TimeEffect
Member
Oh wow. This is a thing already? I would love to do this... when it feels safe enough.
How far up do you go!?
Can you confirm if you are joking or not? It's really bothering me
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Virgin Galactic Spaceship has Crashed. AP: one pilot killed, one seriously injured
- Thread starter Maninthemirror
- Start date
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Oh wow. This is a thing already? I would love to do this... when it feels safe enough.
How far up do you go!?
Can you confirm if you are joking or not? It's really bothering me
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Replace this with pretty much any high risk form of travel that is now common place to us, and you might realise how utterly crazy you sound man.
CyclopsRock
Member
Why not? I mean, why are they mutually exclusive to you?
hobblygobbly
Member
Latest image
https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/528259886455750658/photo/1
For those saying that pushing new technology, research and ideas should be stopped due to risks then how do you imagine we've got everything we do today without such risks? You can fly to the other side of the planet, lots of people lost their lives to make that viable with modern aviation. A part of what Virgin Galactic is trying to do here is to also enable faster travel on Earth, it would enable us to fly to the opposite side of the world in less than 2 hours in theory, where as a commercial flight could take you a 16+ hour flight. It's called point-to-point suborbital travel, it would allow a flight from Central Europe to Sydney in around ~2 hours. So yeah, pushing new frontiers/tech is not a risk-free environment, it's the complete opposite. Humanity only progresses that way, otherwise we would still be in the caves.
https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/528259886455750658/photo/1
For those saying that pushing new technology, research and ideas should be stopped due to risks then how do you imagine we've got everything we do today without such risks? You can fly to the other side of the planet, lots of people lost their lives to make that viable with modern aviation. A part of what Virgin Galactic is trying to do here is to also enable faster travel on Earth, it would enable us to fly to the opposite side of the world in less than 2 hours in theory, where as a commercial flight could take you a 16+ hour flight. It's called point-to-point suborbital travel, it would allow a flight from Central Europe to Sydney in around ~2 hours. So yeah, pushing new frontiers/tech is not a risk-free environment, it's the complete opposite. Humanity only progresses that way, otherwise we would still be in the caves.
Mutanthands
Member
Damn it. Hope that they find out what happened, and make the next ship safer because of it.
The private space industry has taken some lumps this week, but if you know about the steady string of absolute failure on both sides of the space race at the beginning, then you know this is par for the course.
The private space industry has taken some lumps this week, but if you know about the steady string of absolute failure on both sides of the space race at the beginning, then you know this is par for the course.
CrocMother
Banned
Space travel is pointless until we actually have a place to go, which is why most of the money today is going into satellites. That is where the excitement is right now.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
no you loon
No, it's not. Every other form of transport exists to get you somewhere, space travel exists purely for the traveling, it has no practical application. If there were cities in Europa or something, sure, you'd need to use a spaceship to get there, but there isn't.
The whole 'pushing the boundaries' thing only applies when there is a tangible result. Establishing the US is a meaningful, impactful goal, so lives lost towards that goal have a sacrificial value. Leaving the atmosphere for the sake of doing it isn't worth even a single life, let alone how many it's taken, and will continue to.
And yes, everyone will have their own value of human life. Some people would choose not to wear a helmet when riding a motorbike too, but if it was my decision, manned space travel would be over, long over actually.
plasmasd
Member
Stopping space travel. That's just stupid.
If anything its all we should be focused on. The only way to guarantee the future of the human race is to spread us out across the galaxy. Focusing just on this planet is myopic. We have around 50 years left of easily extractable oil. I can't find the graphs, but I think there are several other natural resources that will be hard to mine by the end of the century as well. Time could be limited for rapid scientific advances.
It only takes one cataclysmic event to wipe us out completely. Look at some of the craters on this planet, or the stuff that has hit Jupiter recently. One of those hits earth and were history.
If anything its all we should be focused on. The only way to guarantee the future of the human race is to spread us out across the galaxy. Focusing just on this planet is myopic. We have around 50 years left of easily extractable oil. I can't find the graphs, but I think there are several other natural resources that will be hard to mine by the end of the century as well. Time could be limited for rapid scientific advances.
It only takes one cataclysmic event to wipe us out completely. Look at some of the craters on this planet, or the stuff that has hit Jupiter recently. One of those hits earth and were history.
hobblygobbly
Member
Not really true, part of making LEO viable commercially would enable point-to-point suborbital travel like I outlined in my above post, which would mean you could go from any place in Central Europe to Australia in ~2 hours - completely changing traditional aviation, which is what Virgin Galactic aims to achieve. The biggest part of the industry right now is actually making LEO commercially viable and privatised, and as I repeat, which is basically Virgin's main goal, as well as SpaceX.
We could try, I dunno, the shit in our own solar system first.
Spring-Loaded
Member
These four sentences next to one another. Mm.
But how would you establish a city in Europa without space travel first...?
There are tangible benefits -- predominantly energy ones -- to creating permanent establishments in space. But to do that, we need to get up there.
Veritigo_X
Member
You're okay with the human race staying on this rock for the rest of eternity?
