[QUOTE=Dubslow;479492]Although there's been no sort of official PR on the matter, not even the usual space media subjects, the TMI was apparently visible from New Mexico to LA to Portland; in the absence of official communication, everyone is sort of assuming it was successful

Edit: speak of the devil: [url]https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/961083704230674438[/url][/QUOTE]

I saw the third burn last evening and at first thought it was some space debris coming down. Looking at the object with binoculars, I could then tell it was a rocket thrusting but was unsure if was SpaceX or North Korea.

[QUOTE]There is, perhaps, no better way to appreciate the tragedy of 21st-century global inequality than by watching a billionaire spend $90m launching a $100,000 car into the far reaches of the solar system. [/QUOTE]
I should have added that I found this whole piece to be narrow minded and moralistic; while displaying no concept of the R&D involved, nor of the whole idea of testing risky hardware. Of course, there is an implicit judgement that this is just some rich guy's plaything, not an in-demand launch system.

As far as an overcrowded planet having lots of problems goes, that should provide even more impetus to find other viable habitats. "Viable" can include a lot of venues, as opposed to a single planet. Those habitats don't have to be planet-bound, outside of orbital mechanics, which would affect space-based possibilities just as much as they do terrestrial domiciles.

EDIT: Nor is there any concept of public relations or of promoting a cause.

[QUOTE=kladner;479573][url]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/07/elon-musk-spacex-launch-utterly-depressing[/url][/QUOTE]Okay here is my rant.

Perhaps if the news don't give coverage to humans killing other humans, then said humans doing the killing might feel like they are aren't doing anything that is worthwhile because nobody cares?

[/rant]

Sorry the rant wasn't very long, or very strong.

[QUOTE=retina;479592]Okay here is my rant.

Perhaps if the news don't give coverage to humans killing other humans, then said humans doing the killing might feel like they are aren't doing anything that is worthwhile because nobody cares?

[/rant]

Sorry the rant wasn't very long, or very strong.[/QUOTE]
EVERY contribution is Appreciated! "Come into the Light! All are welcome! All are welcome!" :razz:

[QUOTE=kladner;479586]I should have added that I found this whole piece to be narrow minded and moralistic; [/QUOTE]

I would have called it "willfully ignorant and aggressively stupid", or at least the parts you quoted, but hey :smile: (based on what you quoted I decided that reading it was not only not worth my time but would probably make [i]me[/i] a bit stupider after the fact)

[QUOTE=Dubslow;479604](based on what you quoted I decided that reading it was not only not worth my time but would probably make [i]me[/i] a bit stupider after the fact)[/QUOTE]

I can confirm. Reading it made me lose 5 IQ points :ick:

[QUOTE=kladner;479573][url]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/07/elon-musk-spacex-launch-utterly-depressing[/url][/QUOTE]

As others note in replies, the extreme risk of catastrophic loss involved in this kind of high-risk proof-of-principle makes it a nontrivial exercise to come up with better ways to use the payload bay on this sort of first launch. However, with a little thought some things do spring to mind. Sponsoring a bunch of 'free launch, 50-50 odds of success/failure, so plan accordingly' student microgravity experiments not-needing-a-payload-return, for instance (Snappy ad slogan: "Yes, world, there really is such a thing as a free launch"). Or how about selling space to the well-heeled for the cremains of their loved ones and using the proceeds for good causes? I bet theres lots of useful things one could do - Musk could have sponsored a public contest soliciting ideas well in advance of the expected launch date.

Re. Musk-as-P.T.-Barnum, my main skepticism is that, as with fellow oligarchs like Peter (seasteading proselytizer) Thiel, when Musk says one of the goals of SpaceX is to help "save humanity from itself", he really means "save those who can afford the ticket to Mars from the Deplorables." Hope I'm wrong, but time and time again we are reminded that that is how the Billionaire class rolls.

His goal for a ticket price to Mars is around $200K. He firmly believes that's achievable, and that it doesn't place the financial burden too high. It [i]is[/i] a lot of course, but a significant minority -- possibly even majority, depending on how much they want to leave -- of America will be able to afford it.

As for payloads, supposedly both NASA and the Air Force were offered dibs. NASA turned it down for the mind numbingly stupid bureaucratic reason that it's "competition" to the SLS. (I'm not even sure I believe that rumor, to be honest.) As for the Air Force, they have already had the [i]second[/i] launch locked up as theirs for multiple years now already.

As for the public outreach part, well... this was a lot simpler, especially given the significant uncertainty of the launch date in question. If when, 3 years ago he believed it would launch within 6 months, the (e.g.) students they could have selected possibly wouldn't even be students any more by today. The substantial uncertainty and fluidity in the date actually go a long way towards explaining the payload, I think.

[URL="https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2018/02/08/elon-musks-tesla-roadster-imaged-8-feb-2018/"]We're on the road to nowhere.[/URL]

[QUOTE=xilman;479651][URL="https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2018/02/08/elon-musks-tesla-roadster-imaged-8-feb-2018/"]We're on the road to nowhere.[/URL][/QUOTE]
That is fantastic! I notice a tinier dot traveling in front, same apparent course and speed. Could this be another piece of the rocket?

@Dubslow - good points, but the blast-ashes-of-a-bunch-of-people-and-pets-into-space fund-raising scheme is immune to all the constraints you mention. Heck, Im sure there was plenty of room to do that *and* fit the roadster - PR there could have been "crossing the Styx in an e-roadster, the modern way".

[QUOTE=xilman;479651][URL="https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2018/02/08/elon-musks-tesla-roadster-imaged-8-feb-2018/"]We're on the road to nowhere.[/URL][/QUOTE]

So much for any "low mileage!" claim in a potential future sale of the car...