Im surprised no one has mentioned Elon Musk's launch yesterday...he launched his old Tesla car not only into space but was trying to get it to orbit Mars! Apparently the rockets - twice as powerful than the Saturn rockets caused the payload to overshoot and is now on the way to the asteroid belt or somewhere between Mars and Jupiter...Ooops! With a dummy driving the car, David Bowie on the radio and on the video screen was the message Don't Panic! Something from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Top quality British SciFi) A South African Canadian and American business man...I have a lot of respect for this bloke's dreams and the ability (and money) to make it happen regardless of the failures...he's a champ! Hes done quite a bit of business here in Australia, more specifically South Australia who seem to love the bloke...Hes got them onboard as far as his driverless cars are concerned...built the world's biggest battery in South Australia, and now wants to install power generators and batteries to 50k South Australian homes...free! He wants to see the average home become power generators that put back into the grid... I cant help but like this bloke...(but he must have some secrets/skeletons surely)
I've been watching live launches since the Mercury program. Still a kick! And, please, if someone complains about the car, remind them that launching new rockets with dummy payloads started with Goddard.
I know what you mean...I don't have a complaint as such - I kinda dig the audacity after so much seriousness from NASA over the years...but I would have liked a payload full of water food and oxygen to be put in orbit instead...ive often thought that MANY launches should take place to Mars before humans arrive...landing equipment, and stores and then robots to begin construction prior to humans arriving would be how I'd do it...so a part of me thinks this is an opportunity lost...having said that it would have missed! So its academic anyway...
Embarassed to say no...why whats the dealio? I think the moon is/will be similar to Antarctica...no one owns it, yet if you put a base on it you can claim a little portion...and like Antarctica there will be strong anti commercial laws set...but like Antarctica, those laws can be toothless if a major power decides it wants a chunk...I’m far less concerned about the moon than I am Antarctica...the moon is dead, or never lived...it’s a ball of rock and dust...however, like Antarctica we rely on it for the continuation of a ‘normal’ Earth...mess with it and you mess with every living thing...
If I recall the initial plan was to land the full rocket on the Moon then have it launch pretty much intact on its return to Earth. It was a common feature in 1950's to early 1960's Sci-Fi books and films. The idea was dumped because it was easier to do it the way they did for Apollo. It impressed me the most that they got 2 of 3 boosters to land safely where they did, the third failed to reach its intended ship landing pad, but damned good job just the same. Not sure this is the true path we need ( I think a 'true' Space Plane may be the the cost effective option.
Yeah the space plane or Space shuttle has been tried...I agree that that would probably be the "best" solution, it has/had plenty of drawbacks...Like landing it anywhere without a long runway...the biggest IMO was the small payload bay...the air/space craft would have to be bigger than previous incarnations, meaning more power to get it up...more powerful thrusters would lend itself to the shuttle option...I'd like to see scram jets and their future kind used at least to get it up to a speed where a small booster would do the last acceleration bit...perhaps a hybrid idea, which is to some extent whats being tried, that is, make the boosters a type of space shuttle...(like modern and future torpedos being effectively small submarines) - could the boosters be remote controlled? Could there actually be a pilot for each booster? Ive watch these boosters try to land and end up falling over...a better landing strut set up? Small arms that come out to prevent toppling? Or padded walls which close in quickly to "secure" the rocket a couple of feet off the ground...? An advanced net? I don't know why it has to be so advanced as to land perfectly on its own. Did you know? Darwin was marked as one of only two emergency landing strips in the southern hemisphere for the US space shuttle? The strip here in Darwin is solid and very long...so ANY type of aircraft can land on it... A town of 37 000 in 1972...and theres the Concorde...
I'm with you guys. I thought the whole operation was spectacular, especially the two boosters landing so close to each other and almost simultaneously. Wonder how long the batteries in his car will last in bitter cold space?
I read it in high school, it's that old. Basically the guy sold the idea of going to the Moon. Fun read even now.
