SpaceX: Abort ! Abort! Abort!

[Space_Coyote]

Well here it is the 6th of May and SpaceX decided today to give us a taste of what would havppen if something went wrong with one of their lauch viehicles and you had a crew on board.. Time to bail out!

(Or better yet, let's hit that Red button next to the Altimeter shall we?

And it looks like it went pretty well.. (And yeah, Jeb wasn't bothered a bit...)

Well time to move on to the next SpaceX Launch.. Maybe in the next one we'll finally get a proper landing with that first stage..(and to think that's what exactly space X is talking about.. Landing a rocket.. back at the pad..)

Space Coyote

[Herr Rictus Bingo]

I don't know... I don't like Space X at all including his manager, the dragon spaceship looks like a tuning with this horrible dragon under the hatch... I don't know if members here are sharing the same idea

Edited May 6, 2015 by Herr Rictus Bingo

[dryer_lint]

I don't like at all Space X

MUTINY

including his manager

HOW COULD YOU

I don't know if members here are sharing the same idea

Half the forum pretty much worships companies like SpaceX

[Flymetothemun]

MUTINY

HOW COULD YOU

Half the forum pretty much worships companies like SpaceX

I happen to agree with Herr Bingo. I think SpaceX is overrated. The fact that a nerd-deity like Elon Musk (Who I'm neutral on, but lean towards dislike) is running the show doesn't help either.

[Herr Rictus Bingo]

I happen to agree with Herr Bingo. I think SpaceX is overrated. The fact that a nerd-deity like Elon Musk (Who I'm neutral on, but lean towards dislike) is running the show doesn't help either.

And for answer to Nikola7007 I find the attitude of the manager just horrible, show off with his stuff. It's make me sad to see a private company be the first before some NASA projects...

Edited May 6, 2015 by Herr Rictus Bingo

[Kryten]

This is a NASA project. The only reason this has happened at this time is that it's a milestone in the CCDEV contract between NASA and SpaceX.

[dryer_lint]

http://media.giphy.com/media/5xtDarmwsuR9sDRObyU/giphy.gif

And for answer to Nikola7007 I find the attitude of the manager just horrible, show off with his stuff. It's make me sad to see a private company be the first before some NASA projects...

whoosh

My reply was kind of tongue-in-check, I didn't think you guys would take it seriously

Although I don't see a reason to hate the guy. He genuinely seems to be interested in space exploration.

[Camacha]

I happen to agree with Herr Bingo. I think SpaceX is overrated. The fact that a nerd-deity like Elon Musk (Who I'm neutral on, but lean towards dislike) is running the show doesn't help either.

I think he is a great example. He is fairly modest while still going great things and actually furthering the human race. Few people get to say that. In a time where governments rather wage war than go to space, having a guy with a clear goal is highly valuable.

If I am honest, he is one of the guys I genuinely look up to.

[Space_Coyote]

Well here's my thoughts on this, and waht I am going to say might wake everyone up to the fact of this.. so no disrespect to any of the previous posters but well here's my thoughts:

First off let's start off with this comment, and tihis one really takes the cakse.. after all it's an agreeement that SPace X is Overrated.. and then I'm going to counter with my own response..

I happen to agree with Herr Bingo. I think SpaceX is overrated. The fact that a nerd-deity like Elon Musk (Who I'm neutral on, but lean towards dislike) is running the show doesn't help either.

*Rant On*

Okay so you don't like SpaceX.. and you think it's overrated.. Well then you don't like CHange.. And if you think they are overrated, then rthe reality is, you Support a governmentsal agency (NASA) and you think their safe? Well hate to burst your bubble but they aren't.. Let's see.. I could post up some videos here and they would bring up harsh memories, but I won't.. Need I remind folks aobut the 1967 Flash Fire of Apollo I, or the 190 event with Apollo 13 (Which amazingly with some innovation, we were able to save 3 lives from bring the first real casualitys in Real life space.. and then after All of that was said and done, Need I remind folks of the 1986 Challenger disaster, or the 2004 Columbia accident. in which another 17 lives were lost..

