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Blue Origin’s New Glenn heavy payload rocket reaches orbit

Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
I'm excited for these guys but we know the real launch comes later tonight..

Looks to be a good one, again

jSnskNn.gif
 

Ballthyrm

Member
Reaching orbit on first try is really something to be commended.
Especially on something that big and complex.

The launch itself was beautiful and really slow.
Yay for Competition.
 

rm082e

Member
That's cool. I don't have any particular attachment to any of these companies so personally I figure any advancements in this area are good for us as a whole.

Yeah, pretty much this.

Hearing Bezos outline his vision on the Lex Fridman podcast a year ago, he's hoping SpaceX and Blue Origin can build a foundation for local space industry. He's thinking they will build the infrastructure and future companies will develop business models that rely on that. He compared it to the internet industry building on the back of the existing telephone infrastructure in the 1990s.

If they can get rockets launching regularly into orbit, then they can reach out to the Moon. If they can establish some basic infrastructure on the Moon, then they can start thinking about Mars. If they can eventually get a foothold on Mars, then they can start venturing out to the asteroid belt and figuring out how to mine resources from it. And once we start tapping the asteroid belt, then we can lunch more and more missions to the outer planets and start building permanent space stations close to Earth.

The key is some organization (public or private) has to build out the early infrastructure. It's the egg in the chicken-and-egg problem. Seeing NASA's budget consistently get cut, it's unlikely the public is going to pay for it, so it's up to private companies to make this happen.
 

DKehoe

Gold Member
Didn't realize it was today. Glad they made it, more rockets and competition means more innovation and a likelihood of space exploration
Yeh from what I've read others say Blue Origin might not be as advanced as SpaceX but more companies pushing each other forward is a good thing. Also I'd rather Bezos spend his billions on this rather than a few more super yachts.
 

ChuckeRearmed

Gold Member
If they can get rockets launching regularly into orbit, then they can reach out to the Moon. If they can establish some basic infrastructure on the Moon, then they can start thinking about Mars. If they can eventually get a foothold on Mars, then they can start venturing out to the asteroid belt and figuring out how to mine resources from it. And once we start tapping the asteroid belt, then we can lunch more and more missions to the outer planets and start building permanent space stations close to Earth.
To build anything on Moon or Mars we need to launch a lot of rockets at once so that astronauts can start building stuff.
I wonder if we can use rockets for transportation on earth - instead of planes.

The key is some organization (public or private) has to build out the early infrastructure. It's the egg in the chicken-and-egg problem. Seeing NASA's budget consistently get cut, it's unlikely the public is going to pay for it, so it's up to private companies to make this happen.
NASA is an ineffective bureaucratic organization. No matter how much budget you provide to it, its effectiveness will nowhere near SpaceX.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
NASA is an ineffective bureaucratic organization. No matter how much budget you provide to it, its effectiveness will nowhere near SpaceX.

Probably by design. Put people into positions to make it ineffective. Cut the funding, so the big multibillionaire’s business can reap the rewards.

Space travel is nice, but I don’t want the ultra rich to have a place to flee to when the shit hits the fan. I’m want them right here with the rest of us.
 

ChuckeRearmed

Gold Member
Probably by design. Put people into positions to make it ineffective. Cut the funding, so the big multibillionaire’s business can reap the rewards.
Every government organization becomes bureaucratic. Private investment wants to achieve something to reap the rewards, while bureaucrats want nothing but more bureaucracy.

With millionaires and magnates, people would still ride horses.
 
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