Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin rocket makes historic landing | CNN

[Martian2]

The Blue Origin rocket traveled 62 miles into space and returned to Earth upright!

 

[anon45]

It is indeed an achievement, but just an incremental step. The game changer will be propulsive landing from orbit, and reusing the vehicle.

So far all the hubbub is coming from American based companies, Are there any commercial space companies working on reusable rockets outside the US?

I'm seeing what looks like a potential renaissance of private spaceflight, but only hear about it coming from over here.

Congrats to Bezos all the same, it will be a great day when we get competition in the ring of reusable rockets.

 

[Aestu]

So Bezos did what NASA and the Soviets did 70 years ago? /golfclap

Privatized space travel doesn't work. Communist collectivized farming also does not work. The ideologues need to accept this and get out of the way.

 

[anon45]

So Bezos did what NASA and the Soviets did 70 years ago? /golfclap

Privatized space travel doesn't work. Communist collectivized farming also does not work. The ideologues need to accept this and get out of the way.

Not with a reusable rocket they didn't.

 

[egodoc222]

It is indeed an achievement, but just an incremental step. The game changer will be propulsive landing from orbit, and reusing the vehicle.

So far all the hubbub is coming from American based companies, Are there any commercial space companies working on reusable rockets outside the US?

I'm seeing what looks like a potential renaissance of private spaceflight, but only hear about it coming from over here.

Congrats to Bezos all the same, it will be a great day when we get competition in the ring of reusable rockets.

It's not meant to go into the orbit...it's only tourists who want to enjoy 4 mins of zero gravity!!! Current design is not feasible for orbital flight!!

The Blue Origin rocket traveled 62 miles into space and returned to Earth upright!

Nothing historic about it....space had done it with their grasshopper...it tested it six times!
It would be historic if space x can launch the falcon9 into space deliver the payload and return to earth!!

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Now all we need is SpaceX rockets to land without tipping over.

 

[gambit]

So Bezos did what NASA and the Soviets did 70 years ago?

Technically -- no.

Controlled vertical landing on the Moon with no atmosphere and far less gravity is one thing. Doing the same on Earth is another. Why do you think we had the Space Shuttle that uses aerodynamics exploitation to land ?

Privatized space travel doesn't work.

What they said about aviation a loooooong time ago...

 

[Aestu]

What they said about aviation a loooooong time ago...

A better analogy would be lighter-than-air flight.

Not with a reusable rocket they didn't.

The Soviet Energia and Space Shuttle were both reusable. And far more capable. And it was discovered in the process that reusable craft are mostly not worthwhile because of the very high rate of attrition and enormous refit costs inherent in the industry.

 

[anon45]

A better analogy would be lighter-than-air flight.



The Soviet Energia and Space Shuttle were both reusable. And far more capable. And it was discovered in the process that reusable craft are mostly not worthwhile because of the very high rate of attrition and enormous refit costs inherent in the industry.

ok, economically viable reusable rocket.

 

[Aestu]

ok, economically viable reusable rocket.

Unproven and unlikely. It's like Communists boasting about "first socialist society". Privatized spaceflight is an ideological prejudice in motion.

 

[SQ8]

A better analogy would be lighter-than-air flight..

Lighter than air flight was not a fad but rather was replaced by a better mutation of a competing "technology" that ended up being more efficient over time. In this case, there is nothing out there so far to replace it that is more efficient in doing what it does.. so that analogy is fairly misplaced.

 

[Aestu]

Lighter than air flight was not a fad but rather was replaced by a better mutation of a competing "technology" that ended up being more efficient over time. In this case, there is nothing out there so far to replace it that is more efficient in doing what it does.. so that analogy is fairly misplaced.

Are you referring to orbital launches or privatized spaceflight?

 

[SQ8]

Are you referring to orbital launches or privatized spaceflight?

Both. Orbital launches may find themselves replaced much much later on.. and privatized spaceflight may reduce itself to a single or two competing conglomerates much as today we have reduced to three major defence giants from the many of the heydays of the 60's.
But neither are going away like lighter than air travel.

 

[Aestu]

Both. Orbital launches may find themselves replaced much much later on.. and privatized spaceflight may reduce itself to a single or two competing conglomerates much as today we have reduced to three major defence giants from the many of the heydays of the 60's. But neither are going away like lighter than air travel.

The status quo is driven by political economy and nothing else. The Gerard Bull Supergun, or something based on the idea, could render launches obsolete in a few years of marginal R&D. The basic problem is that government agencies are disempowered by the general identity crisis of governments today and power grabs by international investment firms, who are rapidly and quite literally getting more wealth than they know what to do with. They look for quick returns and that doesn't mean spaceflight. Since inefficient orbital launches and stupid space IPOs are good enough for them, they are not interested in anything better, even if the technological or economic fundamentals indicate otherwise.

 

[SQ8]

The status quo is driven by political economy and nothing else. The Gerard Bull Supergun, or something based on the idea, could render launches obsolete in a few years of marginal R&D. The basic problem is that government agencies are disempowered by the general identity crisis of governments today and power grabs by international investment firms, who are rapidly and quite literally getting more wealth than they know what to do with. They look for quick returns and that doesn't mean spaceflight. Since inefficient orbital launches and stupid space IPOs are good enough for them, they are not interested in anything better, even if the technological or economic fundamentals indicate otherwise.

But so far, there is little to motivate the development of the supergun or other holy grails of spaceflight otherwise. And again, these holy grail's are based on your perception and opinion. Opinions and perceptions based on your life experiences and education and not necessarily the accurate ones.
So where I agree in your analysis of the governmental identity crises and the predatory nature of the financial market and its MVPs; there is less evidence to indicate that these miracle ideals are lying just beneath the ground to be suddenly grasped.
What they are is ideals. Ideals that could have been chosen based on a different set of historical choices but were not and hence to pursue them will take a similar amount of effort as the current ideals.