this post was submitted on 31 May 2025
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Unpopular Opinion

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Title says it all. I just watched Blue Origin land a bunch of rich space tourists and it’s being called a successful “mission”. IMO trying to massage egos of the vendor and participants as having something greater than an exclusive joyride with no greater purpose than to have personal bragging rights.

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[–] Tim_Bisley@piefed.social 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm going on a mission to Las Vegas!

[–] BossDj@lemm.ee 9 points 2 days ago

Good. Those heathens need to hear the word of God

[–] jawa22@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The rate at which billionaires are doing incredibly dangerous things is far too low.

[–] YesButActuallyMaybe@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

Normalize titanic tours

[–] GroundedGator@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

High cost, high risk activities should require a non-refundable insurance purchase that can be used for cleanup should something go wrong, environmental offsets, and any other unexpected costs.

Hell, private rocket launches should have to prepay cleanup costs.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There are few things more useless than arguing over language. The problem with our billionaire space race isn't the branding.

Some people act like the editors of the dictionary can bend reality like the force, Green Lantern ring, and the Infinity Stones all rolled into one.

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago

If you can’t influence people with word choice, why have people been doing It for centuries?

[–] Mellow12@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

history of the word mission

mission(n.) 1590s, "a sending abroad" (as an agent)

General sense of "that for which one is sent or commissioned" is from 1670s; meaning "that for which a person or thing is destined" (as in man on a mission, one's mission in life) is by 1805.

Meaning "dispatch of an aircraft on a military operation" (by 1929, American English)

was extended to spacecraft flights (1962), hence, mission control "team on the ground responsible for directing a spacecraft and its crew" (1964).

[–] itsathursday@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

At this rate the up down motion and the penetration of the tip into the outer rim is so basic and over done, they may as well call it missionary.

I like the idea of something like cruises. A voyage.

[–] thegr8goldfish@startrek.website 1 points 2 days ago (3 children)

They are literally strapped to enough explosives to kill them many times over. It may not require any skill, but it is certainly dangerous.

[–] untakenusername@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 days ago

driving a car isn't a mission

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 10 points 2 days ago

Isn't that also true of anyone taking a regular commerical flight on an airliner? There's plenty explosive fuel in there to kill someone too

Much less dangerous, certainly, but I wouldn't count the engine as a reason for it being a "mission" unless the mission is testing that engine

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Is skydiving a mission? Is deep sea diving? Those are dangerous, but are as much novelties as these space flights.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 0 points 2 days ago

I don't think it's just bragging rights. I think it's to figure out potential issues with transportation and colonization.