(Sure SPaceX hasn't sent any real astronauts into space but NASA has and yes this is a NASA project.. and you saw what NASA's own project (Oriion0 has been like.. Cutbacks, cutting corners, and for what? Just to go to Mars in the supposedly next 15 years? Heck I think America has no frther drive to go to space.. Leave that to the russians and the Chinese..

But even their space Track records aren't spotless.. Russia's first death occurrede in 1965 when over 5000 people died in a rocket test that kiled everyone including the head of the Russian Space program.. They've lost astronauts too, 3 aboard Soyuz 11, another one testing out the original Soyuz, They've had near escapes by Astronauts as their rocket's literally exploded on the launch pad and it's the sheer luck that the abort systems did work.. I mean for the russians their track record has been less than stellar as well..

And let's not forget the Chinese... Remember the March Long 3 test? The one that ended up taking out a nearby village/ Howmany died in that failure/ 400 -500? More maybe? (The Chinese aren't going to reveal howmany..After all their agency is tight lipped as it too is government controlled and being censored because of this..

Now let's take a look at how much each agency in the world has done.. and you'll be surprisd why we ar in such financial straits we are today..

The Space Program, Billions if not at least a trillion dollars. (Let's see if were were to adjust for inflation, the end cost of the moonshot backin 1969 would be now about 300 billion instead of the 24 billion it did cost/ The Shuttles? Well with the loss of CHallenger and Columbia the Goveernment lost not only 14 lives but also 4 billion dollars worth of equipment, and the flights into space were curtailed.. In fact All 5 shuttles were supposed to last 100 flights each and instead.. the tiotal number of shots into space totalled only 135 or 136... way way below the expected life time of the 10-20 billion dollarr space truck that turned out to be a white elephant..(Oh and did they have an escape system on teh shuttle/ Tell taht to the Challenger crew.. an see what they think..

Oh and then, let's not forget us the players in Kerbal space program.. How many Kerbals die on any given day? 10, 100 a 1000? You give me an actual figure, and put that against these agencies and 17 in a 50 year life span at nasa is nothing, in fact it's stellar.. .. heck more than 50,000 people die here in the states in Car Crashes.. 17 people ? That's nothing..

And like I said, if you want to see Rank amateurs, we're it.. BUt then do we have the innovtation or drive to put a rocket and send it somewhere there? Of coursse it is, but then if Kerbal money was like Real money, how much have we wasted as we've had to g in and rebuild our ships and redesign them jsut to get into space (I know this is a game, but when you stop and think about this, that 500,000 Kerboleans that it cost to build the FASA Saturn V is the equivalent to 2 or 3 billion actual dollars in the real world.. (So yeah 500 Kerboleans is nothing.. but 3 billion dollars? How is economy doing? Well you tell me..

And to think a lot of this is based solely on decision making..

And then there's innovation.. The modders in this game are much like the SpaceX"s the Virgin Galactics, and the Orirtal Transports of the real world.. Even ESA NASA, the Russian and Chinese and India Space budgets are that way, but the russians had their world topple in 1989, and their economy is now one of the poorest, sure the Americans have the drive to make it to space but at a cost that is draining the coffers of our own treasury that they are helping cause Hyper inflation...

And then you got the privatized sector of the space program.. the SpaceX, the Orbital Transport, The Boeings and Lockheeds of the world.. do you think when you launch a rocket in game it's cheap? it's not.. and if the thing blows up on the pad, that a few bucks of yur money comes out ofyour wallet to make the next flight better?

The point is, sure it's overrated, sure it's hyped, sure it's innovative.. (And people who hate Innovation usually are the ones who hate space flight.. They're afraid that we just might succeed.. and yess we should be able to feed all of our people back here on the ground.. (but when you walk into a supermarket and see Aisle upon Aisle of food sitting on the shelves rotting, that no one can afford, doesn't it make you wonder.. where is all the money going/ I'll tell you where.. Into the goverment's pockets.. that's where.. The people who cut back the space programs are the ones gettng rich here, they don't carre what happens to us.. As long as they get the money, they're happy, the rest of us, well we're just dirt..

