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> Musk seems to approach space as a serious thing Musk sent a car into space as a publicity stunt. My colleagues liked it, but I found it ... disappointing, t

> Musk seems to approach space as a serious thing Musk sent a car into space as a publicity stunt. My colleagues liked it, but I found it ... disappointing, that it seemed to signal an end of an era that did see space as a serious thing, like in the film For All Mankind.

wly_cdgr 5y ago
Serious != humorless
wonderwonder 5y ago
I thought launching the car was genius. It captured the attention of so many people that otherwise would not be interested in the launch. Parents saw it as a way to capture their kids imagination (at least I did). Something had to go up, may as well not waste the experience. Wonder how many of Space X's contracts are a result of that moment.
ceejayoz 5y ago
They had to launch a test payload. Might as well make it a fun one too.
tibyat 5y ago
It was just a rocket test...
lapetitejort 5y ago
> Musk sent a car into space as a publicity stunt. I'd say maybe 10% of that stunt was for publicity. The rocket had to be tested, it had to include a payload, and sending a suit to space provided extra data as well. edit: let's also not forget that there always been an element of humor in spaceflight. Apollo 10's callsigns were Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Watch the funny moonwalk videos. Read transcripts of flights. It's okay to have a laugh in space. The astronauts who make it to Mars will sorely need it.
- heurisko 5y ago
  > I'd say maybe 10% of that stunt was for publicity. It was the dominant media image at the time. It was 100% publicity. There is a difference between convivial behaviour between people on a mission, and a stunt by a private company. I find the Pioneer Plaque cool and thought provoking. Launching a roadster into space? Not so much.
  - adwn 5y ago
    > I find the Pioneer Plaque cool and thought provoking. Launching a roadster into space? Not so much. Maybe the inscription on one of its PCBs will stimulate your unprovoked thoughts: https://i.redd.it/7agxu1qjdz071.jpg https://i.redd.it/7agxu1qjdz071.jpg
- reaperducer 5y ago
  let's also not forget that there always been an element of humor in spaceflight It's like the internet used to be in the old green screen and bang paths days. I remember everyone from DARPA on down had wonderful senses of humor. Today, even on HN which is supposed to represent the best of the internet, humor is largely frowned upon, or replaced with anger. Hopefully this slow opening up of space to the masses won't mean making everything sterile and boring, like happened to the 'net.
- wincy 5y ago
  I mean, peoples lives are at stake. When you’re doing something so impossible and so dangerous, a little humor really helps.
FourHand451 5y ago
I've never quite understood why a lot of people found launching the car to be so egregious. The first launch of a rocket routinely carries a "test mass" of some kind, which I understood to usually be a boring hunk of metal, or at least something that wouldn't be a great loss if the rocket failed. Putting a car on there didn't seem like a frivolous waste, as it would be unlikely for a customer to put forth a serious payload for the debut Falcon Heavy launch. Yes, it was kind of meme-y and marketing-y. But it is a business, and I also don't think being serious about something means you can never make a joke about it.
- danellis 5y ago
  He's like Doc Brown. "The way I see it, if you're gonna make a payload out of a car, why not do it with some style?"
- _jal 5y ago
  I think a lot of people are just grossed out by the symbolism. Destroying a car that retails for years of many folks' income in a flashy, ostentatious manner is going to look like lighting cigars with $100s to many people.
  - TeMPOraL 5y ago
    Except the car wasn't destroyed, it's actually flying out there - and maybe, one day in the future, someone will retrieve it. (I could understand people complaining about symbolism of sending a sports car, of all things, to be a first private industry artifact in interplanetary space. But this doesn't seem to be a majority complaint.) Also: even the boring test mass payload would also cost "years of many folks' income". Not even counting the integration. Big things just costs big money - that's life for you. If someone is so sensitive about this, they probably shouldn't watch anything related to rockets at all.
    - _jal 5y ago
      > even the boring test mass payload would also cost Of course. I'm not talking about considered opinion, just knee-jerk human reactions to headlines. You can tell people they're wrong if you want. Let me know how that goes for you.
spookthesunset 5y ago
Wait until they land their first Mars rover. I wouldn’t be surprised if 25% of the available power gets dedicated to AV gear to send near real time HD 4K video back to earth. ‘Cause cool videos are what gets people excited and paying attention. And I for one can’t wait!
- rsj_hn 5y ago
  There's always been a large performative aspect to all things space related. Even the original space race was basically an odd performance, similar to a sports performance (hence the "race"). What it showed us is that these types of performances are deeply satisfying to the public, which gives hope to those who refuse to view human beings as purely caring about their own material situation or personal comfort. A lot of national treasure and even some blood was spent on that "race", and still it is quite popular.
zlsa 5y ago
It was a test launch. The alternative would have been a block of metal.
bpodgursky 5y ago
Musk offered NASA and the military a free satellite launch on the Falcon Heavy test, with the caveat it might blow up. They didn't bite.
LeifCarrotson 5y ago
Would you rather he'd sent a block of precisely-weighed concrete into space, like other dummy payloads on other booster tests? I disagree that it's worse to send a publicity stunt instead of something more...respectful?...boring and completely useless. I do agree that there are better things than publicity stunts to do with dummy payloads. You don't need to launch a multi-million-dollar satellite, but it would be low risk to launch a low-cost payload with corner reflectors for laser identification and distance measurement, chirping radio transmitters, or sensors, clocks, or radios for telemetry. You can construct a Cubesat for on the order of $10k, but it used to cost 10x that to launch and now costs about that much for a SpaceX rideshare to SSO. Surely you could construct something with at least a little utility to use as a dummy payload.
- zlsa 5y ago
  I can't find a source for this info at the moment, but I believe Gwynne Shotwell saying that they'd actually approached NASA (and possibly other customers) and asked if they'd like to fly anything on the Falcon Heavy demo mission. Clearly, nobody took them up on the offer.
thepasswordis 5y ago
>Musk sent a car into space as a publicity stunt. This just seems like such a stretch for something to get mad at Elon about. They needed to test the rocket. They used a couple of flight-proven (used) boosters that their competitors all would have throw into the trash, and instead of flying a hunk of concrete, flew one of Elon's cars. The car, by the way, is symbolic in that it did usher in the end of ICE vehicles. Other companies tried to do EVs and failed, Tesla made it happen. Is it really better if the car had sat in a museum instead? What better symbolism could there be than to put it into a sort of museum in orbit around our sun? The day we are able to go and visit that car will be another hugely symbolic turning point for humanity.

