SpaceX to Make History

[d00mGuArD]

Anyone willing to head out to the final frontier in search of opportunity?

They say it in all tones that the trip to Mars it is a ONE WAY TRIP.
To know that you will never come back.
You will just survive there for a few years with a couple other jimmies. And that's it
Without any entertainment or anything. Just farm the things to survive. And that's it

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Hell with that. The single biggest shake-up we can have would be harvesting iron and carbon in space. Stop thinking in terms of "what's expensive and valuable", and start thinking in terms of "what's so dirt cheap but heavy".

The one single biggest impasse to heavy expansion of space operations, whether in Earth's orbit or beyond, is the cost of lifting mass from surface to orbit. It's exorbitant. So everything in space has to be manufactured to minimalist expectations. We need to find a way to source those materials from orbit directly. And it's not unachievable. Asteroids exist, and are rich in these materials. Robotics is advancing to the point where we can essentially automate the mining/refining of such, to a large extent. Whether we're sending robots to asteroid fields to mine shit and bring it back, or we send robots out to snag a big rock and tow it into close-enough range (orbit, or a Lagrange point, say), once we can source tons of steel and other such building materials in orbit and eliminate the cost of lifting, building in space becomes orders of magnitude less expensive. City-size space stations that don't cost much more to develop than those Earthbound cities would.

The valuable rare metals and such are a convenient bonus. I want the iron and carbon and silicon. Getting this set up will likely cost hundreds of billions if not trillions, but the long-term gains will more than offset that, the issue is we're probably looking at a 30+ year turnaround before investment starts paying off.

At present, only one company, Planetary Resources, is conducting research into the technologies and strategies necessary to make asteroid mining economical

http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/...asteroids.html

We need much more research if that is to come any time soon. Let's see if the launch inspires others to look into the field

[Endus]

Are you talking about central planning which doesn't have to be based on a return on investment?

Nope.

I'm talking about projects that have to prove there is an acceptable ROI. If you don't care about money then yeah you could have Egyptian slaves working on a pyramid decade after decade. That would be based on a dream and not revenue.

Egyptian pyramids weren't built by slaves. Your talking points are decades out of date.

As for the rest, you're underscoring the problem and acting like it's a virtue. It isn't. It's the problem. We've developed a society where, increasingly, taking risks is disincentivized, let alone doing something that has little to no chance of immediate fiscal gains for those investing. Investment's entirely become about what investors get back out in the next year or three, not advancing human society. Outside of a few mavericks, like Elon Musk, that is.

The attitude you're defending is short-sighted and solely focused on personal gains. I don't consider that viewpoint one that's in any way laudable.

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

I will go as long as there is Wi-Fi. Can't miss raid or bfa news but would be cool to stream from space.

[PC2]

Nope.

Egyptian pyramids weren't built by slaves. Your talking points are decades out of date.

As for the rest, you're underscoring the problem and acting like it's a virtue. It isn't. It's the problem. We've developed a society where, increasingly, taking risks is disincentivized, let alone doing something that has little to no chance of immediate fiscal gains for those investing. Investment's entirely become about what investors get back out in the next year or three, not advancing human society. Outside of a few mavericks, like Elon Musk, that is.

The attitude you're defending is short-sighted and solely focused on personal gains. I don't consider that viewpoint one that's in any way laudable.

My society already incentivizes risk and entrepreneurship. Many of the top billionaires got there because they did go for a big idea and risked failure.

What you're talking about with the space city and asteroid mining in 30-50 years is a scifi moonshot. Which could easily lead to hundreds of billions in sustained losses with nothing to show for it.

[Risale]

I would laugh my head of if SpaceX lands on Mars 1st and Musky lays claim to the whole planet (Yeah, yeah but a person can hope/dream).

[Endus]

My society already incentivizes risk and entrepreneurship. Many of the top billionaires got there because they did go for a big idea and risked failure.

Personal risk on a comparatively small scale. We're talking the equivalent of one guy buying a small ship in the late 15th Century to try and start a merchant career and lucking into a lucrative trade option, as compared to crossing the Atlantic Ocean into the unknown just to see what's there, which is comparable to what I'm talking about.

What you're talking about with the space city and asteroid mining in 30-50 years is a scifi moonshot. Which could easily lead to hundreds of billions in sustained losses with nothing to show for it.

Yes. That's the "risk" part of it. Complaining that there's a risk and thus we shouldn't is exactly the problem I'm talking about.

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I would laugh my head of if SpaceX lands on Mars 1st and Musky lays claim to the whole planet (Yeah, yeah but a person can hope/dream).

It's the one way to kick the national space agencies back into high gear.

If you want to contest Musk's claim to "all of Mars", then you need the capacity to go there and enforce that. Otherwise, he says "neener neener" and continues owning Mars.

Even if he doesn't intent to actually keep it, it would be a smart play.

[Nihilist74]

Are you talking about the challenge shuttle launch the blew up?

[Sunseeker]

As long as they don't harvest the energy generated from Hell while on Mars, we'll be alright. That never goes well.

But Hell is full of gasoline, that's why it's on fire (and cold in the middle!).

[Osmeric]

Are people confusing "rare elements" with "rare EARTH elements" again?

REEs aren't particularly rare.

[pionock]

But Hell is full of gasoline, that's why it's on fire (and cold in the middle!).

So it's a Hot Pocket?

[apepi]

I mean how does someone give them license for that? How would you even stop someone from doing it?

[PACOX]

I mean how does someone give them license for that? How would you even stop someone from doing it?

They have a partnership with NASA.

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I would laugh my head of if SpaceX lands on Mars 1st and Musky lays claim to the whole planet (Yeah, yeah but a person can hope/dream).

Does it count if NASA simply uses one of his rockets to get up there

[Nerraw]

Press kit with more details.

[Deleted]

The future of space exploration is indeed in corporate hands.

[Easo]

Delayed due to wind by two hours.
I wonder what kind of engine power would we need to not be bothered by that?

[Risale]

They have a partnership with NASA.

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Does it count if NASA simply uses one of his rockets to get up there

Depends who is paying the salary of the plonker who sets foot on Mars first I guess.

[I Push Buttons]

About 50 more minutes before it launches.

Livestream:

[Nerraw]

Another 35 minutes. Everything is on track so far. The stream is predicted to start up in about 15-20 minutes!

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Stream is live! Launch in 13 minutes.

[cubby]

Another 35 minutes. Everything is on track so far. The stream is predicted to start up in about 15-20 minutes!

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Stream is live! Launch in 13 minutes.

SpaceX did it. Successful launch. Successful orbital insertion. Side booster recovery. Main booster unknown atm.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

[Shakadam]

I'll be honest, that was pretty incredible.

Watching the boosters landing almost side by side within a second of each other gave me the chills, damn what a sight.