Thread

1. fakwandi_priv · 1790601680 · focus · HN ↗

   I’m a bit saddened this thread has so little activity, 55 comments as of posting, here even though there are half a million people watching the spacex stream. Just watching the launch, the amount of technology and people involved is incredible.

   Prompting claude 5.5 has more appeal it seems.

   1. trentnix · 1790602211 · focus · HN ↗

      I'm watching in awe and not worrying about the malcontents that can't leave their politics at the door and celebrate genuine achievement.

      1. jimkleiber · 1790603080 · focus · HN ↗

         The challenge is launching things into orbit is politics, aka how humans should organize society.

         So it's hard to leave that out. It's genuine achievement and it's politics, both.

         1. marcusverus · 1790603536 · focus · HN ↗

            This is nonsense, obviously, but is a perfect validation of his point. Well done and enjoy the show!

            1. DauntingPear7 · 1790603868 · focus · HN ↗

               Everything is political, even your stance that it isn’t

               1. baggy_trough · 1790604421 · focus · HN ↗

                  A ridiculous claim. The cry of an infant is political? My houseplant? Fixing a buffer overflow?

                  1. jimkleiber · 1790608235 · focus · HN ↗

                     Not everything but way more things than most people want to admit because so many of us have collapsed "political" into meaning "partisan."
         2. pigpop · 1790604295 · focus · HN ↗

            That doesn't make much sense, a previously private corporation (which just recently went public) is achieving economical launch to orbit and has made continual progress on that front over decades while politics has both worked for and against them. To me, that is a refutation of "launching things into orbit is politics" especially when you compare the very politically entangled incumbents' launch cadence and capacity.

            1. jimkleiber · 1790608145 · focus · HN ↗

               Orbit is a global public commons, how is it not a political issue? It can be a political issue AND an engineering marvel, regardless of what other organizations are doing

               1. AustinDev · 1790610832 · focus · HN ↗

                  Is it the public commons if you can't reach it?

                  1. jimkleiber · 1790618795 · focus · HN ↗

                     Plenty of programs from many places can reach orbit, im not really sure what you're talking about. And yes. It still is, unless a sole individual can claim ownership of a global orbit, which i imagine even some of the most capitalist-minded people would find absurd.

                     So the US owns the moon? Or does Neil Armstrong?

                     I'm a bit sassy today just kinda tired of certain arguments.

                     1. AustinDev · 1790622356 · focus · HN ↗

                        The US does own the moon for all practical purposes, or we did until we gave up our capacity to reach it.

                        1. jimkleiber · 1790624714 · focus · HN ↗

                           Well it soothes me to know that the people who actually took us to the moon didn't have such territorial obsessions:

                           > Some Americans anticipated possible controversy over planting the United States flag on the Moon, since the Outer Space Treaty prohibited territorial claims to any extraterrestrial body. Since it was made clear the United States had no intention of making a territorial claim to the Moon, no serious controversy materialized. Four months after the Apollo 11 landing, the United States Congress passed a bill in November 1969, which was signed into law by President Nixon, stating:

                           > The flag of the United States, and no other flag, shall be implanted or otherwise placed on the surface of the moon, or on the surface of any planet, by members of the crew of any spacecraft ... as part of any mission ... the funds for which are provided entirely by the Government of the United States. ... this act is intended as a symbolic gesture of national pride in achievement and is not to be construed as a declaration of national appropriation by claim of sovereignty.

                           <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Lunar_Flag_Assembly" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Lunar_Flag_Assembly

                           1. pigpop · 1790632261 · focus · HN ↗

                              Maybe with a more expansionist attitude we&#x27;d already have a moon base.

                              1. jimkleiber · 1790633845 · focus · HN ↗

                                 Perhaps Russia might also have one and we could bomb each other up there.

                                 Pros of expansionism can also come with cons.

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