SpaceX successfully launches Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time

Boilerhog146 said:
A job well done in any case.
when he does get to fly off to the moon or mars ,he can stop and grab his roadster ,and be the only guy in space with a car.bragging rights. :p
Then he's gonna look back and moon us all !
Am I in the right place?
this goes way beyond my Ken!
seriously though, I doubt anyone is going to mars,for anything more than another stop base like the one they will put on the moon, another blue planet much like our own will most likely be discovered in the mean time ,,that is just a theory, much like any other .but seems more realistic.
so much is known here about its atmosphere , you won't mind my asking if it spins on an axis like earth does , how fast,what sort of gravity does it have, can ya take some of that hydrogen, mix it with other gases and make breathable air or water.or Fuel,all of which will be a big necessity , to sustain life,

mind if I hitch a ride,drop me off on venus, if its not too far out of the way,I know a girl there...
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There are quite a few sites out there, such as this one for your Mars question https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars , that have the answers to your questions. I have found that doing the research myself is the best way to add to my Ken doll collection, I am sure you would find that it will add to your Ken doll collection, too. ;)

As to your "another blue planet" being found assertion, I think that they have already found one. There is a problem with that, though. Into your favorite search engine type "how long would it take to get to the nearest star" and hit return. Please let us know your answer. For your research and a correct answer, you will get a "like" from me. ;)
 
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Not necessary,interesting read, though a little deep.,I'm aware it will take lifetimes ,and generations .,to get to another solar system,even mars is no day trip.with current tech,we have to pick up the pace if we are going any where besides the moon..

I was kidding. I'm not going anywhere .I would need to drag along a shuttle load of meds and a doctor.unless I can be uploaded to a chip on board.by then.leave the body here.its not much good anyway.
 
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Missed this article. The negativity in the comments section is a cancer. Publicity or not, CGI or not, Taxpayers or not, Charity or not, this was a small but significant step in reaching the space. You guys better hide to your keyboard with your negativity while a company full of hopeful employees are trying hard to make it come true.
 
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Well said Kenrick - unfortunately TS has become overrun by deluded conspiracy theorists, people pretending they know stuff they know zero about and one person who needs to be told they are not nearly as witty or clever as they think they are...
Sure the car is a bit of a crazy stunt and Elon Musk can be a bit of a showman but he is at least still trying to 'push the envelope' and seems to be getting things done that governments just cant do anymore.
 
captaincranky said:
This is attached to a fallacy with Musk's reusable boosters. Out of pure curiosity, I would like to know what percentage of fuel needs to be saved to land the rocket. If you're not going to save the booster, then obviously, you can run the tanks dry.

With respect to VTOL in in aircraft. Even the British launch the Harrier from a ramp on their carriers, because vertical takeoff wastes a ton of fuel. The same is true for landings.

It can't relate directly, since the rocket booster's tanks are so much bigger in relation to its empty weight. But I"m not sure it can be completely ignored. The amount of extra payload would equal the amount of fuel needed to saved for landing
Here I question if Space-X's costs have been reduced by the amount of research money pumped into the moon landing project. After all, NASA is sharing their research with these private companies.

Then too, you can more than likely do launch trajectory and other related maths, on one of today's laptops, as opposed to a roomful of lab workers in white lab coats and "Eniac" vacuum tube computers.

Our government wanted the moon landing done, no matter what the costs. Contractors were pretty much given blank checks to bring the project to fruition. I doubt it would cost 1.1 billion in today's money to build a Saturn V, even if cost versus inflation indicate that that was the case in the past

Here's the page on the "guidance computers" aboard the lunar vehicles: Read the specs. No doubt you'll be amazed, astonished, or appalled. Possibly all three. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
We're pumping a lot of "off budget" money into Space-X.

If we allocated money for NASA into the budget, we'd have to explain why there wasn't enough money to feed and breed new generations of Obama voters in our ghettos, not to mention Medicare and prescription drug plans for an aging population.. In fact, that's (IIRC) why NASA's budget was cut so dramatically, in large part to fund social entitlements.
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Those are fair points but spending today from the government side into project would be stupidly high. As can be seen in defence projects for fiasco such as the F35 programme. Forget Saturn V, it would be difficult to even bring back production for F22 which is considered a pretty successful plane and much cheaper than F35.
 
