Mars Domination and other hobbies. - The Bear and Badger

[Deleted User]

Marvel-type billionaire is planning to ~~explode~~ launch lhe Falcon Heavy at the end of January and seems fairly relaxed about it's chances.

This is the one that could actually put humans + cargo into space. It's a remarkable achievement they've got this far so quickly and has similar parallels to the early Apollo program I guess, except it's the brainchild of one guy. I would say the chances of sending someone to Mars in the next 50 yrs are slim but this guy is a mental and you never know.

Jeff Bezos has his slightly less successful Blue Origin but quite frankly it's not going to win. You can tell just by the name tbh.

So this is a thread to discuss space toys for billionaires.

Anyway, here's some explosions for your pleasure.

Roujin

I just want to say I fucking love Elon Musk. We watch the mission streams in the office when they're on at UK times. Hope Falcon Heavy does the bsnss. P.s. fuck Armstrong and Aldrin for shitting on Space X and making muh homie cry.

JonB

I read that as 'Mrs Domination and other hobbies' and thought this would be about something completely different.

[Deleted User]

Roujin wrote:

I just want to say I fucking love Elon Musk. We watch the mission streams in the office when they're on at UK times. Hope Falcon Heavy does the bsnss. P.s. fuck Armstrong and Aldrin for shitting on Space X and making muh homie cry.

Yeah I saw that. Tbf you can see their concerns for safety because it does seem quite insane that this is actually happening outside of a comic.

[Deleted User]

Oh I forgot to post this about a secret spy satellite that Musk may or may not have lost.

http://www.newsweek.com/spacex-falcon-9-zuma-lost-775069

dynamiteReady

My favourite Elon Musk story is the one that ties him to the creation of bitcoin...
He's dodged the question in sketchy ways numerous times now.

Brooks

Musk is a pisslord.

Tempy

j'agree

[Deleted User]

dynamiteReady wrote:

My favourite Elon Musk story is the one that ties him to the creation of bitcoin...
He's dodged the question in sketchy ways numerous times now.

lol, there is no way he invented bitcoin. It's laughable.

davyK

Did he make his original pile by being in at the start with Google?

edit: nope - was paypal. Knew it was a big web brand.

Dinostar77

Getting to Mars ain't the problem, coming back is. To be honest, right now I'd settle for a manned mission to the moon.

WorKid

Can we choose the man?

b0r1s

Dinostar77 wrote:

Getting to Mars ain't the problem, coming back is. To be honest, right now I'd settle for a manned mission to the moon.

The right type of visionaries wouldn’t want to come back. Assuming a long term habitation solution could be developed.

WorKid

You'd need a genius though. And not an unstable one.

Diluted Dante

WorKid wrote:

Can we choose the man?

I'd say Nigel Farage, but what if it's actually inhabited, and that's our ambassador?

[Deleted User]

It really does seem insane to be talking about Mars but Musk seems to be quite serious. Possible cuntiness aside, he presumably knows a thing or two about engineering and getting things done?

I suppose it seemed madness that America could land a man on the Moon before the 60's were over but this?

b0r1s

I don’t think it’s madness and I think we need to strive for more than just more of the same but shinier please. It might sound star trekky but I do think human kind as a whole needs bigger visions and a future that isn’t just fighting over existing resources.

Nina

We're probably gonna look at one of the launches at some point at the vandenberg launchpad near LA. At least B think's you can go there and watch, who knows. Should be quite something to watch, I saw some footage people shot of the last one (couple days before Christmas) going over LA.

I'm not really up to date with all the missions etc. but we spend enough hours at Schiphol, just looking at airplanes come and go. There was one spot where you'd stood right under the plane before it hit the ground, that was impressive. So weird how what you see and hear doesn't come at the same time.

Where can you see the expected launces? SpaceX's website has a planned launches list, but no dates on there.

wonderbanana

b0r1s wrote:

I don’t think it’s madness and I think we need to strive for more than just more of the same but shinier please. It might sound star trekky but I do think human kind as a whole needs bigger visions and a future that isn’t just fighting over existing resources.