(Overhyped now? Or maybe we're all a bit underhyped.. Tell taht to your Kerbals the next time you have them blow up on the pad

*Takes Deep breath in, and lets it out slowly*

Now then, sure this is a test for NASA and sure it's to prove that an abort system can work if something goes wrong. but again Need I stress to you the shuttle incidents.. those 14 astronauts didn't need to die.. They didn't need to perish because a governmental agency didn't think of an escape plan incase of failures like Challenger or Columbia.. and when they did, it was paltry at best..(Yes Nasa did coe up with an idea, but you try tryinig to get out of a out of control cumbling capsule and try to jump out in a bulky space suit with a parachute before you capsule hits the water.. (See if any of your Kerbals can make it.. (And now with 1.0, the reentry factor is now real...

So in the end, when you look at the entire space program, think about this the next time you put a Kerbal insto space.. if this was the real world, Millions if not billions of Kerbals are dying everyday, in car and plane crashed, in wars, and starvation, in behing homeless and even due to technological failures..

I mean if yo want this game as real as it gets (No offense to Microsofr for the use of their "Flight Simulator Line" ) The point is this.. PEople and Kerbals live every day, they die every day too, and if we had it such that we put the real life events of all these disasters in space into context then it adds up quickly and a lot, the lost science , the lost money, just the loss..

IN closing i have this to say.. Space is dangerous, maybe it's space that is hyped up to much.. Maybe it's the poepole who are afraid of innovation, maybe they don't want us to find new drugs that can help fight off disease.. and possibly find new cures for Cancer..

In short, space is dangerous. and we need working secape systems to be tested, tweaked and tested again.. even if it is our money.. After all if you were to go to Marrs, wouldn't you want to be safe too the next time something goes horribly wrong?

That's all I have to say about this.. No need to carry on about it anymore.. afte rall I put this up there for a reason.. to show you how a system could work to save 7 astronauts .. but hey go ahead kills your kerbals, I don't mind..

*Rant Off*

Space_Coyote

[r4pt0r]

I like ULA more.

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

I like ULA more.

Results

Rhetoric

Edited May 7, 2015 by RobotsAndSpaceships

[Zucal]

I respect ULA for their impeccable reliability, and SpaceX for their innovation. There's a balance, guys.

[Flymetothemun]

Well here's my thoughts on this, and waht I am going to say might wake everyone up to the fact of this.. so no disrespect to any of the previous posters but well here's my thoughts:

First off let's start off with this comment, and tihis one really takes the cakse.. after all it's an agreeement that SPace X is Overrated.. and then I'm going to counter with my own response..

*Rant On*

Okay so you don't like SpaceX.. and you think it's overrated.. Well then you don't like CHange.. And if you think they are overrated, then rthe reality is, you Support a governmentsal agency (NASA) and you think their safe? Well hate to burst your bubble but they aren't.. Let's see.. I could post up some videos here and they would bring up harsh memories, but I won't.. Need I remind folks aobut the 1967 Flash Fire of Apollo I, or the 190 event with Apollo 13 (Which amazingly with some innovation, we were able to save 3 lives from bring the first real casualitys in Real life space.. and then after All of that was said and done, Need I remind folks of the 1986 Challenger disaster, or the 2004 Columbia accident. in which another 17 lives were lost..

(Sure SPaceX hasn't sent any real astronauts into space but NASA has and yes this is a NASA project.. and you saw what NASA's own project (Oriion0 has been like.. Cutbacks, cutting corners, and for what? Just to go to Mars in the supposedly next 15 years? Heck I think America has no frther drive to go to space.. Leave that to the russians and the Chinese..

But even their space Track records aren't spotless.. Russia's first death occurrede in 1965 when over 5000 people died in a rocket test that kiled everyone including the head of the Russian Space program.. They've lost astronauts too, 3 aboard Soyuz 11, another one testing out the original Soyuz, They've had near escapes by Astronauts as their rocket's literally exploded on the launch pad and it's the sheer luck that the abort systems did work.. I mean for the russians their track record has been less than stellar as well..

And let's not forget the Chinese... Remember the March Long 3 test? The one that ended up taking out a nearby village/ Howmany died in that failure/ 400 -500? More maybe? (The Chinese aren't going to reveal howmany..After all their agency is tight lipped as it too is government controlled and being censored because of this..

