https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/11/richard-branson-virgin-galactic-space
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Richard Branson flies to edge of space in Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane
The British entrepreneur Richard Branson has successfully flown to the edge of space and back in his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane, days ahead of a rival launch by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as the billionaires compete to kick off a new era of space tourism.
Seventeen years after Branson founded Virgin Galactic to develop commercial spacecraft and cater to future space tourists, the spaceplane went into sub-orbital flight on Sunday morning, reaching 55 miles (88km) above the Earth's surface. The launch was slightly delayed until 10.40ET due to weather conditions at the Virgin Galactic's operational base at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert.
"Welcome to the dawn of a new space age," Branson tweeted shortly after the flight, along with a picture of himself in zero gravity.
The long-awaited flight was the vehicle's first fully crewed test flight to space and lasted 59 minutes from start to finish, with passengers experiencing several minutes of weightlessness.
"What a day...what a day, what a day, what a day," he said after landing back on the tarmac to cheers. "I dreamt of this moment since I was a kid, but nothing can prepare you for the view from space."
Branson is the first of the competing "billionaire space barons" who now officially qualifies as an astronaut in the US, and the flight partly served as a huge publicity stunt for Virgin Galactic.
Billionaire Richard Branson smiles on board Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity
Billionaire Richard Branson smiles onboard Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity. Photograph: Virgin Galactic/Reuters
Branson flew with pilots David Mackay and Michael Masucci, Beth Moses, the company's chief astronaut instructor, Virgin Galactic's lead operations engineer Colin Bennett and Sirisha Bandla, a research operations and government affairs vice-president. Before take off, he arrived at the spaceport on a bicycle and greeted his crewmates with hugs. "It's a beautiful day to go to space," he tweeted.
Carrier plane VMS EVE, named after Branson's late mother, hauled the SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity to an altitude of about 50,000ft, and then released the VSS Unity rocket plane, which climbed up further into space.
During live footage, Branson and fellow astronauts were seen strapped into seats, wearing sunglasses as they grinned. The broadcast was hosted by comedian Stephen Colbert, former Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, and future Virgin Galactic astronaut Kellie Gerardi, who will also fly up into space on a research flight in 2022.
A gathering of space industry executives, future customers and well-wishers witnessed the launch at Spaceport America, including fellow billionaire and space industry pioneer Elon Musk.
Earlier in the day, Branson tweeted a photo with Musk, saying "Big day ahead. Great to start the morning with a friend. Feeling good, feeling excited, feeling ready."
Musk's SpaceX, which will send its first all-civilian crew (without Musk), called Inspiration4 mission, into orbit in September, has a head start over Branson and Bezos, having already launched numerous flights to the International Space Station.
In nine days' time, Bezos will launch his own rocket, New Shepard – named for Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut in space, which was manufactured by Bezos's company Blue Origin.
Bezos posted a message on Instagram ahead of the flight wishing Branson "and the whole team a successful and safe flight".
Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity lands after reaching the edge of space above Spaceport America.
Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity lands after reaching the edge of space above Spaceport America. Photograph: Joe Skipper/Reuters
New Shepard will take Bezos and five others, including his brother, Mark, and pilot Wally Funk, who was denied the job of astronaut in the 1960s because she was a woman, roughly 62 miles above the Earth's surface.
On Saturday, Blue Origin tweeted a message of good luck to Virgin Galactic, after mocking the company on Friday, when it alluded to whether Unity 22 was really going into space, instead of just to the edge of space.
The boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space, known as the Kármán line, has been a source of controversy for years.
Aeronatics standard setter Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the Switzerland-based world body, defines the Kármán line as the altitude of 100km (62 miles; 330,000 feet) above Earth's mean sea level, as do several other organizations.
However, US space agency Nasa says the boundary is 50 miles, or 80 km, above sea level, with pilots, mission specialists and civilians who cross this boundary officially deemed astronauts.
Branson has sought to send a rocket into space since he founded Virgin Galactic in 2004 and aspires to create an "orbital hotel".
Branson set a new record for the fastest boat crossing of the Atlantic ocean in 1986 and in 1987 made a record-breaking Atlantic crossing by hot-air balloon, both times having to be rescued from the sea.
An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.
Interest in space tourism is rapidly catching on. Virgin Galactic says it has more than 600 reserved seats at $250,000 each for people who will fly in the future. The company plans to launch two additional flights before commercial service begins in 2022.
