OK Elon Musk now I am impressed

[Skuzzy]

They have an unbelievable amount of computing power available to them, that the engineers and scientists 50 years ago, did not have.  Heck, even 10 years ago.

Makes a big difference.

Consider this;  The F1 rocket motor, used in the first stage of the Saturn V rocket, was first fired in the 1950's.  That was also an unprecedented feat of engineering.

This latest generation of engineers and scientists have a lot to look forward to and I am glad to see them making use of the tools available to make progress at the rapid rate they are.  Kudos to Musk and team.  It was amazing to watch.

[Kanth]

Great pictures and appreciate the blackhawk photo too 

I took some pictures of the launch. I was approx 14.5 miles away. I was incredible. The landing boosters were awesome! http://www.silveyphotos.com/p415810675

[Zimme83]

Yes, how soon we forget!

I am amazed that this Millennium generation of aerospace engineers and scientists could actually have this much success without complaining about too much milk fat in the lattes.

well.. Maybe the idea of the weakness of the millennials is mostly created in the heads of older generations and doesnt have that much bearing in reality. Every young generation for the last 1000 years have been the weakest ever according to older generations. Most of my classmates are just barely 20 but the majority are very focused and prepared to fight to reach their goals, even if aerospace engineering is really though.

[Brooke]

I took some pictures of the launch. I was approx 14.5 miles away. I was incredible. The landing boosters were awesome! http://www.silveyphotos.com/p415810675

Excellent!  Thanks for posting! 

[Skuzzy]

well.. Maybe the idea of the weakness of the millennials is mostly created in the heads of older generations and doesnt have that much bearing in reality.<snip>

I have to say "No" to that.  My Wife has a hard time finding millenials who are willing to work.  Most are put off by the fact they are restricted to coming and going at certain times of the day.  They feel they should be able to come in as they please and leave when they want to.

She has some zinger stories about some of them.

Does not mean all are that way.  My generation has its share of lazy people.  The difference is the sense of entitlement many of the millenials express.

[-aper-]

Is NASA in trouble now?

[Brooke]

I have to say "No" to that.  My Wife has a hard time finding millenials who are willing to work.  Most are put off by the fact they are restricted to coming and going at certain times of the day.  They feel they should be able to come in as they please and leave when they want to.

She has some zinger stories about some of them.

Does not mean all are that way.  My generation has its share of lazy people.  The difference is the sense of entitlement many of the millenials express.

I get a similar story from my niece's boyfriend, who is 20, works very hard, has a great work ethic, and ambition, and works in the construction industry.  None of his friends want anything to do with that.

[bustr]

I have two millenial nephews who are both married, have a first child, nice homes, and good jobs. Had a lot to do with their upbringing in Texas. The parents didn't allow them to worship at the alter of entitlement and victim-hood while setting expectations on them for what kind of people they were at all times. Millenials were made, not born.

[Brooke]

A chunk of society is big on pushing ideas of entitlement.  People who get infected with entitlement are often doomed.

[oakranger]

A chunk of society is big on pushing ideas of entitlement.  People who get infected with entitlement are often doomed.

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

[eagl]

Is NASA in trouble now?

NASA still coordinates overall larger efforts and orchestrates movement of govt funding to "winning" contracts aimed at achieving national space policy objectives.  They still do some basic research and lately have been working on some aerodynamic and propulsion research that had been neglected for over a decade, but they don't build much.

Oh yea, they're also the repository of public domain knowledge in aerospace areas and are also responsible for helping certify aerospace projects.

[Zimme83]

Nasa would benefit from it as well, saving a few 100 million dollares when they are going to send stuff to outer space. And spaceX will go nowhere witout NASA, no private Company can afford a Mars trip and spaceX might be good at rockets but they havent the capability to build the payloads.

[Copprhed]

I still say, going by the pics of the Tesla space man in the car, that Don Felders song "Heavy Metal" would have been the better song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02nAH_oAjeg

[Ripsnort]

I have to say "No" to that.  My Wife has a hard time finding millenials who are willing to work.  Most are put off by the fact they are restricted to coming and going at certain times of the day.  They feel they should be able to come in as they please and leave when they want to.

She has some zinger stories about some of them.

Does not mean all are that way.  My generation has its share of lazy people.  The difference is the sense of entitlement many of the millenials express.

I'll jump in here and say that I've 'entertained' college interns since 2006 when I became a senior project manager. These interns were mostly Project Manager/Business majors and software developers, that have all been quite challenging to keep them busy. I have found that the best communication with them is not face to face as they sit in my cubicle, but rather instant message on Lync or text on cell phone. Very few did we offer a job when they finished college, and those that did left after a year or so to companies like Google, Amazon, even Tesla.

We've had as many as 2 per summer in my IT group since 1999. One thing I noticed is that those students that came from midwest or east coast colleges tended to perform much better than those from West coast schools. I'll leave that alone for now as it might be percieved as political in nature.

[Rolex]

So, I take a couple of my Millennial's to a meeting at the HQ of the biggest name in an industry. They'd be a pretty big client for us. As we start the discussion around a big conference table, the Millennial to my right is looking at his Apple watch every 20 seconds or so. The Millennial to my left is doing it every minute or so.

They were looking at notifications from all of their social media sites, plus every email and text.

I apologized to everyone as I stopped for a second and told them to give me their watches. I threw them into my briefcase on the floor and continued.

The president of their company smiled and we had an instant bond.

We did develop a relationship with the client, and I eventually got rid of them both for even more incredibly stupid behavior.

It's not about age for me, it's about complete self absorption, a lack of common sense and simple courtesy.