Now let's take a look at how much each agency in the world has done.. and you'll be surprisd why we ar in such financial straits we are today..

The Space Program, Billions if not at least a trillion dollars. (Let's see if were were to adjust for inflation, the end cost of the moonshot backin 1969 would be now about 300 billion instead of the 24 billion it did cost/ The Shuttles? Well with the loss of CHallenger and Columbia the Goveernment lost not only 14 lives but also 4 billion dollars worth of equipment, and the flights into space were curtailed.. In fact All 5 shuttles were supposed to last 100 flights each and instead.. the tiotal number of shots into space totalled only 135 or 136... way way below the expected life time of the 10-20 billion dollarr space truck that turned out to be a white elephant..(Oh and did they have an escape system on teh shuttle/ Tell taht to the Challenger crew.. an see what they think..

Oh and then, let's not forget us the players in Kerbal space program.. How many Kerbals die on any given day? 10, 100 a 1000? You give me an actual figure, and put that against these agencies and 17 in a 50 year life span at nasa is nothing, in fact it's stellar.. .. heck more than 50,000 people die here in the states in Car Crashes.. 17 people ? That's nothing..

And like I said, if you want to see Rank amateurs, we're it.. BUt then do we have the innovtation or drive to put a rocket and send it somewhere there? Of coursse it is, but then if Kerbal money was like Real money, how much have we wasted as we've had to g in and rebuild our ships and redesign them jsut to get into space (I know this is a game, but when you stop and think about this, that 500,000 Kerboleans that it cost to build the FASA Saturn V is the equivalent to 2 or 3 billion actual dollars in the real world.. (So yeah 500 Kerboleans is nothing.. but 3 billion dollars? How is economy doing? Well you tell me..

And to think a lot of this is based solely on decision making..

And then there's innovation.. The modders in this game are much like the SpaceX"s the Virgin Galactics, and the Orirtal Transports of the real world.. Even ESA NASA, the Russian and Chinese and India Space budgets are that way, but the russians had their world topple in 1989, and their economy is now one of the poorest, sure the Americans have the drive to make it to space but at a cost that is draining the coffers of our own treasury that they are helping cause Hyper inflation...

And then you got the privatized sector of the space program.. the SpaceX, the Orbital Transport, The Boeings and Lockheeds of the world.. do you think when you launch a rocket in game it's cheap? it's not.. and if the thing blows up on the pad, that a few bucks of yur money comes out ofyour wallet to make the next flight better?

The point is, sure it's overrated, sure it's hyped, sure it's innovative.. (And people who hate Innovation usually are the ones who hate space flight.. They're afraid that we just might succeed.. and yess we should be able to feed all of our people back here on the ground.. (but when you walk into a supermarket and see Aisle upon Aisle of food sitting on the shelves rotting, that no one can afford, doesn't it make you wonder.. where is all the money going/ I'll tell you where.. Into the goverment's pockets.. that's where.. The people who cut back the space programs are the ones gettng rich here, they don't carre what happens to us.. As long as they get the money, they're happy, the rest of us, well we're just dirt..

(Overhyped now? Or maybe we're all a bit underhyped.. Tell taht to your Kerbals the next time you have them blow up on the pad

*Takes Deep breath in, and lets it out slowly*

Now then, sure this is a test for NASA and sure it's to prove that an abort system can work if something goes wrong. but again Need I stress to you the shuttle incidents.. those 14 astronauts didn't need to die.. They didn't need to perish because a governmental agency didn't think of an escape plan incase of failures like Challenger or Columbia.. and when they did, it was paltry at best..(Yes Nasa did coe up with an idea, but you try tryinig to get out of a out of control cumbling capsule and try to jump out in a bulky space suit with a parachute before you capsule hits the water.. (See if any of your Kerbals can make it.. (And now with 1.0, the reentry factor is now real...

So in the end, when you look at the entire space program, think about this the next time you put a Kerbal insto space.. if this was the real world, Millions if not billions of Kerbals are dying everyday, in car and plane crashed, in wars, and starvation, in behing homeless and even due to technological failures..

