Falcon punch!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/201 ... nails+test

CAPE CANAVERAL — Feeling pressure to perform on a mission deemed key to President Barack Obama's controversial space plan, SpaceX scored a bulls-eye Friday on the first flight of its Falcon 9 rocket.

Nine powerful first-stage engines ignited in a billowing cloud of smoke, propelling the rocket on a spot-on trajectory over the Atlantic Ocean and into an orbit 155 miles above Earth's surface.

Rolling thunder rippled across Florida marshlands, triggering loud exuberant cheers and joyful jumps from spectators around Florida's Space Coast.

"What a show!" the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said in a tweet.

The Falcon 9 roared into a new epoch in space travel, one in which commercial companies -- rather than NASA -- operate fleets that fly cargo and astronaut crews to and from the International Space Station.

Obama laid out the plan in his proposed 2011 budget, and reiterated it during a trip to Kennedy Space Center in April -- one in which he made a telling side trip to meet SpaceX Founder Elon Musk at the Falcon 9 launch site.

"I think it's the dawn of a new era in space exploration, I think a very exciting era, and one which I think will lead to the democratization of space, making space accessible to everyone eventually," Musk said after Friday's launch.

"I think this bodes very well for the Obama plan. It really helps vindicate the approach that he's taking -- that even a small company like SpaceX can make a real difference."

Balance of article at URL above.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

..."I think it's the dawn of a new era in space near-Earth orbit exploration pissing-about, I think a very exciting pointless era, and one which I think will lead to the democratization of space crap excuses to cut NASA funding, making space Mars accessible to everyone eventually nobody ever," Musk said after Friday's launch...

Someone wake me up when we start taking space seriously again. What disappointing times to be living in.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

..."I think it's the dawn of a new era in space near-Earth orbit exploration pissing-about, I think a very exciting pointless era, and one which I think will lead to the democratization of space crap excuses to cut NASA funding, making space Mars accessible to everyone eventually nobody ever," Musk said after Friday's launch...

Someone wake me up when we start taking space seriously again. What disappointing times to be living in.

I've been following this from the Mercury launches and I'm very pleased that it's going private.

[FBM]

I like the idea of privatization of the space industry. Seems that private industries would do a lot more to trim the fat off the budgets and may be a little more adventurous than NASA. We could have a colony on the moon or Mars by now.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

..."I think it's the dawn of a new era in space near-Earth orbit exploration pissing-about, I think a very exciting pointless era, and one which I think will lead to the democratization of space crap excuses to cut NASA funding, making space Mars accessible to everyone eventually nobody ever," Musk said after Friday's launch...

Someone wake me up when we start taking space seriously again. What disappointing times to be living in.

I've been following this from the Mercury launches and I'm very pleased that it's going private.

Why? What exactly is this supposed to achieve?

[Horwood Beer-Master]

I like the idea of privatization of the space industry. Seems that private industries would do a lot more to trim the fat off the budgets and may be a little more adventurous than NASA. We could have a colony on the moon or Mars by now.

With profit margins to look out for?

Yeah - right!

[FBM]

I like the idea of privatization of the space industry. Seems that private industries would do a lot more to trim the fat off the budgets and may be a little more adventurous than NASA. We could have a colony on the moon or Mars by now.

With profit margins to look out for?

Yeah - right!

Hasn't stopped McDonnel-Douglas, Halliburton, etc, from pulling some wild shit outta their asses. Gummits will still be paying for it with our tax dollars, anyway. Wait. I think I may have just disproven my own point.

[devogue]

I really wanted to see a picture of someone punching a falcon.

[FBM]

falcon-punch.jpg (44.98 KiB) Viewed 1021 times

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Why? What exactly is this supposed to achieve?

First, removing the bloat from NASA. The agency would be the "directing agency" for space exploration, letting contracts to companies to do things like supply the ISS and future missions.

It would also add competitiveness to the space efforts, making for better (hopefully) and more efficient (probably) missions.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

...Hasn't stopped McDonnel-Douglas, Halliburton, etc, from pulling some wild shit outta their asses...

Examples needed.

...Gummits will still be paying for it with our tax dollars, anyway...

Will they? Then why don't they just run the show direct?


I don't know how things are in America, but in Britain government outsourcing of public services to private companies has been (and continues to be) an absolutely colossal waste of money for no dammed benefit whatsoever (except to the shareholders of said companies).
If our government were really committed to slashing public spending like they claim to be, they'd start by cancelling all these sodding PFI (or whatever they're called these days) contracts.




(edit - spelling)

[Gawdzilla Sama]

One benefit from this is purely political. The "Anything the Government Does is BAD!" boys will be more willing to fund projects when local companies are more involved in them.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

...First, removing the bloat from NASA...

Can you give examples of this 'bloat'?

...It would also add competitiveness to the space efforts...

Competitiveness for profits maybe. I'm deeply sceptical that will translate into competitiveness in exploration, science or human progress - particularly if the funding, as well as running, of the projects is going to be private (which from recent NASA budget cuts, I'd imagine it will).

...making for better (hopefully)...

You will only get better missions the day a scientist, rather than a beancounter, is put in charge of allocating funding.

...and more efficient (probably) missions.

I worry that what a private company may wish to drop in the name of "efficiency" may turn out to be the most worthwhile aspects of a mission.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Have fun, HBM.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

One benefit from this is purely political. The "Anything the Government Does is BAD!" boys will be more willing to fund projects when local companies are more involved in them.

Maybe it's because I was born in 1981, and have had to endure my entire life under the Thatcher/Ragen economic consensus, but I'm fed up to the back teeth of this cult of Anything the Government Does is BAD!", and have no appetite for appeasing the kind of halfwits who spout that nonsense.

In my experience, anything that the Government outsources is rotten. Rotten to the core.