wly_cdgr 5y ago

Serious != humorless

wonderwonder 5y ago

I thought launching the car was genius. It captured the attention of so many people that otherwise would not be interested in the launch. Parents saw it as a way to capture their kids imagination (at least I did). Something had to go up, may as well not waste the experience. Wonder how many of Space X's contracts are a result of that moment.

ceejayoz 5y ago

They had to launch a test payload. Might as well make it a fun one too.

tibyat 5y ago

It was just a rocket test...

lapetitejort 5y ago

> Musk sent a car into space as a publicity stunt. I'd say maybe 10% of that stunt was for publicity. The rocket had to be tested, it had to include a payload, and sending a suit to space provided extra data as well. edit: let's also not forget that there always been an element of humor in spaceflight. Apollo 10's callsigns were Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Watch the funny moonwalk videos. Read transcripts of flights. It's okay to have a laugh in space. The astronauts who make it to Mars will sorely need it.

heurisko 5y ago
> I'd say maybe 10% of that stunt was for publicity. It was the dominant media image at the time. It was 100% publicity. There is a difference between convivial behaviour between people on a mission, and a stunt by a private company. I find the Pioneer Plaque cool and thought provoking. Launching a roadster into space? Not so much.
- adwn 5y ago
  > I find the Pioneer Plaque cool and thought provoking. Launching a roadster into space? Not so much. Maybe the inscription on one of its PCBs will stimulate your unprovoked thoughts: https://i.redd.it/7agxu1qjdz071.jpg https://i.redd.it/7agxu1qjdz071.jpg
reaperducer 5y ago
let's also not forget that there always been an element of humor in spaceflight It's like the internet used to be in the old green screen and bang paths days. I remember everyone from DARPA on down had wonderful senses of humor. Today, even on HN which is supposed to represent the best of the internet, humor is largely frowned upon, or replaced with anger. Hopefully this slow opening up of space to the masses won't mean making everything sterile and boring, like happened to the 'net.
wincy 5y ago
I mean, peoples lives are at stake. When you’re doing something so impossible and so dangerous, a little humor really helps.

