One of these days..

if Alice wants to go to the moon, all she has to do is mouth off to her husband.

Let's get this out of the way.

Stern said a two-person lunar mission, complete with moonwalking and, perhaps best of all, a return to Earth, would cost $1.5 billion.

I'd pay extra to avoid that part.

sounds legit.

I can't picture a billionaire taking a risk like that, life's too damn good on this planet to bother going to another one.

One would have to be a Lunatic.

The gist of the company's strategy is that it'll repurpose existing space hardware for commercial lunar missions

Really? There's existing lunar mission hardware out there (other than in museums)? NASA might like to know about this.

and take advantage of NASA-sanctioned commercial rockets that, in a few years, are supposed to put astronauts in low Earth orbit.

The moon is not in LEO.

This whole article is Exhibit A for how the media is completely scientifically illiterate.

Crackers Are a Family Food: Stern said a two-person lunar mission, complete with moonwalking and, perhaps best of all, a return to Earth, would cost $1.5 billion.

I'd pay extra to avoid that part.

No kidding. The fiance and I have already discussed being one of the first to apply if they open up applications to colonize Mars. He wants to be the one of the first to create "Martian" music.

Yeah, I'm kinda skeptical, considering that these guys don't actually have a rocket ready.

Look at Virgin Galactic, they've built a proven spaceplane and they have a much more humble goal of short sub-orbital space flights (that some of us might not even truly call space flights) and they've been delayed year after year on their plans. Like they're perpetually a year a way from their first commercial suborbital flights.

Now these noobs pop up out of nowhere promising the moon? Yeah right.

Maybe I can raise the money on kickstarter.

To hell with space flight. How about an airline that serves an actual meal? I'll pay extra.

XMark: Yeah, I'm kinda skeptical, considering that these guys don't actually have a rocket ready.

Hey now, don't be dismissive. These people may not have a rocket, or a spacecraft, or funding, but they have a dream, man.

Shroom:This whole article is Exhibit A for how the media is completely scientifically illiterate

I suppose next you're gonna tell it's NOT made a blue cheese?

XMark: Yeah, I'm kinda skeptical, considering that these guys don't actually have a rocket ready.

Look at Virgin Galactic, they've built a proven spaceplane and they have a much more humble goal of short sub-orbital space flights (that some of us might not even truly call space flights) and they've been delayed year after year on their plans. Like they're perpetually a year a way from their first commercial suborbital flights.

Now these noobs pop up out of nowhere promising the moon? Yeah right.

The difference is virgin/scaled are trying to fly a specialized vehicle they built themselves.
This other plan is to buy commercial hardware from proven vendors like energia and SpaceX.

Will it work? Possibly.
The trickiest part is to get the lander. Everything else is buying parts off the shelf and doing math.

Meh, Musk thinks he can put people on Mars for $500k a few years later. I'll take that plan over the moon for 100x more.

way south: XMark: Yeah, I'm kinda skeptical, considering that these guys don't actually have a rocket ready.

Look at Virgin Galactic, they've built a proven spaceplane and they have a much more humble goal of short sub-orbital space flights (that some of us might not even truly call space flights) and they've been delayed year after year on their plans. Like they're perpetually a year a way from their first commercial suborbital flights.

Now these noobs pop up out of nowhere promising the moon? Yeah right.

The difference is virgin/scaled are trying to fly a specialized vehicle they built themselves.
This other plan is to buy commercial hardware from proven vendors like energia and SpaceX.

Will it work? Possibly.
The trickiest part is to get the lander. Everything else is buying parts off the shelf and doing math.

I can just see the CEO of Golden Spike reading your post and screaming at a subordinate saying, "I was told there would be no math!"

way south: The difference is virgin/scaled are trying to fly a specialized vehicle they built themselves.
This other plan is to buy commercial hardware from proven vendors like energia and SpaceX.

SpaceX's Falcon rocket can launch 29,000 pounds to LEO. The Apollo CSM/LM stack was around 100,000 pounds. But good luck with that.

Guillermo El Gordo is involved? Shiat,don't let him get his hands on the money.

Didn't Pan Am do this exact same thing? Including booking flights?

shroom: way south: The difference is virgin/scaled are trying to fly a specialized vehicle they built themselves.
This other plan is to buy commercial hardware from proven vendors like energia and SpaceX.

SpaceX's Falcon rocket can launch 29,000 pounds to LEO. The Apollo CSM/LM stack was around 100,000 pounds. But good luck with that.

You break the ship into parts and put it up on multiple launches, dock in orbit, and proceed to destination.

/It's what the people against SLS have been proposing for years.

joe714: Meh, Musk thinks he can put people on Mars for $500k a few years later. I'll take that plan over the moon for 100x more.

Actually 1500x more to go to the moon on Golden Spike

Maybe the golden spike is what it looks like when the rocket, capsule, et al. bursts into flames at 10,000 feet.

