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Israel Launches Spacecraft To the Moon (npr.org)

The first privately funded mission to land on the moon took one giant step forward this evening as an Israeli spacecraft blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. "[I]f the mission is successful, it would make Israel the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface -- after the U.S., the former Soviet Union and China," reports NPR. From the report: The spacecraft launched with a Space X Falcon 9 rocket, according to SpaceIL's partner Israel Aerospace Industries. It detached from the reusable rocket, which returned to an off-shore platform. The spacecraft was to make several orbits around Earth, slowly getting closer to the moon. In a difficult maneuver, it was to pivot from orbiting Earth to orbiting the moon, and then eventually attempt a treacherous landing on the moon. The total journey will take several months, with a landing anticipated in mid-April. According to IAI, it would be the "longest journey until landing on the moon, 6.5 million kilometers."

[The spacecraft, which is called Beresheet (Hebrew for "in the beginning"] is covered in gold-colored reflective coating. And as WMFE's Brendan Byrne reported, it's about the size of a kitchen table. It's carrying a digital time capsule which, according to The Jerusalem Post, contains "drawings by Israeli children, the Bible, the national anthem, prayers, Israeli songs and a map of the State of Israel, among other cultural items." The spacecraft is set to run experiments on the moon's surface -- in particular, SpaceIL says it will collaborate with the Weizmann Institute of Science and UCLA to "take measurements of the Moon's mysterious magnetic field."

91 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. SpaceX by enriquevagu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "SpaceX launches spacecraft to the Moon for Israel". FTFY

    1. Re:SpaceX by religionofpeas · · Score: 4, Funny

      Needs "Elon Musk" in the title for extra clicks.

    2. Re:SpaceX by EETech1 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Haven't we sold them weapons they could easily convert to a space launch platform?

    3. Re:SpaceX by athmanb · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Israel has to launch to the west instead of the east which makes everything a lot harder. They'd probably need a Saturn V size rocket to just _land_ something on the moon.

    4. Re:SpaceX by rtb61 · · Score: 1, Troll

      Well, better them spending money on a space industrial complex that delivers us the stars than on a war industrial complex that delivers us extinction. Now the big rush to see who will be the first to lay the foundations for a permanent moon base.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    5. Re:SpaceX by Gavagai80 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Private company SpaceIL which happens to be Israeli launches spacecraft to the moon from SpaceX Falcon 9. The country of Israel didn't do it, and SpaceX only launched them to Earth orbit with the private vehicle performing the lunar orbit and landing in the coming months.

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      This space intentionally left blank
    6. Re:SpaceX by Gavagai80 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Huh? Why is it any different?

      The Earth is rotating at about 1000 miles per hour toward the east. Launching against that rotation naturally requires more thrust to reach orbital velocity than launching with it.

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      This space intentionally left blank
    7. Re:SpaceX by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      I swear, if the first moon base is not called "Moonbase Alpha" I'm going to be really pissed off.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    8. Re:SpaceX by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      I swear, if the first moon base is not called "Moonbase Alpha" I'm going to be really pissed off.

      How about we don't. I'm not too excited about the prospect of the earth losing the moon. We kinda need it.

    9. Re:SpaceX by arelas · · Score: 1

      My question is, when are we going to launch a mission looking for Alice?

    10. Re:SpaceX by butchersong · · Score: 1

      They seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. Perhaps they can reimburse us for the weapons grade uranium they stole from the US and the 400 million in damages trying to clean the site up.

    11. Re:SpaceX by syn3rg · · Score: 1

      Mossad is taking out the Nazi base.

      --
      The contents of this message have been doubly encrypted by ROT13
    12. Re: SpaceX by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The short version is that creimer left Slashdot after 20 years and made 100+ videos on YouTube in 2018. Meanwhile, his trolls can't believe that he actually left Slashdot so they post random comments about having butt sex with creimer and harass users whom they think might be creimer. If any AC responds to their comments, they assume it is creimer. This type of circular logic is neverending.

    13. Re:SpaceX by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      The first moonbase was called Tranquility Base. Moonbase Alpha was some Canadian fiction.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    14. Re:SpaceX by Thud457 · · Score: 1

      Best I can do is Elon Musk + Bitcoin , two days ago.

      I have no idea how to make that into a ::cue::cat play, but that would surely get me into the hall of fame.
      SCO would also be another big scorer.