OortCloud said:
Well said Kenrick - unfortunately TS has become overrun by deluded conspiracy theorists, people pretending they know stuff they know zero about and one person who needs to be told they are not nearly as witty or clever as they think they are...
Sure the car is a bit of a crazy stunt and Elon Musk can be a bit of a showman but he is at least still trying to 'push the envelope' and seems to be getting things done that governments just cant do anymore.
Click to expand...

Was there actually a car.?with all the planning and money sunk in to this test ,
Wouldn't ya think they would at least have a solar panel on there somewhere keeping a trickle charge going .at least to keep the cameras able to power up from time to time?
 
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Boilerhog146 said:
Was there actually a car.?with all the planning and money suck in to this test ,
Wouldn't ya think they would at least have a solar panel on there somewhere keeping a trickle charge going .at least to keep the cameras able to power up from time to time?
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I thought this launch was to test the new rockets just like the initial launch of falcon 9. The car powered or not is just a dummy test load and an icing to the cake to make it exciting and flashing. Sure it cost millions of dollars which some people would say the car should have been given to charities and to the war in syria which I find it ridiculous. Its not about the money when it comes with advancement in research and technology, its about the results. It is getting ridiculous how some humans cant get the point that deep space exploration would be not cheap. I was hoping it would be aliens are the ones that would not be happy about this launch but boy I was wrong. Some people will find anything to say just to discredit your results. nevertheless, I am a believer that this step is a significant milestone for our children/grandchildren to reach the space.
 
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Kenrick said:
I thought this launch was to test the new rockets just like the initial launch of falcon 9. The car powered or not is just a dummy test load and an icing to the cake to make it exciting and flashing. Sure it cost millions of dollars which some people would say the car should have been given to charities and to the war in syria which I find it ridiculous. Its not about the money when it comes with advancement in research and technology, its about the results. It is getting ridiculous how some humans cant get the point that deep space exploration would be not cheap. I was hoping it would be aliens are the ones that would not be happy about this launch but boy I was wrong. Some people will find anything to say just to discredit your results. nevertheless, I am a believer that this step is a significant milestone for our children/grandchildren to reach the space.
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I agree.I hope my grand kids watched this.
This was a great event to witness in our lifetime.even with out the gimmicks.the landing of the rockets back on the pads to be used again was truly amazing, another giant leap for Humanity. despite our setbacks.
it seems when we do get together and make great things happen,for a moment ,we all forget our differences here on the ground.too bad we can't keep that togetherness. going. instead of the constant struggle to get along..? ;)
 
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OortCloud said:
Well said Kenrick - unfortunately TS has become overrun by deluded conspiracy theorists, people pretending they know stuff they know zero about and one person who needs to be told they are not nearly as witty or clever as they think they are...
Sure the car is a bit of a crazy stunt and Elon Musk can be a bit of a showman but he is at least still trying to 'push the envelope' and seems to be getting things done that governments just cant do anymore.
Click to expand...

That's some negativity right there. Elon Musk is an id*ot,it must be nice to not have to justify what he does with other peoples money.Governments can't get away with it anymore, and anyone that thinks as a capitalist society/species, that we are ever going to be able to use that to get humans off this planet and off into space exploring and searching for another inhabitable planet .is dillusional,we'll all die here first,so tell me ,already.without the innuendo .

instead of a car, he could have had a container of supplies ,food,water,etc. with a few thrusters. to get it close to the space station ,so it could be captured,but no ,there's not enough junk up there floating around yet..and that's what the $250,000 car just became SPACE JUNK. we ought to be ashamed of ourselves as a species...no alien species will ever come to earth,it has a human infestation.

or a large container of toxic waste,spent nuke material,etc and sent off to burn up in the sun.
or a bus load of ignorant TS members.can I drive. :p
SHOTGUN!

