Duke Of Cambridge's Pot-Shot At Bezos

[Khandro]

William tells them they should Focus on fixing Earth instead of space
Prince William's comments come hours after billionaire Amazon tycoon sent Star Trek's William Shatner into space on his New Shepard rocket.
Do you agree with me that this is a ridiculous waste of recourses done under the pretence that these Billionaires are in some way benefiting science & humanity.

[andy-hughes]

APG - // Andy have you had a sense of humour by-pass this morning? Zapping what was nothing more than a humorous, if slightly smutty remark about the Blue Origin, by a new user, will do nothing what-so-ever to keep fresh members on the site. //

Just becuase I am contributing to a thread does not automatically mean that I am the Moderator who is deleted posts on it.

Another assumption shot down.

You're welcome.

[davebro]

As a staunch republican I will take no more account of anything a "royal" has to say than I would from the next person I happen to meet on the street.

[ToraToraTora]

no I don't agree.

[andy-hughes]

naomi - // Members of the Royal Family may offer an opinion but when they start criticising other people they're treading a very fine line. If he's not careful he'll have people asking why his family aren't contributing their millions to the cause. //

I entirely agree.

The problem for people with ingluence, imagined or otherwise, is that they usually have an eight or nine-figure bank balance to go with it, which automatically makes their position shakey when talking about what their perceive as an appropriate allocation of money owned by others.

[Khandro]

naomi: //As I recall, Khandro, you don't agree with space exploration at all, do you? Am I mistaken?//

Only in a very limited way; putting satellites in orbit (though we may live to regret that) & the possibility of finding rare minerals etc.
but this joy-riding is ridiculous
.
Stephen Hawking said many strange things but I don't think he thought humanity could live on another planet.

We know all the planets in our solar system are hostile to human life & anyone who thinks we could move out to distant galaxies has no understanding of the sheer size of space.

[Ellipsis]

> We know all the planets in our solar system are hostile to human life & anyone who thinks we could move out to distant galaxies has no understanding of the sheer size of space.

Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space. (with thanks to Douglas Adams).

But loads of things we do "for fun" are a complete waste. What about the CO2 output of every funfair on the planet, for example? A trip into space at least pushes the bounds of science, and who knows what will become of that? From space, we can observe the impact of CO2 on the planet. Maybe, from space we'll be able to fix that impact ...

[ichkeria]

Well by our current knowledge it’s impossible but until we have fully understood the mysteries of our universe who’s to say one day it will not be possible.

As for the trips, I’d go like a shot of if I could.
What an amazing experience, and if even one “billionaire” is moved to see earth differently as a result then so much the better perhaps, aside from their money

[Khandro]

naomi: Nothing can travel faster than light & this is the time it takes for the Light to Reach Us from outer space.

Sirius (brightest star in our sky) 9 years (possible if you can stand that long cramped in a space ship)

Betelgeuse (bright star) 430 years

Orion Nebula 1500 years

Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million years

So in a word; no!

[davebro]

//We know all the planets in our solar system are hostile to human life & anyone who thinks we could move out to distant galaxies has no understanding of the sheer size of space.//

Exactly right - it's more likely that aliens will come & save us than it is we will find & populate another "earth"

[Mozz71]

While I agree with William in principle, the future of the planet is more important than exploring space, Jeff Bezos' money is his to do what he wants with.

[naomi24]

Khandro, //Stephen Hawking said many strange things but I don't think he thought humanity could live on another planet. //

I think he did.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-colonise-other-planets-ensure-human-survival-a7746016.html

//We know all the planets in our solar system are hostile to human life & anyone who thinks we could move out to distant galaxies has no understanding of the sheer size of space. //

Why speak of distant galaxies when there are one hundred thousand million stars in our own? The closest star to our solar system is a mere 4.5 light years away. Never say never, Khandro.

[ichkeria]

I think PW is missing the point anyway:
why do people want to make this trip? It’s not because they’re thinking of other places to live in space:
Most I think do it because they want to look back: to our own planet. And see it as they’ve never done before

[andy-hughes]

The notion of life on other planets, and space travel, all start to excede our imaginations quite quickly, once we apply them.

It's more than possible that alens exist, but they may not have physical form, and be undetectable to humans.

It's also possible that future generations will overcome all the limitations that currently prevent us from exploring space at any distance.

If you look at the speed and intricacy of scientific innovations of even the last fifty years, and I am using one now to communicate this to the world at the push of a button, it is perfectly feasible that space travel and the exploiration of the universe, is simply a matter of time.

[naomi24]

Of course Prince William wasn't talking about finding another home in space. That's just how the conversation has gone. I agree with you though, Ich. People do take this ride for the experience and I can't say I blame them. It must be incredible! Like nothing on Earth! ;o)

[pat2604]

I am naughty to say this, but we have someone else on this site who seems to live on another planet already!

[ichkeria]

“ Of course Prince William wasn't talking about finding another home in space”

It appears he was, though:
“We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live”

[naomi24]

Ich, seems like he made it clear he wasn't talking about that.

[maggiebee]

Wish he would find another home in space and take the rest of the royal family with him. Wouldn't be missed IMO - total waste of space and money. Bring on the republic.

[youngmafbog]

William, and the rest of the Royal family should keep their traps shut on anything political, they should follow the lead of the Queen.

I dont have a problem with Space travel, in fact it has lead to many other things we use today. Advancement really only seems to come from war or Space, so better its space.

[Gromit]

He’s blown his chance of quitting the Royals and getting a big cheque from Amazon for a whiny series.