4 ms·

This one? https://youtube.com/watch?v=EA0XfkboFIY https://youtube.com/watch?v=EA0XfkboFIY

by vrganj 2mo ago

flohofwoe 2mo ago
Funny enough the uploader has made that video unavailable in Germany (OTRAG was a German company, the first private/commercial aerospace company about 3 decades before SpaceX). Scott Manley has a video about them, and that's also available in Germany ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed4w4Cz5ccU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed4w4Cz5ccU PS: GP probably meant this one (this is just the trailer of a German documentary from 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDdKuRANbc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDdKuRANbc
- vjvjvjvjghv 2mo ago
  Kind of sad that they didn’t work out. I really wish German industry had a little more willpower to get things done instead of giving up so easily. That’s one strength of the US. They just keep marching forward and have enough investors that are willing to take the risk.
  - flohofwoe 2mo ago
    The US didn't have a (successful) private aerospace company in the 1970s either (AFAIK). The whole thing was simply too early to be a realistic business. It's not that the private sector gave up entirely though (e.g. see https://isaraerospace.com/ https://isaraerospace.com/), but of course it's incredibly hard to enter a market that's dominated by a handful heavily subsidized and state/military-sponsored companies (and that includes SpaceX). But I have a feeling that at least the braindrain from Europe towards the US will not be quite as extreme in the future as it was in the last 90 years. Also: > I really wish German industry had a little more willpower I think it's less about company willpower but about (investment) money, and of course every idea must make business sense. That whole balancing act between 'must quickly become a viable business' versus 'how much investment money is available to burn on failed experiments' happens on a much smaller scale in Europe compared to the US (and a lot of European investment money is being burned in the US instead of Europe, and this clearly would need to change first).
pseudohadamard 2mo ago
That's the one, there seem to be multiple copies around, e.g. this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfBcCLSQP-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfBcCLSQP-c I remain astounded that (a) all this footage actually exists and (b) someone made an entire documentary about it. I'd never heard of this stuff until I talked to someone who claimed to have helped finance the project at the time.

This one? https://youtube.com/watch?v=EA0XfkboFIY https://youtube.com/watch?v=EA0XfkboFIY

by vrganj 2mo ago

This one? https://youtube.com/watch?v=EA0XfkboFIY https://youtube.com/watch?v=EA0XfkboFIY

Funny enough the uploader has made that video unavailable in Germany (OTRAG was a German company, the first private/commercial aerospace company about 3 decades before SpaceX). Scott Manley has a video about them, and that's also available in Germany ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed4w4Cz5ccU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed4w4Cz5ccU PS: GP probably meant this one (this is just the trailer of a German documentary from 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDdKuRANbc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDdKuRANbc

vjvjvjvjghv 2mo ago
Kind of sad that they didn’t work out. I really wish German industry had a little more willpower to get things done instead of giving up so easily. That’s one strength of the US. They just keep marching forward and have enough investors that are willing to take the risk.
- flohofwoe 2mo ago
  The US didn't have a (successful) private aerospace company in the 1970s either (AFAIK). The whole thing was simply too early to be a realistic business. It's not that the private sector gave up entirely though (e.g. see https://isaraerospace.com/ https://isaraerospace.com/), but of course it's incredibly hard to enter a market that's dominated by a handful heavily subsidized and state/military-sponsored companies (and that includes SpaceX). But I have a feeling that at least the braindrain from Europe towards the US will not be quite as extreme in the future as it was in the last 90 years. Also: > I really wish German industry had a little more willpower I think it's less about company willpower but about (investment) money, and of course every idea must make business sense. That whole balancing act between 'must quickly become a viable business' versus 'how much investment money is available to burn on failed experiments' happens on a much smaller scale in Europe compared to the US (and a lot of European investment money is being burned in the US instead of Europe, and this clearly would need to change first).

pseudohadamard 2mo ago

That's the one, there seem to be multiple copies around, e.g. this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfBcCLSQP-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfBcCLSQP-c I remain astounded that (a) all this footage actually exists and (b) someone made an entire documentary about it. I'd never heard of this stuff until I talked to someone who claimed to have helped finance the project at the time.