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Enough of the hero worship. If Musk gets on one of his rockets in 15 years and launches it towards Mars, he will certainly die. Long before he reaches Mars. Ye

Enough of the hero worship. If Musk gets on one of his rockets in 15 years and launches it towards Mars, he will certainly die. Long before he reaches Mars. Yes, he's a great, fascinating man. I enjoy observing this stuff as much as the next guy. But Good God - stop slobbering on yourselves. This is marketing fluff of the highest order.

dasil003 14y ago
Is it "of the highest order" because it's marketing something substantive?
- damoncali 14y ago
  Exactly the opposite. It's the grand marketing of an even grander vision - the ultimate vaporware. Where people with can dream up supersonic aircraft that are massively more efficient than the highly refined subsonic craft that have been built by thousands of very smart people over decades. Where magic tubes will transport people near the speed of sound whenever they want for a mere $6B. Where the realities of space flight are to be ignored because, well, the leader of the venture is a really good business man and has a lot of charisma. Is this not the same hacker news where people get bent out of shape when Apple bends the truth on their iPhone marketing copy? Fuck Mars. I'm going to Jupiter. In 2015. The emperor has no clothes.
  - untog 14y ago
    Is this not the same hacker news where people get bent out of shape when Apple bends the truth on their iPhone marketing copy? Er, no, it really isn't. The implication here is that he is actually working on these things, having had a "breakthrough" over the summer. It could be absolute crap, yes. But he has a number of previous successes that indicate he is capable of delivering. The overall point is that he isn't just dreaming, he is clearly spending a lot of money on doing as well.
    - enraged_camel 14y ago
      >>The overall point is that he isn't just dreaming, he is clearly spending a lot of money on doing as well. Furthermore, he is putting his money where his mouth is, by spending his own money.
      - ericd 14y ago
        And finally, the results have been fucking great. The Tesla Roadster is absolutely unbelievable, it's more fun than most roller coasters. According to the reviews in car magazine, the Model S is similarly unbelievable in similar and other ways (fantastic ride/handling, absurd acceleration, great cargo capacity, seating for 5 comfortably, 7 with kids). And SpaceX is demolishing the other space launch companies in their space in terms of price to fulfill a launch. He's got way more license to dream up crazy things without being called out than pretty much anyone else alive.
        damoncali 14y ago
        Musk's reality distortion field puts Jobs' to shame. He said he's going to send people to Mars in 15 years. Here is one question. How often do you get a chance to launch a rocket to Mars? (Hint: it's not often). How many opportunities to send test missions and support gear will there be in the next 15 years? How long will it take to build all that stuff? A year? Two years? More? You just lost another mission. Have they figured out how to get food there? Have they figured out how to breathe there? Have they even designed the vehicle or even the thermal system (for one example out of many) required to keep a human at a survivable temperature for the trip? Have they done anything to solve the incredibly difficult problems that we face in this area? The results here are not 'fucking great', they're non-existant. And the claim of a VTOL supersonic jet that is a breakthrough in efficiency over traditional jets? Where are the results? There are none. zero. It's fantasy. The results have been great for Paypal, impressive for Tesla, and SpaceX has proven a great contribution to the existing aerospace industry. Great for Musk - he has accomplished much and history will remember him as an influential industrialist and visionary. But BS is BS, no matter who spews it. EDIT: This thread has gotten lots of downvotes, but not one substantive comment on what Musk has done that would indicate that these stories are anything but puffery aimed at gaining publicity for his much more mundane (but still rather impressive) efforts. When is the first Mars launch again? What will be the payload? Tick tock - that deadline will be here before you know it. The time has past for vision - the timetable Musk has outlined requires action now. Action that is conspicuously absent.
  - aswanson 14y ago
    If we ever get fusion down, Jupiter is probably a better target, as it has immense stores of hydrogen and tritium.
    - billswift 14y ago
      The big problem with Jupiter is its particularly intense magnetic field and Van Allen radiation belt. It is going to be too dangerous to approach without a breakthrough in radiation shielding for a long time yet. On the other hand, once we get fusion, its containment is likely to be magnetic, which may be adaptable to shielding.

