Commenter Andy had this to say after watching the video:
Burt focuses on speed and speed alone when comparing aircraft. This is very narrow minded. A few simple calculations show that the EFFICIENCY of commercial air travel has more than Tripled in the time since the DC8. True the cruising speed is almost identical but a modern airliner can fly at least 40% further taking 3 times the passengers for a third of the cost Per passenger mile in fuel. Also to my knowledge the SR71 did not stop being used because it was corroded (as Burt says). It stopped being used because it was very expensive to operate and satellites took over the role. The SR71 is mostly made from Titanium which does not corrode! But I do agree with the general message of his talk. NASA was doomed to failure as soon as they landed on the moon. Game over – nothing more to aim for. When Werner Von Braun retired (after having designed the Space Shuttle concept) they lost their leader – their one man of vision and genius – and became a committee. I do have hope for the future though as Elon Musk and others take up the mantle. Ironic that a South African will make ‘America’ great again in space but I guess a German (Werner Von Braun) was the one that made it great before so there’s nothing new there.
Commenter Bullock is in camp Burt Ratan and had this to say:
This guy truly is a genius!! A maverick in flight design, imagination!! Just a great man!! The last of the true thinkers. He doesn’t follow stupid new technology.
What do you think is the most viable option to travel into deep space?
Elian
Y would they make it so sooo…..aero dynamic? Seems pretty dumb to be aero dynamic in space.i honesty think a big block would be more practical ,like a big square death star
Nice…
I have pored over all seven paragraphs a few times but find no specifics, let alone an indication that we will one day have some kind of space navy, let alone something from Battlestar Galactica. Where is the information about even cursor design review? What links the article (a term I use very loosely) to the model? If I may borrow an expression – there is no here here.
That’s a tv space ship. Break out the theremin we need a theme song.