[HN Gopher] First images of Spaceship Neptune's capsule structure
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       First images of Spaceship Neptune's capsule structure
        
       Author : belter
       Score  : 18 points
       Date   : 2023-12-23 18:54 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (latteluxurynews.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (latteluxurynews.com)
        
       | petarb wrote:
       | This looks awesome. Going up shouldn't be too bad; but the decent
       | is the part that scares me. Wouldn't it reenter orbit with
       | extreme velocity?
        
         | wrs wrote:
         | Orbit? It's a balloon gondola.
        
         | imglorp wrote:
         | It will have about zero horizontal velocity, or whatever
         | ambient wind speed. For orbit, it would need 21000 kph.
        
           | pc86 wrote:
           | Average windspeed at 30km altitude looks to be about 15 m/s
           | which is certainly not nothing especially compared to average
           | surface speeds.
           | 
           | https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Average-wind-speeds-
           | in-m...
        
       | dotancohen wrote:
       | The fine article states that this "spacecraft" is to launch under
       | a "SpaceBalloon". There is no mention of altitude. I am sceptical
       | about a launch system whose name implies that it relies on
       | buoyancy to be able to rise into the vacuum.
        
         | belter wrote:
         | https://spaceperspective.com/spaceship
        
           | dotancohen wrote:
           | Still no mention of altitude on that page so far as I could
           | see.
        
             | moffkalast wrote:
             | Likely around 40 km, like the Baumgartner jump.
        
             | belter wrote:
             | It is in the FAQ. - https://spaceperspective.com/faq
             | 
             | "How long is the flight?"
             | 
             | The flight will last approximately six hours, from launch
             | to landing. Spaceship Neptune will ascend for two hours,
             | float at its apogee of 100,000 ft (30 km) for two hours,
             | and descend gently over two more hours before splashdown in
             | the ocean where a ship awaits."
        
               | dotancohen wrote:
               | Thank you. So it is a spaceship in the sense that it is a
               | ship with space inside. It just happens to get to 30% of
               | the altitude of space.
        
           | tempodox wrote:
           | Knowing that the name "spaceship" is 100% hyperbole brings
           | things into perspective.
        
       | irrational wrote:
       | I hadn't heard about this before and was confused about why I
       | hadn't heard about plans to send a spacecraft to Neptune.
        
         | samstave wrote:
         | I thought so as well, then I saw the sphere and thought "oh -
         | they are sending it to the bottom of the ocean, hence
         | Neptune..." and now its a frickin balloon!?
         | 
         |  _/ grabs trident_
        
       | TaylorAlexander wrote:
       | Honestly compared to other space tourism outfits this one seems
       | pretty reasonable. No flashy new tech, no intense reentry. We
       | have sent vehicles and even people up on high altitude balloon
       | rides before. I am quite sure it would be too expensive for me
       | and I don't care for dangerous experimental tech, but otherwise
       | it seems like something I would enjoy.
        
       | FileSorter wrote:
       | >Spaceship Neptune was developed to be the most accessible, most
       | sustainable, and safest spacecraft on or above our planet.
       | 
       | I was very dubious about the sustainable part since I assumed
       | they would be using helium, but it looks like they are using
       | renewable hydrogen.
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-23 23:01 UTC)