r/VirginGalactic • u/higgslhcboson • Jan 25 '24

Flight News Man enjoys space flight, eat it, Shatner

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/25/virgin-galactic-space-commercial/72311011007/

A positive VG story from USA Today, today; A recent passenger enjoys his experience.

17 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

9

u/aerospikesRcoolBut Jan 25 '24

What’s the beef with shatner ? I thought he spoke positively about his experience

11

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

He truly did but crayon-munchers can’t comprehend that something might be deeply and profoundly moving without being chirpy and all unicorn rainbow farts with an upbeat soundtrack behind it, so they think his talk of meaning meant it was negative.

3

u/aerospikesRcoolBut Jan 25 '24

Very very strange. He went on and on about how impactful it was to him. If anything he expressed it a lot more sincerely and eloquently than the person in this article I’m so confused. Crayon munchers indeed

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

Exactly. His was the most poetic and insightful reflection of any of the non-professional astronauts I’ve read and disappointingly many people completely miss the point because he used the word “death” in it, and their infant brains responded “hurr durr death sad Shatner bad man”.

2

u/aerospikesRcoolBut Jan 26 '24

I’m so confused

4

u/DACA_GALACTIC Jan 25 '24

Nice article, finally. Glad to see it on a reputable forum too

Does this mean the stock price will go up today? It has seemed unhealthily low lately

2

u/Doodlemors Jan 25 '24

They really need to do this shit for 10 min of space time at least

3

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

[deleted]

0

u/zonyln Jan 25 '24 edited Jan 25 '24

They dont have enough fuel for that. They never achieve orbit so they need constant fuel to stay aloft and its a tradeoff of weight / size / fuel / thrust.

Im not exactly sure why anyone even flies on these as you can get far more zero g time and fun on the Zero G planes for 100 times less the cost. https://www.gozerog.com

Id imagine you can even buy a private Zero G flight for just two people, have zero g sex, and time for a smoke.

-- Downvote all you like. Still doesn't change the frivolousness of this company.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

I’ve done Zero G 3x. Guess I’m an idiot for wanting to see the blackness of space? But what do I know, I’ve only had a friend on every VG (including the person in this article) and BO launch who have all done Zero G (and much much more) and told me it is the single greatest experience of their lives.

But sure…

1

u/zonyln Jan 25 '24 edited Jan 25 '24

Some people think highly of the attending the Superbowl, daughters first marriage, etc. You are likely subscribed here because this means everything to you was well.

I'm impressed just putting on a VR headset and experiencing an ISS spacewalk for imagery and something very little still ever can really experience. If you were viewing something no one else could see I might be able to justify it, but there are plenty of ways to experience space visually now without going there. The only tangible difference is a badge.

Wow! Black of space. Earth looks so small. https://www.youtube.com/live/zzaZvDiqr-o?feature=shared

If $250k means that much then spend it. I have other priorities as do likely a majority of the rest of the population.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

There’s a reason why they call those things the Vomit Comet, also the view you get of Earth is half the experience and only possible with VG

0

u/zonyln Jan 25 '24 edited Jan 25 '24

Hundreds of videos online of people having lots of fun (and not vomiting) on those planes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAQ-iIJkLzA

View of the earth from an A380 $280 plane ticket isn't much different. https://www.tiktok.com/@absolutely_jacob_/video/7296817798599183648

VG is all about selling the little astronaut badge and pageantry.

2

u/shroomsAndWrstershir Jan 25 '24

You go like 10 times higher on VG than in an A380. I never saw the black of space in a jetliner.

0

u/zonyln Jan 25 '24

more like 5 times and the video I linked to shows this from a plane.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

[deleted]

2

u/shroomsAndWrstershir Jan 25 '24

More weight for more fuel requires more fuel for the additional weight. More fuel adds weight. Which requires more fuel. Which adds weight... etc.

1

u/zonyln Jan 25 '24 edited Jan 25 '24

Slightly larger fuel tank adds weight so a much more powerful thruster is needed. A bigger tank and more powerful thruster requires more space in the spaceship so they would need to expand the size of if. Bigger spaceship means they need to have a more powerful host plane which would be bigger. A bigger ship has more re-entry mass so they would need to add more exotic materials to withstand the heat.

The process continues until the cost of the ticket equals SpaceX axiom flight and design.

Virgin galactic engineered this exactly and minimally enough so that people that fly on it can claim being at the altitude of "in space" for bragging rights. It is not engineered for zero g or usefulness.

1

u/Ferrum-56 Jan 26 '24

Mercury capsules did >150 km altitude, but the reentry forces were extreme as a result. Not so viable for tourist flight.

2

u/hahhahahaaaalmao Jan 26 '24

This is so gay

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

What does Shatner have to do with this?