6 ms·

It's just nuts to think about people on Concorde sipping champagne at Mach 2.04. I wonder if that's something which will be possible again in my lifetime.

xattt 3y ago
> I wonder if that's something which will be possible again in my lifetime. Is there a historical situation where a form of travel was long forgotten only to be brought back decades or centuries later? My thought goes to the Viking Colonies in Newfoundland.
- Sharlin 3y ago
  Not really forgotten, but trams/streetcars definitely went out of fashion in many places and have been making a comeback in the form of modern LRT systems.
  - Tangurena2 3y ago
    Many tram lines were built by developers at a time before cars were affordable. Otherwise there would have been no way for the homeowners to commute to work.
    - Sharlin 3y ago
      Yes, except I don't think developers have built tramlines anywhere but the US (and also the expansion to the suburbs didn't quite happen that way). I'm talking about the period of time that in Europe started in the 60s, and in the US earlier due to the earlier rise of the personal car, when many cities abolished their tram systems due to being "old-fashioned".
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- jbc1 3y ago
  Region dependent on exact dates but common bicycle ownership predates common car ownership by 40 years or so. So a lot of existing cities that are introducing dedicated bicycle infrastructure likely fit.
- Breza 3y ago
  My toddler loves the movie Moana. Turns out part of the movie is based on a real historical time period where Polynesian people stopped sailing long distances to colonize new areas. https://historydaily.org/disneys-moana-depicts-an-actual-event-in-polynesian-history/5 https://historydaily.org/disneys-moana-depicts-an-actual-eve...
sneak 3y ago
It's likely there will be Starship-based passenger transport from point to point on Earth within 10-15 years. The biggest hurdle will be getting countries to allow an ICBM filled with humans to approach their mainland.
- dumpsterlid 3y ago
  [dead]
- JustLurking2022 3y ago
  Highly doubt. The Concorde's problem was economics not science and a rocket based solution is even less economical - even a reusable one.
  - thereisnospork 3y ago
    For normal people sure, but for VIPs and especially military it will happen. Imagine being able to drop Seal Team Six into Taipei, the Red Square, or literally any other piece of earth with a ~50ft clearing on ~30 minutes notice? That's a capability which is very hard to put a price on.
    - vkou 3y ago
      I'd like to not imagine a boots-on-the-ground shooting war, where you are launching a craft that is indistinguishable from an ICBM at a nuclear power's capital. I'd like anyone at the DOD who is imagining it to either be fired or shot, before they drag the rest of us into their geno-suicidal fantasies.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - ianburrell 3y ago
        Starship is worse than an ICBM. ICBM carries a handful of MIRV warheads. Starship potentially carries hundreds of warheads. It is a single rocket first strike. Nobody would put that many warheads on one rocket, but the target needs to act like it could.
jasonwatkinspdx 3y ago
My aunt once rode the concord from Paris back home to NYC as an indulgence. She ended up sitting next to Jacque Cousteau of all people and had a fantastic time. It's one of her favorite stories. I'd check into Reaction Engines, and the concept of precooled jet engines in general. The math says they should be capable of efficient cruising at speeds up to mach 5. The question is if anyone can make the engineering practical and affordable. But in terms of pure possibility, there's wide open possibilities.
- dclowd9901 3y ago
  Isn’t the temperature on the body surface the big factor here? The sr-71 would heat up tremendously and it barely had any air pressure to contend with.
  - jasonwatkinspdx 3y ago
    It's difficult but not a show stopper. Materials have come a long way. Also, a pre-cooled engine will be using cryogenic fuels so active cooling is an option, even desirable (some of these engines harvest energy from the precooler using turbines on the hot side). SpaceX thinks they can handle the thermal loads of Starship re-entry with ceramic tiles and stainless steel.
- killjoywashere 3y ago
  Recently got inside the Concorde used for testing, now at Duxford. That plane is much cozier than I thought, even with no seats. And the number of fuses is slightly crazy.
  - giobox 3y ago
    The example at the Museum of Flight in Seattle (somewhat ironically resting at a Boeing factory...) still has original seating and the interior is open to the public - it's really cramped. What got me most though is the tiny portal of a window you got, due to the design constraints of supersonic flight etc. All that cost and prestige, but a cramped seat and no view.
beachy 3y ago
I was sitting at JFK back in the day waiting for my flight back to London. Over the speakers came an announcement: "if anyone is prepared to give up their seat on [my London flight] we'll fly them back tomorrow on Concorde and put them up in [a ritzy hotel] tonight". I bolted for the service desk to take up the offer and got there in seconds but there were already several people ahead of me. Never got to fly Concorde.
- cogogo 3y ago
  I had a professor who said that in the early days of priceline he used to book fully refundable flights from London or Paris to NYC on the concorde then cancel them - just to pick them back up on priceline for a few hundred bucks at the last minute. Never knew if it was bullshit but certainly made a good story when I heard it in 2008. The context of the global financial crisis made the .com boom/bust look quaint.
  - dwighttk 3y ago
    That is (a reason) why airlines overbook
kjhughes 3y ago
Blake Scholl and Boom Supersonic are trying to make that possible again. https://boomsupersonic.com/ https://boomsupersonic.com/

xattt 3y ago

> I wonder if that's something which will be possible again in my lifetime. Is there a historical situation where a form of travel was long forgotten only to be brought back decades or centuries later? My thought goes to the Viking Colonies in Newfoundland.

