bezos in space

[GreenEggs]

I'm still waiting to hear about when Amazon will begin paying taxes.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

I'm still waiting to hear about when Amazon will begin paying taxes.

You mean income taxes? I have no concern they pay their fair share based on tax law. This is what shareholders expect: no more, no less. The company has a lot of sales, not profits. Furthermore, they are certainly huge payer of employment taxes.

 

[audreyh1]

And they collect and pay sales taxes for most states now.

 

[O2Bfree]

monetize the asteroids and there might be a different result.

from the article "An asteroid called 16 Psyche that could prove extraordinarily valuable one day will today make its closest approach to our planet, reach its brightest in the night sky, and be visible all night long to those with telescopes.

Made of iron and nickel, 16 Psyche could well be a “protoplanet,” the core of an ex-planet that never got to maturity."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiec...igned-with-the-earth-and-sun/?sh=280b8f5c31c9

Oh yes, there was an episode of Nova that got into that, "Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday?"

https://kcts9.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvadp_vid_mining/mining-asteroids/

Learn about the possibility of extracting valuable materials from asteroids in this video excerpt from NOVA. Some asteroids may contain abundant amounts of materials—such as water, platinum, and gold—that companies could mine for profit. Water that has been mined from an asteroid could be separated into its components (hydrogen and oxygen) to create rocket fuel. The mining and processing of water on asteroids would revolutionize space exploration by enabling spaceships to refuel in space. Several companies are working on the technology to prospect for, and mine, suitable asteroids.

 

[MichaelB]

Just to follow up on this, it appears that Richard Branson’s plane has been grounded after reports it veered off its flight path during the short trip to space. Here’s one report from The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/2/22654516/spaceshiptwo-richard-branson-faa-virgin-galactic

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is grounded until the Federal Aviation Administration completes and signs off on an investigation into the company’s high-profile test flight carrying Richard Branson, the agency said Thursday. During that July flight, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo veered out of its approved airspace on its descent toward land, the FAA said.

 

[Pellice]

Surprisingly moving to see William Shatner go into space today. Sure, it was a publicity stunt, but it also came across as a dream come true. Verbose as usual, but he was sincere when he talked about how it was Earth's blue atmosphere that drew the eye rather than the blackness of space.

 

[easysurfer]

Surprisingly moving to see William Shatner go into space today. Sure, it was a publicity stunt, but it also came across as a dream come true. Verbose as usual, but he was sincere when he talked about how it was Earth's blue atmosphere that drew the eye rather than the blackness of space.

He looks good for 90.

 

[nap470]

I kind of wish Elon Musk would "up the ante" on Bezos and offer Shatner a ride into "real" space on a Dragon launch. Possibly even a quick trip to the space station and back. Assuming Shatner was up for it. If not Shatner, maybe the Capt. Picard actor. Just fun to watch billionaires compete in tech games.

 

[Car-Guy]

It was cool to watch Shatner take the ride.... He looked really nervous to me before the launch, but I'm sure I would have been too. I guess the stresses of the launch, ascent, descent and sudden stop, wasn't that bad since they allowed a 90yr old to do it...

I'm glad he didn't say something stupid, like beam me up Scotty.


Not to take anything away from any of them but I I always thought space started at ~100 miles up... I know they define the Kármán line as space beginning 100 kilometres (54 nautical miles; 62 miles; 330,000 feet) but somehow that doesn't feel right to me. I guess I remember the early days of the Mercury missions when even Alan Shepard when up well over 100 miles in the first suborbital flight... So I guess I've got it stuck in my head that space starts at 100 miles up...

 

[Chuckanut]

Getting into orbit would require a lot more stress on the human body than jumping up and down on the the BO Pop-gun rocket. I wonder if the 90 year old guy could take that stress.

 

[ncbill]

Surprisingly moving to see William Shatner go into space today. Sure, it was a publicity stunt, but it also came across as a dream come true. Verbose as usual, but he was sincere when he talked about how it was Earth's blue atmosphere that drew the eye rather than the blackness of space.

Time to send this young lady back up.

She can school all the rest of the passengers.

