worse: launching a Telsa Roadster is a signal to the Martians that we're gonna gentrify Mars. Wealthy hipsters are coming next. 

[Admiral Yi]

Speaking of gentrification, last weekend I was talking with a white kid who's living now in the fucking South Bronx.

[DGuller]

Nobody wants to put their experiments on a flight that has a 50% chance of failure.  Apparently it's common practice to put some dead weight on a rocket test flight to simulate a normal payload.

So the gimmick is to advertise Tesla Roadster's utility as a dead weight?     I'm not a marketing guy, but it doesn't seem like one of those features you want to focus on during your pitch.

[mongers]

Nobody wants to put their experiments on a flight that has a 50% chance of failure.  Apparently it's common practice to put some dead weight on a rocket test flight to simulate a normal payload.

So the gimmick is to advertise Tesla Roadster's utility as a dead weight?     I'm not a marketing guy, but it doesn't seem like one of those features you want to focus on during your pitch.

Odd, given how innovative they and other space agencies are, you'd think given a bit of notice someone could have come up with a 'throw away' scientific experiment?

Perhaps something like a giant unfolding solar sail, maybe somewhat reflected, any way I'm no scientist, but you get the drift.

[garbon]

Do remember this is the man who recently sold flamethrowers as a 'fun' thing. He also put up videos of him acting like an ecstatic child while he held one.

[celedhring]

I don't really think there are any meaningful quick experiments that you could just launch into space, maybe. Plus, as cc says Tesla will be mentioned in every newspaper.

Yeah, all our newspapers carry today the picture of the car floating in space. It's a great commercial.

I also think it'd a great way to hide a murder in plain sight. How do we know that was really a crash test dummy? 

[Tamas]

we haven't littered enough on earth, now we're sending junk to mars? is the car up on blocks at least, to complete the red neck image?

Oh you bunch of old bitter people, can't you just be positive once?

[DGuller]

we haven't littered enough on earth, now we're sending junk to mars? is the car up on blocks at least, to complete the red neck image?

Oh you bunch of old bitter people, can't you just be positive once?

The way the world is going, what exactly is there to be positive about?