Arthr2ShdsJcksn
Banned
I just don't know, man... How does a sane person respond to this? I might be inclined to write something similar as a joke, but it didn't come off that way. Hope it was though, because if you're serious then that is the most depressing thing in this thread.
edit... just read your post just above. I think your viewpoints on space travel are narrow and silly.
CyclopsRock
Member
And we never will if we don't, like, leave.
I'm pretty sure thats not why anyone is interested in space travel. Particularly private industry.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Glad you aren't in charge. Space study, travel, and exploration are what will keep our species going long into the future. What happens when Earth runs out of non-renewable energy? What happens when, to get precious metals, we need to mine asteroids? What happens when the planet overpopulation becomes a crisis? If we can have a meaningful way to travel in space, and even a destination in which to start future colonies we can benefit from it to a huge degree.
If you stop now, you place and even bigger stress on the future of mankind.
I'm fine with space exploration, and space travel when something is established to get to, of course, it's an inevitability. But space tourism? People dying so rich people can float for an hour, no.
thelatestmodel
Junior, please.
And this is what will kill space exploration and imprison us on Earth.
The headlines and the grumpy, short-sighted politicians will take over from this point, and essentially kill all hope of a proper space program.
The headlines and the grumpy, short-sighted politicians will take over from this point, and essentially kill all hope of a proper space program.
Sad. I wonder how preventable this sort of thing really could have been, though I'm sure it could have been prepared better. Space travel is so difficult even when you've done it regularly, but it's relatively new for these private companies and NASA is only starting to get back into the swing of it.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
I've seen you say some weird shit in Gaming, but this takes the biscuit. I just... I can't. You remember that Spongebob episode when he refused to leave his house because he broke his ass? He got out of there by the end of the episode. You can't be afraid to venture outside of your pineapple because of sea-bear attacks.
Chittagong
Gold Member
Elon pls
Maninthemirror
Banned
Said those after the 3 pilots burnt to death in a test flight by nasa in 60s
scientists don't give up due to one failure. There will be space travel in my lifetime at least
Veritigo_X
Member
Oh, so you're just talking about space tourism and not manned space flight in general? I can agree with the fact that we are not ready for a space tourism industry.
Anton Sugar
Member
Were the pilots forced to fly as punishment or something?
I was hoping we could make this thread about you, good job.
MikeHattsu
Member
JetBlackPanda
Member
Rip.
leaving the bonds of earth isn't an easy task.
We have lost many in the pursuit of space flight and we will continue to do so.
"Ad astra per aspera"
leaving the bonds of earth isn't an easy task.
We have lost many in the pursuit of space flight and we will continue to do so.
"Ad astra per aspera"
Mutanthands
Member
This is backwards thinking. The only way to make someplace to go is to plot the path, make the trail, or pave the road to get there. Mining the Moon and asteroids, travel to Mars and beyond, all require a way for us to normalize travel to orbit, thus making launch platforms and material transport practical.
Good thing you're not in charge of this, to be frank.
You realize natural resources will eventually run out, right? Those are your tangible results. Establishing outposts outside Earth, have access to more resources... how is "Establishing the US" as you put it any different? It was also a push for expansion of the human race. Humanity cannot sustain itself indefinitely without venturing out. You'd rather stagnate here on Earth? Such a simplistic view. Space exploration is of incredible, practical value for everyone.
http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/10-tech-breakthroughs-to-thank-the-space-race-for-617847
http://spaceracehistory.tripod.com/spin.shtml
http://spinoff.nasa.gov/apollo.htm
Just some of the many technological developments you enjoy today thanks to space exploration.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
stuburns...just...no.....you do know there was a time when everyone thought the world was flat and you would sail off into hell, right? until someone actually had the balls to travel and discovered more land?
People die daily doing much more mundane shit.
So, assuming high risk, we should never travel anywhere unless there are people there already?
This may come as a shock to you, but explorers did not set sail across the Atlantic ocean to found the United States of America.
They did it to sate their personal wish for exploration, getting rich or simple megalomania. While these expeditions probably were sold to various kings and queens as sure fire way to make money and claim land, the pay off of these expeditions was very uncertain at the time, and they did put many more lives at stake than any space programme.
While there have been some tragedies in space, it is hardly the black plague in terms of casualties.
Now, I can understand being against space travel because you believe we should deal with Earth-based problems first, but the position you have staked out is unreasonable.
Not to mention sub-orbital travel could take the time from London to Sydney down to 2 hours.
TheLostBigBoss
Banned
Probably the most stupid thing I've read in a couple of months.
That backpeddaling didn't take long!
EmCeeGramr
Member
Space tourism in and of itself might be less than practical... but its purpose is that it gives space companies and agencies a product to sell to rich people so they can make money and justify the cost of R&D on new vehicles.
Who knew that Spongebob has hidden pro-Nasa messages.
I've seen you say some weird shit in Gaming, but this takes the biscuit. I just... I can't. You remember that Spongebob episode when he refused to leave his house because he broke his ass? He got out of there by the end of the episode. You can't be afraid to venture outside of your pineapple because of sea-bear attacks.
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