This isn’t what I’ll be talking about this week, but today’s (August 27, 2024) planned commercial test flight is — my opinion — a big deal.
Something I haven’t noticed discussed — apart from a passing reference to getting the Hubble telescope into a higher orbit — as a reason for learning how to get folks into orbits higher than the ISS seems obvious.
Our communications, weather, and other satellites occasionally don’t work right.
Sending a repair crew up strikes me as an improvement on launching another satellite.
But again, that’s not what I’ll be talking about this week, so here’s an excerpt from the news, and a video:
“Polaris Dawn civilian crew prepares to head to orbit on SpaceX craft: How to watch“
Eric Lagatta, USA Today (August 26, 2024)
“After arriving last week at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the four-member crew of Polaris Dawn are scheduled to embark on their Earth orbit mission as early as Tuesday.”“Polaris Dawn, an ambitious all-civilian spaceflight, is scheduled to liftoff Tuesday.
“When the mission commences with the launch of a SpaceX Dragon capsule, four private astronauts will rocket into the upper reaches of Earth’s orbit, where they will conduct the first-ever commercial spacewalk, among other things.
“The mission has the potential to be a historic one — and not just because of the many firsts that billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman’s crew hopes to accomplish. A successful mission would also be a crucial step in laying the groundwork for future deep space exploration as NASA and other space agencies set their sights on destinations like Mars….”
I’ve talked about this sort of thing before:
- “Marshmallows in Space! New Habitat Technology, Old Science” (August 3, 2024)
- What a Bishop Didn’t Say, and the Wright Brothers’ Mother
(‘if God had wanted man to fly, he would have given him wings’ — 😉 )
- What a Bishop Didn’t Say, and the Wright Brothers’ Mother
- “Boeing Starliner in Context: Apollo, Shuttles, and American History” (May 11, 2024)
- “Any Landing You Can Radio Back From: IM-1 Odyssey” (March 2, 2024)
- “Commercial Space Services and Changing Times” (April 29, 2023)
- “Snow Cruiser, Moon Buggies, Mars Tractors” (March 4, 2023)
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