Would you try to go to the edge of space if the trip were free?

[Unheard]

@dthrckt

@djozz

No, 2 minutes freefall sounds boring, on the other hand if it goes in orbit around earth for a while, maybe.

But I dare not think of the carbon footprint that it generates

Don’t worry, if the CO2 is created in the name of progress, its ok!

And if it’s just for fun, we double the price of the fuel. Then it’s ok again.

[Lightbringer]

@dthrckt

@djozz

No, 2 minutes freefall sounds boring, on the other hand if it goes in orbit around earth for a while, maybe.

But I dare not think of the carbon footprint that it generates

Don’t worry, if the CO2 is created in the name of progress, its ok!

And you can be like Bill Gates and piss up the place with CO₂, yet still be “carbon neutral” by buying up carbon-credits from people who don’t pollute. :smiling_imp:

[xevious (Gary)]

@dthrckt

I’ve heard and understand both sides of this argument. eg, there will always be some people that can’t or won’t take care of themselves, and this kind of scientific pursuit has helped raise the standard of living for almost everyone. But, I still largely agree with you. At least these private companies aren’t stealing my money to go play in space like the government does (ignoring government subsidies they may receive).

I frequently visit the darkest places in my state so that I can look at the stars. If you have never tried that before, do it soon because the night sky will soon be ruined by starlink satellites. Last year you’d occasionally see one, this year you cannot avoid seeing them nearly constantly. We’re not even seeing the lowest (brightest reflecting) satellites yet. Starlink - Wikipedia

To me it seems we’re full of hubris and are completely ignoring the ‘great filter’ of the fermi paradox.

Wow. Musk was really smart getting into the space game. If Tesla goes belly up, it’d be a minor loss compared to the behemoth money making machine he’ll have putting communications satellites into orbit.

I have noticed that when staring at the sky, I’ll occasionally see what appears to be a moving star. A very faint star-like light moving slowly across the sky in a totally straight line. I later realized that this phenomenon must be satellites. So in the future we can expect a steady traffic of these moving about in the Starlink network?

[gravelmonkey]

I’m in the minority saying yes!

[alpg88]

nope, why would i want to, it’ll be full of free loaders.

[pennzy]

I was at the edge of space at a few concerts back in the 70s.

[dthrckt]

@xevious

I have noticed that when staring at the sky, I’ll occasionally see what appears to be a moving star. A very faint star-like light moving slowly across the sky in a totally straight line. I later realized that this phenomenon must be satellites. So in the future we can expect a steady traffic of these moving about in the Starlink network?

If you go somewhere dark you can see them clearly - basically at least a couple (or more) at all times if your view of the sky is not obstructed. You can expect they’ll get much brighter (as most of the starklink satellites in phase 2 will be MUCH lower), and there will be thousands more satellites. There won’t be a patch of sky w/o them moving through.

Many of the most important discoveries in human history were made because people were inspired to study science by viewing the stars. Oh well, that’s cool, at least we can watch kitten videos anywhere.

Most people aren’t aware of what’s happening because they don’t have the opportunity to get to somewhere you can actually SEE what’s happening When you go camping out here, on the east end of Stillwater reservoir, you get a really great view of the Milky Way.

Light pollution map

[wle]

nah, it is more dangerous than it is interesting, to me.

[zoulas]

RC, if you paid me $250,000 , I would think about it.

[CNCman]

A poll may give clearer results raccoon city, jmo. Big NO for me.
.
Here is my 2 cents.
I worked in Aerospace 30 yrs and Aviation 6 yrs primarily hands on, not engineering. As far as engineering and building go, Aerospace is safer.
.
Aviation is a nightmare of problems. 70% of accidents are mechanical and 70 % of that is poor maintenance, so saving $$ is costing lives.
.
Aerospace has its biggest problems in management, making the wrong decisions. If managers were engineers, things would go better.
17 astronauts were lost primarily do to poor decisions in management.
.

[dthrckt]

@CNCman

If managers were engineers
.

now there’s a can of worms

[nottawhackjob]

@pennzy

I was at the edge of space at a few concerts back in the 70s.

When are ya gonna come dooowwwwwnnnnn, when are ya going to laaannnnd,……

Rocket Maaaaaaaaaanaaaaannnnaan, Rocket Maaaaan….

PS. No doubt I’d be playin’ that tune on my ear pod while I was IN the pod sh*ttin’ my flight suit. :person_facepalming:

[nottawhackjob]

Hay RC………

Yer Vaccinated Girl isn’t the kinda girl I would bring home to Ma.

Butt…………she is the kind of girl I’d bring home to Dad.

[kennybobby]

Don’t you get up to the edge of space every time you fly trans-continental above FL30, which is 30k ft?

You are above the point where the atmosphere could support life and would need a space suit;

and you can easily experience “zero-g” if the plane flies parabolicas such as used for astro training.

[Photon_Master]

Oh I’d go up in a heartbeat if I had the $250K plus enough invested to take care of my family if the thing crashed

[dthrckt]

@kennybobby

Don’t you get up to the edge of space every time you fly trans-continental above FL30, which is 30k ft?

You are above the point where the atmosphere could support life and would need a space suit;

and you can easily experience “zero-g” if the plane flies parabolicas such as used for astro training. :student:

At least someone’s aware. Another stunt

[Muto]

@pennzy

I was at the edge of space at a few concerts back in the 70s.

THIS

Rush, Syracuse NY early 80’s they sprayed something into the air, everyone was whacked.
Talked to people years later that were not with me but were at that same concert and they said the same thing.

Other times it was self inflicted of course

[xevious (Gary)]

@dthrckt

If you go somewhere dark you can see them clearly - basically at least a couple (or more) at all times if your view of the sky is not obstructed. You can expect they’ll get much brighter (as most of the starklink satellites in phase 2 will be MUCH lower), and there will be thousands more satellites. There won’t be a patch of sky w/o them moving through.

Many of the most important discoveries in human history were made because people were inspired to study science by viewing the stars. Oh well, that’s cool, at least we can watch kitten videos anywhere.

Most people aren’t aware of what’s happening because they don’t have the opportunity to get to somewhere you can actually SEE what’s happening When you go camping out here, on the east end of Stillwater reservoir, you get a really great view of the Milky Way.

Light pollution map

Thanks for the link to Light Pollution Map. Fantastic site! It’s amazing to see the distribution of light noise at night in various places around the world.
I’m expecting at some point, there will be a kind of mini-telescope you can connect wirelessly to your mobile device and then use a software program to navigate the visible cosmos, with filters that can counter white noise and even mask those predictable satellites.

[species8472]

heavens-above.com list satellites that are visible over any specific area at a given time. It gives visible passes of the ISS (International Space Station) and exactly when and where to look. It is bright enough to be seen from relatively light polluted skies. It can get almost as bright as Venus. It is worth seeing. Just make sure to enter your correct location.

[Quillz]

When I was quite a bit younger a friend of mine gave me some mushrooms for free and yes I took a trip to the edge of space!