Jeff Bezos Is Not My Astronaut

[tenderfoot]

Last edited Sat Jul 24, 2021, 01:13 PM - Edit history (1)

I felt more disdain than wonder watching Richard Branson’s joyride and Jeff Bezos’s soulless flight to the Kámán Line.

Everybody Gets a “For All Mankind” Trophy

There was no ground broken here. In 1903, the Wright Brothers completed the first powered flight. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space. In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first human on the moon. Those are milestones worthy of celebration. In 2004, Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites carried the first people into space on a privately built spacecraft — a milestone of sorts.

[snip]

Egonauts

In addition to vanity projects for billionaires, these pseudo-events were advertisements, promotions for the brands prominently displayed throughout the breathless television coverage.

[snip]

The Right Stuff

It’s unlikely these projects will attract any venture capital money or support a SPAC. Private space projects might be dressed up as achievements for humanity, but their aim is to return capital to shareholders. And when that’s the criteria, the astronauts and their efforts become limited in scope.

[snip]

Mach-3 Train Wreck or Galactic ATM

Whatever you think of space travel as a human endeavor, space tourism is an awful business. Even assuming all goes well, it makes no sense. These are vanity projects, and the only people that will make money from them will be the early investors … who bail out before impact.

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https://www.profgalloway.com/jeff-bezos-is-not-my-astronaut/

[Goonch]

1. ;-{)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Are you Scott Galloway?

[TomWilm]

3. Jeff Bezos Is officially NOT an "Astronaut"

In a move that pours cold water on the dreams of a few billionaire space explorers, the US has tightened its definition of the word "astronaut". New Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules say astronaut hopefuls must be part of the flight crew and make contributions to space flight safety.

The Commercial Astronaut Wings programme updates were announced on Tuesday - the same day that Amazon's Mr Bezos flew aboard a Blue Origin rocket to the edge of space.

To qualify as commercial astronauts, space-goers must travel 50 miles (80km) above the Earth's surface. But altitude aside, the agency says would-be astronauts must have also "demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57950149

[Historic NY]

4. To be honest he rode to low space.....

if he want the feel he could have just gone to Disney Worlds Mission Space and had them crank it up. He'd shit his pants and throw up .

[3Hotdogs]

5. If ya won the lottery, would you buy a ticket?

I wouldn't.

When I was a kid, '50s's there were tv shows that were space westerns. I wanted to join the Space Academy. No longer.


I think my biggest reaction against me in space is the loneliness when I would look out of the capsule - rocket - spaceship and see the emptiness of it all.

I have enough emotional difficulty imagining the emptiness of my own death without adding the emptiness of space to it.

[paleotn]

6. Going boldly where.....

Yuri Gagarin and Al Shepard went 60 years ago, with primitive technology and less reliable launch vehicles.

[empedocles]

7. 'Egonauts'

Good one

[Obvious85]

8. Some people always got to complain

Jeff Bezos has made life innumerably better, and hundreds of other millions of people. I shudder to think of the days when I had to get in the car and drive to 12 different shops in all parts of town, spend 5 hours, just to get essentials. Especially after a devastating health issue, I honestly don't know what my life would look like without the ease of Amazon.

So many words used above to just be critical, and for what? Every move Jeff makes doesn't have to uplift all of humanity, and who is to say this event didn't contribute in countless ways? It DOES advance space exploration and technology.

Yes we paid for Apollo with taxes that we had no choice in, spent by elected officials who did not consult us on how to spend it. Yes we paid for Bezo's trip, with money we chose how to spend, money we chose to spend with his company. Why is one better than the other?

I'm tired of trend of bashing people for doing things especially if they have money. I spend my money how I want, I don't begrudge Jeff for doing the same. This He pledged to donate 10 BILLION to fight climate change. Enjoy your rocket ride Jeff, you deserve it.

[Aussie105]

9. Boys and their toys . . .

The richer they are, the bigger the toys.

It doesn't need to make sense to the rest of us.