Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic has made its suborbital test flight. \o/ My observations include ...
* Not quite 100% of rich people are useless assholes. There's always a nonzero fraction who do awesome things with all that money. The problem is, you have to shuck a lot of oysters to find those pearls.
* Particularly telling is that Mr. Branson hasn't changed his tune. He's saying exactly the same things after the flight as before it, and repeating them because nobody believes him. That's enough, quit pestering the man. Integrity and honesty may be rare, but they do exist.
* I'm amused by the style of the vehicle. Look at all the extra portholes! That's a hallmark of commercial flights, before they go to shutters and something like transparent aluminum for the roof. Spacers call them "peekaboo planes." Just keep in mind that, like on an oceangoing vessel, every aperture in the hull is a weakness and a potential failure point. But I swear, almost every spacefaring culture thinks of these things.
* This is not a joke or a publicity stunt or a way to fleece sheep. It's an important step in becoming a spacefaring species. Not just because it marks an economic threshold, but because looking down on the planet from space tends to change people. Mr. Branson got it. Welcome to the family, bro, and thanks for busting your ass on that step so more people could reach it.
* Not quite 100% of rich people are useless assholes. There's always a nonzero fraction who do awesome things with all that money. The problem is, you have to shuck a lot of oysters to find those pearls.
* Particularly telling is that Mr. Branson hasn't changed his tune. He's saying exactly the same things after the flight as before it, and repeating them because nobody believes him. That's enough, quit pestering the man. Integrity and honesty may be rare, but they do exist.
* I'm amused by the style of the vehicle. Look at all the extra portholes! That's a hallmark of commercial flights, before they go to shutters and something like transparent aluminum for the roof. Spacers call them "peekaboo planes." Just keep in mind that, like on an oceangoing vessel, every aperture in the hull is a weakness and a potential failure point. But I swear, almost every spacefaring culture thinks of these things.
* This is not a joke or a publicity stunt or a way to fleece sheep. It's an important step in becoming a spacefaring species. Not just because it marks an economic threshold, but because looking down on the planet from space tends to change people. Mr. Branson got it. Welcome to the family, bro, and thanks for busting your ass on that step so more people could reach it.