Now it's a "Journey".

[youtube]https://youtu.be/mQxImR01pg8[/youtube]

It's not a 10 minute carnival ride. It's a Journey.

Respect the journey.

It's less inspiring to see "Light this candle" as marketing gimmick like it's a corporate pep rally than it was to hear it come out of Alan Shepard's mouth.

Yeah, it’s become cliché. In fact you don’t really need to say anything, although I did enjoy Rook’s “Punch it SpaceX!”

There used to be a tremendous sense of National Pride in regard to our Space Program. It was an amazing unifier within our Country. NASA meant so much to every single American and every time there was a launch it captured the heart, spirit and imagination of absolutely everyone. We have lost all of that. As Eric put it and absolutely right on the money imo,”marketing gimmick” and “corporate pep rallies” is exactly what our Space Program has devolved into. It doesn’t represent the United States of America. It doesn’t stand for what we as a Nation value. It looks like Weapons Grade Propaganda that North Korea would produce for Kim Jong Un. It’s pathetic. It’s UN-American and most of all, not representative of who we are as a Nation.

I don’t have words for how stupid this makes us look. Privatizing the Space Program for the personal benefit of people like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk is a direct slap in the face to the service of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and the entirety of our Nation’s amazing Astronauts.

The price per launch of SpaceX vs NASA suggests that privatization is doing pretty well.

I honestly don’t begrudge anyone the opportunity to fly to space, even as a tourist. I’d do it I a second if I had the resources.

What I do object to is trying to sell it as if this is anything but a really expensive theme park ride. This isn’t the next frontier, this is the slingshot ride that costs extra at the amusement park.

Yea I completely agree Eric. I don’t oppose people going to space either and I think it’s a once in lifetime opportunity and absolutely amazing too. I just really don’t like the image that these companies are projecting in doing it. Coupled with zero sense of National Pride or a sense that we’re are all involved and piece of it. The Gemini Program, Apollo 11, the Shuttle Era all represented the United States of America together. It was something that every American had a stake in. What we’re seeing today is just Emperor with no clothes kind of stuff. Arrogance, narcissism and greed all rolled into one on the biggest national stage one could dream of. That’s what I don’t like and will never approve of.

I think it makes us look smart. Who else has the entrepreneurs to develop private man carrying rockets? I'm proud of that, not ashamed.

I could argue that it is wasteful. But stupid? Naah.

It’s a rich man’s ride. No astronauts on board.

"Spam in the can"*. Nobody is flying it.

* from the Mercury Mission development.

I think it makes us look smart. Who else has the entrepreneurs to develop private man carrying rockets? I'm proud of that, not ashamed.

I could argue that it is wasteful. But stupid? Naah.

Space Flight is by far and away the most heroic, honorable and unobtainable goal that mankind has ever pursued. It is with that lens that we must view and measure all those who endeavor the challenge. How you treat other human beings is paramount to even begin to be considered for such a colossal responsibility.

How you treat people matters. Greatly. Doing the right thing matters. Greatly. Being a compassionate, Intelligent and empathetic leader matters. Greatly. These are basic core and fundamental tenets of leadership of which Men like Neil Armstrong, Roger Chaffee, Jim Lovell, Rick Husband, Ellison Onizuka and so many others have represented. That’s the bar gentleman and It’s set high for a reason.

Anyone who treats their employees as referenced and cited below has absolutely zero business being commended for anything- much less implementation of space flight as described by Jeff Bezos, in his own words:

https://fortune.com/2021/07/20/jeff-bez ... l-of-this/


https://news.yahoo.com/mom-told-jeff-be ... 58526.html

https://mashable.com/article/amazon-wor ... -warehouse

https://www.theverge.com/22836393/amazo ... s-disaster

https://perfectunion.us/amazon-worker-died/

The beauty of living in the US is that if you don’t like the way someone is doing something, you are welcome to go off and do it yourself in whatever way you deem is “the right way”.

The beauty of living in the US is that if you don’t like the way someone is doing something, you are welcome to go off and do it yourself in whatever way you deem is “the right way”.

But where is the smug self congratulatory satisfaction in that? Crybabies gotta cry.