Flying to outer space

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  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    focuszing723 said:

    Knowing Amazon's relationship with Tax. Have you all stopped buying from Amazon?

    Yes - having briefly worked for them I avoid completely.

    I've not missed them yet. Almost everything can be got for less from somewhere else.
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    thistle_ said:

    focuszing723 said:

    It's a bit of a quick experience for around two to three hundred grand. Good to see they are confident enough for Branson to take a trip on it though.

    it's like a new space race. I think they'll be working on getting the £200-300k price down in the coming years as well as trying to go higher and for longer.
    SpaceX seem to have managed it to some extent.

    The shameless product placement and sponsorship during the full broadcast was quite amusing but I guess we're not used to that here in the UK.
    Yes, that's what Musk's argument was to have more competition and reusability of the rockets.

    That's true, It would be great to be able to fly around the Earth.

    I missed that, I just skipped to the launch in between pulling my hair out at the football:)
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    ddraver said:

    focuszing723 said:

    Knowing Amazon's relationship with Tax. Have you all stopped buying from Amazon?

    Yes - having briefly worked for them I avoid completely.

    I've not missed them yet. Almost everything can be got for less from somewhere else.
    That's good going. I very much doubt many people could say the same.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,571
    focuszing723 said:

    ddraver said:

    focuszing723 said:

    Knowing Amazon's relationship with Tax. Have you all stopped buying from Amazon?

    Yes - having briefly worked for them I avoid completely.

    I've not missed them yet. Almost everything can be got for less from somewhere else.
    That's good going. I very much doubt many people could say the same.
    I'm moving in that direction. The only argument still in their favour is that I have an account, so it is easy. Most websites take Paypal now though, so that saves on time when I don't have an account.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,480
    ddraver said:

    focuszing723 said:

    Knowing Amazon's relationship with Tax. Have you all stopped buying from Amazon?

    Yes - having briefly worked for them I avoid completely.

    I've not missed them yet. Almost everything can be got for less from somewhere else.
    Not watching Prime TV / Video either?
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    TheBigBean said:

    focuszing723 said:

    ddraver said:

    focuszing723 said:

    Knowing Amazon's relationship with Tax. Have you all stopped buying from Amazon?

    Yes - having briefly worked for them I avoid completely.

    I've not missed them yet. Almost everything can be got for less from somewhere else.
    That's good going. I very much doubt many people could say the same.
    I'm moving in that direction. The only argument still in their favour is that I have an account, so it is easy. Most websites take Paypal now though, so that saves on time when I don't have an account.
    Amazon must have been a god send for many people during lockdown. I do keep thinking it's a shame the high street is being decimated though, which employs lots of people direct and indirectly.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,480
    I don't get the nostalgia for the 'High Street' for the last 30 years most of the stores have been the bad guys that killed off the independent shops and caused the decline of the 'High Street'. As always, some places move the times and others stagnate and die.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,571
    Pross said:

    I don't get the nostalgia for the 'High Street' for the last 30 years most of the stores have been the bad guys that killed off the independent shops and caused the decline of the 'High Street'. As always, some places move the times and others stagnate and die.

    I find it convenient to be able to go somewhere, see something and then buy it. The problem is a lot of places don't publish their stock lists, if they did, you could have a search engine that finds what you want, and go there.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,480
    Yeah, I think that's the way stores need to go. Their USP over online is getting to see and try the product first so they need to use it more to their advantage.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    Pross said:

    ddraver said:

    focuszing723 said:

    Knowing Amazon's relationship with Tax. Have you all stopped buying from Amazon?

    Yes - having briefly worked for them I avoid completely.

    I've not missed them yet. Almost everything can be got for less from somewhere else.
    Not watching Prime TV / Video either?
    No...

    (I really don't find that difficult at all tbh)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    TheBigBean said:

    Pross said:

    I don't get the nostalgia for the 'High Street' for the last 30 years most of the stores have been the bad guys that killed off the independent shops and caused the decline of the 'High Street'. As always, some places move the times and others stagnate and die.

    I find it convenient to be able to go somewhere, see something and then buy it. The problem is a lot of places don't publish their stock lists, if they did, you could have a search engine that finds what you want, and go there.
    I feel like quite a lot of places do that nowadays...

