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Blue Origin Building DC-X Lookalike

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the carrot-on-a-stick dept.

rrohbeck writes "The New York Times is running an article on what Blue Origin (Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' space company) is up to after his Texas land grab. A couple of Flash videos show a short successful test hop of the 'Goddard' test vehicle. From the article: 'The Goddard has a science-fiction sleekness. Videos show the craft taking off and landing again with a loud whooshing sound. In one view, one of the nine rocket nozzles jitters as it maintains the ship's attitude. Goddard resembles the DC-X, another vertical-takeoff-and-landing craft under development in the 1990s by McDonnell Douglas for the Defense Department and NASA until the government pulled the plug.' And in case you're an aerospace engineer, they're hiring."

10 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. that's better by macadamia_harold · · Score: 4, Funny

    Videos show the craft taking off and landing again with a loud whooshing sound.

    I suppose that's better than taking off and landing again with a crashing sound.

    --
    Push Button, Receive Bacon
    1. Re:that's better by Rei · · Score: 2, Funny

      You know what? Every time I get out of bed, I don't explode. I guess this makes me 100% better than NASA.

      What's that? I'm comparing apples and oranges by comparing "getting out of bed" with "getting many tonnes of payload to a low-earth orbit"? You don't say...

      --
      Dear Lord: I don't want to go back to college, so please help me be sexy. Amen.
  2. It made me think of... by d3m0nCr4t · · Score: 3, Funny

    Douglas Adams: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." :D

    1. Re:It made me think of... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Jeff Bezos finally gave the world a peek at his rocket.

      Bezos sex tape?

  3. Quick, somebody call Mork; by The_REAL_DZA · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think we've found his egg!

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    This space intentionally left (almost) blank.
  4. Re:They're hiring? by kfg · · Score: 3, Funny

    I wonder what they pay?

    Money.

    KFG

  5. Blue Origin Design by amightywind · · Score: 3, Funny

    Powered ascent and descent results in a craft that is 4 times more massive than one that would reach the same altitude but land using a ballistic reentry and a parachute. You would not see Burt Rutan embrace an inefficient design like that.

    --
    an ill wind that blows no good
  6. Next up for Blue Origin by sokoban · · Score: 3, Funny

    Building DC-9 Lookalikes, but with rocket engines in order to transport Thetans to Teegeeack in clusters (packaged by the thousands together), and thereafter drop them in two volcanic areas, one of which is Las Palmas, and the other Hawaii.

    (The preceding joke is based upon the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, which make up a core belief in Scientology (OT III, Incident 2))

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is the magic number.
  7. Re:Can't get to orbit that way by Moofie · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sure! And we wouldn't even need flashlights when we get there!

    --
    Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
  8. My favortite part of the video... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "10... 9... 8... 7,6..5... 4...... 3, 2... 1"