Blue Origin - would you go?

[Ethel mermania]

He was eye opening to me, space was always pristine in my imagination. Asimov, herbert, dick, Heinlein, no matter the darkness of the issue the floors were clean and washed. Lem brought crumbling Soviet concrete to outer space, it made it... more gritty, so more real and relatable more human, even if the character was not

I tend to view him (and Karel Capek) as brilliant satirists who used science fiction as their tool mostly. Especially works like The Futurlogical Congress and One Human Minute or Capek's War with the Newts.

But early Eastern European soviet era science fiction writers is probably not the topic of the thread and would be two posts long in A&F.

Sigh

Two fair points.

[Cannot think of a name]

I've got a lot of scifi books to get through still and I haven't even read much of Heinlein's work.

Heinlein was the source of my super clever Harriman reference. Heinlein had a very Bezos/Musk/Branson type figure in his stories, an industrialist who was responsible for regular space flight.

[Just-An-Illusion]

No... Space was meant to be be researched not a tourist destination for the super rich.

[Bombadil]

No... Space was meant to be be researched not a tourist destination for the super rich.

Space wasn't meant for anything.. however billionaires spewing waste everywhere for their own personal amusement isn't much to applaud.

Amazon specifically fuels cheap consumption and energy heavy distribution beyond its union bashing and working conditions.. and Bezos can't think of any way to spend his fortune other than building big rockets..

“The only way that I can see to deploy this much financial resource is by converting my Amazon winnings into space travel. That is basically it.”

Really..

[Stellar Colonies]

No... Space was meant to be be researched not a tourist destination for the super rich.

Space wasn't meant for anything.. however billionaires spewing waste everywhere for their own personal amusement isn't much to applaud.

Amazon specifically fuels cheap consumption and energy heavy distribution beyond its union bashing and working conditions.. and Bezos can't think of any way to spend his fortune other than building big rockets..

“The only way that I can see to deploy this much financial resource is by converting my Amazon winnings into space travel. That is basically it.”

Really..

And if orbital operations are established and expanded upon without taking any care to prevent or clean up debris clouds, we'll have some serious Kessler Syndrome on our hands.

[Neanderthaland]

My answer will depend heavily on whether my country's legal system applies in sub-orbital altitudes.

In space, no one can hear Bezos scream.

[Sundiata]

Sure.

[Heloin]

My answer will depend heavily on whether my country's legal system applies in sub-orbital altitudes.

In space, no one can hear Bezos scream.

Property rights are from heave to hell, therefor I can shot down the Bezos rocket for trespassing.

[Uiiop]

Would I have a better heart with the same dna with me? If not the hell no

[Australian rePublic]

Geez, the poll is ridiculous. Fear of flying wouldn't be the only reason people don't want to go to space.

[Vikanias]

Hell yeah, if I can go up in space in my life that’s one down for my bucket list

[Australian rePublic]

Meh... I don't really have that much of an interest in space. Sure, I'd go if I was offered an oppertunity to go for free, but there are other things I could spend my money on

[SD_Film Artists]

I don't really care for it personally but I do appreciate the investment in making (near)space travel more normalised. It's ultimately the only thing worth investing in as a species.

[Heloin]

Geez, the poll is ridiculous. Fear of flying wouldn't be the only reason people don't want to go to space.

[The Snazzylands]

I love sci fi as much as the next guy but I'm not wasting thousands of dollars just to leave the atmosphere for a bit. If I want to float around I'll just go swimming.

[Bombadil]

I love sci fi as much as the next guy but I'm not wasting thousands of dollars just to leave the atmosphere for a bit. If I want to float around I'll just go swimming.

That was kind of my first thought, if you want to float and explore stunning views in a weightless way then take up scuba diving. The oceans are almost as unexplored as space.

[Postauthoritarian America]

Immaterial according to this analysis. They rocketed up and fell back down. Arguably at no point did their centrifugal force overcome their need for propulsion in order to get to wherever it is they were; ergo they never "reached outer space."

You will never work in marketing with that attitude

The best grifter may be the one who believes the con but that's hardly a requirement for a career in marketing, public relations, etc.

[Diahon]

I'm sure many of you are aware the recent launch of Blue Origin, that carried Jeff Bezos and crew...

