3 ms·

And the 100 million he donated to St Jude Childrens Hospital? Or the 220 million target for donations during the flight? I do not understand how some people ca

And the 100 million he donated to St Jude Childrens Hospital? Or the 220 million target for donations during the flight? I do not understand how some people can be such a wet blanket. This is history. Civilians, further out from Earth than anyone has been in 20 years...and they were able to buy a ride. This is the beginning of commercial space flight. It's the equivalent of driving a gold spike in the Transcontinental Railway across the USA when it was completed. Now it can be used. Edit: Also, hello Hacker News. I have been a lurker for about 5 years and it was this comment that made me angry enough to make an account.

redis_mlc 5y ago
No, the GP is right. > This is the beginning of commercial space flight. No it's not - it's the beginning of vanity rides. Well, until one blows up, that is. > this comment made me angry Sure, you're a space fanboi, we get it. You want to be entertained for free with rockets. Now go back to arguing who the best Star Trek commander was. Whoever said, "We should paint racing stripes on pairs of rockets and race them to orbit like NASCAR." had you in mind.
interestica 5y ago
It also now means we have a record for number of humans in space. https://mobile.twitter.com/DJSnM/status/1438298978454360064 https://mobile.twitter.com/DJSnM/status/1438298978454360064
- aero-glide2 5y ago
  slight nuance, but record number of people in orbit, not space. When virgin galactic was in space, the total number was higher (16).
LeoPanthera 5y ago
> this comment that made me angry enough to make an account. Wow. Well, you're welcome? Or, sorry? Welcome to HN. :)
rektide 5y ago
> This is the beginning of commercial space flight. Space felt like a great reaching out of humanity, a huge vast problem all mankind was venturing towards. Even amid the colossal commercialization of satellite imagery & commsats, it still felt like humanity was expanding some kind of net overall potential. This feels so lacking in the bonhomie. It further accenuates our class differences, rather than making me excited for humanity. And it feels frivolous, like we have touched greatness, begun a great journey, but have no idea what to do now, no vision remaining. The end of the "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" era.
nebula8804 5y ago
The real question is what were you eating when you decided to make this account?

redis_mlc 5y ago

No, the GP is right. > This is the beginning of commercial space flight. No it's not - it's the beginning of vanity rides. Well, until one blows up, that is. > this comment made me angry Sure, you're a space fanboi, we get it. You want to be entertained for free with rockets. Now go back to arguing who the best Star Trek commander was. Whoever said, "We should paint racing stripes on pairs of rockets and race them to orbit like NASCAR." had you in mind.

interestica 5y ago

It also now means we have a record for number of humans in space. https://mobile.twitter.com/DJSnM/status/1438298978454360064 https://mobile.twitter.com/DJSnM/status/1438298978454360064

aero-glide2 5y ago
slight nuance, but record number of people in orbit, not space. When virgin galactic was in space, the total number was higher (16).

LeoPanthera 5y ago

> this comment that made me angry enough to make an account. Wow. Well, you're welcome? Or, sorry? Welcome to HN. :)

rektide 5y ago

> This is the beginning of commercial space flight. Space felt like a great reaching out of humanity, a huge vast problem all mankind was venturing towards. Even amid the colossal commercialization of satellite imagery & commsats, it still felt like humanity was expanding some kind of net overall potential. This feels so lacking in the bonhomie. It further accenuates our class differences, rather than making me excited for humanity. And it feels frivolous, like we have touched greatness, begun a great journey, but have no idea what to do now, no vision remaining. The end of the "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" era.

nebula8804 5y ago

The real question is what were you eating when you decided to make this account?