Comments on: Rocketman rumors http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:37:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Eric http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68619 Eric Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:09:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68619 oh, sorry bout all that guys. ya that was me. I took a few days off work for this flu and I had to go to this way far pharmacy to get my flu pills. so uhh, i know i dropped a couple tiles on the way back in so sorry bout the roof and the old lady. you know who you guys are that im appologizing too. Cheerio! oh, sorry bout all that guys. ya that was me.
I took a few days off work for this flu and I had to go to this way far pharmacy to get my flu pills. so uhh, i know i dropped a couple tiles on the way back in so sorry bout the roof and the old lady. you know who you guys are that im appologizing too. Cheerio!

]]> By: Vixen Chick http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68618 Vixen Chick Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:32:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68618 I can see the headline now:- "Greenland man makes it into space" Classic. I can see the headline now:-

“Greenland man makes it into space”

Classic.

]]> By: Buzz Parsec http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68617 Buzz Parsec Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:42:11 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68617 Actually there is something extremely suspicious about the so-called rocket launching site in Greenland. Did anyone else notice the runway isn't straight? Have you ever seen a runway that wasn't straight as an arrow? (Okay, maybe some of the grass strips on the sides of mountains in "Air America", but not a real concrete runway.) This must be an alien runway. A lot of the Nazca lines aren't straight either, so there's your proof. Also, I didn't see any stars in the picture, and the flag wasn't waving. Oops, wait, there's a knock on the door... Black helicopter just landed in the front yard... Aaaarrrrrggghhhhh! Actually there is something extremely suspicious about the so-called rocket launching site in Greenland. Did anyone else notice the runway isn’t straight? Have you ever seen a runway that wasn’t straight as an arrow? (Okay, maybe some of the grass strips on the sides of mountains in “Air America”, but not a real concrete runway.) This must be an alien runway. A lot of the Nazca lines aren’t straight either, so there’s your proof. Also, I didn’t see any stars in the picture, and the flag wasn’t waving. Oops, wait, there’s a knock on the door… Black helicopter just landed in the front yard… Aaaarrrrrggghhhhh!

]]> By: nerthus http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68615 nerthus Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:56:23 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68615 So umm, Am I the only one who went to the home page of the website linked and saw this? "Everything you see below is written by the memebers of Memes.org. Memes is a collaborative site. All articles are produced by us, for us. When you join Memes, you can post articles right away. Please be a part of our site! You're encouraged to register and participate in meme-making along with us. We can't wait to read you." It seems pretty obvious this is fake. I mean, on the actual article it has a track button (http://memes.org/node/692/track) so you can see all the websites that have picked up on the meme. This one seems to be quite successful thanks to Phil; badastronomy.com pops up quite a few times. So umm, Am I the only one who went to the home page of the website linked and saw this?

“Everything you see below is written by the memebers of Memes.org. Memes is a collaborative site. All articles are produced by us, for us. When you join Memes, you can post articles right away. Please be a part of our site! You’re encouraged to register and participate in meme-making along with us. We can’t wait to read you.”

It seems pretty obvious this is fake. I mean, on the actual article it has a track button (http://memes.org/node/692/track) so you can see all the websites that have picked up on the meme. This one seems to be quite successful thanks to Phil; badastronomy.com pops up quite a few times.

]]> By: Bob the Owl http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68616 Bob the Owl Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:56:23 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68616 From the link: "... using only a home-made rocket and without the assistance of any major space agency it was reported by the SFTR last week." Am I the only one unsure about "the SFTR"? I hunted around and can't find much more than the South Florida Trail Riders, a Fender amp, and some production company in California. ...and Keith: cast Bruce Campbell and I'd watch it. Hahaha From the link: “… using only a home-made rocket and without the assistance of any major space agency it was reported by the SFTR last week.”

Am I the only one unsure about “the SFTR”? I hunted around and can’t find much more than the South Florida Trail Riders, a Fender amp, and some production company in California.

