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The development of the atomic bomb also amazes me. I get a kick out of this video setting up the first test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7CmcsOubZ8 https

The development of the atomic bomb also amazes me. I get a kick out of this video setting up the first test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7CmcsOubZ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7CmcsOubZ8 No hard-hats No shirts Free climbing tower with no safety lines Cigarette hanging from mouth No way they could ever pull this off today. No way the Apollo program could be pulled off either.

killjoywashere 9y ago
SpaceX is well on their way to re-inventing the Apollo program. Those rockets are huge compared to a Falcon Heavy, and they would literally need a much larger facility to build them, but they'll do it. And they'll do it with hard hats, shirts, safety lines, and in a smoke free environment.
- avar 9y ago
  A fair comparison is not what SpaceX is doing today, but what SpaceX could be doing with today's technology with multi-percentage points of US GDP as their funding. In that context it's not at all impressive that they're just getting past beating 60s technology, and not even in all cases. Yes they've got reusability, but there's still nothing as big as the Saturn V. Edit: To clarify, I think SpaceX is very impressive, but I think we as a species are doing proportionally less impressive things than in the 20th century given the level of technology we have. It's not their fault we aren't spending multi-percentage points of GDP on similarly impressive projects.
drewg123 9y ago
That reminds me a lot of watching my Dad and my uncles work on my grandfather's farm when we would visit there when I was a kid in the mid 70s. Lots of heavy equipment, no shirts, climbing w/o safety lines, cigarettes in everybody's mouth. Just an attitude of "get it done" It is no wonder "farmer" is one of the most dangerous occupations in the US. They're the last to be impacted by health and safety regulations.

killjoywashere 9y ago

SpaceX is well on their way to re-inventing the Apollo program. Those rockets are huge compared to a Falcon Heavy, and they would literally need a much larger facility to build them, but they'll do it. And they'll do it with hard hats, shirts, safety lines, and in a smoke free environment.

avar 9y ago
A fair comparison is not what SpaceX is doing today, but what SpaceX could be doing with today's technology with multi-percentage points of US GDP as their funding. In that context it's not at all impressive that they're just getting past beating 60s technology, and not even in all cases. Yes they've got reusability, but there's still nothing as big as the Saturn V. Edit: To clarify, I think SpaceX is very impressive, but I think we as a species are doing proportionally less impressive things than in the 20th century given the level of technology we have. It's not their fault we aren't spending multi-percentage points of GDP on similarly impressive projects.

drewg123 9y ago

That reminds me a lot of watching my Dad and my uncles work on my grandfather's farm when we would visit there when I was a kid in the mid 70s. Lots of heavy equipment, no shirts, climbing w/o safety lines, cigarettes in everybody's mouth. Just an attitude of "get it done" It is no wonder "farmer" is one of the most dangerous occupations in the US. They're the last to be impacted by health and safety regulations.