 

[razztazz]

Not to take anything away from any of them but I I always thought space started at ~100 miles up... I know they define the Kármán line as space beginning 100 kilometres (54 nautical miles; 62 miles; 330,000 feet) but somehow that doesn't feel right to me. I guess I remember the early days of the Mercury missions when even Alan Shepard when up well over 100 miles in the first suborbital flight... So I guess I've got it stuck in my head that space starts at 100 miles up...

Somewhere, probably saw it on Youtube, there is an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson and he said none of these people are really going into outer space. It's a TV show, marketing, false consciousness. All that stuff. They have it all and now they want to make people think they have even more. Even stuff they don't really have.

 

[tmm99]

He looks good for 90.

Amazingly good. And he's a really witty guy. (Watched his interview with giggly Anderson Cooper. He sounds so much younger than 90.)

I'm really happy for him. Captain Kirk has finally gone to space.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

He (Bezos) should have Honorarily renamed the "Blue Origin" to USS Enterprise NCC 1701 for this trip.

 

[Chuckanut]

Somewhere, probably saw it on Youtube, there is an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson and he said none of these people are really going into outer space. It's a TV show, marketing, false consciousness. All that stuff. They have it all and now they want to make people think they have even more. Even stuff they don't really have.

If a person really wants to go into Outer Space, buy a ride on Musk's SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Four people recently did that. All the others are just joy riders on a pop-gun rocket, IMHO. Granted, it must be one heck of a joy ride. And if somebody offered to pay my way I would go.

 

[CaptTom]

I kind of wish Elon Musk would "up the ante" on Bezos and offer Shatner a ride into "real" space on a Dragon launch. Possibly even a quick trip to the space station and back. Assuming Shatner was up for it. If not Shatner, maybe the Capt. Picard actor. Just fun to watch billionaires compete in tech games.

I had the same thoughts. Nothing against Blue Origins or Shatner, but it was a kinda lame stunt, barely (and arguably) reaching space for a few moments.

If anything, it was made worse by the inane banter of the announcers, trying to hype it up into something much more.

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that we're making progress, even if it's baby steps for now. And I like Shatner even more after watching the interview above. But surely we can do even better. Patrick Stewart at the Space Station would be perfect! I'd even settle for Capt. Janeway in orbit.

 

[Chuckanut]

If anything, it was made worse by the inane banter of the announcers, trying to hype it up into something much more.

+1 on the banter and overblown hype.

Calling the passengers on the Blue Origin craft 'astronauts' is like calling me an aviator because I flew in a modern passenger plane.

 

[tmm99]

+1 on the banter and overblown hype.

Calling the passengers on the Blue Origin craft 'astronauts' is like calling me an aviator because I flew in a modern passenger plane.

Yeah, right? They're just passengers.

 

[tmm99]

...Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that we're making progress, even if it's baby steps for now...

That's true. The ride time is so short, but it is finally happening. I thought we'd be living on another planet by now. Watched too many sci-fi movies growing up

 

[Pellice]

An article that tries to put these trips, as well as those of the astronauts who have flown on missions, into context: https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/william-shatner-space/

I don't think I've heard of the "overview effect" before, but I can well imagine the effect of seeing this beautiful planet from the blackness. If it indeed had this effect on everyone, then, yes, we should all go! We are here to protect and celebrate this planet.

The well-chosen photographs really make the case.

 

[CaptTom]

I get a tiny sense of this effect on a mountaintop or in an airplane. I always try to get a window seat on commercial flights. Something about the perspective I get from that vantage point always affects me in some way. I suspect the view from space gives an order of magnitude broader perspective.

 

[braumeister]

If you just want to experience zero-G, all it takes is $7,500.
https://www.gozerog.com

Seems like something we ought to see in the Blow That Dough thread, no?

 

[Car-Guy]

^^^^^^


I think the nickname for such aircraft flights is taking a ride on the "Vomit Comet"... Probably a good reason for that nickname. No thank you.

 

[tmm99]

^^^^^^


I think the nickname for such aircraft flights is taking a ride on the "Vomit Comet"... Probably a good reason for that nickname. No thank you.

I was thinking the same exact thing! Can you imagine being sprayed by vomit?