Eh. We have to remember this shit ain't easy. The networks supposedly told NASA that the reason they weren't going to cover the Apollo 13 launch was that NASA made going to the moon look like a trip to New Jersey. Bezos, Branson, and Musk all have different business models for how they intend to make spaceflight profitable. Musk's is more aggressive, but there might actually not be a market large enough to support all of them doing the same things that Musk is doing. After all, one of Musk's ways to get his launch costs down is by putting up a bunch of satellites to supply internet service (and he has a captive market for that, since if you own a Tesla and want OTA software updates and diagnosis, you have to have internet service from him). Even if Branson and Bezos had their own car companies (or some other way to force a large segment of their customer base to buy satellite internet service), it's not really practical for them to put up a bunch of satellites as orbit is getting crowded. If you look back at the early days of aviation, there were a whole bunch of different companies working out the kinks to make air travel possible. Interestingly enough, the Wright brothers spent most of their efforts after their first flight in protecting the patents they had on airplanes, rather than pushing the envelope in aircraft design. Glenn Curtiss probably did more innovative work at the dawn of flight than the Wrights' did, but he's almost completely forgotten about today. Will this pay off for cheaper human spaceflight? I dunno if it will directly pay off, but indirectly, it absolutely will. Just as the guys in the 1930s who tried to use rockets to send mail long distances, turned their skills to building missiles for WWII, and that led to things like the Apollo program. So, too, will this lead to better things in the effort to reduce the costs of spaceflight, even if VirginGalactic goes tits up in a few years.
I'm not overly enthused either, but the first airplane rides for the public courtesy of those magnificent men in their flying machines (AKA "Barnstormers) didn't last much longer than Branson's flight. How much did the barnstormers advance flight? Hell if I know. I'm sure an awful lot of pilots, aerospace engineers and airplane mechanics got their start after taking a ride into space. The argument that the money would be better spent on earthbound problems...well...I guess you could say that about any technological advance. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who witnessed the first manned balloon flight over Paris. When someone asked what good it was, he supposedly responded "What good is a baby?"
Amazon is currently developing their Kuiper constellation, which will put 3,236 satellites into orbit to provide global internet.
Maybe. They're still going to have to get permission to do this (and that might be harder to do based on the problems that have happened with Starlink), and even if they do, what kind of hold on their customers does Amazon have that's as tight as what Musk has with Tesla owners? Tesla's got over 1 million cars on the road, and if you want OTA diagnostics or updates, you're going to have to get Starlink. I'm sure that Amazon has far more Prime customers, but what incentive can Amazon foist on them to get them to buy their satellite service (which will have higher latency than any terrestrial service)?
FAA grounds Virgin Galactic, says it's investigating problems with Richard Branson's flight to edge of space Whoopsie!
I’m sure Brandon will try to brush this off, but violating flight plans strikes me as something you don’t want to do.
Virgin Orbit loses payload in first attempt at launching from the UK. https://twitter.com/CBCNews/status/1612775599403040768?s=20
Virgin Galactic: New tourist spacecraft means you could fly this year If memory serves, Shat's already paid for a ticket. Assuming they do start making flights this year, and that Shat's still alive, I wonder if he'll go? I also wonder just how much of a pompous ass he'll be to the other passengers on the flight. "I'm. Taking... Mysecondflight! How......about...........yoooooooou?"
It seems that they have an announcement coming. https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1655509362184687616?s=46&t=iYW3foyqIA6Tn8VWwn3nwQ
Virgin Galactic Finally Launches Its First Crew of Space Tourists This flight had a number of firsts: 1.) The first mother-daughter duo to go to space (and at the same time). 2.) The first Olympic athlete to go to space. 3.) The youngest person to go to space. 4.) The first crew to have more than two women on it.
Virgin Galactic will launch some of its 1st space tourist customers on 'Galactic 03' flight Friday. But who's flying? They're not revealing who the passengers are, nor are they going to be livestreaming the flight.
