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Trump on Falcon Heavy: "I'm so used to hearing different numbers with NASA"
During a cabinet meeting on Thursday inside the White House, President Donald Trump called attention to several model rockets on the table before him. They included an Atlas V, a Falcon 9, a Space Launch System, and more. The president seemed enthused to see the launch vehicles. "Before me are some rocket ships," the president said. "You haven't seen that for this country in a long time."
Then, in remarks probably best characterized as spur of the moment, the president proceeded to absolutely demolish the government's own effort to build rockets by noting the recent launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket. He cited the cost as $80 million. (The list price on SpaceX's website is $90 million.)
"I noticed the prices of the last one they say cost $80 million," Trump said. "If the government did it, the same thing would have cost probably 40 or 50 times that amount of money. I mean literally. When I heard $80 million, I'm so used to hearing different numbers with NASA.''
NASA has not, in fact, set a price for flying the SLS rocket. But Ars has previously estimated that, including the billions of dollars in development cost, the per-flight fees for the SLS rocket will probably be close to $3 billion. Indeed, the development costs of SLS and its ground systems between now and its first flight could purchase 86 launches of the privately developed Falcon Heavy rocket. So President Trump's estimate of NASA's costs compared to private industry does not appear to be wildly off the mark.
[*] SLS: Space Launch System
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NASA Moving to Scale Back the Space Technology Mission Directorate
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by knarf on Friday March 09 2018, @05:18PM (26 children)
The amount of virtue-signalling in the comment section is staggering, it seems they feel they have to stumble over each other to show how much they despise Trump. This goes so far that the actual message - SLS is overly expensive compared to Falcon Heavy, also Falcon Heavy exists while SLS is still a pipe dream - is drowned. Comments which point this out without adding enough hate for Trump are voted down, comments which do nothing but spout hate for Trump are voted up higher than the proverbial SLS rocket.
What ever happened to the doctrine of not shooting the messenger? Who cares what you think about Trump when the subject matter is totally unrelated?
If this is an example of the discourse among the educated - which is whom I assume to be the ones commenting on a space-related article on Ars Technica - I'll have to think twice before sending my children to those institutions where the former received their education.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snow on Friday March 09 2018, @05:20PM (25 children)
Ars Technica is one big circlejerk.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Friday March 09 2018, @05:23PM (23 children)
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @06:01PM (3 children)
Thankfully you won't be banned here, as free expression is prized.
A bonus is that we get to laugh at you. Good times!
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday March 09 2018, @06:42PM (1 child)
Hey, I've been here a while. I have not been involuntarily committed yet, so far as I can tell.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 10 2018, @06:37AM
Shhh...... nobody tell him!
-Lawn
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday March 10 2018, @06:57AM
They don't call it a ban. They call it Karma and IP Karma. But it's a ban. If you tweet something that makes certain Moderators (establishment & global special interests) uncomfortable, they down mod your tweet. Get enough down mods -- especially Spam Mods, those kill your Karma like crazy -- they hide your Journal. This is the new thing for 2018. And they make it so you can't tweet anymore, they've been doing that one for a long time. Unless you get different Internet. And there's one guy. I don't know, probably one guy, could be a lady. People say a bot, if they're right that's an amazing bot -- he always tweets about murder. About ass rape. Writing things that are a little bit disturbing. And have nothing to do with the stories. To trick the Moderators & Administrators into giving very negative IP Karma to a lot of the Internet. By getting down mods and a lot of Spam Mods. And the VERY, VERY FOOLISH Administrators go along with him. A lot of people won't be able to tweet. But it won't be called a ban. It will be called free expression.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @06:03PM
Aren't echo chambers wonderful? They provide a place for people like myself to play in. No cacophony is complete without a little discord, is it?
(Score: 2, Troll) by aristarchus on Friday March 09 2018, @06:19PM (17 children)
Did you ever think, oh climate denying khallow, that banning is not censorship so much as an attempt to tell you something? Just wondering.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @06:36PM (1 child)
Of course, burn the heretic. SCIENCE! demands it!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday March 09 2018, @06:42PM
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Friday March 09 2018, @06:39PM
To the contrary, oh aristarchus, why would I think anything else? And you call yourself a philosopher.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Friday March 09 2018, @06:55PM (3 children)
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @11:39PM (2 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @11:42PM
No one said anything about the first amendment. The concept of freedom of speech is far broader than its legal implementation. Even if a website doesn't have to respect free speech, it can do so, as SoylentNews does to a very high degree.
(Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Saturday March 10 2018, @08:55AM
There's a very generous assumption that "the people" are listening and thinking. If they're banning, they're not listening. And most of this echo chamber banning doesn't involve a lot of thinking either.
(Score: 3, Informative) by unauthorized on Saturday March 10 2018, @02:19AM (9 children)
What they are trying to say is "we don't want you to be able to argue your position on our platform". That is censorship.
Your non-argument is predicated on a double dichotomy, sending a message and censorship are not mutually exclusive.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Saturday March 10 2018, @05:55AM (8 children)
Maybe, just maybe, they are saying, "khallow, you are being a dick, and the first rule is, 'don't be a dick'." Or, maybe they are saying, you have your ideologically based opinion that is completely false, and you are only generating noise, so we are preventing you from doing that. Or, maybe, they were saying, as often we do here on SoylentNews as well, "khallow, you are a shill. How much does Exxon pay you to post here?" Censorship? Hardly. Not a matter of a different opinion, a matter of being a dick, spewing disonance, or shilling for corporations. These exclude one from good faith debate of the issues.
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday March 10 2018, @07:21AM (4 children)
The first rule of global warming conspiracy is, don't talk about global warming conspiracy.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Saturday March 10 2018, @08:43AM (3 children)
You have broke character. It is now apparent to all and sundry that you are not, in fact, the realDonaldTrump. You must be a fake real Donald Trump, which is strangely apropos. The President is Virtue Signaling! He is a covert cuckservative SJW New York Real Estate Developer, and Slum Lord. But we knew that, already.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday March 10 2018, @10:31AM (1 child)
I'm playing myself. I'm playing a WINNER. I'm always myself. And I always win. So I'm always in character.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday March 10 2018, @04:34PM
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 11 2018, @06:17AM
So, Donald has a broke character, and you have a broke dick. You have something in common!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday March 10 2018, @08:59AM (2 children)
Words have meaning. Censorship [oxforddictionaries.com]:
Banning someone suppresses their speech. Thus it is censorship.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Saturday March 10 2018, @11:35AM (1 child)
No, it is not, since the obvious rebuttal is that you still are spouting your mothership's madness here on SoylentNews! Those fine folks over at ArsTechnica, on the other hand, do not owe you a platform from which to broadcast your dark master's propaganda, khallow, as well you know. You need to pay for that kind of platform, or you end up down here with the trolls, who will rip you a new one seven ways to Sunday. Not to mention that what you're selling has no traction in a place like this. Or did you think that your very special opinion has some right to be expressed? Who's the snowflake now, huh?
(Score: 1, Troll) by khallow on Saturday March 10 2018, @03:06PM
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday March 09 2018, @06:34PM
I don't think it is that big, actually.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.