VSS Enterprise completes first flight under its carrieraircraft

On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:28:31 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

virgin

Why does that crap fascinate so many people? It's a lousy sounding
rocket. It is orders of magnitude away from LEO.

I think people just don't understand. It plays on their ignorance.

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:28:31 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

virgin

Why does that crap fascinate so many people? It's a lousy sounding
rocket. It is orders of magnitude away from LEO.

I think people just don't understand. It plays on their ignorance.

It's not intended to be a sounding rocket, so yea, it would obviously make a
lousy sounding rocket, just like my Crown Victoria makes a lousy pickup
truck.

No one said it was anything more than it is, which is a suborbital joy ride
for the rich. Branson thinks he can make a buck by this business venture.
Maybe he can, maybe he can't. Either way he's going to learn something
about the business of launching people into (suborbital) space.

Jeff
--
"Take heart amid the deepening gloom
that your dog is finally getting enough cheese" - Deteriorata - National
Lampoon

On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:21:09 -0400, Jeff Findley wrote:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:28:31 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

virgin

Why does that crap fascinate so many people? It's a lousy sounding
rocket. It is orders of magnitude away from LEO.

I think people just don't understand. It plays on their ignorance.

It's not intended to be a sounding rocket, so yea, it would obviously
make a lousy sounding rocket, just like my Crown Victoria makes a lousy
pickup truck.

Again, a sounding rocket is one that simply goes up high in the
atmosphere and doesn't even get close to LEO.

That's this thing.

IT is a sounding rocket, "lousy" refers to sounding rockets in contrast
to rockets that can launch a payload to orbit.

The fascination is only for the idiots who don't know the difference.

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:21:09 -0400, Jeff Findley wrote:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:28:31 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

virgin

Why does that crap fascinate so many people? It's a lousy sounding
rocket. It is orders of magnitude away from LEO.

I think people just don't understand. It plays on their ignorance.

It's not intended to be a sounding rocket, so yea, it would obviously
make a lousy sounding rocket, just like my Crown Victoria makes a lousy
pickup truck.

Again, a sounding rocket is one that simply goes up high in the
atmosphere and doesn't even get close to LEO.

So Mercury-Redstone was a "sounding rocket"? To paraphrase Al on Home
Improvement, "I don't think so Marvin!"

As far as I know, the commonly accepted definition of a sounding rocket is a
suborbital rocket which carries payloads for research. Wikipedia and all of
the online dictionaries I visited either say a "sounding rocket" is
unmanned, carries instruments, or is used for making meteorological
observations.

That's this thing.

IT is a sounding rocket, "lousy" refers to sounding rockets in contrast
to rockets that can launch a payload to orbit.

The fascination is only for the idiots who don't know the difference.

Your inappropriate usage of the term "sounding rocket" to describe a manned
suborbital spacecraft is obviously a derogatory usage and I believe I am
smart enough to notice that fact.

Jeff
--
"Take heart amid the deepening gloom
that your dog is finally getting enough cheese" - Deteriorata - National
Lampoon

On Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:05:21 -0400, Jeff Findley wrote:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:21:09 -0400, Jeff Findley wrote:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:28:31 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

virgin

Why does that crap fascinate so many people? It's a lousy sounding
rocket. It is orders of magnitude away from LEO.

I think people just don't understand. It plays on their ignorance.

It's not intended to be a sounding rocket, so yea, it would obviously
make a lousy sounding rocket, just like my Crown Victoria makes a
lousy pickup truck.

Again, a sounding rocket is one that simply goes up high in the
atmosphere and doesn't even get close to LEO.

So Mercury-Redstone was a "sounding rocket"? To paraphrase Al on Home
Improvement, "I don't think so Marvin!"

It fits the definition, yes.

As far as I know, the commonly accepted definition of a sounding rocket
is a suborbital rocket which carries payloads for research. Wikipedia
and all of the online dictionaries I visited either say a "sounding
rocket" is unmanned, carries instruments, or is used for making
meteorological observations.

That's this thing.

IT is a sounding rocket, "lousy" refers to sounding rockets in contrast
to rockets that can launch a payload to orbit.

The fascination is only for the idiots who don't know the difference.

Your inappropriate usage of the term "sounding rocket" to describe a
manned suborbital spacecraft is obviously a derogatory usage and I
believe I am smart enough to notice that fact.

Wrong again. You're not smart enough to notice the difference.

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:05:21 -0400, Jeff Findley wrote:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:21:09 -0400, Jeff Findley wrote:

"Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:28:31 -0800, Pat Flannery wrote:

virgin

Why does that crap fascinate so many people? It's a lousy sounding
rocket. It is orders of magnitude away from LEO.

I think people just don't understand. It plays on their ignorance.

It's not intended to be a sounding rocket, so yea, it would obviously
make a lousy sounding rocket, just like my Crown Victoria makes a
lousy pickup truck.

Again, a sounding rocket is one that simply goes up high in the
atmosphere and doesn't even get close to LEO.

So Mercury-Redstone was a "sounding rocket"? To paraphrase Al on Home
Improvement, "I don't think so Marvin!"

It fits the definition, yes.

Please show me where you're getting your definition of "sounding rocket".

Jeff
--
"Take heart amid the deepening gloom
that your dog is finally getting enough cheese" - Deteriorata - National
Lampoon

Marvin the Martian wrote:

Again, a sounding rocket is one that simply goes up high in the
atmosphere and doesn't even get close to LEO.

No, that's just what sounding rockets happen to do. It's not what they are. A sounding rocket is a rocket whose payload
takes soundings, i.e. measurements, of its environment. A sounding rocket could go way up to orbital altitudes, taking
measurements of the atmosphere when it gets there, and still be a sounding rocket.

On Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:07:03 +0800, Neil Gerace wrote:

Marvin the Martian wrote:

Again, a sounding rocket is one that simply goes up high in the
atmosphere and doesn't even get close to LEO.

No, that's just what sounding rockets happen to do. It's not what they
are. A sounding rocket is a rocket whose payload takes soundings, i.e.
measurements, of its environment. A sounding rocket could go way up to
orbital altitudes, taking measurements of the atmosphere when it gets
there, and still be a sounding rocket.

You hew-mons are comparing a rocket that does about 800 miles/hour with a
low earth capable rocket which does something around 9 km/s and getting
all giggly and excited.

What's worse is the energy of the rocket goes as the square of the
velocity.

The "payload" is a bunch of easily amused and grossly over paid ape-folk
who want bragging rights about getting "astronauts wings" due to a really
bad definition of what constitutes an astronut. These ape-folk are as far
from being an astronaut as a kid playing with a cap gun is an explosives
expert.

Its funny and do carry on.