Incidentally I can't help but find something humorously sleazy about the publicity photo.
(https://www.instumentalst.com/img/main/2378234414/dWdnY2Y6Ly9mLm5vcGFyamYucGJ6L3Z6bnRyZi9UWk4vMjEwNzEwX3R6bl9vcmF2Z3JtOF91Y1pudmFfMTZrOV85OTIud2N0/richard-branson-and-virgin-galactic-crew-prepare-for-space.jpg)
Anyway. Going to space sounds awesome
But I can't help but think this sort of thing will become the norm for travel between terran destinations before I hit 80 (assuming I do). Can't help but think of it a bit like paying to fly around in a plane.
By the 1980s, travel to the Lunar colony will be routine.
Space 1999!
Maybe it's me, but I feel those billionaires all could put their money to better use than having their own private space race.
Shooting brits into space? It's a good start.
:P
Quote from: The Brain on July 11, 2021, 01:48:53 PM
By the 1980s, travel to the Lunar colony will be routine.
UFO!
Quote from: Syt on July 11, 2021, 01:56:22 PM
Maybe it's me, but I feel those billionaires all could put their money to better use than having their own private space race.
And, indeed, they do. Look them up, and you'll see that they all do more than build space vehicles.
I find the whole billionaire race to get into space very weird <_<
Quote from: Sheilbh on July 11, 2021, 06:31:41 PM
I find the whole billionaire race to get into space very weird <_<
It's a hell of a lot more useful than the billionaires in a race to collect art.
Quote from: Sheilbh on July 11, 2021, 06:31:41 PM
I find the whole billionaire race to get into space very weird <_<
why weird?
flying/sailing around the Earth has been done a few times, they need something more unique and still challenging :P
Quote from: Syt on July 11, 2021, 01:56:22 PM
Maybe it's me, but I feel those billionaires all could put their money to better use than having their own private space race.
It's a really good investment. MS and Amazon are poised to get multi billion $ contracts from the US govt, Virgin will develop space tourism for billionaires and millionaires, SpaceX will corner the market on asteroid mining and all these guys will live on Mars while Earth overcooks. Sound investment, imho :P
Yeah, I don't think it's that bad... there are technological and engineering advances coming from it. And obviously, there's a bunch of status involved. And they're probably making money from it too. So it makes some sense.
In general, though, it's conspicuous super wealth that makes me uneasy in general. And the billionaire space race is super conspicuous.
Quote from: Jacob on July 11, 2021, 07:28:18 PM
In general, though, it's conspicuous super wealth that makes me uneasy in general. And the billionaire space race is super conspicuous.
And my suspicion is it's all a plot for them to shoot off in a luxury chryogenic space yacht while we roam a climate-ravaged hellscape :ph34r: :P
Quote from: Sheilbh on July 11, 2021, 07:29:59 PM
Quote from: Jacob on July 11, 2021, 07:28:18 PM
In general, though, it's conspicuous super wealth that makes me uneasy in general. And the billionaire space race is super conspicuous.
And my suspicion is it's all a plot for them to shoot off in a luxury chryogenic space yacht while we roam a climate-ravaged hellscape :ph34r: :P
That'd be fucking great, IMO. The sooner the better.
Conspicuous consumption always looks bad, though some is much worse than others.
I'd note in this case that these are business ventures, with the vehicles belonging to companies, not to billionaires. Virgin Space is much more of a vanity project than Blue Origin or SpaceX, though. SpaceX got a $3 billion contract this spring to land humans on the moon by 2024.
Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, the SpaceX moon rocket is straight off the covers of 1950s Science Fiction magazines.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Starship_HLS_Moon_landing.jpg/390px-Starship_HLS_Moon_landing.jpg)
Quote from: grumbler on July 11, 2021, 03:19:17 PM
Quote from: Syt on July 11, 2021, 01:56:22 PM
Maybe it's me, but I feel those billionaires all could put their money to better use than having their own private space race.
And, indeed, they do. Look them up, and you'll see that they all do more than build space vehicles.
Sure but given the expense on this (if we look specifically at Branson's vanity project), there's clearly more that they could be doing.
Though I liked Stephen King's take "A rich guy flew in a rocket plane. Let's move on."
Securing a permanent presence in space will do a lot to solve problems here on earth.
Not much many steps have been taken towards that in recent decades so this is definitely a positive step in that direction.
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2021, 03:13:46 AM
Securing a permanent presence in space will do a lot to solve problems here on earth.