I mean if yo want this game as real as it gets (No offense to Microsofr for the use of their "Flight Simulator Line" ) The point is this.. PEople and Kerbals live every day, they die every day too, and if we had it such that we put the real life events of all these disasters in space into context then it adds up quickly and a lot, the lost science , the lost money, just the loss..

IN closing i have this to say.. Space is dangerous, maybe it's space that is hyped up to much.. Maybe it's the poepole who are afraid of innovation, maybe they don't want us to find new drugs that can help fight off disease.. and possibly find new cures for Cancer..

In short, space is dangerous. and we need working secape systems to be tested, tweaked and tested again.. even if it is our money.. After all if you were to go to Marrs, wouldn't you want to be safe too the next time something goes horribly wrong?

That's all I have to say about this.. No need to carry on about it anymore.. afte rall I put this up there for a reason.. to show you how a system could work to save 7 astronauts .. but hey go ahead kills your kerbals, I don't mind..

*Rant Off*

Space_Coyote

Coyote, all I said was that I thought SpaceX was just overrated. I think they do good work at SpaceX, I just think that other space agencies and companies might be hurting in the public eye because SpaceX is getting all the attention. I know very well of the very large difference and sharp, bold line between KSP and real-world space programs. I know that thousands of kerbals are "killed" on a daily basis while comparatively very little deaths have been incurred in real-world spaceflight. I know of the large amounts of money that are required to launch rockets, regardless of the political climate surrounding such money issues. I know that money and lives have been lost in pursuit of space, and I surely don't want to impede innovation and the progress of new disease-treating drugs and cancer cures. I also want for there to be contingency plans and systems in case of failure or emergency.

Once again, All I said was that SpaceX was overrated because I'm thinking that they're "stealing the show" as it were.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Flymetothemun

[dryer_lint]

I respect ULA for their impeccable reliability, and SpaceX for their innovation. There's a balance, guys.

This. For god's sake guys, we don't have to pick favorites... OR DO WE?

WORLD WAR III IMMINENT. IT SHALL BE FOUGHT WITH ROCKETS RE-PURPOSED AS MISSILES.

that was a joke

haha, fat chance

[Robotengineer]

I think Elon Musk gets to be a bit smug after revolutionizing three industries, PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX. ULA is only interested in maintaining the status quo, ridiculously expensive expendable rockets. Bezos is just following.

[zekes]

http://media.giphy.com/media/5xtDarmwsuR9sDRObyU/giphy.gif

And for answer to Nikola7007 I find the attitude of the manager just horrible, show off with his stuff. It's make me sad to see a private company be the first before some NASA projects...

He's a manager, it's his job to promote his craft. And he's one of the most honest and excited people in the industry today, I've watched a lot of his videos and he is a very real guy, in my opinion. And his company's profitable, and on the road to the future. Just because NASA fell behind doesn't mean we need to sit on our hands.

[Camacha]

This. For god's sake guys, we don't have to pick favorites...

I do not get this either. Everywhere you look there seems to be a need to make lists and orders and then argue like there is no tomorrow about who's list is better. Can we not applaud any and all space initiatives and hope they all do well?

[r4pt0r]

Can we not applaud any and all space initiatives and hope they all do well?

except the DPRK's Space agency, the "National Aeronautics Development Agency". I dont want them to be space capable.

[Camacha]

except the DPRK's Space agency, the "National Aeronautics Development Agency". I dont want them to be space capable.

As long as they only use the technology to go to space and come back safely I wish them all the luck in the world. Maybe some useful endeavours and achievements will provide a much needed diversion from their war efforts, though I understand that is a pretty optimistic view on things.

[Leszek]

If this were any other forum, this would be a discussion about who is better between the Bulls or the Pistons.

There is not normally much balance in this kind of discussion. That is why I am going to vote for SNC. Dream Chaser for the win!

[Zucal]

As long as they only use the technology to go to space and come back safely I wish them all the luck in the world.

Well, that's the rub. Orbital capability means they can hit people with a nuke. But yeah, all the power to them for space stuff. But only space stuff. As long as they do it peacefully. Huh.