…and Keith: cast Bruce Campbell and I’d watch it. Hahaha

]]> By: Tom H http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68614 Tom H Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:46:50 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68614 i admit, i do find it unsettling that last week the story was everywhere and this week it is nowhere. that genuinely is spooky.... although it got me thinking: everyone assumed that when that internet cable got severed in the Middle East that it was the middle east and china that got cut off from the west. Dude, maybe it was the West that got cut off from the middle east and china?? i admit, i do find it unsettling that last week the story was everywhere and this week it is nowhere. that genuinely is spooky…. although it got me thinking: everyone assumed that when that internet cable got severed in the Middle East that it was the middle east and china that got cut off from the west. Dude, maybe it was the West that got cut off from the middle east and china??

]]> By: Keith http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68613 Keith Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:30:29 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68613 Still, it'd make a great B movie, especially if the billionaire returned to earth several years later with spooooky Mind powers! And a super evolved chimp. And a robot. Ooh! and a sexy daughter who falls in love with the conspiracy theorist who gets proven right when all the so-called experts doubt his predictions of eminent death by mind rays! Still, it’d make a great B movie, especially if the billionaire returned to earth several years later with spooooky Mind powers! And a super evolved chimp. And a robot. Ooh! and a sexy daughter who falls in love with the conspiracy theorist who gets proven right when all the so-called experts doubt his predictions of eminent death by mind rays!

]]> By: jbecker http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68612 jbecker Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:24:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68612 checked all space and important headlines on xinhua. this is chinas official english language news agency. there is nothing on nor a mention of unusual rocket launches from anywhere. Nor is there any mention of china protesting greenland or any other nation! checked all space and important headlines on xinhua. this is chinas official english language news agency. there is nothing on nor a mention of unusual rocket launches from anywhere. Nor is there any mention of china protesting greenland or any other nation!

]]> By: arensb http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-2/#comment-68611 arensb Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:59:35 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68611 Hey, if a millonaire can <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062512/" rel="nofollow">build a secret missile-launching base</a> inside a volcano in Japan in the 1960s without anyone noticing, why couldn't one do the same thing in Greenland today? Or are you saying that You Only Live Twice wasn't a documentary? Hey, if a millonaire can build a secret missile-launching base inside a volcano in Japan in the 1960s without anyone noticing, why couldn’t one do the same thing in Greenland today?

Or are you saying that You Only Live Twice wasn’t a documentary?

]]> By: KaiYves http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68610 KaiYves Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:46:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68610 "I'm not the man they think I am at home, no, no, no, I'm a Rocket Man!" Somebody had to say it. I think this is either an outright hoax, an experiment in memes, or viral marketing. “I’m not the man they think I am at home, no, no, no, I’m a Rocket Man!”

Somebody had to say it.
I think this is either an outright hoax, an experiment in memes, or viral marketing.

]]> By: Quiet_Desperation http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68609 Quiet_Desperation Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:45:34 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68609 Oh darn! I was *so* hoping it was an announcement of a sequel to Disney's Rocketman. We need more fart jokes in sci fi flicks. [/end sarcasm] Oh darn! I was *so* hoping it was an announcement of a sequel to Disney’s Rocketman. We need more fart jokes in sci fi flicks. [/end sarcasm]

]]> By: NGC 3314 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68608 NGC 3314 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:18:35 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68608 BTW - the point of a sounding-rocket site in Greenland comes from all the geophysics folks like to do involving the geomagnetic field and its interaction with the aurorae, and Greenland spends most of the time under the northern auroral oval. I remember seeing one team working with an experiment where a rocket was to be launched into an aurora from there, and then deploy a material (barium?) which ionizes quickly in sunlight so they could use it to follow the local field lines as it diffused (with a very sensitive intensified camera and narrow-band filters, located in such distant climes as the Canary Islands). BTW – the point of a sounding-rocket site in Greenland comes from all the geophysics folks like to do involving the geomagnetic field and its interaction with the aurorae, and Greenland spends most of the time under the northern auroral oval. I remember seeing one team working with an experiment where a rocket was to be launched into an aurora from there, and then deploy a material (barium?) which ionizes quickly in sunlight so they could use it to follow the local field lines as it diffused (with a very sensitive intensified camera and narrow-band filters, located in such distant climes as the Canary Islands).