Not much many steps have been taken towards that in recent decades so this is definitely a positive step in that direction.
Why don't we just do things that directly solve problems on earth?
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 04:50:34 AM
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2021, 03:13:46 AM
Securing a permanent presence in space will do a lot to solve problems here on earth.
Not much many steps have been taken towards that in recent decades so this is definitely a positive step in that direction.
Why don't we just do things that directly solve problems on earth?
Because we need long term solutions as well as short term plasters.
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2021, 07:01:34 AM
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 04:50:34 AM
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2021, 03:13:46 AM
Securing a permanent presence in space will do a lot to solve problems here on earth.
Not much many steps have been taken towards that in recent decades so this is definitely a positive step in that direction.
Why don't we just do things that directly solve problems on earth?
Because we need long term solutions as well as short term plasters.
Is the long-term plan to abandon Earth and/or adapt to an Earth where the air is toxic/readily breathable? :unsure:
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 07:21:17 AM
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2021, 07:01:34 AM
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 04:50:34 AM
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2021, 03:13:46 AM
Securing a permanent presence in space will do a lot to solve problems here on earth.
Not much many steps have been taken towards that in recent decades so this is definitely a positive step in that direction.
Why don't we just do things that directly solve problems on earth?
Because we need long term solutions as well as short term plasters.
Is the long-term plan to abandon Earth and/or adapt to an Earth where the air is toxic/readily breathable? :unsure:
Less people on earth for sure. Though that won't be achieved by shipping them away.
More shifting industry and mining off earth.
Quote from: grumbler on July 11, 2021, 08:29:28 PM
Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, the SpaceX moon rocket is straight off the covers of 1950s Science Fiction magazines.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Starship_HLS_Moon_landing.jpg/390px-Starship_HLS_Moon_landing.jpg)
Nice. :)
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2021, 07:57:10 AM
More shifting industry and mining off earth.
:yes:
Aren't we talking very long pipe dream there? After all needs to not only be technically feasible but also cost efficient.
Why not focus on closer long term goals like reducing reliance on plastics/more efficient recycling, transport efficiency, sustainable energy?
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 09:04:44 AM
Aren't we talking very long pipe dream there? After all needs to not only be technically feasible but also cost efficient.
Why not focus on closer long term goals like reducing reliance on plastics/more efficient recycling, transport efficiency, sustainable energy?
Chillax. Much more is being spent on those initiatives than on space flight.
Quote from: grumbler on July 12, 2021, 09:56:58 AM
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 09:04:44 AM
Aren't we talking very long pipe dream there? After all needs to not only be technically feasible but also cost efficient.
Why not focus on closer long term goals like reducing reliance on plastics/more efficient recycling, transport efficiency, sustainable energy?
Chillax. Much more is being spent on those initiatives than on space flight.
Do my posts come across as hysterical and/or angry? :huh:
It is unfortunate we must now rely on billionaires for aerospace advancements.
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 09:04:44 AM
Aren't we talking very long pipe dream there? After all needs to not only be technically feasible but also cost efficient.
Why not focus on closer long term goals like reducing reliance on plastics/more efficient recycling, transport efficiency, sustainable energy?
A lot of science that has practical use down on earth comes from space travel.
Some of it with those problems you mentioned; Climate monitoring, solar power, and water recycling for instance.
As I said we shouldn't ignore the short term problems on earth. But at the same time we should be working towards the long term as well.
Quote from: Razgovory on July 12, 2021, 10:03:15 AM
It is unfortunate we must now rely on billionaires for aerospace advancements.
Same
Quote from: Sheilbh on July 11, 2021, 07:29:59 PM
Quote from: Jacob on July 11, 2021, 07:28:18 PM
In general, though, it's conspicuous super wealth that makes me uneasy in general. And the billionaire space race is super conspicuous.
And my suspicion is it's all a plot for them to shoot off in a luxury chryogenic space yacht while we roam a climate-ravaged hellscape :ph34r: :P
Well we have one less Billionaire and we leap ahead in our space tech. Seems like a win-win! :P
Quote from: Razgovory on July 12, 2021, 10:03:15 AM
It is unfortunate we must now rely on billionaires for aerospace advancements.
It is. But if we wait around for the political will to surface again, we may not reach Mars before the Earth is swallowed up by the Sun.
Uhm, if you look around you'll see NASA reactivating itself, Europe being more active, India doing stuff, China building a bloody space station and sending probes.