Sharlin 3y ago
Not really forgotten, but trams/streetcars definitely went out of fashion in many places and have been making a comeback in the form of modern LRT systems.
- Tangurena2 3y ago
  Many tram lines were built by developers at a time before cars were affordable. Otherwise there would have been no way for the homeowners to commute to work.
  - Sharlin 3y ago
    Yes, except I don't think developers have built tramlines anywhere but the US (and also the expansion to the suburbs didn't quite happen that way). I'm talking about the period of time that in Europe started in the 60s, and in the US earlier due to the earlier rise of the personal car, when many cities abolished their tram systems due to being "old-fashioned".
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
jbc1 3y ago
Region dependent on exact dates but common bicycle ownership predates common car ownership by 40 years or so. So a lot of existing cities that are introducing dedicated bicycle infrastructure likely fit.
Breza 3y ago
My toddler loves the movie Moana. Turns out part of the movie is based on a real historical time period where Polynesian people stopped sailing long distances to colonize new areas. https://historydaily.org/disneys-moana-depicts-an-actual-event-in-polynesian-history/5 https://historydaily.org/disneys-moana-depicts-an-actual-eve...

sneak 3y ago

It's likely there will be Starship-based passenger transport from point to point on Earth within 10-15 years. The biggest hurdle will be getting countries to allow an ICBM filled with humans to approach their mainland.

dumpsterlid 3y ago
[dead]
JustLurking2022 3y ago
Highly doubt. The Concorde's problem was economics not science and a rocket based solution is even less economical - even a reusable one.
- thereisnospork 3y ago
  For normal people sure, but for VIPs and especially military it will happen. Imagine being able to drop Seal Team Six into Taipei, the Red Square, or literally any other piece of earth with a ~50ft clearing on ~30 minutes notice? That's a capability which is very hard to put a price on.
  - vkou 3y ago
    I'd like to not imagine a boots-on-the-ground shooting war, where you are launching a craft that is indistinguishable from an ICBM at a nuclear power's capital. I'd like anyone at the DOD who is imagining it to either be fired or shot, before they drag the rest of us into their geno-suicidal fantasies.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - ianburrell 3y ago
      Starship is worse than an ICBM. ICBM carries a handful of MIRV warheads. Starship potentially carries hundreds of warheads. It is a single rocket first strike. Nobody would put that many warheads on one rocket, but the target needs to act like it could.

jasonwatkinspdx 3y ago

My aunt once rode the concord from Paris back home to NYC as an indulgence. She ended up sitting next to Jacque Cousteau of all people and had a fantastic time. It's one of her favorite stories. I'd check into Reaction Engines, and the concept of precooled jet engines in general. The math says they should be capable of efficient cruising at speeds up to mach 5. The question is if anyone can make the engineering practical and affordable. But in terms of pure possibility, there's wide open possibilities.

dclowd9901 3y ago
Isn’t the temperature on the body surface the big factor here? The sr-71 would heat up tremendously and it barely had any air pressure to contend with.
- jasonwatkinspdx 3y ago
  It's difficult but not a show stopper. Materials have come a long way. Also, a pre-cooled engine will be using cryogenic fuels so active cooling is an option, even desirable (some of these engines harvest energy from the precooler using turbines on the hot side). SpaceX thinks they can handle the thermal loads of Starship re-entry with ceramic tiles and stainless steel.
killjoywashere 3y ago
Recently got inside the Concorde used for testing, now at Duxford. That plane is much cozier than I thought, even with no seats. And the number of fuses is slightly crazy.
- giobox 3y ago
  The example at the Museum of Flight in Seattle (somewhat ironically resting at a Boeing factory...) still has original seating and the interior is open to the public - it's really cramped. What got me most though is the tiny portal of a window you got, due to the design constraints of supersonic flight etc. All that cost and prestige, but a cramped seat and no view.

beachy 3y ago

I was sitting at JFK back in the day waiting for my flight back to London. Over the speakers came an announcement: "if anyone is prepared to give up their seat on [my London flight] we'll fly them back tomorrow on Concorde and put them up in [a ritzy hotel] tonight". I bolted for the service desk to take up the offer and got there in seconds but there were already several people ahead of me. Never got to fly Concorde.

cogogo 3y ago
I had a professor who said that in the early days of priceline he used to book fully refundable flights from London or Paris to NYC on the concorde then cancel them - just to pick them back up on priceline for a few hundred bucks at the last minute. Never knew if it was bullshit but certainly made a good story when I heard it in 2008. The context of the global financial crisis made the .com boom/bust look quaint.
- dwighttk 3y ago
  That is (a reason) why airlines overbook

kjhughes 3y ago

Blake Scholl and Boom Supersonic are trying to make that possible again. https://boomsupersonic.com/ https://boomsupersonic.com/