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SpaceX Hid a Second, Secret Payload Aboard Falcon Heavy

Dittohead not!

Dittohead not!

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[h=1]SpaceX Hid a Second, Secret Payload Aboard Falcon Heavy[/h]
[FONT=&quot]Stashed inside the midnight-cherry Roadster was a mysterious, small object designed to last for millions (perhaps billions) of years – even in extreme environments like space, or on the distant surfaces of far-flung planetary bodies.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Called an Arch (pronounced 'Ark'), this tiny storage device is built for long-term data archiving, holding libraries of information encoded on a small disc of quartz crystal, not much larger than a coin.[/FONT]
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Sometime, somewhere, a civilization might find this tiny object and be able to open it. Imagine their wonder at a civilization from millions of years in their past, wondering if we still exist and what we may have discovered since.

Imagine us finding such an object left by another civilization that existed millions of years ago.

Or, is the rest of the universe simply void of life, only this one little mote we call Earth somehow having life? That's even more unimaginable.
 
I bet it contains nothing but Elon Musk videos.
 
Dittohead not! said:
[h=1]SpaceX Hid a Second, Secret Payload Aboard Falcon Heavy[/h]


Sometime, somewhere, a civilization might find this tiny object and be able to open it. Imagine their wonder at a civilization from millions of years in their past, wondering if we still exist and what we may have discovered since.

Imagine us finding such an object left by another civilization that existed millions of years ago.

Or, is the rest of the universe simply void of life, only this one little mote we call Earth somehow having life? That's even more unimaginable.
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Or an alien race hell bent on dominating the universe could find it and use it to locate earth and kill us all.
 
PoS said:
I bet it contains nothing but Elon Musk videos.
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Is this not the weirdest thing? Private enterprise seems obsessed with the idea of filling space with even more junk.

NZ's own rocket industry successfully launched what has been dubbed the " disco glitter ball" that serves no purpose but to strobe brightly. And your own american private company launches a car.

Is it not bad enough that we pollute our own planet but now business wants to pollute space as well.

Imagine in a million years some alien space ship cruising the universe minding their own business when a tiny object travelling at great speed crashes through their ship killing who knows how many aliens.

Yeah, they are going to be really happy with all that information on that bit of space junk.
 
soylentgreen said:
Yeah, they are going to be really happy with all that information on that bit of space junk.
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Space junk is only a problem in earth orbit, which this is not. You are astronomically underestimating the extreme volume of our solar system. No, it's not a problem and never will be for anyone.

Most rocket prototypes are tested with dead weight like cinder blocks. Elon thought that would be boring so he spiced it up a bit.
 
I believe the universe is teeming with life. But intelligent life could be a bit more problematic.

The famous Fermi Paradox comes to mind ... "Where is everybody [extraterrestrial life]?"
 
soylentgreen said:
Is this not the weirdest thing? Private enterprise seems obsessed with the idea of filling space with even more junk.

NZ's own rocket industry successfully launched what has been dubbed the " disco glitter ball" that serves no purpose but to strobe brightly. And your own american private company launches a car.

Is it not bad enough that we pollute our own planet but now business wants to pollute space as well.

Imagine in a million years some alien space ship cruising the universe minding their own business when a tiny object travelling at great speed crashes through their ship killing who knows how many aliens.

Yeah, they are going to be really happy with all that information on that bit of space junk.
Click to expand...

If something as small as a common coin crashes through an interstellar ship and kills even one alien then they had A: The crappiest ship imaginable and B: The greatest luck imaginable to travel so far to find this little coin sized object without being hit by all the gazillion upon gazillion other things floating out there in space that are the same size, smaller, or larger as that little piece of quartz.

Seriously, space is NOT empty. Between 18,000 and 84,000 meteorites larger than 10 grams hits the earth every single year. And we're literally smaller than a speck compared to the rest of the universe.
 
It probably contains samples of the finest porn.
 