FourHand451 5y ago

I've never quite understood why a lot of people found launching the car to be so egregious. The first launch of a rocket routinely carries a "test mass" of some kind, which I understood to usually be a boring hunk of metal, or at least something that wouldn't be a great loss if the rocket failed. Putting a car on there didn't seem like a frivolous waste, as it would be unlikely for a customer to put forth a serious payload for the debut Falcon Heavy launch. Yes, it was kind of meme-y and marketing-y. But it is a business, and I also don't think being serious about something means you can never make a joke about it.

danellis 5y ago
He's like Doc Brown. "The way I see it, if you're gonna make a payload out of a car, why not do it with some style?"
_jal 5y ago
I think a lot of people are just grossed out by the symbolism. Destroying a car that retails for years of many folks' income in a flashy, ostentatious manner is going to look like lighting cigars with $100s to many people.
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  Except the car wasn't destroyed, it's actually flying out there - and maybe, one day in the future, someone will retrieve it. (I could understand people complaining about symbolism of sending a sports car, of all things, to be a first private industry artifact in interplanetary space. But this doesn't seem to be a majority complaint.) Also: even the boring test mass payload would also cost "years of many folks' income". Not even counting the integration. Big things just costs big money - that's life for you. If someone is so sensitive about this, they probably shouldn't watch anything related to rockets at all.
  - _jal 5y ago
    > even the boring test mass payload would also cost Of course. I'm not talking about considered opinion, just knee-jerk human reactions to headlines. You can tell people they're wrong if you want. Let me know how that goes for you.

spookthesunset 5y ago

Wait until they land their first Mars rover. I wouldn’t be surprised if 25% of the available power gets dedicated to AV gear to send near real time HD 4K video back to earth. ‘Cause cool videos are what gets people excited and paying attention. And I for one can’t wait!

rsj_hn 5y ago
There's always been a large performative aspect to all things space related. Even the original space race was basically an odd performance, similar to a sports performance (hence the "race"). What it showed us is that these types of performances are deeply satisfying to the public, which gives hope to those who refuse to view human beings as purely caring about their own material situation or personal comfort. A lot of national treasure and even some blood was spent on that "race", and still it is quite popular.

zlsa 5y ago

It was a test launch. The alternative would have been a block of metal.

bpodgursky 5y ago

Musk offered NASA and the military a free satellite launch on the Falcon Heavy test, with the caveat it might blow up. They didn't bite.

LeifCarrotson 5y ago

Would you rather he'd sent a block of precisely-weighed concrete into space, like other dummy payloads on other booster tests? I disagree that it's worse to send a publicity stunt instead of something more...respectful?...boring and completely useless. I do agree that there are better things than publicity stunts to do with dummy payloads. You don't need to launch a multi-million-dollar satellite, but it would be low risk to launch a low-cost payload with corner reflectors for laser identification and distance measurement, chirping radio transmitters, or sensors, clocks, or radios for telemetry. You can construct a Cubesat for on the order of $10k, but it used to cost 10x that to launch and now costs about that much for a SpaceX rideshare to SSO. Surely you could construct something with at least a little utility to use as a dummy payload.

zlsa 5y ago
I can't find a source for this info at the moment, but I believe Gwynne Shotwell saying that they'd actually approached NASA (and possibly other customers) and asked if they'd like to fly anything on the Falcon Heavy demo mission. Clearly, nobody took them up on the offer.

thepasswordis 5y ago

>Musk sent a car into space as a publicity stunt. This just seems like such a stretch for something to get mad at Elon about. They needed to test the rocket. They used a couple of flight-proven (used) boosters that their competitors all would have throw into the trash, and instead of flying a hunk of concrete, flew one of Elon's cars. The car, by the way, is symbolic in that it did usher in the end of ICE vehicles. Other companies tried to do EVs and failed, Tesla made it happen. Is it really better if the car had sat in a museum instead? What better symbolism could there be than to put it into a sort of museum in orbit around our sun? The day we are able to go and visit that car will be another hugely symbolic turning point for humanity.