SpaceShipOne makes us old guys look good!

From the CNN story today (5-14-04) about SpaceShipOne's 3rd powered flight:

"...There was tremendous acceleration. We went very, very fast, and I went straight up" for two minutes, said 62-year-old pilot Mike Melvill, who floated weightlessly as he leveled out at 212,000 feet. ..."

(see http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/05/13/private.space.ship/index.html)

Darn, cotton pickin' RIGHT. Go gray!

Us old dudes wanna fly spaceships, too... and have for a good deal longer then them young NASA whippersnappers.

--Ralph

Not gunna wait 'Till I am 60 though.... dang....

Umm, I'm okay with the old gezzers (Just kidding, is senior citizens politically correct [Better question, who cares]) wanting to fly into space, but I don't understand the young NASA whippersnappers part. First, nobody would ever say the word whippersnapper unless they were trying to embarras themselves, and second, the youngest astronaut working for NASA is, what, 38? Sorry, but that ain't young, not by my standards. I'm gonna want to get up there as soon as I get my Ph.D, I don't want to wait an additional ten years! But, that's the advantage of becoming a start-up rocket company president, it's part of the job.

Senior, Senior , 'whippersnapper' is a perfectly good word. It means "someone who is cheeky and presumptuous." After one passes 50, that pretty much describes everyone BELOW 50 .

It is also a drink: 1/4 cup rum, 1/2 cup Fresca, ice cubes. Drink enough of those at any age and you'll be in orbit without leaving the ground.

But take none of that seriously... my first post was simply humorous, celebrating the fact that the SSO pilot was over 60.

And, yep, one should do what one desires greatly at any age. I commend your goal of becoming a rocket company president. You'll never get ahead working for someone else. I started my own company 25 years ago (publishing) and it's nice to now be in a position of some independence.

The one really big firm I worked for in my younger days was called NASA. We had nice big rockets then (this was in the 1970s during the Apollo moon program). They would not let me personally play with them, alas. Dang old geezers!

Age, to paraphrase Einstein, is simply relative. At least if your relative is a young whippersnapper. ... but there can be old whippersnappers, too. It's a non age discriminatory condition.

Best,

--Ralph

By the way, I am not over 60 but a mere youngish 58. It's not a bad age to be.

--Ralph

There is no such thing as a bad age to be; just people who can't accept reality. Proud to be alive, mate.

i love the engineering mantra... that is going on my list of favorite sayings... thanks

Feh, Mike Melvill's just a kid! John Young is an associate director of Johnson Space Center and on the astronaut active list at the age of 73

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/young.html

Thou face it, within the next 100 years space flight will become as common as driving a car, or plane travel.

Space Cowboy, your right, except for if you are too young for something. Like beer.

Cheers,
Colin.

My favorite instance of this: here in Florida, I can drive a car at 16. I can buy a gun (up to and including a surplus tank, if I had the money and got the right paperwork filed) at 18. However, I can't legally drink, carry a concealed weapon, or operate a motorcycle until I'm 21.

Guess they want you to get to be a good aim before they let you ride drunk on your motorcycle shooting out the streetlights.

I have another one that applies to NASA especially:
Faster, better cheaper/Goes right to the 5hitter

btw I go to ERAU too

Amen to that.