Plenty of things are happening. Yes, it may be a century or more before industrialisation of the solar system will reach a significant degree, but it has to start sometime, and it is starting now. 200 years from now people will look back at these coming decades like we now look at the Mayflower and the times of the first North American colonies.
Space flight taking place that isn't paid from the public purse it truly horrible.
Quote from: Tamas on July 12, 2021, 10:32:46 AM
Uhm, if you look around you'll see NASA reactivating itself, Europe being more active, India doing stuff, China building a bloody space station and sending probes.
Plenty of things are happening. Yes, it may be a century or more before industrialisation of the solar system will reach a significant degree, but it has to start sometime, and it is starting now. 200 years from now people will look back at these coming decades like we now look at the Mayflower and the times of the first North American colonies.
I think NASA is being empowered by the billionaires though. They now have significant private sector partners to work with.
Quote from: The Brain on July 12, 2021, 10:37:05 AM
Space flight taking place that isn't paid from the public purse it truly horrible.
TEH HORRAH!!
Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2021, 10:37:40 AM
Quote from: Tamas on July 12, 2021, 10:32:46 AM
Uhm, if you look around you'll see NASA reactivating itself, Europe being more active, India doing stuff, China building a bloody space station and sending probes.
Plenty of things are happening. Yes, it may be a century or more before industrialisation of the solar system will reach a significant degree, but it has to start sometime, and it is starting now. 200 years from now people will look back at these coming decades like we now look at the Mayflower and the times of the first North American colonies.
I think NASA is being empowered by the billionaires though. They now have significant private sector partners to work with.
The point is, it goes way beyond bored billionaires finding new ways to piss away money.
Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2021, 10:25:21 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on July 12, 2021, 10:03:15 AM
It is unfortunate we must now rely on billionaires for aerospace advancements.
It is. But if we wait around for the political will to surface again, we may not reach Mars before the Earth is swallowed up by the Sun.
We don't rely on billionaires for aerospace advancements; the billionaires are just the guys who run the companies collecting billions in tax dollars for R&D, with the exception of Branson, whose contributions to space flight are just PR.
There's something to be said about the superior visionary power of the individual over the bureaucrat, but that's nothing new.
Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2021, 10:37:40 AM
I think NASA is being empowered by the billionaires though. They now have significant private sector partners to work with.
You don't think that Boeing, Lockheed, Grumman, etc were significant private sector partners for NASA during the race to the moon?
Quote from: grumbler on July 12, 2021, 11:09:45 AM
Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2021, 10:37:40 AM
I think NASA is being empowered by the billionaires though. They now have significant private sector partners to work with.
You don't think that Boeing, Lockheed, Grumman, etc were significant private sector partners for NASA during the race to the moon?
Oh they were but in a different way. Those guys are assisting in government projects and are contractors. The SpaceX type guys are doing their own thing, but since they share common goals and a common area of interest.
But I am not some expert. It just seems like with this interest by private capital NASA is getting traction again. My perceptions and the reality could be substantially different.
Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2021, 11:18:40 AM
Oh they were but in a different way. Those guys are assisting in government projects and are contractors. The SpaceX type guys are doing their own thing, but since they share common goals and a common area of interest.
But I am not some expert. It just seems like with this interest by private capital NASA is getting traction again. My perceptions and the reality could be substantially different.
Grumman built the entire lunar module, and North American the command and service modules, but you are correct that NASA has turned over all the systems integration to the prime contractor. Blue Origin and SpaceX were bidding on the entire mission, not just pieces of it.
I think that the Space Shuttle demonstrated to NASA that it no longer had the visionary types to oversee large programs, and it is confining itself to funding and mission specifications.
Quote from: The Brain on July 12, 2021, 10:37:05 AM
Space flight taking place that isn't paid from the public purse it truly horrible.
I thought a good amount of the billionaire spaceflight developments are being funded by contracts with NASA, the ESA and other agencies with public funding?
Quote from: Jacob on July 12, 2021, 12:54:35 PM
Quote from: The Brain on July 12, 2021, 10:37:05 AM
Space flight taking place that isn't paid from the public purse it truly horrible.
I thought a good amount of the billionaire spaceflight developments are being funded by contracts with NASA, the ESA and other agencies with public funding?
I don't think Branson has gotten a dime (since his whole business model is for sub-orbital flight, which NASA has no interest in).
