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Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 4th 07, 05:31 AM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Jonathan
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Posts: 428
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!


"Pat Flannery" wrote in message
...
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archi.../03/26062.aspx
http://public.blueorigin.com/index.html
They've got the busiest insignia you ever laid eyes on Galapagos
tortoises, winged hour glasses, an alchemist's sun, and something
cylindrical I don't understand, but it might be the solar system in a
coffee can.
Rocket looks like a huge Corona film dump capsule crossed with a DC-X
You half expect them to slide it into Verne's moon cannon, but it's
flown successfully, and there's film of the flight on the website.



Is it just me? Or does anyone else have this sinking
feeling that the rush to build these sub orbital joy rides
have a Titanic like future awaiting?

I mean, at first these rides will be fairly expensive and risky.
So it seems inevitable an early flight will crash that is
chock full of the bold and beautiful...the rich and famous.

A trend that starts with high risk and high price seems
like tempting fate. Oh well, I suppose there's no better
way to get over the hump and create cheaper space
flight for the future.


The first crash, I can see the headlines now.....

The ship hit ground on the shore of this uncharted desert pad
with Madonna, and K-Fed too,
the Millionaire, and his Wife,
the Movie Star, the Professor and Yoko Ono,
here on Burt Rutans isle

s




Pat


  #2  
Old January 4th 07, 05:55 AM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Dave Michelson
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Posts: 512
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!

Jonathan wrote:

The first crash, I can see the headlines now.....


"Spindrift Lost! FAA grounds all suborbital transports."

--
Dave Michelson

  #3  
Old January 4th 07, 02:11 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Rand Simberg[_1_]
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Posts: 8,311
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!

On Wed, 3 Jan 2007 23:31:51 -0500, in a place far, far away,
"Jonathan" made the phosphor on my monitor glow
in such a way as to indicate that:

Is it just me? Or does anyone else have this sinking
feeling that the rush to build these sub orbital joy rides
have a Titanic like future awaiting?


It's not *just* you. There are plenty of other nutcases out there.

I mean, at first these rides will be fairly expensive and risky.
So it seems inevitable an early flight will crash that is
chock full of the bold and beautiful...the rich and famous.

A trend that starts with high risk and high price seems
like tempting fate.


It's the way every other technology has been developed. What is
magical about space that it should be different?

Oh well, I suppose there's no better
way to get over the hump and create cheaper space
flight for the future.


The first crash, I can see the headlines now.....

The ship hit ground on the shore of this uncharted desert pad
with Madonna, and K-Fed too,
the Millionaire, and his Wife,
the Movie Star, the Professor and Yoko Ono,


I suspect that most people would cheer.
  #4  
Old January 4th 07, 07:16 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Jeff Findley
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Posts: 5,012
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!


"Jonathan" wrote in message
...
Is it just me? Or does anyone else have this sinking
feeling that the rush to build these sub orbital joy rides
have a Titanic like future awaiting?

I mean, at first these rides will be fairly expensive and risky.
So it seems inevitable an early flight will crash that is
chock full of the bold and beautiful...the rich and famous.

A trend that starts with high risk and high price seems
like tempting fate. Oh well, I suppose there's no better
way to get over the hump and create cheaper space
flight for the future.


It's an expensive, high risk, fad like climbing Mount Everest. Nobody does
that anymore, right?

Jeff
--
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety"
- B. Franklin, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1919)


  #5  
Old January 4th 07, 07:21 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Jeff Findley
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Posts: 5,012
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!


"Dave Michelson" wrote in message
news:hN%mh.557936$R63.22497@pd7urf1no...
Jonathan wrote:

The first crash, I can see the headlines now.....


"Spindrift Lost! FAA grounds all suborbital transports."


If you look at what's come out of the FAA recently (concerning suborbital
spaceflight) then you'll see that they're aware of the risks and will
require that all potential passengers be informed of the risk.

This is a bit like the early barnstroming days of aviation. Pretty much
everyone involved will know and understand the risk. However, part of the
thrill of flying will be the risk and knowing that you're participating in
the "early days" of commercial spaceflight.

Risk doesn't necessarily put an end to an activity. Have you seen any of
the more recent TV shows which document climbs of Mount Everest? One of the
episodes I saw included radio communication with climbers who had to leave
someone they found dying in the "death zone". The climber was alive, but at
that altitude, it's extremely difficult to aid another climber who's
essentially incapacitated. There literally wasn't anything reasonable they
could do but leave him to die. And yet, there was a "traffic jam" near the
summit that day.

Jeff
--
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety"
- B. Franklin, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1919)


  #6  
Old January 4th 07, 07:41 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Pat Flannery
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Posts: 18,465
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!



Jeff Findley wrote:

It's an expensive, high risk, fad like climbing Mount Everest. Nobody does
that anymore, right?