]]> By: CafeenMan http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68607 CafeenMan Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:39:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68607 Not a rocket but cool nonetheless: http://www.flurl.com/item/Head_o_Copter_u_307813 Not a rocket but cool nonetheless:

http://www.flurl.com/item/Head_o_Copter_u_307813

]]> By: Santiago http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68606 Santiago Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:20:37 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68606 It shouldn't be a surprise but the story is absolutely bogus. It's written by someone who didn't have the slightest idea about orbital mechanics. It seems to me that they are assuming that once you're "in space", you can just float off and go wherever you want, regardless of the fact that once you leave Earth's atmosphere you're still stuck in a gravity well, and if you want to stay up in space you have to be in orbit. He could have reached escape velocity, but then the rocket would have been enormous, on the scale of a Saturn V or N-1 (the article mentions the rocket is 30 metres tall, anyway) and far, far away of what any one man could accomplish. So if he hasn't returned to earth, he must still be in orbit, in which case he could hardly have disappeared. The US alone monitors LEO intensely. Heck, at LEO you could see the guy at night if you were in the right place. Completely bogus article. A sub-orbital hop to space would have been much more believable, but then the story would have lost much of its punch. It shouldn’t be a surprise but the story is absolutely bogus. It’s written by someone who didn’t have the slightest idea about orbital mechanics. It seems to me that they are assuming that once you’re “in space”, you can just float off and go wherever you want, regardless of the fact that once you leave Earth’s atmosphere you’re still stuck in a gravity well, and if you want to stay up in space you have to be in orbit.

He could have reached escape velocity, but then the rocket would have been enormous, on the scale of a Saturn V or N-1 (the article mentions the rocket is 30 metres tall, anyway) and far, far away of what any one man could accomplish. So if he hasn’t returned to earth, he must still be in orbit, in which case he could hardly have disappeared. The US alone monitors LEO intensely. Heck, at LEO you could see the guy at night if you were in the right place.

Completely bogus article. A sub-orbital hop to space would have been much more believable, but then the story would have lost much of its punch.

]]> By: JackC http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68605 JackC Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:18:26 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68605 Dang it, Phy beat me to the Astronaut Farmer note :-) I was too..... JC Dang it, Phy beat me to the Astronaut Farmer note :-) I was too…..

JC

]]> By: TheBlackCat http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68604 TheBlackCat Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:17:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68604 Brilliant. Someone secretly launches a man-sized sub-orbital or low-orbit rocket within spitting distance of the U.S. coast, northern Europe, AND Russia and possibly in range of northern China as well. An excellent way to start a nuclear war. Brilliant. Someone secretly launches a man-sized sub-orbital or low-orbit rocket within spitting distance of the U.S. coast, northern Europe, AND Russia and possibly in range of northern China as well. An excellent way to start a nuclear war.

]]> By: Stu http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68595 Stu Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:05:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68595 What a disappointment. For a while there I actually believed that someone had managed to design and build a multi-million dollar spaceship in absolute secret, then launch and fly it into orbit without any of the dozens of spy satellites or hundreds of thousands of airline pilots, amateur astronomers, satellite trackers, UFO spotters or intelligence guys around the world spotting it. I actually believed that in an age when everyone knows everything, when everyone has a mobile phone with a camera on it, when space advocates ferret out stories and exclusives with almost obsessive passion, that something this huge, this enormous, could be kept secret - Sorry, got distracted there, I just heard a rumour that Elvis has been seen flying a UFO over Brigadoon, with Lord Lucan and Glen Miller as his co-pilots. Apparently they plan to land it on the Loch Ness monster's back before giving Bigfoot a lift to the Face on Mars. I'll check and let you know if it's true... ;-) What a disappointment. For a while there I actually believed that someone had managed to design and build a multi-million dollar spaceship in absolute secret, then launch and fly it into orbit without any of the dozens of spy satellites or hundreds of thousands of airline pilots, amateur astronomers, satellite trackers, UFO spotters or intelligence guys around the world spotting it. I actually believed that in an age when everyone knows everything, when everyone has a mobile phone with a camera on it, when space advocates ferret out stories and exclusives with almost obsessive passion, that something this huge, this enormous, could be kept secret -

Sorry, got distracted there, I just heard a rumour that Elvis has been seen flying a UFO over Brigadoon, with Lord Lucan and Glen Miller as his co-pilots. Apparently they plan to land it on the Loch Ness monster’s back before giving Bigfoot a lift to the Face on Mars. I’ll check and let you know if it’s true… ;-)

]]> By: Donnie B. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68603 Donnie B. Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:03:20 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68603 I really, really like the idea that this is a viral marketing scheme for "Iron Man". But I hear he's burnin' out his fuse up there alone. I really, really like the idea that this is a viral marketing scheme for “Iron Man”.