Bezos has spent billions of his own money (about $1 billion per year). His company, Blue Origin, has partnered with ULA (United Launch Alliance, which itself is a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed-Martin) wherein Blue Origin is to provide engines to ULA's Vulcan rocket, so indirectly I guess it is getting some USAF money (rather than NASA), but indirectly, and still not enough to make up for the billions Bezos is pouring into it.
Musk founded SpaceX in 2001-2002, and again self-funded (or at least privately funded) for years. He got $278 mil to help develop the Falcon 9 from NASA in 2006. They now launch commercially for NASA but at much cheaper prices than any other launch provider. Musk also self-funded the development of the Starship Mars spaceship until he recently got funding to turn it into a moon lander.
Thanks for the details Beeb :hug:
I guess we could get into a semantic argument whether that's "a good amount" or not, but personally I'm okay with not doing that.
Quote from: Jacob on July 12, 2021, 01:09:16 PM
Thanks for the details Beeb :hug:
I guess we could get into a semantic argument whether that's "a good amount" or not, but personally I'm okay with not doing that.
:hug:
SpaceX has by far gotten the most government money - but they're also the ones providing valuable services to NASA in exchange for that money. It's hard to argue that NASA hasn't gotten good value for their money.
Quote from: Tamas on July 12, 2021, 10:32:46 AM
200 years from now people will look back at these coming decades like we now look at the Mayflower and the times of the first North American colonies.
I'm not sure 200 years from now people will recall Branson's wank at the edge of space, but even if they do, I'm not sure they'll be looking at it positively. If we want to pull other historical analogies, they might look at him and his billionaire buddies like we look at the railway robber barons of the 19th century.
Probably more like Edison and Ford.
Quote from: garbon on July 12, 2021, 01:57:10 PM
Quote from: Tamas on July 12, 2021, 10:32:46 AM
200 years from now people will look back at these coming decades like we now look at the Mayflower and the times of the first North American colonies.
I'm not sure 200 years from now people will recall Branson's wank at the edge of space, but even if they do, I'm not sure they'll be looking at it positively. If we want to pull other historical analogies, they might look at him and his billionaire buddies like we look at the railway robber barons of the 19th century.
I dunno. Contrast this with Bill Gates charitable foundation. He's undoubtedly doing more for the general welfare of mankind that Jeff Bezos is spending $1 billion per year on Blue Origin, but look how little that seemed to matter once the pandemic hit and news about his divorce started coming out.
Quote from: Jacob on July 12, 2021, 12:54:35 PM
Quote from: The Brain on July 12, 2021, 10:37:05 AM
Space flight taking place that isn't paid from the public purse it truly horrible.
I thought a good amount of the billionaire spaceflight developments are being funded by contracts with NASA, the ESA and other agencies with public funding?
Virgin Galactic is a Branson-funded project, but has no NASA/ESA interest, as it doesn't serve any of their missions. It loses money and will almost certainly never return the investment, but Branson probably doesn't care. It will probably be able to show a profit eventually since its costs are relatively low.
Blue Origin is mostly a Bezos project (he has provided by far the bulk of the money so far) and has landed some contracts in the tens of millions, but nothing like what it needs to become profitable. It's gotten some outside investing, but not nearly enough to pay for anything advanced without a NASA contract.
SpaceX was founded by Musk, but has fund-raised in the private sector almost from the start. It has gotten numerous contracts totaling in the billions and is considered profitable already. It's pretty much a classic startup story.
Musk isn't trying to get himself into space, and SpaceX looks like the company that is going to dominate US spaceflight for the foreseeable future. One of the reasons for that is that it followed standard fund-raising strategies and is far better capitalized than either of its rivals. Morgan Stanley has its current value as US$100 billion, which is about 20 times the value of Blue Origin and 50 times the value of Virgin Galactic.
Thanks for the additional details grumbler :cheers:
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2021, 02:24:27 PM
I dunno. Contrast this with Bill Gates charitable foundation. He's undoubtedly doing more for the general welfare of mankind that Jeff Bezos is spending $1 billion per year on Blue Origin, but look how little that seemed to matter once the pandemic hit and news about his divorce started coming out.
Bezos spent more on charity last year than the Gates Foundation: $10.1 Billion as opposed to $5.1 billion from the Gates Foundation (and Bezos's wife donated another $5.7 billion).
Quote from: Jacob on July 12, 2021, 02:53:42 PM
Thanks for the additional details grumbler :cheers:
Lumping these three together is easy, but makes little sense.
I'd be curious what sort of charities they are.
