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> The moon landings were pretty awesome in their own way, but at the end of the day, with the way they were done, it was basically a stunt. It was a pissing co

> The moon landings were pretty awesome in their own way, but at the end of the day, with the way they were done, it was basically a stunt. It was a pissing contest between the superpowers. That doesn't mean there's less merit in that. In fact, what they did in the '60s was a heck of a lot harder, achieving so much with less tech, and hewing a new path through a virgin jungle. It simply means - and explains why - those achievements didn't last. We put in a humongous effort to reach so far, but once the initial impetus died out, we had to scale it down. Well, now we're back.

boznz 10y ago
Just need a pissing contest between SpaceX and Blue Origin now and everyone will benefit
- nojvek 10y ago
  Blue origin isn't even in the same league. Their rockets go straight up, stay there for a bit and down again. Spacex achieves magnitudes higher velocity, altitude and actually delivers things to orbit. BlueOrigin is Bezos' pet project akin to taking a heli tour around the city while SpaceX is doing a transcontinental flight half way around the world.
  - mksaunders 10y ago
    GP said we need a contest – not that we have one. And when New Glenn starts flying in a few years, we'll definitely have that contest. You're right that New Shepard doesn't compare to what SpaceX is doing at the moment, but Blue Origin is working on much, much bigger rockets...
    - jacquesm 10y ago
      I'd expect one of the current other launch providers to add re-use to their line-up long before Blue Origin manages to achieve orbit.
      - valuearb 10y ago
        ULA is relying on Blue Origin for it's next engines, so my bet is they rely on BO for re-use as well.
  - ufmace 10y ago
    That's true, but I'd still root for a pissing contest between them. IIRC, SpaceX started out like this as well. They're like a decade ahead or so, but maybe Blue Origin can catch up faster with SpaceX having shown that it's possible and economically feasible. The more companies that can do this, the better off we all are.
  - Florin_Andrei 10y ago
    That's true. It's also true that BO are not standing still and their plans look good overall. I think it's inevitable that the industry will explode with competition at some point not too far from now.

boznz 10y ago

Just need a pissing contest between SpaceX and Blue Origin now and everyone will benefit

nojvek 10y ago
Blue origin isn't even in the same league. Their rockets go straight up, stay there for a bit and down again. Spacex achieves magnitudes higher velocity, altitude and actually delivers things to orbit. BlueOrigin is Bezos' pet project akin to taking a heli tour around the city while SpaceX is doing a transcontinental flight half way around the world.
- mksaunders 10y ago
  GP said we need a contest – not that we have one. And when New Glenn starts flying in a few years, we'll definitely have that contest. You're right that New Shepard doesn't compare to what SpaceX is doing at the moment, but Blue Origin is working on much, much bigger rockets...
  - jacquesm 10y ago
    I'd expect one of the current other launch providers to add re-use to their line-up long before Blue Origin manages to achieve orbit.
    - valuearb 10y ago
      ULA is relying on Blue Origin for it's next engines, so my bet is they rely on BO for re-use as well.
- ufmace 10y ago
  That's true, but I'd still root for a pissing contest between them. IIRC, SpaceX started out like this as well. They're like a decade ahead or so, but maybe Blue Origin can catch up faster with SpaceX having shown that it's possible and economically feasible. The more companies that can do this, the better off we all are.
- Florin_Andrei 10y ago
  That's true. It's also true that BO are not standing still and their plans look good overall. I think it's inevitable that the industry will explode with competition at some point not too far from now.