But I hear he’s burnin’ out his fuse up there alone.

]]> By: Barton Paul Levenson http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68602 Barton Paul Levenson Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:24:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68602 I distinctly remember a 60 minutes (or some such show) article a few years ago about a guy who had bought a Titan II missile or something from the US government and was trying to become the first private astronaut. That was somewhere in the US, though, and as I recall he couldn't get the necessary permissions to launch the thing. I distinctly remember a 60 minutes (or some such show) article a few years ago about a guy who had bought a Titan II missile or something from the US government and was trying to become the first private astronaut. That was somewhere in the US, though, and as I recall he couldn’t get the necessary permissions to launch the thing.

]]> By: alfaniner http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68601 alfaniner Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:23:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68601 Well, duh. He was just helping Bigfoot get back to his family on Mars! Well, duh. He was just helping Bigfoot get back to his family on Mars!

]]> By: Lugosi http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68600 Lugosi Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:41:06 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68600 Greenland?!?! I thought the whole idea behind rockets was to lauch them as close to the equator as possible. Substantially less thrust (almost 20 %) is needed that way because you're also utilizing the Earth's spin to give you 'extra' lift. Was the billionaire Bill Gates? Man, I hope so. I really don't want Microsoft getting their grubby little hands on my Yahoo email. And <i>IF</i> it was Bill Gates, did the rocket use a <a href="http://blimptv.blogspot.com/2007/11/vista-sucks.html" rel="nofollow">Windows Vista</a> operating system? No wonder it got lost!! Greenland?!?! I thought the whole idea behind rockets was to lauch them as close to the equator as possible. Substantially less thrust (almost 20 %) is needed that way because you’re also utilizing the Earth’s spin to give you ‘extra’ lift.

Was the billionaire Bill Gates? Man, I hope so. I really don’t want Microsoft getting their grubby little hands on my Yahoo email.

And IF it was Bill Gates, did the rocket use a Windows Vista operating system? No wonder it got lost!!

]]> By: A J Holmes http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68599 A J Holmes Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:23:52 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68599 did a search for FENOA and found this:- http://members.lycos.co.uk/mimifoto/cctv-illegal-launch.jpg Not sure if it's related and it seems to be the wrong way round. did a search for FENOA and found this:-

http://members.lycos.co.uk/mimifoto/cctv-illegal-launch.jpg

Not sure if it’s related and it seems to be the wrong way round.

]]> By: Sergeant Zim http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68598 Sergeant Zim Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:03:02 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68598 I almost wish I was still working a 2nd shift job, and could listen to Coast to Coast on the way home. A story like this will be fodder for George Noory and Art Bell for YEARS - especially if it remains unconfirmed, or is shown to be bogus. Has anybody checked with Hoagland, or McCanney about this - we know those guys ALWAYS have the straight poop... I almost wish I was still working a 2nd shift job, and could listen to Coast to Coast on the way home. A story like this will be fodder for George Noory and Art Bell for YEARS – especially if it remains unconfirmed, or is shown to be bogus.

Has anybody checked with Hoagland, or McCanney about this – we know those guys ALWAYS have the straight poop…

]]> By: Perry Stalcis http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68597 Perry Stalcis Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:07:45 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68597 Well, I bet it wasn't Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen - he's so fat we'd have had several solar eclipses by now if it was him.... Well, I bet it wasn’t Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen – he’s so fat we’d have had several solar eclipses by now if it was him….

]]> By: SirJonah http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/comment-page-1/#comment-68596 SirJonah Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:58:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/04/rocketman-rumors/#comment-68596 I hear this "Dr. Abraham" de-orbits, crash lands on the island, then teams up with Locke. But then he gets eaten by the smoke creature. I hear this “Dr. Abraham” de-orbits, crash lands on the island, then teams up with Locke. But then he gets eaten by the smoke creature.

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