dasil003 14y ago

Is it "of the highest order" because it's marketing something substantive?

damoncali 14y ago
Exactly the opposite. It's the grand marketing of an even grander vision - the ultimate vaporware. Where people with can dream up supersonic aircraft that are massively more efficient than the highly refined subsonic craft that have been built by thousands of very smart people over decades. Where magic tubes will transport people near the speed of sound whenever they want for a mere $6B. Where the realities of space flight are to be ignored because, well, the leader of the venture is a really good business man and has a lot of charisma. Is this not the same hacker news where people get bent out of shape when Apple bends the truth on their iPhone marketing copy? Fuck Mars. I'm going to Jupiter. In 2015. The emperor has no clothes.
- untog 14y ago
  Is this not the same hacker news where people get bent out of shape when Apple bends the truth on their iPhone marketing copy? Er, no, it really isn't. The implication here is that he is actually working on these things, having had a "breakthrough" over the summer. It could be absolute crap, yes. But he has a number of previous successes that indicate he is capable of delivering. The overall point is that he isn't just dreaming, he is clearly spending a lot of money on doing as well.
  - enraged_camel 14y ago
    >>The overall point is that he isn't just dreaming, he is clearly spending a lot of money on doing as well. Furthermore, he is putting his money where his mouth is, by spending his own money.
    - ericd 14y ago
      And finally, the results have been fucking great. The Tesla Roadster is absolutely unbelievable, it's more fun than most roller coasters. According to the reviews in car magazine, the Model S is similarly unbelievable in similar and other ways (fantastic ride/handling, absurd acceleration, great cargo capacity, seating for 5 comfortably, 7 with kids). And SpaceX is demolishing the other space launch companies in their space in terms of price to fulfill a launch. He's got way more license to dream up crazy things without being called out than pretty much anyone else alive.
      - damoncali 14y ago
        Musk's reality distortion field puts Jobs' to shame. He said he's going to send people to Mars in 15 years. Here is one question. How often do you get a chance to launch a rocket to Mars? (Hint: it's not often). How many opportunities to send test missions and support gear will there be in the next 15 years? How long will it take to build all that stuff? A year? Two years? More? You just lost another mission. Have they figured out how to get food there? Have they figured out how to breathe there? Have they even designed the vehicle or even the thermal system (for one example out of many) required to keep a human at a survivable temperature for the trip? Have they done anything to solve the incredibly difficult problems that we face in this area? The results here are not 'fucking great', they're non-existant. And the claim of a VTOL supersonic jet that is a breakthrough in efficiency over traditional jets? Where are the results? There are none. zero. It's fantasy. The results have been great for Paypal, impressive for Tesla, and SpaceX has proven a great contribution to the existing aerospace industry. Great for Musk - he has accomplished much and history will remember him as an influential industrialist and visionary. But BS is BS, no matter who spews it. EDIT: This thread has gotten lots of downvotes, but not one substantive comment on what Musk has done that would indicate that these stories are anything but puffery aimed at gaining publicity for his much more mundane (but still rather impressive) efforts. When is the first Mars launch again? What will be the payload? Tick tock - that deadline will be here before you know it. The time has past for vision - the timetable Musk has outlined requires action now. Action that is conspicuously absent.
- aswanson 14y ago
  If we ever get fusion down, Jupiter is probably a better target, as it has immense stores of hydrogen and tritium.
  - billswift 14y ago
    The big problem with Jupiter is its particularly intense magnetic field and Van Allen radiation belt. It is going to be too dangerous to approach without a breakthrough in radiation shielding for a long time yet. On the other hand, once we get fusion, its containment is likely to be magnetic, which may be adaptable to shielding.