[Robotengineer]

Well, that's the rub. Orbital capability means they can hit people with a nuke. But yeah, all the power to them for space stuff. But only space stuff. As long as they do it peacefully. Huh.

I seriously doubt NK could have any peaceful uses for space that aeren't a disguise for less-than-peaceful uses.

[Camacha]

I seriously doubt NK could have any peaceful uses for space that aeren't a disguise for less-than-peaceful uses.

Great thing is that, even if you are not as optimistic as I was in my previous comment, this is pretty much a theoretical issue. North Korea (or rather Kim Jong-un) knows it will be wiped off the map when it actually pulls anything, so just an uncomfortable stale mate will remain. The top tier guys have a good life there, they have no use for an actual war. Meanwhile, going to space has had good effects on the spirits of people in most countries, so maybe some actual good will come of it.

Again, I know I am being somewhat optimistic, but someone has to be

[Hunting.Targ]

I can't help but be quite bemused on how such a simple, otherwise boring item as test launch video footage can spark such -um, er- impressively passionate discussion. And since we're here talking (or ranting) about it, I might as well put some chips on the table.

NASA is a gov't. agency. SpaceX is a private contractor meeting certain specific requirements set forth by NASA and specific legislation. There are pros and cons to each operational scenario. As a gov't. agency, NASA has to work with whatever money and directives they're given from Capitol Hill (determined by the Congressional budget and appropriations legislation and committee decisions), which is sometimes a little, sometimes a lot (of either/or or both). They are also subject to the disease that plagues every gov't. body: Bureaucracy. If you read the official documentation (or even the Wikipedia summaries, which is far less tedious and boring), you will find out that both space shuttle disasters were caused or contributed to by the 'bureaucratic mentality' of business-as-usual and "that will never happen. Get back to work." It was so bad, that as Richard Feynman pointed out, it spread from NASA to (some of) its contractors, namely Morton-Thiokol, manufacturer of the Space Shuttle Launch System SRBs.

Now look at SpaceX. Operating missions with far less overhead and administrative oversight than NASA, and also less systems and flight engineering testing. Proven, practical, but by no means perfectly safe yet, E.M. is blazing a trail for private contractors to make a profit from gov't. funds in a rather slick and attractive way - taking crews and cargo into space and back. Until some enterprising venture manages to bring back a rare-earth asteroid and start mining it for nickel, silver, and titanium ore, there will be no true 'profit' in going into space.

I also don't see why Elon Musk gets targeted when Virgin Galactic has become responsible for the first commercial space program fatality. Richard Branson has been funding and overseeing an effort to provide tourist flights on suborbital trajectories, with the goal of taking non-astronaut passengers to low earth orbit and possibly the I.S.S. The SpaceShipTwo incident has been a wake-up call for Virgin Enterprises, who already runs an unconventional but successful commercial airline operation. This has the potential to bring in profit only in the sense that some people are willing to part with significant sums of money just to be part of 'space fever'.

And as for the early Mercury and Apollo incidents - we (I can hardly help but speak as an American at this point; the space race was rather nationalistic) were learning, and we were learning fast and hard. Most of the lessons we got were technical, and I am fond of saying the laws of physics are merciless and uncompassionate. The last few decades have shown that the lessons facing spaceflight now are less technical and more leadership- and organization-oriented. From Challenger and Atlantis, to Mars Climate Orbiter, to the (recent) Project Orion debacle; the real question becomes not 'do we trust this technology?', but 'do we trust the people behind (and in) this technology?'

Edited May 7, 2015 by Hunting.Targ
I apparently can't use the word s.e.x.y. in a news commentary. *sigh* I do get weary of YCBTC.

[Rakaydos]

As long as they only use the technology to go to space and come back safely I wish them all the luck in the world. Maybe some useful endeavours and achievements will provide a much needed diversion from their war efforts, though I understand that is a pretty optimistic view on things.

Nuclear Pulse Propultion. North Korea is one of the few places in the world that could get past the national political obsticals, and the actual tech behind it is over 50 years old- well within NK's tech base by this point.