      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    15. Re:SpaceX by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      Surely you mean British fiction, right?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    16. Re:SpaceX by PPH · · Score: 1

      Note that Israel is at a latitude of 31 degrees (North)

      They didn't launch from Israel. So East-West and 31 degrees North don't really apply here.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    17. Re:SpaceX by Kyr+Arvin · · Score: 1

      I swear, if the first moon base is not called "Moonbase Alpha" I'm going to be really pissed off.

      How about we don't. I'm not too excited about the prospect of the earth losing the moon. We kinda need it.

      In the series, the last transmissions Moonbase Alpha got from Earth described the horrible ongoing catastrophes that happened on Earth due to the shock of having the moon blasted out of orbit. Things would be... yeah, they would be pretty bad.

    18. Re:SpaceX by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      South Florida is the homeland for all retirees.

    19. Re:SpaceX by Kjella · · Score: 1

      Israel has to launch to the west instead of the east which makes everything a lot harder. They'd probably need a Saturn V size rocket to just _land_ something on the moon.

      Nobody would launch west into orbit, they'd just delay the tilt maneuver to clear the 100 km line to space within the launch area and the penalty wouldn't be that big. You can check out the launch profile here of the ORBCOMM-2 launch where the first stage went to about 75 km altitude roughly 37 km east of the launch site. The first stage returned to the landing site (RTLS), the second stage probably cleared the Karman line somewhere around 50 km east. At its widest Israel is 114 km wide, so while they'd have to launch over land and risk harm to the population below it's absolutely doable. Now weather it's a good idea for Israel to launch rockets from the near the Egyptian border to near the Iraqi/Syrian border is a different matter entirely.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    20. Re:SpaceX by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Sort of. It had an Italian TV producer. I loved some Gerry Anderson stuff but then it felt flat when he did Space: 1999. Not sure why. U.F.O. was fun with a quirky futuristic feel. Space:1999 just felt like the 70's in space with lousy scripts and awful actors (Barbara Bain seemed to just be collecting a paycheck, And Martin Landau who is otherwise great really didn't seem to pull off the vibe of being a leader).

    21. Re:SpaceX by fox171171 · · Score: 1

      My question is, when are we going to launch a mission looking for Alice?

      Alice! Alice! Who the fuck is Alice!??

    22. Re:SpaceX by spitzak · · Score: 1

      My understanding is that UFO got cancelled but they had already built this big moonbase set, so they made up space 1999 to use it. Unclear why that could get that made by people who had just cancelled a similar show however. Does explain the combination of SciFi fantasy with somewhat realistic sets.

    23. Re:SpaceX by hawkfish · · Score: 1

      Israel has to launch to the west instead of the east which makes everything a lot harder. They'd probably need a Saturn V size rocket to just _land_ something on the moon.

      "Interesting"???

      I think this is humour riffing on the right-to-left writing convention for Hebrew...

      --
      You will not drink with us, but you would taste our steel? - Walter Matthau, The Pirates
    24. Re:SpaceX by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      The sets weren't the same though. The UFO moonbase sets were kind of small. I was surprised that the Space:1999 moon base had large sets with more open space. It feels odd given that a moon base would have limited resources. Google the images for "moon base alpha interiors".

    25. Re:SpaceX by meglon · · Score: 1
      --
      Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  2. Yeah no offence but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    that "Israeli spacecraft" has better things to do than carry a bunch of kitsch to the fucking moon. There is actual science to be done on the moon. This is a vanity shot.

    1. Re:Yeah no offence but by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      What science can you do on the moon, that cannot be done cheaper and easier on earth?

      Science about, you know, the moon. Characterize its resources, look for lava caves and other features that may be of interest to colonists, and examine what the immediate surface deposits have to tell us about the history of the Sun.

    2. Re:Yeah no offence but by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "What science can you do on the moon, that cannot be done cheaper and easier on earth?"

      Well, the technology that reduces the earth gravity to 1/6th is not quite ready.

    3. Re:Yeah no offence but by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Take any scientific project title, then add (On the Moon) to the end of it.

      However monitoring solar radiation, astronomy with large telescopes, effects on some processes with reduced gravity, and science actually learning about the moon.

      Right now the current man missions, and probe missions is like someone saying they know all about New York City, because they drove threw it on i87, flew over it and stopped at JFK airport. Then went to the top of the Empire States Building, and saw the Statue of Liberty.
       

