Jump to content

Jeff Bezos turns down offer to do a Lunar flyby

Spaceception

By Spaceception
in Science & Spaceflight

 Share

Recommended Posts

Kryten

Kryten

Posted
Posted
  On 4/14/2016 at 7:48 PM, KerbonautInTraining said:

What would've launched it?

Expand  

Proton with Blok-D stage and Soyuz on a Soyuz, a few days apart-hence the relatively high risk.

 

  On 4/14/2016 at 7:48 PM, KerbonautInTraining said:

Also, the article mentions the Soyuz was designed with a lunar flyby in mind. How so? Like, what can the Soyuz do that other LEO ferries can't? 

Expand  

Although Soyuz was ultimately approved for lunar missions, the design was descended from concepts for military craft for earth orbit. The only real difference between current versions of Soyuz and e.g. Dragon for this application is Soyuz has more interior volume because of the orbit module.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kerbart

Kerbart

Posted
Posted
  On 4/14/2016 at 7:19 PM, Spaceception said:

Why. The. Hell. Would. ANYONE. Turn down an offer to do a Lunar flyby!?

http://www.space.com/32576-jeff-bezos-skipped-moon-trip-soyuz.html?cmpid=514648

Expand  

“When you enter moon orbit we also want you to read off the temperature of this thermometer, and study the goo in this container,” said project leader Yevgeni Kermanovitch with a big smile.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fredinno

fredinno

Posted
Posted
  On 4/14/2016 at 9:07 PM, Kerbart said:

“When you enter moon orbit we also want you to read off the temperature of this thermometer, and study the goo in this container,” said project leader Yevgeni Kermanovitch with a big smile.

 

Expand  

I don't get it.

But Soyuz's provisions for Lunar Missions were deleted long ago. It'd have to be modified yet again for that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
K^2

K^2

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 4/17/2016 at 11:42 PM, Spaceception said:

I wouldn't care, at least it'd be fast.

Expand  

Blast is a definite possibility. So is asphyxiation or an electrical fire. And all of these are more likely to happen on the way to the Moon than on the return leg. I guess, the best possible catastrophic scenario would be a re-entry mishap, but Russians haven't had one of these in a very long time.

You might still think it's worth the risk, but people who start multiple multi-billion corporations tend to know when not to take them.

 

P.S. To be fair, the odds are much better than 50/50 here. We're probably not even talking Russian Roulette odds. I would estimate something on the order of 10% is the real risk. But it's not the sort of odds you let your life ride on.

Edited by K^2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kryten

Kryten

Posted
Posted

There would be significant financial risk involved here. I really doubt it would cost them only $200 million to develop and build the fancy docking rig for the Blok D, the mission module for Soyuz, et.c.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stargate525

Stargate525

Posted
Posted
  On 4/18/2016 at 12:46 AM, K^2 said:

Blast is a definite possibility. So is asphyxiation or an electrical fire. And all of these are more likely to happen on the way to the Moon than on the return leg. I guess, the best possible catastrophic scenario would be a re-entry mishap, but Russians haven't had one of these in a very long time.

You might still think it's worth the risk, but people who start multiple multi-billion corporations tend to know when not to take them.

 

P.S. To be fair, the odds are much better than 50/50 here. We're probably not even talking Russian Roulette odds. I would estimate something on the order of 10% is the real risk. But it's not the sort of odds you let your life ride on.

Expand  

I think I'd prefer detonation on the pad to a re-entry failure, myself.

But yeah... I wouldn't waste 200 million simply to be the first civilian to do it. I'll wait another ten years, pay less, and do it in more comfort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
K^2

K^2

Posted
Posted
  On 4/18/2016 at 1:15 AM, Stargate525 said:

I think I'd prefer detonation on the pad to a re-entry failure, myself.

Expand  

But then you die without even seeing the Moon up close. The only reason I'm calling re-entry mishap a best scenario is because you'd be dying with your trip complete, and not just blowing yourself up on the launch pad for no good reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fredinno

fredinno

Posted
Posted
  On 4/18/2016 at 1:26 AM, K^2 said:

But then you die without even seeing the Moon up close. The only reason I'm calling re-entry mishap a best scenario is because you'd be dying with your trip complete, and not just blowing yourself up on the launch pad for no good reason.

Expand  

On a launch failure, you will survive if you have a LES. Not in a reentry failure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pxi

pxi

Posted
Posted
  Quote

Roscosmos also offered Bezos the chance to do a flyby of the moon — a capability that the Soyuz was built for but that has not been tested. The lunar mission would cost Bezos about $200 million, he said. The high price tag was an issue, as was the fact that the Soyuz hasn't yet been tested on a lunar flyby.

Expand  

Being involved in a corporation that doubtless employs test pilots, he's probably acutely aware that generally you are expected to pay your test pilots, not the other way around.  That's my theory anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...