Yes, criticism of this and that... Whatever...

Let us simplify things; I'm curious:
Suppose that sub-orbital flights are routine (and actually take you places in record time--so planes become old school) and affordable (okay, a bit more expensive than planes but still within reason).
Would you still go on one?

Yes.

[Australian rePublic]

People are starving to death all over the world, and this guy spends billions on giving millionaires 10 minutes in space. At least Elon Musk has real goals to legitimately send people into space and create a legitimate space industry. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's his money, he can do whatever he wants with it, but it appears to be a vanity project more than anything else, which is something that people don't talk about enough

[Ethel mermania]

People are starving to death all over the world, and this guy spends billions on giving millionaires 10 minutes in space. At least Elon Musk has real goals to legitimately send people into space and create a legitimate space industry. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's his money, he can do whatever he wants with it, but it appears to be a vanity project more than anything else, which is something that people don't talk about enough

Their intent is to launch payloads into space, the space tourism is a side business. this is the same ssort of thing as Musk putting his Tesla into space

[Diahon]

No... Space was meant to be be researched not a tourist destination for the super rich.

no, it's a refuge for those whose wealth has allowed them to seed mars or some shit
as for the rest of us? we hope for escape -- through death, through heaven, through hell --

[USS Monitor]

In a hypothetical future where it is affordable and convenient, sure. In the real-world present day, no.

[Diahon]

In a hypothetical future where it is affordable and convenient, sure. In the real-world present day, no.

exactly the point, hm?

why make it accessible to the hoi polloi when you can price it out of their range and so ensure only you and your kind get to see their end as the earth is slowly cooked from within?

[Australian rePublic]

People are starving to death all over the world, and this guy spends billions on giving millionaires 10 minutes in space. At least Elon Musk has real goals to legitimately send people into space and create a legitimate space industry. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's his money, he can do whatever he wants with it, but it appears to be a vanity project more than anything else, which is something that people don't talk about enough

Their intent is to launch payloads into space, the space tourism is a side business. this is the same ssort of thing as Musk putting his Tesla into space

Fair enough. But it's funny how most billionaires recieve harsh criticism for being too rich, yet when the world's least charitable billionaire, Jeff Bezos, does something like this, which is impossible for non-billionaires, many of the billionaire haters aren't batting an eye about it. Whatever your opinion of billionaires is, you have to acknowledge that endeavours as running a space program, running a rail company, starting an airline, or building infrastructure are only achievable by governments or billionaires. Also, it's funny how many environmentalists are willing to sign up for such endeavours, even though space travel is one of the worst things imaginable as far as the environment is concerned. And burning so much fuel for 10 minutes in space is just a waste of fuel i say that as one of one of the least environmentalist members of this community.

[Ethel mermania]

Their intent is to launch payloads into space, the space tourism is a side business. this is the same ssort of thing as Musk putting his Tesla into space

Fair enough. But it's funny how most billionaires recieve harsh criticism for being too rich, yet when the world's least charitable billionaire, Jeff Bezos, does something like this, which is impossible for non-billionaires, many of the billionaire haters aren't batting an eye about it. Whatever your opinion of billionaires is, you have to acknowledge that endeavours as running a space program, running a rail company, starting an airline, or building infrastructure are only achievable by governments or billionaires. Also, it's funny how many environmentalists are willing to sign up for such endeavours, even though space travel is one of the worst things imaginable as far as the environment is concerned. And burning so much fuel for 10 minutes in space is just a waste of fuel i say that as one of one of the least environmentalist members of this community.

SpaceX has a lot more investors than just Musk, he is just the lead. I dont think they are public yet. Google i know had a piece of them. Same for the others.

Edison for electricity, Ford for automobiles, it the way its always worked. Air travel for plebians wasn't a thing till the late 1960's. It use to be extremely expensive now its 150 bucks to get on an airplane and go 1,000 miles.

Aside from from the fact that these billionaires are paying thousands of people serious money to advance the technology and speed up the pace of innovation, aeronautic engineers ain't cheap,, and because its capitalism drive down the cost. Its because of Musk et. al. that space will be affordable to the masses not because of anything NASA or the ESA are doing.