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posted by Fnord666 on Monday April 06 2020, @01:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the birds-have-to-fly dept.

Jeff Bezos' space company is pressuring employees to launch a tourist rocket during the pandemic:

Employees at Jeff Bezos' aerospace firm Blue Origin are outraged that senior leadership is pressuring workers to conduct a test launch of the company's New Shepard rocket — designed to take wealthy tourists into space — while the COVID-19 pandemic devastates the United States.

To conduct the flight, Blue Origin officials are considering transporting employees from the company's main headquarters in Kent, Washington — a town near Seattle where COVID-19 cases have surged — to a small town in West Texas called Van Horn. The town, which has a population of just over 2,000, is home to Blue Origin's test launch facility where the company has conducted all past flights of the New Shepard rocket.

Many employees fear that traveling to Van Horn might expose them to the novel coronavirus and inadvertently introduce COVID-19 to the residents of the rural town where there is very little infrastructure to handle an outbreak. The Verge spoke exclusively with four Blue Origin employees who all asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the company. They say they are frustrated by the company's desire to conduct a launch, as it could unnecessarily jeopardize the health of employees at Blue Origin and residents of Van Horn.

"It feels like the company is prioritizing its business goals and schedule above the safety of its employees and the community," one employee tells The Verge.

"[...] All of the employees who spoke with The Verge felt that New Shepard is not a critical vehicle that needs to launch during this time. "In my view, it's really a stretch," one employee tells The Verge. "I don't think that New Shepherd is mission essential to the United States in any way." While the rocket is sometimes used to carry research payloads, the primary focus of the vehicle is to eventually carry wealthy thrill-seekers to space where they'll experience a few minutes of weightlessness.

"What is essential about a vehicle that flies potentially billionaires to space?" one employee asks.

In a response to The Verge, Blue Origin said it would not comment on internal meetings. The company maintains that it is continuing to monitor "this rapidly evolving situation" and that there is no launch date set yet. "We hold safety as our highest value. Period," a spokesperson told The Verge in an email. "We are still operating at our West Texas Launch Site where we have been running engine tests and will continue to do so. Given our mission essential designation from Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, we've been cleared by federal, state and local officials to continue to operate, and we are doing everything we can to safeguard our workforce and communities."


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  • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @02:02PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @02:02PM (#979641)

    If this pandemic has shown us anything, we need to push harder for a separate space colony.
    Now is the perfect time to pave a path forward.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Monday April 06 2020, @04:07PM (6 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 06 2020, @04:07PM (#979676) Journal

      Start with (some of) the billionaires. Tax them at the border as they leave (as Trump says about corporations).

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @07:02PM (5 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @07:02PM (#979740)

        The irony is that the first colony will probably be made up disproportionately of those of means, and a large labor force. And it will be a complete shit hole for just about everybody. Then in 50 years, it will probably be nicer than Earth. And people will complain about Martian privilege.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 06 2020, @09:52PM (3 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 06 2020, @09:52PM (#979783) Journal

          The irony is that the first colony will probably be made up disproportionately of those of means, and a large labor force.

          In other words, much like society is now, but with less retirees.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 06 2020, @09:56PM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 06 2020, @09:56PM (#979784) Journal
            And less kids.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @07:49AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @07:49AM (#979911)

            Not at all. On Earth if you're of significant means then you can live quite nicely. On Mars everybody will be living in a shithole together. It's the same thing in places like the US today. Many families who can trace their roots back to the founding of the nation live quite comfortable lives, yet in many cases their ancestors who came over here lived brutal lives where every day was a struggle.

            It's for this reason (among many others) that I think the future of the US in bad shape. We've transitioned from being a group of people that think in generational terms, to ones that think in short term hedonistic terms. Our broken fertility rates practically obligate this sort of thinking since many families genetic lineage will be terminating at this generation. This likely is also related to the increasing and laughable obsession with things such as the singularity or other 21st century 'fountain of life' fantasies. And it's no doubt the reason that things such as the space program are basically impossible to get going on a public level in the US, while places such as China rocket ahead. You don't go to Mars to create a paradise or get rich. You go to start the long progress towards such, one that you will likely not live to see or experience - but perhaps your children and more likely their children onward shall.

