"To make that a reality, Inversion’s capsule will come through the earth’s atmosphere at about 25 times as fast as the speed of sound, making the parachute essential for a soft landing and undisturbed cargo.... Inversion aims to develop a four-foot-diameter capsule carrying a payload equivalent to the size of a few carry-on suitcases by 2025. Once in orbit, the capsule could, the company hopes, navigate itself to a private commercial space station or stay in orbit with solar panels until summoned back to earth.... If Inversion is successful, it’s possible to imagine hundreds or thousands of containers floating around space for up to five years — like some (really) distant storage lockers."
Not a joke. A big article in the NYT: "Dreaming of Suitcases in Space/A California start-up company believes it can one day speed delivery of important items by storing them in orbit."
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Interesting, but I'd put my money on Elon's spacex and his Mechazilla technology. If he can land on the mechazilla's arms, he will be able to put a spacex vehicle back into space in hours. Great way to ship lots of cargo.
..speed delivery of important items by storing them in orbit
and by "important items", they DO mean Nukes; right? I mean... RIGHT?
Or maybe larger containers, filled with wheat? Then they wouldn't need the parachutes
That could be a useful and valuable way to make deliveries to space stations, but it's hard to imagine a practical use for it in today's world. The holders of the patents may do fine, but the other investors will get hosed.
Lots of things, new source of oil through algae, cancer breakthrough #6,794, a better battery, flying cars(!) and more are highlighted as "no joke".
But they fade away before actually coming into the marketplace.
We have same day delivery for many/most things via Amazon and others.
There have been amazing increases in orbital lift efficiencies (yea free enterprise). But it's still thousands of times higher than earthly deliveries.
I'll risk missing out on this next great thing.
Is anyone working on a way for Angelenos to loot them?
New method for Muslim invaders.
Tony Stark already did this in the second Avengers movie with Project Veronica.
Why Veronica? Because the Hulk’s girlfriend is Betty.
I have a hard time believing this will be more cost effective than traditional shipping methods...
"In the second test, the parachute opened as expected. However, the GoPro camera taped to the capsule fell off in the descent — "
Taped? Don't these people know that this is Rocket Science?
They seem to have misunderstood the concept of “cloud storage.”
My recollection is that Amazon’s efforts with delivery by drones didn’t work so well. People don’t like the prospect of large items falling from the sky.
This sounds like a thinly disguised variation on the "Thor's Hammer" orbital kinetic energy(Smart Crowbars)weapons concept proposed in the 1980s.
Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV)......aka The Peacekeeper.
Sheesh. Apparently it is getting easier to separate rich people for their money. This is almost as brilliant as "we can do 200 blood tests from a single drop of blood".
Few people understand how difficult it is to get blanket satellite radio coverage over an area. For example, look at how many satellites SpaceX is having to launch for internet service. That's because it can take 90 minutes or more to orbit the earth and that's just in one orbital plane. To hit multiple locations on demand, you need more satellites or a lot of time to wait until your location on the ground maps with the orbital plane of the satellite. It's the same issue of "launch windows" but in reverse, and some earth orbiting launch windows can be days apart. Deceleration and landing is the least of your concerns.
My bet is this is either a money laundering operation, an operation to steal missile targeting information (ITAR restricted technology), or both.
Master diver by thors hammer do you mean what are also called "rods from God"? Or is that something different?
The "rods" technology seems to be in use and highly effective. It is credited with being the cause of the NK underground nuclear collapse in 2017.
Unofficially. The us doesn't admit that the capability exists, afaik
Storing something in orbit for five years is the complete opposite of just in time delivery. That cargo in orbit is going to be on a company's books for five years without earning any income until it's delivered.
The starship point-to-point delivery system is more believable. No 5-year storage costs, no obsolescence risk, no long-term radiation risks.
"Inversion! I need a condom. Now!"
"Not a joke. A big article in the NYT."
Why not, "A big joke in the NYT"?
"Apparently it is getting easier to separate rich people for their money."
Think of it this way. If it works (as in it becomes a viable business), a new industry with high paying jobs is created. I'd it doesn't, some rich people become a bit less rich, but their money gets circulated to the larger economy. It's a win/win situation.
Fill yer boots, mate.
What's that whistling sound?
The cost of putting anything into orbit is half the cost of sending it anywhere in the universe*.
*Provided you are not in a hurry. If you are the cost of sending it from "orbit" to "anywhere" goes way up.
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