If I had $750 Million, I would do it. Well, actually, I'd need to have $751 Million, as there's something else I want to do with $1 Million first that my friend Lawrence told me about.

/there's probably a reason I'll never have $750 Million

shroom: The gist of the company's strategy is that it'll repurpose existing space hardware for commercial lunar missions

Really? There's existing lunar mission hardware out there (other than in museums)? NASA might like to know about this.

and take advantage of NASA-sanctioned commercial rockets that, in a few years, are supposed to put astronauts in low Earth orbit.

The moon is not in LEO.

I also like how they have former shuttle commanders and Newt Gingrich as advisers. Shuttle astronauts have no experience with lunar missions and Newt Gingrich's only experience is in being a dickhead.

I'm thinking 1500 chicks at once sounds like a better way to spend 750 mil.

"We can do this," an excited Stern said Thursday morning during a brief phone interview.

What, part some rich people from their green, or actually send them to the moon?

kg2095: I also like how they have former shuttle commanders and Newt Gingrich as advisers.

Well, Newt did show some aptitude this year for separating wealthy people from their money with nothing to show for it afterward.

shroom: way south: The difference is virgin/scaled are trying to fly a specialized vehicle they built themselves.
This other plan is to buy commercial hardware from proven vendors like energia and SpaceX.

SpaceX's Falcon rocket can launch 29,000 pounds to LEO. The Apollo CSM/LM stack was around 100,000 pounds. But good luck with that.

The Apollo equipment could probably be trimmed somewhat using modern materials, and one could always launch the pieces on multiple rockets (LM on one rocket, CSM on another) and dock in Earth-orbit. In-orbit docking (with the space station) is something that SpaceX has already figured out.

where is Q.A. when you need him?
/THIS is space nuttery

If I had $750,000,000 dollars, I'd certainly ask the stars what to spend my money on...

Jon iz teh kewl: [oyster.ignimgs.com image 228x177]

Neil's footprints are probably long-gone. When they left the moon, the Apollo astronauts lit up a big rocket engine right where they landed. The footprints far from the lunar module are probably ok, but anything right next to the ladder (i.e., that historical one) was probably obliterated by being a few feet from a rocket engine.

jshine: Jon iz teh kewl: [oyster.ignimgs.com image 228x177]

Neil's footprints are probably long-gone. When they left the moon, the Apollo astronauts lit up a big rocket engine right where they landed. The footprints far from the lunar module are probably ok, but anything right next to the ladder (i.e., that historical one) was probably obliterated by being a few feet from a rocket engine.


i'm assuming they also put the footprint back

mr lawson: where is Q.A. when you need him?
/THIS is space nuttery

The only nutty part is finding clients with that kind of cheddar.
All of the technology besides the lander exists, and that last piece is probably something you can get from the people who build the rocket.

/Nutty is explaining why private companies are aiming to do the exploring instead of governments.

No you can't.

"SpaceX's Falcon rocket can launch 29,000 pounds to LEO. The Apollo CSM/LM stack was around 100,000 pounds. But good luck with that."

I'd sincerely hope we can re-make what we made in the 60's, and make it weigh at least a third less.

mr lawson: where is Q.A. when you need him?
/THIS is space nuttery

Was out. Just bought a bottle of Nakki Taketsuru 12 year old. Those Japanese sure know their whisky. It's very good. Maybe you can download the files and 3D print yourself a glass to my health.

Oh, and yes, this story is the purest, most insane, psychotically delusional Space Nuttery of the highest degree. Sure, maybe if enough rich people got together and they tossed enough money at a big enough cylinder and fill it with enough kerosene, we can boldly go where we went almost five decades ago. So what? The Moon is for all practical purposes, astronomically speaking, in our atmosphere. The Moon is still a barren hostile rock.

At best, we'll have a stunt for rich people. And? At worst, we'll never hear from this again. Just like the 1997 Japanese Space Hotel.

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9705/25/japan .space/

Or I thought Bigelow was supposed to give us space taxis?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/1 0/20/uk-space-business-bigelow-i d USLNE79J01T20111020

Oh sorry, guess not. Etc...

Space has its applications for communications and data gathering. That's about it. Moving information, basically.

Moving mass? Not so much.

Bullshiat, we could almost buy our own ship for that!

Alice? Go ask Alice.

shroom: XMark: Yeah, I'm kinda skeptical, considering that these guys don't actually have a rocket ready.

Hey now, don't be dismissive. These people may not have a rocket, or a spacecraft, or funding, but they have a dream, man.

You know who else had a dream?

Headso: I can't picture a billionaire taking a risk like that, life's too damn good on this planet to bother going to another one.

Richard Branson sure as hell would. But he's bonkers.

that's a SCAAARRY amount of money

What would happen if a dead body was dumped on the moon?

Would it still decompose?

$750,000,000 and all that's there is the stupid attractions



"we're whalers on the moon"