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday April 07 2020, @09:00PM

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 07 2020, @09:00PM (#980072) Journal

              On Mars everybody will be living in a shithole together.

              Because the physics on Mars is unable to support mansions?

              We've transitioned from being a group of people that think in generational terms, to ones that think in short term hedonistic terms.

              Sorry, I don't think there was ever much difference between the two frames of mind. People have always been short sighted because they are short-lived. Having children didn't change that.

              This likely is also related to the increasing and laughable obsession with things such as the singularity or other 21st century 'fountain of life' fantasies.

              On the other hand. any significant improvement to human life span would encourage that long term thinking.

        • (Score: 2) by Fnord666 on Monday April 06 2020, @11:36PM

          by Fnord666 (652) on Monday April 06 2020, @11:36PM (#979806) Homepage

          The irony is that the first colony will probably be made up disproportionately of those of means, and a large labor force. And it will be a complete shit hole for just about everybody. Then in 50 years, it will probably be nicer than Earth. And people will complain about Martian privilege.

          Elysium [imdb.com]

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Farkus888 on Monday April 06 2020, @02:39PM (8 children)

    by Farkus888 (5159) on Monday April 06 2020, @02:39PM (#979648)

    Given 2 equivalent options, many of us prefer to buy from more socially responsible companies. Some companies like Newman's Own and Tobasco have had that as part of their business for years. Others are getting their chance to show us now. Compare the responses of Hobby Lobby, who tried to defy the closure orders then fired everyone, with Dogfish Head, who was mandated by their governor to charge market rates for their hand sanitizer so they are donating the profits. I'm sure there are many other examples of companies that realize that a little creativity allows them to benefit and to help. Now we all get to find out who is who. I know I have been updating my list.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 06 2020, @02:48PM (1 child)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 06 2020, @02:48PM (#979652) Journal

      The talk on the radio show was hilarious on Friday. Tobasco brand hand sanitizer - not only does it sanitize your hands, but the first time you put your fingers near your eyes or nose will be the last time!

      https://www.nbatitlechase.com/2020/03/14/photo-kill-the-germs-the-cajun-way-tabasco-hand-sanitizer/ [nbatitlechase.com]

      I've been in the plant a few times, to deliver those dinky little bottles that the put tobasco sauce in. They are some really nice people.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @12:55AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @12:55AM (#979830)

        Also helpful for those trying to stop urinating.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by meustrus on Monday April 06 2020, @03:41PM (5 children)

      by meustrus (4961) on Monday April 06 2020, @03:41PM (#979667)

      Unfortunately, marketers have figured out how to weaponize this preference. Pretty much any company can fund a side project and run a feel-good marketing campaign to make consumers think they're doing good stuff. Hardly anybody will do the research to compare them to real do-gooders.

      Then you've got people like Hobby Lobby that weaponize people's ideology for the same purposes. Are they really Christian, or is it just a cynical marketing ploy? Most evangelicals are too dipshit to tell the difference.

      Even worse, the rapid cycle of innovation in tech and startup culture makes it virtually impossible for us to know who's authentic and who's a cynic before the fad's already over with, or the market is cornered. It's just moving too fast for the truth to catch up.

      --
      If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
      • (Score: 4, Funny) by DannyB on Monday April 06 2020, @04:11PM (1 child)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 06 2020, @04:11PM (#979679) Journal

        In a Hobby Lobby I saw a wood carved "Pray without ceasing".

        I wondered if anyone would notice if it were replaced with a similarly carved "Pray without cussing".

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @01:49AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @01:49AM (#979839)

          Pray without sneezing (else you're fired).

