Talk:Floating launch platform

Misguided deletion of a decent article

This used to be an article, not a redirect. The article was a pretty decent overview description of the topic of Floating launch platforms as of three months ago, when it looked like this.

A misguided deletion nomination, with two few participants, got it messed up: the article floating launch platform was changed to a badly-chosen redirect. The article could have used some work; but did not need deleted.

The current redir does not even point to any floating launch platform, but rather, now goes to the company (Sea launch) that formerly operated (1995-2014) one particular floating launch platform: Odyssey (launch platform). Sea Launch simply built/operated the platform. Sea Launch went bankrupt.

However, even we were to change the article to point to one specific floating launch platform (Odyssey), it would still not be a general encyclopedic description of "floating launch platforms" as it was before the bad AfD. This is all very frustrating, and a waste of a lot of good editor time. Sometimes Wikipedia regresses. :( N2e (talk) 12:53, 14 December 2020 (UTC)

User:Deathlibrarian and User:Arjayay, you both tried to improve this article before it was unfortunately deleted. Might either of you be interested in this topic, and attempting to revisit the discussion that somehow got this article deleted? User:Osunpokeh, also weighed in on the topic of floating launch platforms with an edit recently over on SpaceX Starship, and might also be willing to discuss it.

If others have interest, I'd propose we consider renaming the old article to include the scope of BOTH floating launch platforms AND floating landing platforms. The Odyssey platform clearly was the former, while Sea Launch (the company) definitely is not. Also the new floating launch platform that SpaceX has said they are building would then be in-scope. But so also would the two landing-only floating platforms (the SpaceX Autonomous spaceport drone ship and the being-outfitted-now-in-the-shipyard Blue Origin landing platform ship. Or, if renaming that launch platform redirect recently set by the AfD is too much, just create new article, with double the scope, to cover both rocket launch and rocket landing floating platforms. Please share your thoughts. N2e (talk) 20:21, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

hi N2e - yes I'd be interested in assisting getting this article back up, with both launching and landing platforms. I found it unusual it was deleted, as you say, there is no article on the general concept, just something pointing to a particular commercial venture. I think creating the new article with double the scope is a good idea. I'm happy to work on it, I want to get some work up so I can finish on a positive wiki note for 2020! Thanks for raising the issue, great work. Deathlibrarian (talk) 00:51, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

• Comment I think the original idea to re-direct was a mistake - as part of the AFD discusion, people voted on redirecting it to *sea launch* thinking that was about the concept of a sea launch - its actually just the name of a company.Deathlibrarian (talk) 04:52, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

New article to cover both launch and landing platforms

With no objection surfaced and a consensus emerging, I'll go ahead and stub out a brief article on floating platforms for launch vehicles, with scope to include both launch platforms and landing platforms, and to be limited to orbital launch vehicles (and thus not cover missile submarines that several of the large nation states have built for military rationales of suborbital rocket launches). N2e (talk) 12:31, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

I have created a new article to cover both floating orbital launch platforms and floating rocket landing platforms. Floating launch vehicle operations platform. Please review and improve at your convenience talk. Cheers. N2e (talk) 02:45, 30 December 2020 (UTC)