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    4. Re:Yeah no offence but by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      I find it funny when we look at the moon, need to justify science. We need to include, the final goal of us living there. I don't see any benefit on living on the moon, unless they find a way to make it self sustaining. Otherwise, for over population, we just need to send people to live in Antarctica, The Middle of Australia, and to all the other spots that we call rather inhospitable environments, because those areas how bad they are to survive, is still much more easier to live in then on the moon.
      Basic rules of survival is the rule of 3.
      3 minutes without air you die
      3 days without water you die
      3 weeks without food you die

      The moon doesn't have any of these. Plus, there are factors on earth, that we need shelter for such as extreme heat and extreme cold (Which the moon has in abundance). Then things like radiation that we seem to be protected on the earth.

      The Moon is probably one of the worst places to live.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    5. Re: Yeah no offence but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      3 years without sex, you write code

    6. Re:Yeah no offence but by ElizabethGreene · · Score: 1

      that "Israeli spacecraft" has better things to do than carry a bunch of kitsch to the fucking moon.

      I respectfully disagree. The spacecraft includes a science payload too, but it didn't have to. The people who donated money to build and launch it get to pick what goes on it. If they wanted to have it land for an eggplant selfie that is their prerogative. Those who write the checks make the choice. If you don't like it write your own checks.

    7. Re:Yeah no offence but by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      that "Israeli spacecraft" has better things to do than carry a bunch of kitsch to the fucking moon.

      I respectfully disagree. The spacecraft includes a science payload too, but it didn't have to. The people who donated money to build and launch it get to pick what goes on it. If they wanted to have it land for an eggplant selfie that is their prerogative. Those who write the checks make the choice. If you don't like it write your own checks.

      Yeah. My concerns are that now that Israel has interjected their desert god religion into the mix, are we going to extend the religion based wars onto the moon as well? I mean - what if their enemies here on earth decide to launch their own version of the angry desert god. They can presumably donate and decide what they want on the rocket they are paying for. Then in a couple hundred years, we can have the first religion war on the moon.

      I suppose it is inevitable.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    8. Re:Yeah no offence but by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Doing science there with some initial and relevant technological development that involves humans is what will determine if there is any point in colonizing beyond LEO. Why wait until we reach the asteroids or Mars to find out if we can build habitats out of regolith or mine and smelt metals. The Moon is so close that it takes the long spaceflight problem out of the equation.

    9. Re:Yeah no offence but by sconeu · · Score: 2

      My concerns are that now that Israel has interjected their desert god religion into the mix, are we going to extend the religion based wars onto the moon as well?

      Ask Buzz Aldrin, who took communion on the Moon.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    10. Re:Yeah no offence but by ElizabethGreene · · Score: 1

      I agree that it is inevitable. People are going to bring their political, ethical, and religious baggage with them no matter where they go. If that means that there are free range cows in my Mars colony, so be it. What I care about is that we actually get to the Mars colony before we slip up and bump ourselves back to the stone age.

      My hope is that working together in the confines and danger of another world to be more unifying than divisive. It seems to have worked on ISS. The earthbound keep trying to shove political division up there. The sky people make the appropriate head nods and then work together to get things done.

    11. Re:Yeah no offence but by lgw · · Score: 1

      that "Israeli spacecraft" has better things to do than carry a bunch of kitsch to the fucking moon. There is actual science to be done on the moon. This is a vanity shot.

      SpaceIL understands what AC doesn't: it's more about inspiration than science. This mission was explicitly about inspiring people.

      Inspiring people to get into STEM fields more valuable than any actual science done on other planets or moons. And it's certainly worth the cost! Heck, this mission only cost $100 M. That's a mid-budget movie these days. For the cost of an underwater Avatar sequel we can send people to Mars.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    12. Re:Yeah no offence but by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      My concerns are that now that Israel has interjected their desert god religion into the mix, are we going to extend the religion based wars onto the moon as well?

      Ask Buzz Aldrin, who took communion on the Moon

      They had the famous Apollo 8 Christmas message too. As an Atheist, I still find the words a great choice. And the act of taking bread and wine is hardly warlike.

      Before you decide that I'm denigrating Israel - Well, I'm denigrating the Bible. I would not want a superior spacefaring race to find that, and interpret the old Testament as the defining book on how humans act. Some groups might find that the whole human race is either LWA, or a feral population that needs eradicated.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    13. Re: Yeah no offence but by DalM · · Score: 1

      This is more of an engineering exercise. A lot of new systems had to be developed to put this in place. If they land on the moon, they will have done so for a 10th the price of their cheapest predecessor. That alone is a feat in and if itself. (Granted, they haven't done it yet. Stay tuned.)

