As soon as next Monday?
Category Archives: Space
Ouch
I met Ellie at ASCEND in Las Vegas in October. She’s had a bad few weeks, but I’m glad to see she’s on the mend.
People have asked if I will climb again and while it’s hard to think about now, I really do love it so much, and will likely try again, but may explore other sports as well.
“We risk death doing those things but it’s those moments that make you feel alive… What do you think is gonna happen when you go to outer space you’re risking your life? How am I going to get back and rock climb, you are gonna do it with more knowledge, if you are already in that that’s why your femur broke, in the future when you are healthy rock climb all you want,” said Kagy.
She’s tough, and I hope she gets to space.
Virgin Orbit
Looks like the end of the road.
I never thought it was a great business model.
Branson has managed to waste an astonishing amount of Other Peoples’ Money on his space ventures. I weep when I think of what could have been done for just a fraction of it if it had gone to something sensible. For example, Lynx could have flown.
Of course, Stratolaunch was a boondoggle as well, which also never made any sense. Air launch is a niche market for people who want mission flexibility and single-orbit rendezvous, and there weren’t enough of those people to sustain that costly infrastructure.
Starburst Ventures
…just put out a report on the outlook for the commercial space industry. I haven’t read it yet.
The “Billionaire Space Race”
Yes, I always get annoyed at the comparisons between Musk and Bezos, let alone by either of them with Branson, who has wasted vast amounts of other peoples’ money with not much to show for it or any hope of getting much of it back.
[Tuesday-morning update]
I’m finally getting around to reading the whole thing. I found this amusing: “In the future, Virgin Galactic aims to use its advanced technologies to manufacture aircraft capable of high-speed point-to-point travel. High-speed aircraft are capable of traveling faster than the speed of sound. A significant market opportunity exists for vehicles with this capability, as they could drastically reduce international travel times.”
What “advanced technologies”?
Overdue
Ed Driscoll reviews a new documentary about Apollo 8.
That event, not Apollo 11, is when we won the race, because the Soviets quietly threw in the towel at that point, pretending that they’d never been racing.
Failure Is Not Not An Option
In spaceflight, it’s a necessity.
Safety Third
Russia’s Space Program
…is in big trouble.
My biggest fear is that if they can’t play in the sandbox, they’ll crap in it, which they are perfectly capable of doing. It’s always much easier to destroy than create, which is what they’ve been doing in Ukraine.
[Afternoon update]
Sorry, link is there now.
The Office Of Space Commerce
Why it should be the regulator of orbital activities, and not the FAA (or NASA).