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So creating cheap, reusable giant rockets is standing in the way of human progress? Being able to use neural links to restore sight to the blind is standing in
by WalterBright 9mo ago
So creating cheap, reusable giant rockets is standing in the way of human progress? Being able to use neural links to restore sight to the blind is standing in the way?
- Mordisquitos 9mo agoI'm pretty sure that GP commenter was referring to the other stuff.
- WalterBright 9mo agoHe shouldn't leave people guessing what he was referring to.
- Mordisquitos 9mo agoMaybe not, but one can always converse curiously and ask them what they meant. It's nicer to respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize.
- WalterBright 9mo agoMy replies ended in question marks.
- andrewflnr 9mo agoYou're really going to play the "just asking questions" card? You're smarter than this. Or should be.
- WalterBright 9mo ago[flagged]
- andrewflnr 9mo agoOh really? If you, too, were being sarcastic, you have no business raising "my replies ended in question marks" as a defense, because you weren't actually asking a question, you were making a claim, and the question mark is purely decorative. That is also bad faith discussion. Which is really the core problem with the whole "just asking questions" thing, you start with ambiguous question marks, and retreat to whichever meaning is tactically expedient when challenged. Meanwhile, I have no problem admitting that my question mark was decorative, and acknowledging my claim that you are engaging in bad faith discussion.
- lukan 9mo agoThere was another group of people famous for building innovative rockets, but are otherwise not associated with human progress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb So it is about the big picture. (And about small pictures like that of Elon making a salut like the other group). So yes, currently his rockets do not transport explosives. But that can change anytime and I expect it will very soon.
- lmz 9mo agoI thought American space flight etc was directly indebted to the people behind the V bombs? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip
- WalterBright 9mo agoThe Saturn V was simply a scaled up V2. The critical components were all there: 1. boundary layer cooling 2. pre-heating fuel and cooling the nozzle by pushing the fuel through tubes in the nozzle 3. baffles to prevent pogo-ing 4. turbo fuel pumps 5. supersonic airframe 6. guidance system (although primitive) The V2 was an ineffective military weapon that did little damage - because its guidance system was too primitive to be able to hit a target. Hitler also poured enormous resources into the V2 program, shifted away from producing weapons that were effective.
- Verdex 9mo agoElon rockets are only interesting because they can be reused. What use is a reusable rocket with respect to explosives?
- lukan 9mo agoThey can bring explosives to space, loitering space ammunition.
- Spooky23 9mo agoPretty easy. The only limits are your imagination and depravity. You launch the rocket, drop an orbital vehicle behind, and land. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. That vehicle could deorbit and drop a tungsten penetrator, smallpox, a nuclear device or any number of things. All funded by a combination of government spending and defrauding the public via the Tesla Ponzi scheme.