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Richard Branson set to open Virgin Spaceport today.
- jcfrei 16y agofrom the looks of it http://www.virgingalactic.com/assets/img/overview/spaceport/footer.jpg http://www.virgingalactic.com/assets/img/overview/spaceport/... you'll actually need a regular plane (or private jet for that matter) to get there in the first place.
- edkennedy 16y agoSpace exploration has always been a phallic endeavor. Now I see that Virgin has taken a very very...yonic style to it's spaceport architecture.
- hugh3 16y agoIt doesn't look quite so bad in the second picture where it blends into the background. Architecturally I think this style is called "How to spend as much money as possible on something that is still just a big shed in the desert". Seriously though, was there any real need to build a "spaceport"? Wouldn't White Knight/Spaceship 2.0 equally capable of operating out of any decent-sized airport, if you make sure you arrange priority landing for the spaceship? (Does Spaceship Two land on a runway?)
- locopati 16y agoUps the cachet considerably, no? If you're paying that kind of money for a flight, isn't it more fitting to fly out of a Spaceport then Albuquerque International Airport? Plus, given time, we may see a vicious hive of scum and villainy grow in the surrounding area.
- hugh3 16y agoIndeed, I was just wondering whether there was any practical reason for it. But since "sounds cool" is a more-than-sufficient justification for any Virgin activity at this stage, and since "building a spaceport" was really just "buying an old airport in the middle of the desert and putting up a new sign" I guess I'm not too surprised. Plus, given time, we may see a vicious hive of scum and villainy grow in the surrounding area. Albuquerque?
- astine 16y agoIt's much closer to Roswell...
- astine 16y agoI think that the 'phallic' aspect of rocketry has more to do with physics than anyone's actual obsession with penises. Personally, I think when you read phalli into it, I think that says more about you than rocketry. I think that the same can be said about this hanger... I didn't see what you saw until you mentioned it... Now I can't stop seeing it through. Thank you very much.
- Alex3917 16y agoAll rockets have to look like phallic because of physics. But you could argue that their phallic nature helps shape our attitudes about them.
- jerf 16y agoYou can, but anyone with an ounce of engineer or scientist in them ought to just say "Occam's Razor" and consider the case closed. Are rockets shaped the way they are because of physics, or are they shaped the way they are because of physics and because men are obsessed with big penises? Occam's Razor.
- stcredzero 16y agoNot so fast. One could also contend that phalluses are shaped that way because of evolutionary biology responding to underlying physics and geometry. Einstein's formulation of Occam's Razor was, "simple as possible, but no simpler." You haven't established your either-or choice as the only possibilities. (In other words, there is an underlying causation to both!)
- Avshalom 16y agoOf course they did it's New Mexico, home of Vagina O'Keeffe.
- pavel_lishin 16y agoYou've taught me a new adjective. Thank you.
- vaksel 16y agoI wonder if they'll manage to go to the moon within 20 years.
- ck2 16y agoYou mean the "top of earth's atmosphere" or maybe "high flying planes" port. SpaceShipOne/Two does NOT go into space! It barely exits the mesosphere. Space starts 73-76 miles up. Virgin doesn't have any craft that goes above 68 miles. The USA set a far lower standard for political reasons at 50 miles to make-believe and call people "astronauts".
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- danieldon 16y agoIt goes above the Kármán line (100km/62 miles), which is the international standard for the boundary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line
- ck2 16y agoAgain, 62 miles is a made-up POLITICAL standard. "Space" has been measured to start at 73 or 76 miles depending on which science experiment you want to accept. So are people taking this flight because it's the wonder of science or for bragging rights? Because if it's for the wonder of science, well science says you aren't in space. (and really, if there is even doubt that the height you are going to is actually "space" then what the hell is this nonsense about? Let me know when you can do at least one orbit of the planet and then I'll say you did something extra special for spending all that money)
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- robryan 16y agoDoes it matter though if your going to 60 or 100 miles, the experience would probably be similar?
- points 16y ago
- bretthellman 16y agoI'd love to hear Richard Branson at next year's startup school. Vote up if you would too...
- hugh3 16y agoI'd love to hear Richard Branson at next year's startup school, but I so do not want to see comments with "vote up if you..."