Quote from: grumbler on July 12, 2021, 02:51:16 PM
Musk isn't trying to get himself into space, and SpaceX looks like the company that is going to dominate US spaceflight for the foreseeable future. One of the reasons for that is that it followed standard fund-raising strategies and is far better capitalized than either of its rivals. Morgan Stanley has its current value as US$100 billion, which is about 20 times the value of Blue Origin and 50 times the value of Virgin Galactic.
I would be shocked if, at some point, Musk doesn't take a ride on one of his rockets. He's just both very busy and has more time to do so compared to 70 year old Richard Branson.
He might be holding out for Mars though.
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2021, 03:11:15 PM
Quote from: grumbler on July 12, 2021, 02:51:16 PM
Musk isn't trying to get himself into space, and SpaceX looks like the company that is going to dominate US spaceflight for the foreseeable future. One of the reasons for that is that it followed standard fund-raising strategies and is far better capitalized than either of its rivals. Morgan Stanley has its current value as US$100 billion, which is about 20 times the value of Blue Origin and 50 times the value of Virgin Galactic.
I would be shocked if, at some point, Musk doesn't take a ride on one of his rockets. He's just both very busy and has more time to do so compared to 70 year old Richard Branson.
He might be holding out for Mars though.
It's just been announced that Musk will travel in the next Virgin Galactic launch.
I'm imagining space railways that spindle throughout the solar system, radiating out of major hubs like Space Chicago, and small space stations withering on the vine because they didn't pay enough of a bribe to their local space billionaire so the spaceway got built out to a different space station. :D
Quote from: FunkMonk on July 12, 2021, 03:48:49 PM
I'm imagining space railways that spindle throughout the solar system, radiating out of major hubs like Space Chicago, and small space stations withering on the vine because they didn't pay enough of a bribe to their local space billionaire so the spaceway got built out to a different space station. :D
:lol:
"Welcome to Space Crewe - all change please" :ph34r: :weep:
Quote from: FunkMonk on July 12, 2021, 03:48:49 PM
I'm imagining space railways that spindle throughout the solar system, radiating out of major hubs like Space Chicago, and small space stations withering on the vine because they didn't pay enough of a bribe to their local space billionaire so the spaceway got built out to a different space station. :D
:hmm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Sq1Nr58hM
Quote from: Jacob on July 12, 2021, 02:59:52 PM
I'd be curious what sort of charities they are.
https://apnews.com/article/amazoncom-inc-race-and-ethnicity-jeff-bezos-philanthropy-coronavirus-pandemic-56154051ca19fdd80c2fc003004702b0 (https://apnews.com/article/amazoncom-inc-race-and-ethnicity-jeff-bezos-philanthropy-coronavirus-pandemic-56154051ca19fdd80c2fc003004702b0) That will give you some idea. I'm not sure where a complete list would be.
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2021, 01:06:43 PM
Quote from: Jacob on July 12, 2021, 12:54:35 PM
Quote from: The Brain on July 12, 2021, 10:37:05 AM
Space flight taking place that isn't paid from the public purse it truly horrible.
I thought a good amount of the billionaire spaceflight developments are being funded by contracts with NASA, the ESA and other agencies with public funding?
I don't think Branson has gotten a dime (since his whole business model is for sub-orbital flight, which NASA has no interest in).
Bezos has spent billions of his own money (about $1 billion per year). His company, Blue Origin, has partnered with ULA (United Launch Alliance, which itself is a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed-Martin) wherein Blue Origin is to provide engines to ULA's Vulcan rocket, so indirectly I guess it is getting some USAF money (rather than NASA), but indirectly, and still not enough to make up for the billions Bezos is pouring into it.
Musk founded SpaceX in 2001-2002, and again self-funded (or at least privately funded) for years. He got $278 mil to help develop the Falcon 9 from NASA in 2006. They now launch commercially for NASA but at much cheaper prices than any other launch provider. Musk also self-funded the development of the Starship Mars spaceship until he recently got funding to turn it into a moon lander.
I need to correct my 'Branson didn't get a dime' bit.
Apparently the good people of New Mexico largely funded Branson's $200 million dollar spaceport.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/heres-why-richard-bransons-flight-matters-and-yes-it-really-matters/
Quote from: Syt on July 11, 2021, 01:56:22 PM
Maybe it's me, but I feel those billionaires all could put their money to better use than having their own private space race.
Competition would be good, but Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are so woefully behind SpaceX that this display is pathetic rather than inspiring.