Brazilian Rocket Explodes on Launch Pad

steman writes "BBC News Online says that 16 people have been killed and a Brazillian space rocket was destroyed in an explosion in Brazil. It seems that the space race is heating up again, with many countries getting involved such as China, Europe and Japan to name just three. Will the future of space exploration be dominated by names other than Russia and the USA?"

Comments

There's a reason for these "accidents"...

[Toasty16]

...God doesn't want people to leave earth. Of course, sometimes he doesn't want them to return.

/bad taste

Whiny Europeans..

[xchino]

You don't see us crying like babies when the europeans refer to the USA as "America" which isn't even a continent to begin with.

Brazil

[Talisman]

As usual, the typical Slashdotter will, without knowing anything about Brazil and its notoriously clumsy government, chalk this up to 'Good Try' and remind the Americans that we better watch out because other countries will surpass us in space and blah blah blah...

I have a condo in Rio. I've lived amongst Brazilians for a little over 3 years now.

You cannot possibly fathom what a bumbling and disorganized country this is. The only surprise about this story is that the rocket didn't veer into a population center and kill hundreds/thousands more. THAT would be a Brazilian-style debacle. Only killing people in the immediate area is a success in their books.

The U.S. government will continue to sit on its ass and point and laugh at these countries, because they KNOW they are not even close to being a threat. Right now it's 90% diarrhea of the mouth, and 10% failed attempts.

The problem is at the most basic societal levels. The way Brazilians simply ARE is slack. They don't work hard, and when they do, things like attention to detail is an afterthought, at BEST.

Those buzzcut, Coke-bottle bi-focal, white button-down Oxford, pocket protector wearing, STRAIGHT-LACED, ANAL RETENTIVE, NO SOCIAL LIFE HAVING NERDS are what a space program needs.

That is a rare, if not non-existent phenotype in Brazil. Down here, being able to do the Lambada is far more important than knowing calculus.

Now go ahead and bash me because I'm not politically correct. FUCK being politically correct. I'm RIGHT, and that's far and away more important. I LIVE IN BRAZIL. I'm not some keyboard jockey in Ohio who thinks he knows the ins-and-outs of the world because he reads the BBC online.

I'm the guy on the ground, and Brazilians are as grabastic as any race on the planet.

Now when it comes to sex, the women are fucking Olympians. But this is rocket science, not shagging. And at that, they simply suck.

Tal

Re:Brazil

[Talisman]

Never said I hated them. On the contrary, as people, they are fun to hang out with.

But I don't want them building any rockets/planes/automobiles I might ever use someday.

Being a nice person, or enjoyable company, doesn't make one a good engineer. I'll gladly go drinking with a Brazilian, but if I'm going to be launched into space, I want a German/Russian/Japanese/American designed craft, NOT one from a Da Silva.

Fuck man, the Embraer Bandeirante has THE HIGHEST crash rate of ANY commercial jetliner IN HISTORY!(Concorde factored out)

Designed by who? BRAZILIANS! Built by who? BRAZILIANS!

But no, it's just a fluke, right? Brazilian mentatlity couldn't have ANYTHING to do with this, right?

I'll sip a caipirinha anyday, but I wouldn't set foot on an Embraer.

Now go ahead and deny the FACTS. Brazilians are GREAT at that.

Re:Like, WTF?

[wheezl]

Yes, I also use FreeBSD, NetBSD, and Mac OS X.. which means I am both gay and dying :)

Brasil has no right to a space program

[Bram Stolk]

According to the CIA world fact book,
their international debt is:
$222.4 billion

What on earth gives them the right not to
pay back loans, but explore space programs
instead?

Ridiculous.

Bram

Re:Brasil has no right to a space program

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut up.