The new Space Race

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JQH
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by JQH » Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:08 am

Woodchopper wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:17 pm
Gfamily wrote:
Mon Jul 19, 2021 8:14 pm
I didn't really have a view on Richard Branson's recent flight*; but I am delighted that (all being well) Wally Funk will be finally travelling into space tomorrow. One of the so called 'Mercury 13' of women who were taken through the same astronaut testing as the male 'Mercury 7' test pilots; she passed, of course, but all the women were denied the opportunity to fly.
Finally, she's getting the chance to do what she was so obviously capable of doing 60 odd years ago.
The BBC journalist Sue Nelson wrote an amazing bio called 'Wally Funk's Race for Space', well worth a read.
Anyhow, she's lifting off at 2pm BST tomorrow. I'm assuming the Blue Origin lift off will be streamed.
The series For All Mankind imagines an alternate history in which the Mercury 13 got to go to space after all. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7772588/

It’s recommended for anyone who wants some good clean fun sci-fi.
I can also recommend Mary Robinette Kowal's "Lady Astronaut" series
And remember that if you botch the exit, the carnival of reaction may be coming to a town near you.

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Boustrophedon
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by Boustrophedon » Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:55 am

Can't say I get it. If it's a pissing contest, Musk won, Space-X has been competently putting people in orbit for what? a couple of years now. Elon is way too sensible to take a ride himself just for the bragging rights.
So this by any measure was a race for second place; who won, did beardy actually make it into space? Who cares?

As was stated earlier an orbit is what matters.

The best thing about it is that it has shaken up the usual players, the sub-contractors to NASA who have been making lazy billions out of cash rich NASA. OTRAG should have done that but they killed that with politics.
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by dyqik » Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:52 am

Boustrophedon wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:55 am
Can't say I get it. If it's a pissing contest, Musk won, Space-X has been competently putting people in orbit for what? a couple of years now. Elon is way too sensible to take a ride himself just for the bragging rights.
So this by any measure was a race for second place; who won, did beardy actually make it into space? Who cares?

As was stated earlier an orbit is what matters.

The best thing about it is that it has shaken up the usual players, the sub-contractors to NASA who have been making lazy billions out of cash rich NASA. OTRAG should have done that but they killed that with politics.
It's nice to know that billionaires are only three quarters of a century behind the communists and hired in Nazis.

(In reference to the number of US right wing trolls saying how it was capitalism that made this happen)

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Woodchopper
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by Woodchopper » Thu Jul 22, 2021 4:25 am

Best one I’ve seen:
https://youtu.be/3LPiM9d5QUM

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Re: The new Space Race

Post by tom p » Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:43 pm

Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 4:25 am
Best one I’ve seen:
https://youtu.be/3LPiM9d5QUM
Stephen Colbert has a good view of it too

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Re: The new Space Race

Post by shpalman » Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:09 pm

Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 4:25 am
Best one I’ve seen:
https://youtu.be/3LPiM9d5QUM
Yeah yeah they launched a massive dick into space.

Spoiler:
having that swing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for it meaning a thing
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by shpalman » Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:16 pm

not an astronaut unless you ""demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety".
having that swing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for it meaning a thing
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Matatouille
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by Matatouille » Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:50 pm

"I made an active decision not to try opening the door, that contributed to the flight safety. Now give me my wings!"

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Boustrophedon
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by Boustrophedon » Sat Jul 24, 2021 9:39 pm

shpalman wrote:
Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:16 pm
not an astronaut unless you ""demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety".
So when did they think that one up?
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by Millennie Al » Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:33 am

shpalman wrote:
Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:16 pm
not an astronaut unless you ""demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety".
So Christa McAuliffe shouldn't be called an astronaut???

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bolo
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by bolo » Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:59 am

Millennie Al wrote:
Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:33 am
shpalman wrote:
Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:16 pm
not an astronaut unless you ""demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety".
So Christa McAuliffe shouldn't be called an astronaut???
The FAA policy only applies to commercial flights. Christa McAuliffe flew on a government owned space shuttle so FAA was not involved. NASA considers her an astronaut.

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Matatouille
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by Matatouille » Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:30 am

Christa McAuliffe was flying on the Space Shuttle, a vehicle not designed for lay-passengers. She completed/passed a broad training syllabus (I'm not certain if it was the full NASA Payload Specialist Astronaut syllabus or not), and will have had an assigned role/required input in multiple safety significant processes or emergency procedures (emergency escape from the vehicle down the zip line from the launch pad for example).

The same is not true of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. Their craft are set up much more on-par with an airliner. The safety briefing is more significant than the easyjet one that everyone ignores, think it is a 1 day course. Knowing how to open the door to evacuate and getting back to your seat and strapped in after zero g time is up is about the limits of the self loading freight passenger responsibilities here.

By either NASA or FAA definitions, Christa qualifies.

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bolo
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Re: The new Space Race

Post by bolo » Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:37 pm

Well, sort of. The full FAA definition is
a. Meet the requirements for flight crew qualifications and training under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 460.
b. Demonstrated flight beyond 50 statute miles above the surface of the Earth as flight crew on an FAA/AST licensed or permitted launch or reentry vehicle.
c. Demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety.
She did c, and did the NASA equivalent of a, but she didn't do the "FAA/AST licensed or permitted" part of b.

The FAA definition isn't really supposed to be a general definition of astronaut. It's a definition of who they're going to give a certificate and a little pin that says "I'm a commercial astronaut". None of the NASA astronauts have that certificate and pin, except possibly the handful who flew on a commercial flight after leaving NASA.

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