    14. Re: Yeah no offence but by lgw · · Score: 1

      3 years without sex, you write code

      3 decades without sex, you become a wizard.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    15. Re: Yeah no offence but by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1
      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    16. Re:Yeah no offence but by Miamicanes · · Score: 1

      Assuming we could get a way to manufacture large mirrors & lenses, the far side of the moon would probably be a great place to put Hubble's ultimate replacement. In fact, I'm pretty sure the construction of such a telescope will be fairly high on the "things to do ASAP" list once there ARE settlements of some kind on the moon, once the immediate infrastructure needs of the settlement itself have been taken care of.

      In fact, I'm pretty sure that building and operating lunar observatories would be one of the first commercially successful business endeavors ON the Moon. With a local factory to build the parts that are too big to transport from Earth, and "boots on the ground" to build and maintain them, the Moon's surface would be a FANTASTIC place to build dozens, then hundreds, of observatories.

      Obviously, the Moon isn't going to have semiconductor-manufacturing facilities rivaling those of Intel anytime soon... but that's fine. Chips, and even populated circuit boards, would be easy to manufacture on Earth and ship to the Moon for integration into locally-built structures, with locally-built lenses and mirrors.

      A little further down the line, I believe the Moon might become an affordable place to do launches into near-Earth orbits. The Moon lies within Earth's own gravity well, so there's no real advantage to launching spacecraft heading beyond Earth's orbit from the Moon (especially if it's just a staging ground for supplies that first have to be transported there from Earth), but for launches into OTHER Earth orbits, it might make sense as long as the majority of components are produced on the Moon itself. Manufacturing a complete satellite on Earth, sending it to the Moon, then re-launching it into an Earth orbit would make about as much economic and logistical sense as buying a book that's available from amazon.co.uk at a Barnes & Noble store in Miami, mailing it to someone in London, and having THEM re-mail it to someone in Brighton. On the OTHER hand, manufacturing the electronics & sensors on Earth for a few DOZEN satellites, shipping them to the Moon, then integrating them into spaceframes built and launched from the Moon might make economic sense.

  3. Mel Brooks - where are you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Jews in Spaaaaaace!".....

    1. Re:Mel Brooks - where are you? by Iwastheone · · Score: 2

      Came here for this. Just think of the "moichendizing"!

    2. Re:Mel Brooks - where are you? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      "Jews in Spaaaaaace!".....

      Mel Brooks was a visionary... I'm trying to think what else he predicted... Was Hitler on Ice, Ice skating predicted for the future too- or am I remembering incorrectly?

      I want to see Hitler reanimated and turned into a figure skater! Surely someone can do that with today's technology.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    3. Re:Mel Brooks - where are you? by jwhyche · · Score: 2

      "Jews in Spaaaaaace!".....

      First thing that went through my head when I saw the head line.

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    4. Re:Mel Brooks - where are you? by Headw1nd · · Score: 1

      I was going to be so sad if I didn't see this.

  4. Re:How long will this be again? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    Blah. I mean the end of February there. I think I originally began writing "start of March" and changed my wording mid-sentence.

  5. Old joke from good old soviet time by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

    A man crashes into the party assembly of the SED (East-German communist party back when it was in command): "Comrads! The Russians, they're on the moon!"

    Hopeful inquiry: "Really? All of them?"

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Old joke from good old soviet time by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Nah. I'm just misanthropic. I don't single out races, sexes, genders or other petty bullshit, I hate all people equally.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Old joke from good old soviet time by Iwastheone · · Score: 1

      I'm a vegetarian. Not because I love animals. I just really, really hate plants! ;)

    3. Re:Old joke from good old soviet time by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I still haven't figured out why The Final Countdown isn't NASA's theme song for every mission.

  6. Genesis! by oren · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Beresheet" = Genesis. Yes, literally it means "in the beginning" but, it is _never_ used that way in common usage. It is the name of the 1st book in the bible (and also the 1st word in it). Even Google translate knows this https://translate.google.com/#... [google.com] But obviously spending a few seconds looking a word up is too much for the modern reporter.

    1. Re:Genesis! by lgw · · Score: 1

      Much as I'd like to think is was a Star Trek nod, the mission is about inspiring people and new projects, so "genesis" or "a beginning" both work fine.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  7. Kitchen table by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 5, Funny

    it's about the size of a kitchen table.

    It that a metric or an imperial kitchen table?

    --
    Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    1. Re:Kitchen table by turp182 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Given it's flying I think a better comparison would be: It is the size of an African or European kitchen table?