    (Maybe it's just being back in Plymouth where it's just the one department store that happens to do it)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,866
    ddraver said:

    TheBigBean said:

    Pross said:

    I don't get the nostalgia for the 'High Street' for the last 30 years most of the stores have been the bad guys that killed off the independent shops and caused the decline of the 'High Street'. As always, some places move the times and others stagnate and die.

    I find it convenient to be able to go somewhere, see something and then buy it. The problem is a lot of places don't publish their stock lists, if they did, you could have a search engine that finds what you want, and go there.
    I feel like quite a lot of places do that nowadays...

    (Maybe it's just being back in Plymouth where it's just the one department store that happens to do it)
    Majestic and Argos do it but most of the others like Curry’s are like showrooms and expect you to order it then come back and collect or pay for delivery.

    Go in Clark’s for the kids shoes, everybody tells me. Well actually the staff measure feet less accurately than I can guess* so they lost another customer to the Internet. And they have fvck all stock.

    * kid is growing out of current shoes and they are size 1 so I guess size 2. The millennial in Clark’s measures using an iPad and says 12.5 but you should be fine with a 1.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMHhXzpwupU
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    I would be sh1tt1ng myself at this point.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    I hope they told them the bridge retracts?
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,224
    They sent Zippy off Rainbow into space.


  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,224
    Feels a bit like going to space in the same way that you've visited another country when you drive through the corner of Luxembourg.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    Impressive. I would have liked to have stayed up a bit longer though for twenty eight million dollars!
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,243
    Landed... but they are not moving inside... I wonder if it's normal
    left the forum March 2023
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    focuszing723 said:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMHhXzpwupU

    Thanks for posting.
    That acceleration looked proper fierce.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    I wouldn't mind seeing the footage from inside looking out, as to what they could see of Earth.
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,036
    Pross said:

    Not sure how, for example, importing Martian oil and coal, would help solve the global warming crisis though.

    That's quite funny. At least with our own oil the earth it is just recycling what was already there (except the millions of years of stored sunlight released in a century). What could possibly go wrong?

    I'm just trying to imagine the process where coal and oil would actually have formed on Mars though.
    BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,590
    edited July 2021
    Surprised how little smoke there is from take off, versus the rockets from 50 years ago.


    _
  • laurentian
    laurentian Posts: 2,385
    focuszing723 said:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMHhXzpwupU

    Thanks for the link - I watched that and it was pretty impressive!
    Wilier Izoard XP
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,590
    rick_chasey said:

    Surprised how little smoke there is from take off, versus the rockets from 50 years ago.


    Well turns out it's a 6th of the thrust of say, this rocket:

    https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2020/09/Vega_lifts_off

    so that's why.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_rocket_engines
    _
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    laurentian said:

    focuszing723 said:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMHhXzpwupU

    Thanks for the link - I watched that and it was pretty impressive!
    No probs, I thought it was worth a quick watch.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,590
    If you're interested in the rockets, check out this solid fuel rocket.

    Enormous:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSF78yOS0LU

    32x more power than the rocket blue origin rocket there.
    _
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,629
    rick_chasey said:

    rick_chasey said:

    Surprised how little smoke there is from take off, versus the rockets from 50 years ago.


    Well turns out it's a 6th of the thrust of say, this rocket:

    https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2020/09/Vega_lifts_off

    so that's why.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_rocket_engines
    Yes, Saturn 5s are BIG.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
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    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,866
    rjsterry said:

    rick_chasey said:

    rick_chasey said:

    Surprised how little smoke there is from take off, versus the rockets from 50 years ago.


    Well turns out it's a 6th of the thrust of say, this rocket:

    https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2020/09/Vega_lifts_off

    so that's why.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_rocket_engines
    Yes, Saturn 5s are BIG.
    also a lot of what you are seeing is steam. Saturn was in Florida which is very humid, Jeff is in a desert
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,590
    Seems to me the real success of blue origin is the publicity. If you look at what the Yanks, the Ruskies and the Europeans (mainly French), it's a fair bit further ahead of the curve - albeit not as reusable.
    _

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