DailyDirt: More Commercial Spaceships On The Way

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The end of the space shuttle program is coming up pretty soon, but there are still a few plans to keep humans flying in space. It's actually quite interesting to see commercial space programs getting off the ground, but just getting to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere (or a little bit beyond) isn't that awe-inspiring anymore. Nevertheless, commercial ventures are trying to pick up the slack in space exploration, and here are a few links on just some of the projects ahead. By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
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Filed Under: space, spaceships


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  • icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 17 Feb 2011 @ 4:24pm

    It's actually quite interesting to see commercial space programs getting off the ground...

    D.D. Harriman, where are you?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Michael Ho (profile), 17 Feb 2011 @ 5:10pm

      Re:

      Had to google that one:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delos_D._Harriman


      Delos David Harriman, known as "D.D. Harriman," is a character in the fiction of noted science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein. He is an entrepreneurial businessman who masterminded the first landing on the Moon as a private business venture. His story is part of Heinlein's Future History.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jack, 17 Feb 2011 @ 11:12pm

    space shuttle safety record

    I'm not sure it's entirely fair to say the space shuttles "don't exactly have the best safety record". There have been two catastrophic losses in over 130 launches. Given the nature of space travel technology in general, and given how few flights we have relative to air travel, I think the safety record is consistent with the state of development of space travel technology.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Michael Ho (profile), 18 Feb 2011 @ 1:06am

      Re: space shuttle safety record

      Hmm. The Soyuz manned space missions probably have the best safety record -- beating the shuttle by quite a bit. Not sure what other manned space program to compare the shuttle to that would make the shuttle look better...?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Jack, 18 Feb 2011 @ 6:12am

        Re: Re: space shuttle safety record

        How many losses had the Soyuz had after 130 launches? If I recall correctly, after accounting for those hidden by the Soviets, it was more than two.

        In addition, the capabilities of a Soyuz are significantly lower than a shuttle. With increased capability comes increased complexity and increased risk.

        It's a trade-off, and I think if we're serious about space exploration, we have to accept that there will be failures that involve loss of life.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pixelation, 18 Feb 2011 @ 4:24am

    44,500lbs? Note to self, find out how much the house weighs.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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