      I fart in your general direction.

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    2. Re:Kitchen table by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      it's about the size of a kitchen table.

      It that a metric or an imperial kitchen table?

      It's in cubits, you insensitive clod!

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    3. Re:Kitchen table by ElizabethGreene · · Score: 1

      Total mass: 585 kg (1,290 lb)
      Dry mass 150 kg (330 lb)
      Dimensions Diameter: 2 m (6.6 ft); height: 1.5 m

      The trouble with binging the thing is they changed the name. The Wikipedia article is under "SpaceIL".

    4. Re:Kitchen table by Killall+-9+Bash · · Score: 1

      it's about the size of a kitchen table.

      It that a metric or an imperial kitchen table?

      It's in cubits, you insensitive clod!

      Royal Egyptian or Mesopotamian?

      --
      "Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
    5. Re:Kitchen table by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      it's about the size of a kitchen table.

      It that a metric or an imperial kitchen table?

      It's in cubits, you insensitive clod!

      Royal Egyptian or Mesopotamian?

      Well, Pre flood it was the Babylonian, probably the Egyptian version now.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re:Kitchen table by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      A kitchen table in low-rent apartment housing 6 families, or Jeff Bezos' kitchen table?

  8. "Drawings by Israeli children" by JabrTheHut · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wonder if any of those drawings are by Israeli Arab kids...

    --
    Work like no one is watching. Dance like you've never been hurt. Make love like you don't need the money.
    1. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by religionofpeas · · Score: 2

      Probably, yes, given that there's a sizable Arab population in Israel.

    2. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by froggyjojodaddy · · Score: 1, Troll

      I'm gonna go with "No" here.

    3. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2, Informative

      I wonder if any of those drawings are by Israeli Arab kids...

      Sure; those are the drawings with the severed heads and stuff.

    4. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Then you're ignorant about the status of Arabs in Israel and are displaying your own biases. Don't think you get to accuse others and remain innocent yourself.

    5. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      According to the website anyone could send, and all of the drawings
      would get to the moon.
      Here:
      http://kids.spaceil.com/drawings/
      http://kids.spaceil.com/en/drawings/

    6. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by Killall+-9+Bash · · Score: 1

      Oh look, another Israeli Apartheid apologist. When children throw rocks at tanks, you pretty much gotta shoot them with US supplied M1A1s. And when they launch shitty home-brew rockets with a 1% hit percentage, and manage to wound a few people by some miracle, you pretty much gotta launch some airstrikes that kill hundreds.

      --
      "Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
    7. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      If they place some value on Palestinean lives, then why is it that every time things seem to be cooling down a bit they go and build some new illegal settlements in occupied land even though they know it will only cause more fighting? Both sides know what to do to have peace, and both sides assiduously avoid it.

    8. Re:"Drawings by Israeli children" by Killall+-9+Bash · · Score: 1

      My point is the disproportionate response.

      --
      "Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
  9. A... kitchen table??? by Ecuador · · Score: 1

    Couldn't decide between using meters or feet and went with a completely useless unit instead? How big is a kitchen table, they are pretty famous for wildly varying in size. And usually a table denotes a surface, even if you said as big as THAT table it shouldn't be about the volume of an object. Libraries of Congress suddenly makes some sense...
    That said, I've been waiting for decades to see Jews in Space, maybe not much longer now?

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
    1. Re:A... kitchen table??? by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      2 x 3 x 3 cubits.

    2. Re:A... kitchen table??? by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      About the size of the Ark of the Covenant

    3. Re:A... kitchen table??? by kenai_alpenglow · · Score: 1

      riiight. What's a cubit?

    4. Re:A... kitchen table??? by lgw · · Score: 1

      Couldn't decide between using meters or feet and went with a completely useless unit instead?

      Exactly like measuring rocket efficiency in ISP, when you generally want the exhaust velocity. But ISP is in "seconds", so no "meters per second" or "feet per second". Sigh.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  10. Re:How long will this be again? by Topwiz · · Score: 1

    It arrives mid-April of this year so about 7 weeks.

  11. Re:A true hope for Palestine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    destroy the walls and barbed wires they enclosed them within.

    If the Palestinian terrorists stopped murdering Israeli women and children then there would be no need for the walls and barbed wires. There are many examples of Israelis and Palestinians working together with no problems.

  12. Israel Didn't Launch Jack Shit by johnsie · · Score: 3, Informative

    SpaceX launched a rocket, from Florida, with some Israeli trinkets on it.

