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SpaceX and other space stuff

#2,601
Winslow said:
Well, now you've done it. You said it out loud on the internet. :nailbiting: :roflmao:

Fortunately, the ride is way too short for a sub-oribital foursome to get going, even if they boarded the "crew" buck-nekkid and pre-liquored up. :D
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Well, I was thinking a Bezos insurance policy of having an heir, and a spare (two eggs, in two baskets, so to speak), but I guess going full-on Barbarella is more fun, if you're quick.
 
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#2,605
Wood and Wire said:
Blue Origin are achieving some pretty remarkable stuff. And getting both the youngest, and the oldest astronauts into space (both of them regularly citizens, rather than experienced professionals - Shatner being 90 years old, and not carrying the physique usually associated with astronauts) really does make a massive statement about the democratisation of space, and that anybody can go.

Of course, the reality is that we're still a long way off that ideal being a reality, but as a first step, it's symbolic, and important.

That said, I do hope that the next flight isn't crewed by two couples, in Bezos bid to get the first human conceived in space.
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That would be more achievable with Elon Musk's rocket, that actually orbits.
That crew manifesto would read: Bob, Carol, Ted, & Alice
 
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#2,606
Alkali Ike said:
Shatner seemed truly moved by this experience and tried to articulate his thoughts while they’re fresh. Everyone else wanted to party. Bezos looked like he was trapped in a broken elevator with Shatner with no escape.
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To me, it was a summary of two very different approaches to the same activity.

William Shatner, for all the cliches that surround him, has always taken on projects with an earnest seriousness (yes, even T. J. Hooker). He's an active seeker of profundity and capital-M-meaning. It was clear that's what he found when they slipped past the (visible) atmosphere.

Bezos, on the other hand, tries to paint an "environmental" veneer onto his joyrides, but in an unguarded moment, apparently can't help but betray himself as a "how-ya-like-me-now" nerd with new money. He may be able to afford all the rockets he wants, but he still can't buy class.
 
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#2,607
This was who was waiting for Captain Kirk when he landed...

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#2,610
Alkali Ike said:
Shatner seemed to have no entourage at all. When Bezos turned away for a few seconds, Shatner was standing there alone.
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That was what made Bezos behaviour so reprehensible.

Shatner was bearing his soul to him, and Bezos (and the camera operator) left him hanging mid-sentence to join the screeching frat party, and make an ostentatious triumphalist display of popping the champagne (which Bezos promptly threw on the ground - surprisingly, he didn't make a show of pouring it over his gold wristwatch).

It was unbelievably rude, and utterly insensitive.
 
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#2,611
Wood and Wire said:
That was what made Bezos behaviour so reprehensible.

Shatner was bearing his soul to him, and Bezos (and the camera operator) left him hanging mid-sentence to join the screeching frat party, and make an ostentatious triumphalist display of popping the champagne (which Bezos promptly threw on the ground - surprisingly, he didn't make a show of pouring it over his gold wristwatch).

It was unbelievably rude, and utterly insensitive.
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I'll stop short of "reprehensible". But Bezos was clearly unprepared for that moment and didn't have any words ready. He did hug Shatner a couple times.
 
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#2,612
Alkali Ike said:
I'll stop short of "reprehensible". But Bezos was clearly unprepared for that moment and didn't have any words ready. He did hug Shatner a couple times.
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It just displayed a total lack of respect.

Not just for Shatner. Not just for a 90 year old man. But on a basic human level, for someone experiencing something transformative, profound, and deeply personal.

Shatner was trying to share that, and the world was hanging on his every word ; the world, except for Jeff Bezos.



I really hope this is flagged up to Bezos, and even if it's just addressed from a P.R. point of view ; he is able to maintain focus at future events, and respect the humans whose lives he has just changed, and the audience who are captivated.

Nobody gives a $#1+ about champagne.
 
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#2,619
Jon Clegg said:
I hope he gets lots of opportunities to talk about it without being interrupted.
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I'm kind of surprised he hasn't been blitzing Twitter (he had a pre-written tweet, timed to post when they were at apogee).

I guess he's taking the time to digest, and process the experience, before posting a carefully considered summation.

That said, I presume we're also due to receive coverage of the debriefing, any time now, courtesy of Blue Origin.
 
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