One big difference... in going up Everest, you gather your rope and
climbing gear, fight wind, cold, snow, exhaustion, and frostbite, and if
you're lucky, look out from the highest point on Earth after possibly
years of planning, and weeks of effort.
In space tourism, you write someone out a great big check, spend several
hours training, and then strap yourself into a acceleration chair.
Later you look out the window for a minute or two.
This isn't really going to give the feeling of challenge or
accomplishment that climbing Everest, or even a fall smaller mountain,
would. It's closer to a wild amusement park ride - a pretty passive
adventure when it comes right down to it.
And having done it once, you probably will feel a repeat of the
experience would be pretty ho-hum.
I think if this industry does get going, it's going to have a lot of
tourists for the first couple years or so.. then it's just going to dry
up, as there won't be anything that interesting or novel about doing it
after a few hundred or thousand other people have.
"Oh, you've been to space too? Dad paid for me to do that on my tenth
birthday... or was it my twelfth birthday? I forget."
It's going to be an awful lot of money to spend for an experience that's
that short in duration.
Where's the bragging rights in doing something that's really very easy
to do? It can be you in the seat, or a sandbag.
The ship will fly the same way with either.
Besides, I heard a rumor that a monkey was going to make the first
flight. :-D


Pat

  #7  
Old January 4th 07, 07:47 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Rand Simberg[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,311
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!

On Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:41:56 -0600, in a place far, far away, Pat
Flannery made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:



Jeff Findley wrote:

It's an expensive, high risk, fad like climbing Mount Everest. Nobody does
that anymore, right?



One big difference... in going up Everest, you gather your rope and
climbing gear, fight wind, cold, snow, exhaustion, and frostbite, and if
you're lucky, look out from the highest point on Earth after possibly
years of planning, and weeks of effort.
In space tourism, you write someone out a great big check, spend several
hours training, and then strap yourself into a acceleration chair.
Later you look out the window for a minute or two.
This isn't really going to give the feeling of challenge or
accomplishment that climbing Everest, or even a fall smaller mountain,
would. It's closer to a wild amusement park ride - a pretty passive
adventure when it comes right down to it.
And having done it once, you probably will feel a repeat of the
experience would be pretty ho-hum.


Every astronaut who's actually done it would tell you that you've no
idea what you're talking about. But that's nothing new.
  #8  
Old January 4th 07, 07:50 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
[email protected]
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Posts: 31
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!


Pat Flannery wrote:
Jeff Findley wrote:

It's an expensive, high risk, fad like climbing Mount Everest. Nobody does
that anymore, right?



One big difference... in going up Everest, you gather your rope and
climbing gear, fight wind, cold, snow, exhaustion, and frostbite, and if
you're lucky, look out from the highest point on Earth after possibly
years of planning, and weeks of effort.


Clearly you have not kept up to date.

Too often the people paying for the climb have to be carried/aided to
make the last few hundred feet. And in case you think they just go on
a climb, they also need to file a lot of paperwork and pay out money to
a number of people and government organization before they can climb.
Just like taking a sub-orbital trip.

  #9  
Old January 4th 07, 07:55 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Pat Flannery
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18,465
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!



Jeff Findley wrote:


Risk doesn't necessarily put an end to an activity. Have you seen any of
the more recent TV shows which document climbs of Mount Everest? One of the
episodes I saw included radio communication with climbers who had to leave
someone they found dying in the "death zone". The climber was alive, but at
that altitude, it's extremely difficult to aid another climber who's
essentially incapacitated. There literally wasn't anything reasonable they
could do but leave him to die. And yet, there was a "traffic jam" near the
summit that day.



I hate to think this would be extrapolated to space tourism; what are
they going to do, find someone climbing around on the exterior of the
vehicle at the apex of their flight trajectory, and have to leave them
outside during reentry? :-D
Providing the thing doesn't crash on landing, it's probably going to be
a case where everyone comes back fine, or nobody makes it.
Multi-Mach reentry problems aren't like belly-landing a Lear Jet.

Pat
  #10  
Old January 4th 07, 07:56 PM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Pascal Bourguignon
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Posts: 49
Default Bezos' Blue Origin revealed!

h (Rand Simberg) writes:

On Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:41:56 -0600, in a place far, far away, Pat
Flannery made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:



Jeff Findley wrote:

It's an expensive, high risk, fad like climbing Mount Everest. Nobody does
that anymore, right?



One big difference... in going up Everest, you gather your rope and
climbing gear, fight wind, cold, snow, exhaustion, and frostbite, and if
you're lucky, look out from the highest point on Earth after possibly
years of planning, and weeks of effort.
In space tourism, you write someone out a great big check, spend several
hours training, and then strap yourself into a acceleration chair.
Later you look out the window for a minute or two.
This isn't really going to give the feeling of challenge or
accomplishment that climbing Everest, or even a fall smaller mountain,
would. It's closer to a wild amusement park ride - a pretty passive
adventure when it comes right down to it.
And having done it once, you probably will feel a repeat of the
experience would be pretty ho-hum.


Every astronaut who's actually done it would tell you that you've no
idea what you're talking about. But that's nothing new.


It would be more thrilling if you went up with enough propellant to
overcome escape velocity, and without electronic computer to fire the
motors...

--
__Pascal Bourguignon__
http://www.informatimago.com/
The mighty hunter
Returns with gifts of plump birds,
Your foot just squashed one.
 




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