SpaceShip One deserved as much coverage as Apollo 11

[dude58677]

Yet, the MSM gives Burt Rutan a complete media blackout just like they did with Ron Paul. The average person can go to space because of SpaceShip One and yet it is completly ignored. The average person still thinks that NASA monopolizes space travel.

I think they want NASA to remain in the spotlight so they can justify big government.:mad: Who else here is pissed about the media blackout over commercial space flight?

[Paulfan05]

Personally I like NASA, it should be funded a lot more. (raises flame shield)

[Nate]

I am. It's ok though, NASA will be hitching rides from Burt in 10 years. Unless "The Man" shuts him down.

[erowe1]

Personally I like NASA, it should be funded a lot more. (raises flame shield)

If you think that, then you're free to send them all the donations you want. Unless you're only for increasing their funding when it's someone else doing it.

[New York For Paul]

YouTube - space ship one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G68_dmC4BYI)

It was great to watch.

[Elwar]

The Freedom 7 reached 116 miles, SpaceShip One reached 62 miles. So...a better comparison would be SpaceShip One should be getting about half as much coverage as Freedom 7 received in 1961.

[dude58677]

The Freedom 7 reached 116 miles, SpaceShip One reached 62 miles. So...a better comparison would be SpaceShip One should be getting about half as much coverage as Freedom 7 received in 1961.

That is NOT the point! The average person can fly into space. That is why it deserves more coverage.

[mello]

I'd rather have NASA work together with all the other international space agencies on
specific goals. From space we're Earthlings & it would be in everyone's best interest to
be doing the gigantic projects together like a permanent lunar colony or a manned trip
to Mars.

[fatjohn]

If you think that, then you're free to send them all the donations you want. Unless you're only for increasing their funding when it's someone else doing it.

I certainly would if the only ones who would reap the benefits would be those who fund it. But as for now, nasa had a lot of benefits, without space travel there would be no solar panels, no tefal pans, no GPS, no documentaries of the moon landings or the hubble, no kevlar, slower development of calculaters (since they were put to new limits in the apollo project), no weather channel, less developed hurricane or tsunami warnings, no warning system for solar activity endangering high altitude travel and energy grids, no mobile phones, no aerogel, no instant television, no way to protect us from possible extinction by meteorite impact, less inspired youth and maybe in a hundred years from now the most important no clean energy by Helium 3 fusion. All together a couple of trillion dollar industry if you ask me.

[fatjohn]

ow and for the topic. Space ship one with al due respect is nowhere near such a technological feat as the moonlanding. It's basically an airplane that can reach mach 3.5 and has an ingenious stabilizing system when it reenters earths atmosphere. BUT it can't reach earth orbit which is the real challenge in space flight.

[dude58677]

ow and for the topic. Space ship one with al due respect is nowhere near such a technological feat as the moonlanding. It's basically an airplane that can reach mach 3.5 and has an ingenious stabilizing system when it reenters earths atmosphere. BUT it can't reach earth orbit which is the real challenge in space flight.

SpaceShip One is about the common man going to space. You never dreamed of going to space yourself? Well you might be going someday instead of the impossible dream of becoming a NASA astronaut. You can plan vacations to space with your family or friends. This was unimaginable prior to SpaceShip One. As a kid NASA would always ask us" How wuld you like to become an Astronaut?" I would get pissed off by this because I knew the chances were impossible as millions or even billions dreamed of becoming NASA astronauts. As a kid it was also painful watching the movie "SpaceCamp" because I wanted that to happen so bad but I knew it wouldn't(going to a space camp and getting accidently sent into space). I also hated getting patronized with the actual Space Camp. It was like saying "Well, you will never go to space but you can pretend that you are going to space."

Burt Rutan, Richard Branson, and Paul Allen changed all that. Burt Rutan also eliminated the need for heated reentry which his "feathered configuration".

[RonPaulwillWin]

Still waiting for the Ron Paul Rocket :D

[Objectivist]

People like Rutan are out of the MSM's league, he's a genius inventor and businessman. DO you think the MSM wants to present a successful businessman and inventor? Nope, they'd rather give you "Hope & Change" from an idiot with no life skills.

By the way Discovery covered the flights if you search YT you can find more.

[mediahasyou]

So when do we set up our libertarian colony? ;)

[New York For Paul]

Space ship has no on board computer. They kept the design inexpensive and simple. Very different from the government way of too many computers and parts that break down and have destroyed the nasa space shuttle twice.

[fatjohn]

Burt Rutan, Richard Branson, and Paul Allen changed all that. Burt Rutan also eliminated the need for heated reentry which his "feathered configuration".

I'm with you on your touching child memories, but my point is that technologically SpaceShipOne doesn't even come to the ankles of Apollo.

And for your quote: the feathered configuration is for stabilization issues, not for excess heat. You dont really have much excess heat at 3.5 mach. At 25 mach as the space shuttle gets, i'm thinking the feathers would be consumed by flames. I'm just saying it's still a long way to space for private spaceflight and when it will become reality it will cost at least 1 million for launch into orbit and 5 for the moon.

[dr. hfn]

Alot of technology has come from NASA. Hasn't NASA's budget been getting cut for years?

[rockandrollsouls]

SpaceShip One is about the common man going to space. You never dreamed of going to space yourself? Well you might be going someday instead of the impossible dream of becoming a NASA astronaut. You can plan vacations to space with your family or friends. This was unimaginable prior to SpaceShip One. As a kid NASA would always ask us" How wuld you like to become an Astronaut?" I would get pissed off by this because I knew the chances were impossible as millions or even billions dreamed of becoming NASA astronauts. As a kid it was also painful watching the movie "SpaceCamp" because I wanted that to happen so bad but I knew it wouldn't(going to a space camp and getting accidently sent into space). I also hated getting patronized with the actual Space Camp. It was like saying "Well, you will never go to space but you can pretend that you are going to space."

Burt Rutan, Richard Branson, and Paul Allen changed all that. Burt Rutan also eliminated the need for heated reentry which his "feathered configuration".

You're trying to justify your opinion that spaceship one is awesome because you wanted to go to space as a kid and it's cool? Come on...give me a break. Didn't you read what the guy said? It can't even reach orbit.

Yea, I'll give you that it's a cool machine and even more impressive coming from the mind of one guy, but it's not even close to the level NASA ships are on, and that's not to say I'm a fan of NASA.

I think you're just trying to say some random guy can develop better space devices than NASA and that's just not true.

[amga49]

Has there been any successful private enterprise spaceflights that have reached earth's orbit?

[pacelli]

At least SpaceShip One actually happened. ;)

[satchelmcqueen]

if i ever go to space the first thing im gonna do is moon the earth, then see if confetti still works.