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[2021-07-20 14:41:25 UTC] UPDATE: Flight had a short hold at (IIRC) T-15:00 then proceeded to have a safe ignition, liftoff, flight, and separation. Booster landed successfully under powered descent. A few minutes later the capsule coasted to apogee (maximum altitude), began its descent, deployed parachutes, and landed nominally. All crew disembarked safely. Congratulations to all involved!]
According to Wikipedia, the capsule reached apogee of 105.671 km (65.6612 mi). On board were the oldest (Wally Funk, 82) and youngest (Oliver Daemen, 18) people to ever reach space. Also on board were Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark Bezos.
Original story follows, unchanged.
Blue Origin set for historic first human flight of its New Shepard system:
Officials with the rocket company Blue Origin said they remain on track for their first human spaceflight on Tuesday, which will carry founder Jeff Bezos and three other passengers on a suborbital hop 100 km above West Texas.
Steve Lanias, the lead flight director for the mission, said during a call with reporters that engineers completed a "Flight Readiness Review" for the launch over the weekend and found the New Shepard rocket and capsule to be in perfect condition. Weather, too, looks reasonable with any early morning storms expected to pass before the anticipated liftoff time of 8 am CT (13:00 UTC).
Bezos and the other three passengers—his brother, Mark, aviation pioneer Wally Funk, and a paying customer from the Netherlands named Oliver Daemen—underwent about 14 hours of training this weekend across two days. Their flight will be entirely autonomous. After launch the capsule will separate from the rocket, and the passengers will have about three minutes of weightlessness before they must strap back into their seats for the return to Earth. Upon reentry to Earth's atmosphere the passengers will experience about 5 Gs as gravity exerts itself on the returning vehicle.
[...] For Tuesday's flight, the company will provide a webcast, which is expected to begin about 90 minutes before the anticipated liftoff time. So the webcast should go live at 6:30 am local time in Texas, or about 11:30 UTC.
The webcast is scheduled to be available on YouTube: New Shepard First Human Flight.
NB: Virgin Galactic's flight on 2021-05-11[*] reached an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) which is the altitude at which NASA issues pilot's wings. Many noted the flight failed to reach the Kármán line boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space which is defined to be 100 km (62 miles). New Shepard's flight is scheduled to reach the Kármán line.
[*] SoylentNews coverage of Virgin Galactic's flight.
(Score: 2) by pdfernhout on Tuesday July 27 2021, @01:18AM (1 child)
"Living off the land" in space is the hope (and was the reality for people moving to the Americas or Australia overall). Every kilogram shipped to space beyond people is a design failure or a policy failure. For a start on how to live off the land in space, see:
http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/aasm/ [islandone.org]
"What follows is a portion of the final report of a NASA summer study, conducted in 1980 by request of newly-elected President Jimmy Carter at a cost of 11.7 million dollars. The result of the study was a realistic proposal for a self-replicating automated lunar factory system, capable of exponentially increasing productive capacity and, in the long run, exploration of the entire galaxy within a reasonable timeframe. Unfortunately, the proposal was quietly declined with barely a ripple in the press. What was once concievable with 1980's technology is now even more practical today. Even if you're just skimming through this document, the potential of this proposed system is undeniable. Please enjoy. ..."
See especially "Figure 5.41. - Flowsheet and process equations for the HF acid-leach process":
http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/aasm/AASM5E.html#f541 [islandone.org]
Or if you prefer a biotech approach, consider:
https://www.technologyreview.com/1999/09/01/236570/revolutionary-visions/ [technologyreview.com]
"By the late 21st or early 22nd centuries, Dyson speculates, biotech products such as warmblooded plants that grow their own greenhouses will enable humanity to create Earth-like environments on other worlds, beginning a vast migration to Mars, the asteroids, or the comets of the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune."
More stuff: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=living+off+the+land+in+space [duckduckgo.com]
"Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos 2007th Edition
by Gregory L. Matloff (Author), Les Johnson (Author), C. Bangs (Author) "
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Off-Land-Space-Cosmos/dp/0387360549 [amazon.com]
"Pioneering Space Requires Living Off the Land in the Solar System"
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/pioneering-space-requires-living-off-the-land-in-the-solar-system/ [nasa.gov]
"As NASA continues preparing for the Journey to Mars, the technology now in development is expanding beyond the spacecraft and propulsion systems needed to get there. NASA scientists and engineers also are developing systems to harness abundant resources available in the solar system to support these pioneering missions. The practice is called in-situ resource utilization, or ISRU. Like early European settlers coming to America, planetary pioneers will not be able to take everything they need, so many supplies will need to be gathered and made on site. The concept focuses on how to turn a planetary body’s atmosphere and dusty soils into everything from building materials for shelters on Mars to rocket fuel for the trip back to Earth. Much of this work is taking place at NASA’s [Kennedy] Space Center in Florida. Center Director Bob Cabana recently explained that the agency is moving to a new era in space travel. ..."
Obviously there is a middle ground. If it is cheaper to go in space, then yes, there may be some more interest in living off the land in space. And if you can live off the land in space, then there will be motivation to reduce launch costs. Still, if I had to chose one or the other, a better "Bucky Fuller" Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science to live off the land in space or in the oceans or in the deserts or in Antarctica or even in New York City is the one of the two which is the better choice as there is more widespread benefit. For example, the increasing knowledge on how to make cheaper and more efficient solar panels or better batteries benefits both Earthlings and Spacers. Automated greenhouses help both Earthlings and Spacers. Better 3D printing helps both Earthlings and spaces. Improved medical understanding like regarding nutrition and health helps both Earthlings and Spacers. Improved techniques for conflict resolution and decision making like via Dialogue Mapping using IBIS help both Earthlings and Spacers. And so on. Some technologies may be more dual use than others perhaps. But in any case, the more we understand how to make things and how to live in healthy ways, the easier it will be to build sustainable habitats for people (and other creatures) to live in anywhere in the cosmos.
The biggest challenge of the 21st century: the irony of technologies of abundance used by scarcity-minded people.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday July 27 2021, @03:50PM
We have to live off the land in space.
At first, we need to be able to get there, bring freight there, and have a long supply chain, for a while.
Living off the land is the end goal. Not the first thing that can be done.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.