Careful, or we're in for a sperg out.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/7a3f5150...vqp6o2_500.gif

"SpAcex DoeSN't ExplORe, GuiSE! DORa DOes!"

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4d/b9...388ba769f7.gif

So the person who designs a hydraulic valve in upstate New York that helps to open an ISS solar panel is an explorer?

Of course not. Enabling exploration is not exploration. Queen Isabella was not an explorer. The merchants who sold supplies to Jim Bridger were not explorers. Explorers are the tip of the spear. They're the ones who see new places with their own eyes and bring back stories of Bigfoot and giants, and no one can question them because no one else has been there.

The ISS workers are just workers whose jobs require them to be in an unusual workplace.

By your definition, there hasn't been a space explorer since Neil Armstrong. Again, that's fine if your goal is to be pedantic, but that's a pretty gross misrepresentation of everything we've accomplished since.

It is telling how your argument is changing along the way. First, singling out the entire private sector space industry, without any consideration for the fact there is virtually NO public sector space industry to speak of in the United States. You were basically saying, "SpaceX (short for SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES INC.) doesn't explore space." Now you are trying to drag Queen Isabella into it. It was over the moment you committed to the Submit Reply button on your original post:

Also, "I feel like..." should never be uttered by a man. It is best reserved for some dumb broad, just before she says the dumbest shit ever.

No, no, no. It doesn't have to just be the first person in a category.

The 12 guys who landed on the moon are all clearly explorers. I could potentially call the first people who identified explanets explorers, though obviously their physical risk is low. I could call the first space walkers explorers. If I really stretched it, maybe I could think of a few other space things like the people who spend a year in space to see what it's like, though that's coming pretty close to being a worker.

Exploration is becoming less common as we learn more about the world, but it can still occur. A person doing experiments with spider webs and low-gravity manufacturing isn't an explorer. They're an innovation worker at best.

I loved the white-hot flap actuating. Incredible.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What a video of Starship Flap getting roasted by plasma, thanks to amazing broadcasting by Starlink <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/starship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#starship</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IFT4?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IFT4</a><a href="https://t.co/ru6lMQjifU">pic.twitter.com/ru6lMQjifU</a></p>&mdash; Science Simplified (@SciSimpAAG) <a href="https://twitter.com/SciSimpAAG/status/1798717825407975557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ship 29 makes it through re-entry, minus part of a flap, and does a bellyflop! <br><br>And...............no way! It looked like a flip and burn and soft splashdown?! <a href="https://t.co/9akZzG3V6M">pic.twitter.com/9akZzG3V6M</a></p>&mdash; Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1798715853128733127?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The night before <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Starship</a>&#39;s 4th flight, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> described one of the main concerns about Starship&#39;s heat shield. He turned out to be right as it was the exact spot that burned through. More video to come! <a href="https://t.co/NTfw9Cw944">pic.twitter.com/NTfw9Cw944</a></p>&mdash; Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) <a href="https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/status/1798839719964618998?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Starship IFT4 afterparty…but NDA obligated ahhhhhhh!

https://i.postimg.cc/j2wBSXhg/IMG-2666.jpg

Any further posts from me tonight: pls delete mods thank you.

Ha, have fun, man. I'm jealous.

Speaking of dumb broads, these reaction videos are incredibly cringe.

It’s the Space Exploration Megathread, wtf do you want? Some hookers from Matamoros, Mexico? Give me a couple hours. I got my passport card. I’m on it, @Joe****ingCool.

I don't think you're really grasping what just happened with SpaceX...Based on what I'm seeing they flew a structure the size of a football field into space and then rapidly flung it back towards the ocean at a rate of descent that was 8 kilometers to 1 kilometer in under 20 seconds and then hovered it above the ****ing ocean. That's impressive.

Pretty good debrief with Elon. Key things that stood out to me: the booster landing was "precise" while Starship was about 6km off target. He thinks there's a chance they'll try to catch it for IFT-5.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tjAWYytTKco?si=_ALL-BGzO-RinqkH" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Met a SpaceX employee from Kansas City. Pitched on the Blue Valley Northwest HS baseball team. Big Chiefs and Royals fan.

Most of the employees are likely sports agnostic. But they do have enough Chiefs fans throughout the company for a ChiefsX group chat on Microsoft Teams.

There is a company plane that flies free and direct between Brownsville and Los Angeles (which is a godsend: the Valley sucks for flights). Gives the Mrs. and me little excuse to miss the Chiefs-Chargers game this year at SoFi.