Lot of space news this week

[Suff]

Billionaires going to the earth space interface altitude.

Branson with his space2

Bezos with his New Glenn.

In relative terms what does it really mean? Starship is going to Mars and probably the moon. These two ships are nothing more than Kármán line visitors. They're never really going anywhere else.

I factor it as "Toys for the Boys". Have a look at the relative sizes.

[Workingman]

Branson; "My flight carbon footprint is bigger than theirs - fly me."

Bezos: "Millions of us will be mining the outer moons and planets to support us here on Earth - more parcels. Buy cardboard shares."

St Elon: "Ain't batteries brilliant? My rocket's are bigger than theirs; size matters."

One day the Sun will become a red giant and gobble up Mercury, Venus the Earth and Mars, and by that time we will be long gone - extinct, Dodos. We will trash Earth long before we get to mining asteroids and moons in any meaningful way. Say goodbye to Hollywood, say goodbye baby.

We ain't going anywhere, Sweet Caroline.

[Kaz]

Sorry, but after half a bottle of wine this is just too funny! Definitely a case of "My rocket is bigger than your rocket....... "

[Workingman]

Suff lives in a moviescape - Blade Runner meets the Fifth Element.

Current physics says that we will not leave the solar system, never mind inhabit it. And also that Aliens with even the best sci-fi technology won't be coming our way any time soon - friend or foe - big rockets or not.

If we can't sort out Earth, and it looks increasingly to be the case, then we have no chance in colonising the Moon, Mars, Titan or any of the other moons.

I'm on the dregs of a small bottle of voddy but even I can see the truth.

[Suff]

If you don't try to reach above the planet you will never succeed.

Branson and Bezos are angling for consumerism of earth orbit. Musk is heading to the other planets.

It is a bit funny though Kaz.

[cruiser2]

How do the rockets compare in size say to the Eiffell Tower?

What happens to them now? Can they be used again?

[saundra]

I think it's just magic a 66minute trip to the solar space
I'm saving for a trip
ShAking my money box

[Suff]

How do the rockets compare in size say to the Eiffell Tower?

What happens to them now? Can they be used again?

Here is a slightly more informative height comparison



It is also useful to remember that New Shepard is tiny both in height and diameter. It is only 18 m tall and has a diameter of about 3m. Starship and booster are 120m tall and the diameter is 9m, or put another way, 29.5 feet. This is just less than the depth of my house.

The virgin ship is launched from a plane designed specifically to carry it, the plane lands normally at a runway and the virgin ship lands like the space shuttle. New Shepard takes off vertically and the booster lands vertically. The Capsule lands via parachutes and has to be recovered.

The virgin ship can turn around and take off again fairly quickly, pretty much same day. New Shepard takes about a month because the capsule must be fully inspected.

Remember neither of these ships can reach orbit, they only just get over the atmosphere, they can't stay up. The plan for Blue Origin is to produce a much larger rocket, the New Glenn, which will service orbital launches. But it is late, getting later, becoming less re-usable and the design keeps changing. The second stage, like the Falcon 9, will be discardable.

Starship is something entirely different. It can lift 10 tons more than the Saturn V into orbit, the booster is designed to land vertically and for quick turnaround, simply refuel and re-launch. The Starship upper stage is designed to survive re-entry, like the shuttle, land, be picked up and put back on the booster, refuel and re-use. At the same time the Starship upper stage is designed to refuel in space, carry cargo or humans and be the workhorse for lifting humans and equipment to the Moon and Mars. Without refuelling Starship can get 21 tons to geostationary lunar transfer orbit or, with refuelling, 100-200 tons to that same orbit.

They are two very different things. The difference between the two toys and Starship is somewhat like the difference between the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and a Boeing 747.

[cromwell]

Sorry, but after half a bottle of wine this is just too funny! Definitely a case of "My rocket is bigger than your rocket....... "

"Is that a rocket in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me"?!

Sorry Suff, couldn't resist it.
Someone told me Bezos didn't really enter space as it is usually known?

[Workingman]

Oi, you lot! Stop quoting Kaz, it was me who pointed out St Elon's willy-whanging.

His whanger shifts nowt. There is a programme called Abandoned Engineering and up here we have a coal scraper "Old Wotsit" that got 40 tons of coal in a bucket in about 30 seconds for a few bob. His rocket does it in months for $ millions.

The man, and his acolytes, think that the Marvel comics he read in the 70s or 80s are NASA instruction manuals. We will be long screwed before a few of us can even attempt to terraform Mars - or Slough. Go have a look at the condition of the Arctic permafrost situation right now, today: Canada, Greenland and Siberia are in there; and if you think that a few battery Tonka Toy cars will save us, think on.

"To infinity and beyo.... "Oh bugger, the battery's dead"".