gangzoom Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 I don't care what you think of Elon Musk but as a self confessed Sci-Fi fan to watch two booster stages 'land' after a flawess launch was just aweason!! Maybe I'll be lucky enough to see man take a first step on Mars https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/06/spacex-successfully-launches-its-falcon-heavy-rocket/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 For me, Elon is the greatest human being on the planet. He's definitely an alien in a skin suit a la Men in Black. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Watched it all live - brilliant The two boosters landing was just epic, third one missed the autonomous landing barge though still amazing and we now have a car in space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) I know little about this and Elon Musk. Why would Elon Musk have a good or bad reputation and what is the goal of this operation? And finally what is the point of sending the Tesla into space too? Edited February 7, 2018 by Rock_Steady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valy Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 isn't Elon Musk a real life Tony Stark ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 He wishes. And I bet he really does, too. I admire his aspirations, and he has some superb tech people working for him, but the guy is a weapons-grade bell end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 I used to follow space exploration I totally wanted to be an astronaut ad a kid (hey didn't we all!) from what I understand the issues of getting to Mars are that we cannot build craft with enough fuel to get there and back, that radiation would kill you before you got there and that landing would be nigh on impossible for the size of craft required to get there and back. Can see he is attempting the landing bit but who is sorting the other issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rock_Steady said: I know little about this and Elon Musk. Why would Elon Musk have a good or bad reputation and what is the goal of this operation? And finally what is the point of sending the Tesla into space too? I have a comfy bed to sleep in and food to fed my self with, why aspire to do anything more than wake up, eat, and go to sleep?? I find amazing anyone can not be amazed at what a bunch of people have managed to clobber together in a large warehouse on the wrong side of LA. Its was like watching a epsiode of Thunderbirds but in real life. As for going to Mars, you have to be insane to want to even try as its pretty much a one way ticket, but the same was said for Columbus, Scott, Hillary. Looking at the moon-set this morning some how it doesn't look that far away (yes I know currently its not) :). Edited February 7, 2018 by gangzoom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) But he has turned aspirations into reality and the world needs those who do more than than just talk the talk. (Responding to Dan's post) Kinda reminds me (off the top of my head) about the French going bonkers at the thought of the Eiffel Tower being built; concerns about building Concorde; The London Eye; Channel Tunnel, etc etc and then the Teslas......yes I could not buy one all the while I have my hearing, aside from the current cost, but the guy is pushing the boundaries in power technology that less than a decade ago most thought would not be possible and whether we like it of not it is clear the combustion engine days are numbered as we see the big car manufacturers and even the performance car makers jumping on the E bandwagon. It's a shame not more of those who stack up billions in wealth do not invest in more projects of those who have great ideas but not the funds to take them forward. At least Elon backs up his talk. Edited February 7, 2018 by Ebized Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 minute ago, gangzoom said: I have a comfy bed to sleep in and food to fed my self with, why aspire to do anything more than wake up, eat, and go to sleep?? I find amazing anyone can not be amazed at what a bunch of people have managed to clobber together in a large warehouse on the wrong side of LA. A bit harsh just because he's not well read on Musk isn't it? I think its very impressive getting a rocket into space, and getting satellites to balance on orbit without hitting each other all time is ace. I do think research into other propulsion ideas is needed though, as like as has been mentioned, its a looonnnngg way to Mars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) 24 minutes ago, coldel said: Can see he is attempting the landing bit but who is sorting the other issues? The payload capacity of the Saturn V was 120 tons into lower earth orbit, the Falcon heavy maybe most powerful rocket we have today but its payload is only 64 tons. Its actually a bit sad half a centry on from the first Saturn V launch we have less space faring capability than before even the first Atari was made. I would have loved to have been alive at the time of the Apollo missions, it must have seemed like humantiy was going to end up some where amazing.....instead these days we have endless reality TV programs and X factor Edited February 7, 2018 by gangzoom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 I guess like anything there generally has to be a reason for spending tens of billions on something - simply getting a man to Mars, what is the reason other to say you have done it? When there are millions starving to death, millions homeless, millions without clean water here on this planet right now. Sure its 'exciting' to get someone up there but no government is going to fund that just for the sake of it (and quite rightly so) so its up to privateers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 An interesting point. Surely he could have saved all that cash and made the Tesla cars and Tesla Roof tiles a helluva lot cheaper, thus saving the world/environment. Space travel is exciting, and to a science fiction geek like myself fun. But unless we're bringing back rocks/ice/fuel minerals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Jay84 said: A bit harsh just because he's not well read on Musk isn't it? I think its very impressive getting a rocket into space, and getting satellites to balance on orbit without hitting each other all time is ace. I do think research into other propulsion ideas is needed though, as like as has been mentioned, its a looonnnngg way to Mars No that's o.k i didn't really read it as a dig at me but if it were.... i don't mind. I asked to be educated about something i'm not well versed in and i got a jeering negative response? if that is the case then i guess gangzoom is just showing his character. BUT i think my post was taken the wrong way. I wasn't saying " who's this dick and why the bloody hell would anyone want to send something to Mars?" No, i think it was just read in the wrong tone. Edited February 7, 2018 by Rock_Steady 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 3 hours ago, gangzoom said: The payload capacity of the Saturn V was 120 tons into lower earth orbit, the Falcon heavy maybe most powerful rocket we have today but its payload is only 64 tons. Once NASA launch the Atlas rocket, that will then be the most powerful i believe (at least thats what they told us when we went to KSS 2 years ago) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, Jay84 said: An interesting point. Surely he could have saved all that cash and made the Tesla cars and Tesla Roof tiles a helluva lot cheaper, thus saving the