Agree. Its shocking to think how little we have achieved since the late 60's given the technological advances.

Still, I guess it doesn't bring in the big bucks, if it did we'd be commuting to the Moon daily.

[Deleted User]

You definitely can go and watch these things but waiting around and cancellations might grind a bit.

Some thoughts on this from Chris Hadfield.

https://youtu.be/IICfYjw7LA4

[Deleted User]

I saw a shuttle launch once.
We had just arrived in Florida and were driving to our accommodation. Loads of people had pulled up on the side of the road so we pulled up to ask what was going on.
A minute or so later it launched, awesome sight even at the distance we were at.

[Deleted User]

This one is from a passenger plane.

https://youtu.be/GE_USPTmYXM

davyK

Musk seems to be quite taken with the idea of an off planet "backup" of human knowledge and other items (similar to the seed ark in N.Europe).

The idea appeals to me I have to say.

I don't know if he is an engineering genius or not - he at least seems to be able to attract the talent and provide the environment for advancement. That landing rocket is fucking cool.

Rockets are still a brilliant thing. The novelty would never wear off with me. Would love to have seen a shuttle or Saturn V launch. I think the Saturn V was the most majestic looking machine we have ever made.

I like the fact that he is around.

[Deleted User]

Talking of Saturn V I love this Apollo 11 remastered footage.

https://youtu.be/ixkEhcHe1yI

Shaving on the way to the Moon! Military mindset I guess.

davyK

For all Mankind is a beautiful montage of Apollo footage with Brian Eno music.

Well worth checking out. I double dipped on it - have DVD and BluRay. The mixture & age of footage is such that DVD is probably good enough to be honest though I haven't returned to the DVD to compare.

'tis on the tube at the mo

[Deleted User]

It seems remarkable they took the LRV.

Bet that was fun.

[Deleted User]

I do like space stuff, from shuttles to black hole theories there is something utopian about it.
The best minds coming together to overcome problems to achieve something positive.

Even the space race was something positive in the middle of one of modern history's darkest times. It's actually insane to think that happened, the advances made in the name of Willy waving because two sides were in military deadlock.

I find the whole thing an escape from bullshit and quite relaxing to watch and learn about.

Escape

JonB wrote:

I read that as 'Mrs Domination and other hobbies' and thought this would be about something completely different.

Male Domination and Other Hobbies

Brooks wrote:

Musk is a pisslord.

I love what he does but can't stand his portrayal as a pioneer. He was incredibly fortunate to secure major funding for his first online company, which wouldn't have happened had he not caught the birth of the bubble. His own X was doomed to failure before he acquired PayPal, which then made his fortune off the bat of its original coders.

He certainly seems bright enough, and without knowing him I don't have much of an opinion of him as a person, but I think his is a clear case of money making money, and I don't buy into his image as a genuine eco conch. Man's a Valley choad.

Dinostar77

It doesn't take a genius to get to Mars. It comes down to cost and coming back. As others have said, there wouldn't be a shortage of people willing to take a one way trip. SpaceX idea is to send fuel for return trip and other bits and pieces to Mars before a manned mission seems pretty sensible.

It would be fantastic if within the next 50 years we had a moon base and a Mars outpost. I could easily envisage mining operations at said bases and asteroid belt within a 100 years.

On a slight tangent, a non manned mission to Europa is something I hope happens in my lifetime. Especially if it has a probe with a camera that can explore the ocean underneath its ice crust. To find life in our solar system other than on earth would be a momentous occasion.

davyK

As far as I can see one of the major challenges arising from a Mars trip is the physical and mental effects of the journey on the people.

Radiation will be a problem, as will the effects of living at zero g for an extended time. Anyone doing this will get a lifetime's dose of radiation at least. Extended stays on the ISS has given an insight into the effects of zero g but I'm not sure all the issues have been addressed.

The human relation strain and general mental health issues are a huge risk as well.

I wouldn't be at all surprised about trips being one way for various reasons. Coming back to live at 1G after years in zero and low gravity might not be feasible.

davyK

Astronauts falling over and messing about.

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