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Space Launches, Landings & Destinations v4


SpaceChampion

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On 8/31/2021 at 1:20 AM, Fragile Bird said:

I was just flipping through my Facebook feed and there is a story saying Russian astronauts have found “more cracks” in the International Space Station.

International Space Station facing irreparable failures, Russia warns

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At least 80 percent of in-flight systems on the Russian segment of the ISS had passed their expiry date, Vladimir Solovyov told state media.

He also said small cracks had been discovered that could worsen over time.

Russia has often raised concerns over hardware and has suggested it could leave the ISS after 2025.

The station was built in 1998 as part of a joint project between Russia, America, Canada, Japan and several European countries and was originally designed for a 15-year lifespan.

Mr Solovyov, the chief engineer at the space company Energia, which is the leading developer of Russia's section of the ISS, said: "Literally a day after the [in-flight] systems are fully exhausted, irreparable failures may begin."

 

He warned last year that much of the equipment on the station was starting to age and would soon need to be replaced.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anybody watch the Netflix series on the Inspiration4 mission?

https://www.netflix.com/title/81441273

Going for launch at 8:02pm EDT tonight, 3 days in space further out than humans have been in about 15 years (to service Hubble I think) and landing scheduled currently for Sunday.

Livestream of the launch here:



This past Monday another Starlink launch happened from Vandenburg in California, with the first sats for the second shell.

 

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Good launch!  Also watched the Netflix documentary on the crew's training and selection.  Was expecting it to be tedious marketing hype but it was actually a great documentary (with a fantastic soundtrack).  I came away big fans of all four crew members.

Learned today one my friends who is buddies with Sian Proctor gave her his engineering ring to take to space and back on this mission.  It also flew on the SpaceShipOne flight back in 2004.

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11 hours ago, SpaceChampion said:

Anybody watch the Netflix series on the Inspiration4 mission?

https://www.netflix.com/title/81441273

For those who don't have Netflix. Not sure if its the same content, but Netflix have uploaded this 1hr 34min video (episodes 1-4) to their YouTube channel.

 

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3 hours ago, horangi said:

No kidding! I like the jackets, but I'm guessing the pants were just handed to them before they walked on stage without any measurements taken.

Looks like they have the pants on backwards  or else there is room for an adult diaper. 

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51 minutes ago, maarsen said:

Looks like they have the pants on backwards  or else there is room for an adult diaper. 

Maybe its a solidarity thing with the astronauts- if they have to wear diapers, so should the folks on the ground supporting them.  Also cuts out down time for bathroom breaks- back to work soldiers!

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Ex Blue Origin employees published an essay describing the toxic working environment there:
https://www.lioness.co/post/bezos-wants-to-create-a-better-future-in-space-his-company-blue-origin-is-stuck-in-a-toxic-past

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We are a group of 21 former and current employees of Blue Origin. Many of us have spent our careers dreaming of helping to launch a crewed rocket into space and seeing it safely touch back down on Earth. But when Jeff Bezos flew to space this July, we did not share his elation. Instead, many of us watched with an overwhelming sense of unease. Some of us couldn’t bear to watch at all.

...

We believe exploring the possibilities for human civilization beyond Earth is a necessity. But if this company’s culture and work environment are a template for the future Jeff Bezos envisions, we are headed in a direction that reflects the worst of the world we live in now, and sorely needs to change.

 

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Another passenger, Chris Boshuizen, is one of the co-founders of Planet (formely Planet Labs) an innovative small sat company that just recently became publicly traded.

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While still in school, Boshuizen attended the 2002 World Space Congress, where he met Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler, who would later become his Planet co-founders. After his first World Space Congress, Boshuizen volunteered to chair the next Space Generation Congress, an annual gathering of university students and young professionals focused on space.

At his first World Space Congress, a reporter asked Boshuizen what he wanted to see in the future. His response, “To make space travel as easy as catching a bus.” Nineteen years later, he remains focused on that goal.

After college, Boshuizen became the executive director of the Space Generation Advisory Council before getting a job at the NASA Ames Research Center.

The World Space Congress and the Space Generation Advisory Council was like the Brotherhood Without Banners for the young space cadets of the early 2000s who are incredibly idealistic while being practical as possible.  Must have spawned a hundred companies, non-profits, international projects and even a few communes.

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Boshuizen is well aware of the potential risks and rewards of spaceflight. After a 2004 Space Generation Congress, Boshuizen traveled to the Mojave Desert to watch Scaled Composite’s SpaceShipOne capture the $10 million Ansari X-Prize.

He’s also watched Planet lose 39 satellites in three rocket failures.

“This is not tourism, it’s scary as hell,” Boshuizen said. “I’ve had a little time to contemplate my mortality and assess the risk. I’ve done all the due diligence I can. I am confident Blue Origin is the safest option particularly with the escape mode.”

 

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