world/environment. Space travel is exciting, and to a science fiction geek like myself fun. But unless we're bringing back rocks/ice/fuel minerals... I think it gives you some indication of priorities. Musk has had money thrown at him for years to get EVs off the ground and to be quite frank the process has been much slower than expected, whilst Space X seems to be making much bigger strides. But ultimately whats the point of Space X? Whats the company vision? Whats the point? If its purely bragging rights then it seems like a monumental waste of money - if there genuinely is a thought through plan for it to address all the challenges of space travel and not just building the biggest rocket then good on it. It just seems daft that whilst Model 3 production skips QC stages and cannot build enough batteries so we cannot get CO2 vehicles off the road that are destroying our planet, yet they can launch a tesla into space, what on earth is the point - he shouldnt be getting financed by the taxpayer if its purely an ego trip for him with no actual usable end product. Edit: Im sure I could spend a few hours on google finding some answers but have better things to do...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 His goals are to reduce global warming through sustainable energy and reduce the chance of human extinction through making life multi-planetary. Think life on Mars! Make his vision, your vision. Allow ElonMuskVision.com to guide you along Musk's journey and perhaps let him change the way you see the world. Maybe one day we will enjoy a beautiful double sunrise of Soulianis and Rahm over Magrathea… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 I'm sort of ok with the pace, its the affordability and access that the 'every man' has to them. The blinding acceleration that is the party trick is great, but doesn't appeal to the every man. Make it cheaper than a Mondeo, not faster than a Ferrari and I'd see the appeal. Sorry there is whole thread for this. Back to rockets: If they are delivering large payload satellites, building a moon base (more viable than a mars one in my eyes) then fair enough. But you have to start somewhere, we can't go from concept to Mars with no test flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 4 hours ago, gangzoom said: The payload capacity of the Saturn V was 120 tons into lower earth orbit, the Falcon heavy maybe most powerful rocket we have today but its payload is only 64 tons. Its actually a bit sad half a centry on from the first Saturn V launch we have less space faring capability than before even the first Atari was made. I would have loved to have been alive at the time of the Apollo missions, it must have seemed like humantiy was going to end up some where amazing.....instead these days we have endless reality TV programs and X factor Not really though is it? Saturn was not a reusable rocket and if the tech was there in 1967 its still there now, we just havent had the requirement to send 120 tons into space. The Shuttle can carry 27 tonnes, deliver it, and land back on earth again, Id say thats progress. Weve also stuck a space station up there, landed probes on Mars and sent 5 outside of the solar system and are looking at tourist flights in the next couple of years, our understanding of space and the universe in general has come on massively in the last 40 years. TBH, other than the exploration side I dont see much point in continually blowing billions on sending things up in the sky anyway, until we have some form of hyperdrive it not like theres anywhere worth going anyway, the advances in communication, medicine, environmental protection and even battery technology are a lot more relevant to us as a species. You dont have to watch reality TV but youre obviously happy enough with the internet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, Jay84 said: His goals are to reduce global warming through sustainable energy and reduce the chance of human extinction through making life multi-planetary. Think life on Mars! Make his vision, your vision. Allow ElonMuskVision.com to guide you along Musk's journey and perhaps let him change the way you see the world. Maybe one day we will enjoy a beautiful double sunrise of Soulianis and Rahm over Magrathea… Where does it say this on that website? All I can see are a list of news stories on each of his businesses. Terrible website by the way looks like it was set up in a day by someone buying some free website software! Surely if I was looking to avoid planetary extinction I would have a vision focused on the planet? So that would include reduction in all pollutants, waste products, landfill, so on and so forth. To be quite frank the Space X programme is just a private companies effort to get on the payroll of countries who need a vehicle to put satellites into space, it will be a huge money spinner. If the vision for it was planetary exploration why is he not investing in the main issues which are space survival, our bodies failings in zero gravity, radiation issues, fuels that work in space that are more efficient, lighter, less volatile etc. Thats the goal for space exploration. The cynic in me sees it somewhat differently, he wants to build a commercial product for launching larger satellites. The Mars thing is just to garner support from the inner child in us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 2 minutes ago, coldel said: Where does it say this on that website? All I can see are a list of news stories on each of his businesses. Terrible website by the way looks like it was set up in a day by someone buying some free website software! It was scrolling up the screen Star Wars style , yeah it looks awful and I was nearly sick in my mouth reading it. Over population is a worry, but so is oceanic pollution (thanks Blue Planet) and deforestation, surely they're easier fixes than some of us moving to mars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Yes I am a cynical old so and so now - but I think Mr Musk is just aiming to please his ego and say 'hey look at me' rather than putting his publicly financed wealth towards actual issues that will kill us all off way before we work out how to actually survive in space. The 'space survival challenge' has been there for decades which he has ignored from what I can see. All that said, it did look amazing watching those two booster rockets land. Has anyone got any footage of the main unit crashing though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 I find it quite staggering that anyone with any thought process of their own (i.e "most" members on here, thats a compliment by the way) are taken in by Musk, maybe i am being too generous Unless we evolve to cope with environments other than our own its game over, i think GZ said it right, science FICTION! Ah well, the ev thread is dead in the water and equally as dull, so i am not surprised to see a "new" topic to circumnavigate the thread to get the banter going again. Oh look a squirrel in a sequin jump suit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) While people all around the world are dieing due to lack of clean water and hunger, I find news like this truly humbling. Be nice if a bit more of that top 5% of wealth, went towards causes more meaningful - but then again it might not satisfy shareholders. Edited February 7, 2018 by davey_83 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Check out Warren Buffet, his shareholders love him and he has donated 46+ billion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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