    1. Re:Israel Didn't Launch Jack Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The spacecraft was placed into Earth orbit by a SpaceX rocket. It looks like it was a secondary payload on a telecommunications satellite launch, which probably means that the SpaceX rocket placed it in Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), an elliptical orbit with a peak altitude of 36,000 km.

      The Israeli spacecraft then, having separated from the primary payload, presumably performed the trans-lunar injection burn - raising its apogee to ~380,000 km - on its own. I think it's valid to describe that as launching it to the moon. Sure, it doesn't require as much delta-v as putting it in orbit in the first place, but it is the step that changes it from "not going to the moon" to "going to the moon".

    2. Re:Israel Didn't Launch Jack Shit by lgw · · Score: 1

      Do you also say "NASA didn't launch jack shit" when they use a launch vehicle from UAL or Northrup or SpaceX?

      Much as I love the actual rockets, it's the mission that matters, not the bus it rides to get there.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    3. Re:Israel Didn't Launch Jack Shit by lgw · · Score: 1

      The spacecraft was placed into Earth orbit by a SpaceX rocket. It looks like it was a secondary payload on a telecommunications satellite launch, which probably means that the SpaceX rocket placed it in Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), an elliptical orbit with a peak altitude of 36,000 km.

      Yup: there were three payloads on the Falcon 9, all going to GTO. An Arab comm sat, a secret military payload "Sorry, we won't be able to show video of that part of the launch", and this spacecraft.

      The comm sat will fire its rockets at apogee to circularize into the desired geostationary orbit. I believe the moonshot will fire its rockets at perigee, over the course of 3 or 4 passed, raising apogee each time until it gets a close encounter with the moon (and then it will take several passes to circularize its moon orbit). It's not a very powerful rocket, but it will eventually get the job done. They say it will take 40 days and 40 nights.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  13. Re:Is it a Bible ? by johnsie · · Score: 1

    Grimms or Disney?

  14. Would love to take a look at that map of Israel by propheth · · Score: 1

    Would love to take a look at that map of Israel and see if it matches the current one.

  15. Wow. So much here. by DalM · · Score: 2

    First privately funded lunar mission.
    First SpaceX lunar mission.
    First orbital approach lunar mission.
    First lunar mission with successful rocket reclamation.

  16. Re:A true hope for Palestine by lgw · · Score: 2

    Once they colonize the moon - maybe they could share a bit of land that they took away from the Palestines

    That land has been disputed literally longer than recorded history. Jewish tribes seem to have owned it more often than not, though it's hard to say beyond 3000 years ago. The current people called "Palestinians" wandered in fairly recently in history, and can't be said to have any more claim to the land than the very long list of historical owners.

    But we all know that "Palestine" is just a euphemism. Perhaps we can dispense with euphemism now that we have a couple of openly anti-Semitic congresscritters. Let's get it all out in the open - always the best way to clean house.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  17. India Landed On The Moon Too! by hashish16 · · Score: 1

    Crash landed.

  18. Re:How long will this be again? by lgw · · Score: 1

    The ship will take 40 days and 40 nights to find new land. Funny, that.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  19. Re:A true hope for Palestine by Kyr+Arvin · · Score: 1

    That land has been disputed literally longer than recorded history

    Sure. But nothing at all matters other than "who is still alive that had land stolen from them." I don't give a shit if someone's great-great-great-great grandfather once owned the land. That's always going to be a losing proposition, and descendants are entitled to nothing from their ancestors.

    Was land stolen to create the nation of Israel? Yes, yes it was. But also, enough time has passed that no one other than them really has any claim to the land anymore, and returning Israel to "Palestinians" or whatever other group we want to come up with would be a larger travesty of justice... at this point. Now the current expansions in the West Bank, that might be a different story. But the Arab fantasy of driving them all into the sea is just that now -- a stupid fantasy. They had their shot to fight this when it started; they lost.

  20. Re:A true hope for Palestine by Darinbob · · Score: 1

    Just to summarize most of humanity's never-ending conflicts: "If they stopped killing us then we wouldn't be forced to kill them." This excuse always ignores that the other side is using the same excuse as well.

  21. Budget restrictions by fluffythedestroyer · · Score: 1

    Thats strange, the article stated at NPR states they had a budget of 100m $. But it doesnt state what SpaceX spent. I'm sure the entire mission costed more than 100m if you compare it with the USA and russian budget. Too bad they didn't go in those details.