      • (Score: 2) by Farkus888 on Monday April 06 2020, @05:10PM (2 children)

        by Farkus888 (5159) on Monday April 06 2020, @05:10PM (#979703)

        The truth is it kind of doesn't matter. Companies can engage in activities that benefit them only at the cost of society. They can do things that at least marginally benefit them while creating a public benefit as well. Any movement towards the second option helps no matter how self centered the motivation was. Your argument falls for the same mental trap hobby lobby's managers did. You both believe that transactions ultimately must harm one party to benefit the other. Mutual benefit is real, all of human society wouldn't have come to be without it.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by meustrus on Monday April 06 2020, @07:58PM (1 child)

          by meustrus (4961) on Monday April 06 2020, @07:58PM (#979751)

          It's a mental trap for Hobby Lobby's managers act as though "transactions ultimately must harm one party to benefit the other". I'm not trying to control a corporation though. I'm trying to predict their behavior. In that context, I haven't fallen for a mental trap so much as identified it. Ideas don't have to be true for them to affect decision making, and we often have to worry more about how our lives are negatively impacted by false ideas in the minds of others.

          Incidentally, rejection of this particular mental trap is probably the #1 theme of the Bible. Further proof that Hobby Lobby's "deeply held beliefs" are just cynical marketing trash. Or that they're just bad at faith.

          --
          If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
          • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday April 06 2020, @08:35PM

            by krishnoid (1156) on Monday April 06 2020, @08:35PM (#979759)

            One very strong predictor of a corporation's re/actions is the personalities, behavior, and priorities of its current CEO, and then of its CxOs. Understand that information in as fine detail as you can reasonably acquire, see how major corporate actions (relative to other companies in the same sub/sector) contrast with that, and I bet you'll have a decent first-order estimate on how that company will respond to given stimuli.

            The big problem is that you can't get this info without some at least indirect personal contact with those people, or a lot of time to glean it from statements from them or their colleagues/friends. It's not something you can grab with a couple web searches.

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @02:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @02:52PM (#979654)

    Rich person: So, yea I have a degree in robotics. By the way, I really like this red jumpsuit. Say, why are you loading up the cargo bay with old movies?

    "Press the button, Frank!"

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @03:55PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @03:55PM (#979673)

    "It feels like the company is prioritizing its business goals and schedule above the safety of its employees and the community," one employee tells The Verge.

    Yes, unless they are mandated to, they won't be prioritizing your feelz. Now shut the fuck up and get back to work, or join the millions of people on the dole that have been locked out from their jobs.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @05:40PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2020, @05:40PM (#979714)

      Starting to sound like re-education camps won't be enough. TO THE SOYLENT MILL!

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Monday April 06 2020, @04:05PM (3 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday April 06 2020, @04:05PM (#979675) Journal

    Blue Origin can exist as long as Bezos wants to fund it. But it could also be sold off to the United Launch Alliance, which is already purchasing BE-4 engines from Blue Origin. A fully developed New Armstrong rocket could give ULA a capability that could be used to compete with SpaceX's Starship.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Kitsune008 on Monday April 06 2020, @05:00PM (1 child)

    by Kitsune008 (9054) on Monday April 06 2020, @05:00PM (#979699)

    Opportunity often presents itself as a problem.

    Instead of the perception of:

    "What is essential about a vehicle that flies potentially billionaires to space?" one employee asks.

    Look at the opportunity of the situation instead:

    "What is essential about a vehicle that fires potentially billionaires to space? Why, everything!" one employee quips.

    ;-)

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @12:48AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @12:48AM (#979828)

      Yes, but how do we know they won't be back?

  • (Score: 2) by SparkyGSX on Tuesday April 07 2020, @06:30AM (1 child)

    by SparkyGSX (4041) on Tuesday April 07 2020, @06:30AM (#979906)

    Jeff Bezos doesn't give a fuck about people

    --
    If you do what you did, you'll get what you got
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @07:05AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2020, @07:05AM (#979908)

      Sure he does.

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