Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

DefNotANerd t1_j20m402 wrote

Reply to comment by johnbburg in Saudi Arabia in talks over plans for next-generation space stations. Saudi space official lays out ambitions for commercial ventures among the stars. by jivatman

Theyre all multigenerational projects

48

sotonohito t1_j220vgk wrote

Yeah, and the oil money will be gone in 20 or 30 years, there's no time for all those huge megaprojects they're talking about to be built.

The Saudi citizenry mostly does no work at all, almost all labor is performed by imported workers who are kept in near slavery conditions. They don't have an economy outside pumping oil out of the ground, and they have no workforce trained to do anything.

Once the oil is gone Saudi Arabia will collapse to become an impoverished nation.

29

werdnak84 t1_j22ivpo wrote

This the same reason why they're trying to develop tourist attractions on manmade islands, and why they're starting a golf league to compete with PGA. Oil is on its way out, and they're panicking.

16

sotonohito t1_j23p2dk wrote

Which is why they're doing stupid things like golf courses. No one wants to travel thousands of miles to a sand pit to play golf. And the water requirements of a golf course are expensive in a place like Saudi Arabia.

They'll always have at least some tourism simply because of Mecca, but I'm doubtful that they can sustain an entire national economy on that.

5

werdnak84 t1_j23tkum wrote

No one. Except the wealthy. Attract the billionaires and that's the easiest in to getting what you want.

1

sotonohito t1_j23v5y8 wrote

The wealthy only go to Saudi Arabia because it's rich, money has a gravity. Once Saudi Arabia is a poverty stricken nation the world's rich will go elsewhere.

3

bdonasam_1 t1_j23hrp4 wrote

I guess me my 9-5 job as Saudi is just a dream

7

Jahobes t1_j21dswl wrote

You know if any type of government in the modern era can do multigenerational missions... It's probably near absolute monarch rich in valuable resources.

11

Assadistpig123 t1_j21jsn3 wrote

This is around the eighth or so mega project that I can remember in the past thirty years.

All of em have been bust. If this pans out in any shape, it’ll be then buying a company and tacking “Saudi” in the name.

The country doesn’t really produce much in terms of intellectual, mechanical, or academic material. They don’t have the brainpower to achieve this from the ground up.

25

Jahobes t1_j21mooo wrote

If you think about it the very country itself is a ibn Saud mega project. I mean the current king is only the son of the founder of Saudi Arabia. Before they discovered oil in the 1920s the country didn't have anything more sophisticated than mud huts or the occasional palace/mosque that would fit in fine in the 16th century.

To basically accomplish going from goat herders in mud huts to sky scrapes and global relevancy in a single monarstic generation would inflate the egos of any family.

I'm not saying that they will succeed, but I am saying that you didn't count all the mega projects they actually succeed in such as building multiple modern cities in the desert and they did so within a generation.

7

stormhawk427 t1_j24tsyu wrote

Ironic considering algebra was invented in that part of the world. But that was before fundamentalism ruined everything.

2

DefNotANerd t1_j21k6ei wrote

Is there anything wrong with trying?

1

jdragun2 t1_j21nd3x wrote

Only for the individuals who die in attempts to launch from faulty equipment and logistics. They need to bring in a lot of outside talent, probably all of the technical talent, to even begin to think about this. Not to mention test pilots. The endeavor could cost a lot of lives if they don't do it right. So yes, there is harm in trying. Especially if done so poorly.

12

DefNotANerd t1_j225tqw wrote

Hmm if we took this approach with everything would we accomplish anything in life?

−7

jdragun2 t1_j23naux wrote

Yes. We would not only accomplish things, we would do so without anyone dying due to a lack of insight or information. What a stupid fucking comment, mate.

0

DefNotANerd t1_j23q8hy wrote

Sorry maybe you misunderstood what i was asking.

0

jdragun2 t1_j23thda wrote

It appeared what you were implying is that caution means no progress. Where caution means progress without deaths due to stupidity. There is a huge difference between being careful and not doing anything out of fear. No matter how you try and spin that "question" it doesn't get any better.

1

DefNotANerd t1_j24cxkx wrote

Im 100% on team measure twice cut once

1

jdragun2 t1_j24m5ui wrote

Not to mention, applying smart progress towards space flight to operating oneself day to day is comparing apples to rockets.

1

TheKingsPride t1_j23e2h8 wrote

Only if you find slave labor and an incredible death toll to be something wrong.

1

DefNotANerd t1_j23fewr wrote

Are these things that have happened?

−1

TheKingsPride t1_j23fi1y wrote

Have happened, continue to happen, will happen.

−1

DefNotANerd t1_j23guyg wrote

I guess my point is it seems a bit defetist attitude for this subreddit. We should dream big

0

TheKingsPride t1_j23gxuc wrote

I think dreaming big is a great ideal. I just don’t think you should trust the Saudis of all regimes with those dreams. Not with their long history of oppression, corruption, and human rights violations. You’re basically trusting the dingo with your baby at that point.

2

DefNotANerd t1_j23hg3y wrote

Im not saudi so i cant comment. I know what the media says but ultimately i also know how reliable the media is in my field of expertise (its not)

1

TheKingsPride t1_j23hsa6 wrote

All you need to do is look at the Burj Khalifa or Palm Islands to see how this will turn out. A massive vanity project built on blood and serving no purpose. The Burj Khalifa is actually a massive joke. It has a constant line of trucks pumping septic waste out of the building because they didn’t even bother making a sewer for it. It has a fucking poem dedicated to its own might and glory in the lobby. It’s entirely the vanity project of rich princes, the product of oil and blood. They’re not going to make this happen.

0

LPulseL11 t1_j21mice wrote

Yea but they can just pay companies in other countries to do it.

They seem like the rich tech companies I am contracted by. They get sold a dream by a designer, come to us and say "can we do this" and we say "yes, but...". Anything is possible with time and money, and likely some concessions from the designer to make it realistic. You end up with a costly product that takes longer than expected and doesn't look / function as smooth as it was drawn up.

1

Attila_the_Hunk t1_j21m8fj wrote

Of course they don't have the brainpower but they also don't need it because they can pay other companies to make it for them and learn along the way.

−2

Persianx6 t1_j2359yb wrote

History details that Kings love real estate scams, it's a great way of separating idiots from their money... so they could continue living like kings.

1