Re:SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
by wallace_f on Tuesday February 06, 2018 @06:24PM
(#16320928)
From '02 - '06 Musk dumped 100MM of his own cash into this, with uncertain outcome. Is it fair to say SpaceX was at least partially an expensive hobby, at some point?
Re:SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
by TeMPOraL on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @05:08AM
(#16323418)
If by "hobby" you mean "not making you money", then yes - in the same sense as just about like every startup in existence.
If by "hobby" you mean doing something for fun or personal growth, with only vague - if any - expectations of future usefulness, then no. SpaceX was aimed at getting us to Mars from the day 1; it's their entire raison d'être. Musk bootstrapped it with his own cash because he also set this goal - getting humanity to Mars.
If by "hobby" you mean doing something meaningful instead of just making moar money - then sure.
Re:SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
by wallace_f on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @02:27PM
(#16327268)
I don't know if this is really like every other startup. The amount of money involved and ambitions are far beyond the average startup.
Re:SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches
by steve_musk on Tuesday February 06, 2018 @10:19PM
(#16322005)
From '02-'06 (or even '02-'017) did Musk send anything to another planet/leave Earth orbit? No.
Maybe you could argue the Falcon 1 was an expensive hobby, but interplanetary spaceflight is certainly not.
In a theoretical world where we could just beam anything into earth orbit, unmanned interplanetary spaceflight would likely be an expensive hobby instead of something only governments attempt.