I can see it now,a couple thousand years along, a relative of musks is zipping along in his little spaceship with the wife and virtual kids,and WHAM! Dummie in the little red tesla convertible ,comes outta nowhere,how ironic is that.
 
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Boilerhog146 said:
That's some negativity right there. Elon Musk is an id*ot,it must be nice to not have to justify what he does with other peoples money.Governments can't get away with it anymore, and anyone that thinks as a capitalist society/species, that we are ever going to be able to use that to get humans off this planet and off into space exploring and searching for another inhabitable planet .is dillusional,we'll all die here first,so tell me ,already.without the innuendo .
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I think you are almost precisely 180 degrees off.

Correction, exactly 180 degrees off.
 
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captaincranky said:
And I think he's dead on target. So, why don't you sign up for Musk's one way mission to Mars? Send us a postcard when you get there.
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And as usual, you miss. You are a poor shot. Have you thought about re-training or maybe starting back on therapy? How is that new sponsor?
 
SHOTGUN!:p ,where do I sign? beats this boring , slow and painful death here,much better to die with a crowd of other humans around,if for no other reason, just to look them in the eye ,see? I told ya,



already signed Scodd? on a first name basis and all.I'm not sitting with you.
 
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OortCloud said:
Well said Kenrick - unfortunately TS has become overrun by deluded conspiracy theorists, people pretending they know stuff they know zero about and one person who needs to be told they are not nearly as witty or clever as they think they are...
Sure the car is a bit of a crazy stunt and Elon Musk can be a bit of a showman but he is at least still trying to 'push the envelope' and seems to be getting things done that governments just cant do anymore.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input. I am the first to admit when I am a nut, but there is a complexity to going to Mars which so far, Musk has barely, if at all, acknowledged. Find Feynman's quote on scientific integrity. It is an enlightening read.

As to
getting things done that governments just cant do anymore
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NASA still has a space program that is well beyond what Musk is doing. NASA is the leader and has made it public policy to leave some of the "dirty work" to companies like SpaceX. Dig a bit, and you just might find that in one of their publicity releases.

What is going on right now with NASA, if you look at it with a critical eye - or at least as I see it, is the same thing that NASA has done for years - hire private contractors to build their vehicles. Without NASA's bucks, SpaceX and Musk would be digging for gold elsewhere and, perhaps, much less likely to find that gold.

By the way, I did pay a faint thumbs up to the launch, but Musk's showmanship pushes the bounds of humility, IMO.
 
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Reehahs said:
Those are fair points but spending today from the government side into project would be stupidly high. As can be seen in defence projects for fiasco such as the F35 programme. Forget Saturn V, it would be difficult to even bring back production for F22 which is considered a pretty successful plane and much cheaper than F35.
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It is difficult to determine where to place "blame" in the F35 program. Do we place it on contractors that charge $10K for a toilet seat renamed "waste disposal port," or do we place it with the govt. I am sure there is finger pointing going on at all levels, and who knows why the overruns have gone as far as they have.

Pushing the envelope, which the F35 does, does not come cheap - especially if they are inventing things that did not already exist. For example, look at what happened with Apollo 1.

As the saying goes, hindsight is better than foresight. I, for one, am certainly not pleased with the performance of the F35 project.
 
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wiyosaya said:
What is going on right now with NASA, if you look at it with a critical eye - or at least as I see it, is the same thing that NASA has done for years - hire private contractors to build their vehicles..
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Hindsight is allways 20/20. so I hear. .
you can point the finger at both contractors and government, they know whats going on ,its public money, that's endless.they play dumb when you call them out on it..I've been a part of it for years ,I've seen the waste first hand..

Just a guess ,they would be big Union contractors, as that's the only place to find the large numbers of skilled trades people to do that kind of work.all trained and ticketed.on a short or limited notice?

that would also account for cost over runs,. I've seen companies under estimate on jobs to get in the door.then its oops. oops.happens in Canada all the time..Take our Muskrat falls hydro electric development. as an example.what a shafting we are gonna get from that project. behind schedule, billions over budget.a lot of palms were greased .

we have this critter ,we call it the FATCAT! though they have gotten leaner, so they can hide easier.but they just suck up and squander resources,
 
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