General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRich guys in private spacecraft advertising seats for other rich guys.
The Wrong Stuff.
Elessar Zappa
(13,964 posts)rather than fucking up everything on Earth.
Crunchy Frog
(26,579 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,183 posts).
.
RainCaster
(10,866 posts)THAT would be great karma.
TheBlackAdder
(28,183 posts)DBoon
(22,356 posts)MuseRider
(34,105 posts)I have never heard this. WOW! I am so glad you posted this. Thank you.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I've never heard it before, but I love it!
csziggy
(34,136 posts)But will go to pay skilled workers to do high tech jobs.
Plus, if their rockets go wrong, there will be fewer billionaires polluting the planet. Chances are their billions will be distributed among various heirs, foundations, and other entities.
I see these as "win, win" for the world.
Tribetime
(4,684 posts)And loves free advertising for his next flights of others like him with big egos and too much money. I could care less.
jalan48
(13,859 posts)where climate change has had the least impact. Meanwhile the average citizen is left to deal with the problem. Going into space is just an ego trip for them.
Ocelot II
(115,674 posts)Engineers, tech people and mechanics have jobs. This is a good thing.
tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)rather than vanity travel at the expense of the environment.
Ocelot II
(115,674 posts)A lot of good research and discovery can come from these projects, regardless whether they're done by the government or private enterprises, done for vanity or otherwise.
tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)Such as?
Like humans can't really live there? That being exposed to radiation is not a good thing?
I'm totally down with the space station that's out there now. This on the other hand, absolute waste of time and resources.
I wonder if Branson could see all the sea animals boiling to death from up there?
Sympthsical
(9,072 posts)A lot of tech we take for granted came out of NASA trying to figure things out over the years.
Research for its own sake is a good thing.
Of course the billionaires are doing this out of vanity. But if it helps the human race along a bit, then it isn't the worse thing they could be doing.
MarineCombatEngineer
(12,363 posts)tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)Earth is saved.
Sympthsical
(9,072 posts)And a lot of technology developed could be used for environmental solutions. Better satellites, better programming languages, different energy strategies. Just because it's not obvious on the surface doesn't mean the benefits aren't there.
Here's a neat article about some of the random things that came out of NASA:
https://sports.yahoo.com/25-everyday-items-nasa-invented-225418477.html
I don't get why one would be so down on technological advances, large and small.
PortTack
(32,755 posts)Sympthsical
(9,072 posts)It's not like we're going to start tomorrow.
But I don't see any reason to frown upon long-term thinking.
hunter
(38,310 posts)Wind turbines further entrench our dependence on natural gas.
Every wind turbine requires "backup" power because the wind doesn't blow continuously. This backup power is typically supplied by natural gas. In practice these natural gas plants become the primary source of electricity. (This is why the supposedly "green" Germans are having to make politically dangerous deals with corrupt Russian natural gas suppliers.)
Natural gas is destroying the world as we know it.
If wind turbines were bad for the natural gas industry they wouldn't be building them in Texas.
Engineers and scientists are not a limited resource. We can always make more, encouraging people to become engineers by creating interesting and exciting jobs that actually make the world a better place.
Vanity space programs don't seem like a bad thing to me, especially in comparison to things like natural gas fracking or useless fighter aircraft.
hatrack
(59,583 posts)The Earthrise photograph did, to a degree, drive the realization for many of us of just how small and fragile this planet is, and powered the idea that maybe we should treat it accordingly.
Then again, not holding my breath for such a moment for Bezos, Branson, and their ilk. Not too sure they're wired for revelatory experiences, beyond "Man, I am so FUCKING RICH!!".
edbermac
(15,937 posts)So I really can't knock the guy. If I had the bucks I'd buy a seat.
Stinky The Clown
(67,790 posts)An alternate perspective:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215612050
hunter
(38,310 posts)Better to fund a vanity space program than a right wing racist political agenda.
Stinky The Clown
(67,790 posts)He was the equivalent of his days' billionaire.
His vanity flight program begat today's commercial air travel.
brooklynite
(94,502 posts)The computer you wrote this complaint on cost several thousand dollars more when the first models came out.
The TV you watched the flight on started out as a device that only wealthy families could afford.
The commercial plane flights you take started out as something only a few people could afford.
As technology and production advances they came within reach of more abs more people. Thats capitalism.
MarineCombatEngineer
(12,363 posts)sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)MarineCombatEngineer
(12,363 posts)It's their money, they can spend it however they want to, if they want to spend it on private space travel, that's their right to do so.
tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)They get avoid paying taxes too.
EX500rider
(10,839 posts)tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)Take that poverty!
EX500rider
(10,839 posts)Blue Origin/Number of employees
3,500
tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)eom
EX500rider
(10,839 posts)tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)guess they should have tried harder in math.
EX500rider
(10,839 posts)I doubt there are many min. wage jobs at those companies.
guess they should have tried harder in math.
Yes a better education can lead to better job opportunities.
DBoon
(22,356 posts)and to show free societies can technically outstrip the Soviet dictatorship.
This mission supports the unbridled egos of the extremely wealthy.
This is how America has changed in the last 60 years.
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" has vanished. We now have "winner takes all"
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)BGBD
(3,282 posts)And some fit into that deplorable category.
Response to BGBD (Reply #24)
BannonsLiver This message was self-deleted by its author.
Klaralven
(7,510 posts)Columbus' trip was financed by wealthy backers --
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus/The-first-voyage
Marco Polo was not poor --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo
sir pball
(4,741 posts)Klaralven
(7,510 posts)Carteret was granted the north and east part, while Berkley was granted the south and west part.
dalton99a
(81,451 posts)We need to find out what it looks like above 50 miles
WarGamer
(12,436 posts)I'm all for it.
Response to kairos12 (Original post)
BannonsLiver This message was self-deleted by its author.
Klaralven
(7,510 posts)Except that Space Ship One reached over 100 km altitude three times and the X-15 twice -- so they actually made it into space.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_X-15#Record_flights
KentuckyWoman
(6,679 posts)When airplane travel started it was for rich people. Someone like me could only imagine being on a plane. Now I can afford to fly almost anywhere. Granted I no longer put cardboard in my shoes, but for Americans, I'm in the bottom 3rd economically. I've been lucky enough to use my passport more than once, even though I had to eat lot of Ramen to be able to afford it. ... so to speak.
Maybe it takes 100 years but hopefully this is the start of a new kind of tourism.