PoS said:
I bet it contains nothing but Elon Musk videos.
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Honestly it would be kind of hilarious if you were stumble upon the remnants of an ancient interstellar civilization and only find sex tapes.
 
soylentgreen said:
Is this not the weirdest thing? Private enterprise seems obsessed with the idea of filling space with even more junk.

NZ's own rocket industry successfully launched what has been dubbed the " disco glitter ball" that serves no purpose but to strobe brightly. And your own american private company launches a car.

Is it not bad enough that we pollute our own planet but now business wants to pollute space as well.

Imagine in a million years some alien space ship cruising the universe minding their own business when a tiny object travelling at great speed crashes through their ship killing who knows how many aliens.

Yeah, they are going to be really happy with all that information on that bit of space junk.
Click to expand...

Did you read that the tiny object is "stashed inside" the roadster?
 
soylentgreen said:
Is this not the weirdest thing? Private enterprise seems obsessed with the idea of filling space with even more junk.

NZ's own rocket industry successfully launched what has been dubbed the " disco glitter ball" that serves no purpose but to strobe brightly. And your own american private company launches a car.

Is it not bad enough that we pollute our own planet but now business wants to pollute space as well.

Imagine in a million years some alien space ship cruising the universe minding their own business when a tiny object travelling at great speed crashes through their ship killing who knows how many aliens.

Yeah, they are going to be really happy with all that information on that bit of space junk.
Click to expand...

The glitter ball is going to fall into the atmosphere and burn up.

Plenty of spacejunk (asteroids) fly around the place so you'd have thought alien cruisers would be able to handle it.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Space junk is only a problem in earth orbit, which this is not. You are astronomically underestimating the extreme volume of our solar system. No, it's not a problem and never will be for anyone.

Most rocket prototypes are tested with dead weight like cinder blocks. Elon thought that would be boring so he spiced it up a bit.
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Yes it is. This american business man has sent into orbit a capsule containing information about earth. i doubt the trajectory of such is to orbit the planet.

I understand the spicing up. And also am aware that laws now include a planned obsolescence for anything sent up.

Does it not defeat the purpose of sending something into space containing information about earth to then claim that it will never reach any significant destination such as another life.
 
Kal'Stang said:
If something as small as a common coin crashes through an interstellar ship and kills even one alien then they had A: The crappiest ship imaginable and B: The greatest luck imaginable to travel so far to find this little coin sized object without being hit by all the gazillion upon gazillion other things floating out there in space that are the same size, smaller, or larger as that little piece of quartz.

Seriously, space is NOT empty. Between 18,000 and 84,000 meteorites larger than 10 grams hits the earth every single year. And we're literally smaller than a speck compared to the rest of the universe.
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And it helps any to send more junk into space?
Not that i actually think such a scenario will happen. It's more the point about polluting space with junk. A point that seems to go over the heads of the literalists here.
 
beefheart said:
Did you read that the tiny object is "stashed inside" the roadster?
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So even more stupid. How dumb this guy be. Creates a disc of information about earth and then puts it in something that has a trajectory that will bring it to descend and burn in earths atmosphere.

I mean, this is his business and if he wants do something stupid then that's his money, his concern. But what's the object here. To do something spectacular or stupid?
 
Nilly said:
The glitter ball is going to fall into the atmosphere and burn up.

Plenty of spacejunk (asteroids) fly around the place so you'd have thought alien cruisers would be able to handle it.
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I know that. Same with the car. It's a publicity stunt. Good for them, but personally i think it a waste.
 
Wait... they stored the libraries on a quartz crystal? I was not aware that we had this technology?

A small quartz crystal could store an unfathomable amount of data.

Is this available to consumers yet?
 
There needs to be a Congressional investigation. The republicans can release their memo and then the democrats can release their memo and people will still believe what they want to believe. I personally think it is Elon Musk speeches, TED Talks, and some dwarf porn.
 
soylentgreen said:
So even more stupid. How dumb this guy be. Creates a disc of information about earth and then puts it in something that has a trajectory that will bring it to descend and burn in earths atmosphere.

I mean, this is his business and if he wants do something stupid then that's his money, his concern. But what's the object here. To do something spectacular or stupid?
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It wasn't stupid. It was a test flight, there are usually no paid payloads on a test flight, usually its just blocks of concrete. But, this was good marketing, and it demonstrated a few things, achieving low earth orbit, then achieving a much higher orbit, then, after 6 hours, firing again and leaving orbit and going out past mars. None of the ephermides that have been run show it burning up in the earth's atmosphere.
 
soylentgreen said:
So even more stupid. How dumb this guy be. Creates a disc of information about earth and then puts it in something that has a trajectory that will bring it to descend and burn in earths atmosphere.

I mean, this is his business and if he wants do something stupid then that's his money, his concern. But what's the object here. To do something spectacular or stupid?
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It's a test run. The whole point is that it's something disposable.
 
soylentgreen said:
So even more stupid. How dumb this guy be. Creates a disc of information about earth and then puts it in something that has a trajectory that will bring it to descend and burn in earths atmosphere.

I mean, this is his business and if he wants do something stupid then that's his money, his concern. But what's the object here. To do something spectacular or stupid?
Click to expand...
The space Tesla is not on a trajectory to descend and burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
 
Dittohead not! said:
[h=1]SpaceX Hid a Second, Secret Payload Aboard Falcon Heavy[/h]


Sometime, somewhere, a civilization might find this tiny object and be able to open it. Imagine their wonder at a civilization from millions of years in their past, wondering if we still exist and what we may have discovered since.

Imagine us finding such an object left by another civilization that existed millions of years ago.

Or, is the rest of the universe simply void of life, only this one little mote we call Earth somehow having life? That's even more unimaginable.
Click to expand...

They didn't report on the other object. It was a tea pot.
 
soylentgreen said:
So even more stupid. How dumb this guy be. Creates a disc of information about earth and then puts it in something that has a trajectory that will bring it to descend and burn in earths atmosphere.

I mean, this is his business and if he wants do something stupid then that's his money, his concern. But what's the object here. To do something spectacular or stupid?
Click to expand...

Uh.. The orbit it in the solar system, not planetary. It did go further than the orbit of mars, so it overshot it's target, but the orbit might start decaying after a few million years.
 
beefheart said:
It wasn't stupid. It was a test flight, there are usually no paid payloads on a test flight, usually its just blocks of concrete. But, this was good marketing, and it demonstrated a few things, achieving low earth orbit, then achieving a much higher orbit, then, after 6 hours, firing again and leaving orbit and going out past mars. None of the ephermides that have been run show it burning up in the earth's atmosphere.
Click to expand...

Your changing the subject on what i considered stupid.
I said they were sending out a probe loaded with information about earth. You said it was stored in the car which is destined to re enter the atmosphere and burn. Stupid place to store something that is intended to travel through space then.
 
Nilly said:
It's a test run. The whole point is that it's something disposable.
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I know that. I know that it will enter the atmosphere and burn. That was not what i thought stupid. Just silly but then, it's their business and harms no one so good luck to them.
 
soylentgreen said:
Imagine in a million years some alien space ship cruising the universe minding their own business when a tiny object travelling at great speed crashes through their ship killing who knows how many aliens.

Yeah, they are going to be really happy with all that information on that bit of space junk.
Click to expand...

An alien space ship cruising the universe, minding their own business will detect said "tiny object traveling at great speed" long before evasive maneuvers need to be engaged. After all, if it's capable of "cruising the universe" (interstellar travel, yes?) I find it tough to believe that they'd miss Musk's payload.
And, one does not "cruise the universe" with the objective of "minding one's own business"...that'd be my guess anyway.
 
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