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Started By
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SpaceX is sending a completely amateur crew into orbit tonight
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:04 pm
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:04 pm
For the first time in human history, a crew of completely amateur astronauts will be launched into orbit. 4 civilians not associated with NASA or any government entity are this crew. There are no professional astronauts accompanying them.
The commander of the crew paid for the flight personally with the main mission being fundraising for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. He kickstarted the fundraising with a $100 million donation to the hospital separate from the money he put up to fund the flight. With him are three other civilians selected by him and SpaceX. While on orbit, they will be performing zero-g experiments in the health sciences.
While the main thrust of the mission is to publicize the fundraising for the hospital, it's also a step to proving that a completely amateur crew can be sent up in an autonomous spacecraft and can function and perform experiments over the course of several days. This flight is not just to get them up and get them down; they will spend three days on orbit. The idea is that zero-g experimentation is currently the domain of governments because of the scarcity and bureaucracy involved in getting space on government sponsored launches. This launch is a first step in proving that zero-g experimentation is now available to entities that otherwise aren't glamorous enough to make NASA's cut.
This mission will also highlight the superior capabilities of SpaceX's launch system. The team will orbit about 50km above Hubble and about 100km above the ISS. I'm pretty sure that if you discount the Apollo missions that actually went to the moon (because the moon's high, yo), only a few Gemini missions orbited as high as this crew will.
A few weeks ago, two dickheads took joyrides 50 miles up and it's all we heard about for days as if they were making some huge contribution to humanity or were doing something novel that private industry had not already accomplished, yet I bet most of you have heard nothing about this flight.
Launch window opens at 7:02PM CST. Enjoy the show!
SpaceX mission streaming is live.
The commander of the crew paid for the flight personally with the main mission being fundraising for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. He kickstarted the fundraising with a $100 million donation to the hospital separate from the money he put up to fund the flight. With him are three other civilians selected by him and SpaceX. While on orbit, they will be performing zero-g experiments in the health sciences.
While the main thrust of the mission is to publicize the fundraising for the hospital, it's also a step to proving that a completely amateur crew can be sent up in an autonomous spacecraft and can function and perform experiments over the course of several days. This flight is not just to get them up and get them down; they will spend three days on orbit. The idea is that zero-g experimentation is currently the domain of governments because of the scarcity and bureaucracy involved in getting space on government sponsored launches. This launch is a first step in proving that zero-g experimentation is now available to entities that otherwise aren't glamorous enough to make NASA's cut.
This mission will also highlight the superior capabilities of SpaceX's launch system. The team will orbit about 50km above Hubble and about 100km above the ISS. I'm pretty sure that if you discount the Apollo missions that actually went to the moon (because the moon's high, yo), only a few Gemini missions orbited as high as this crew will.
A few weeks ago, two dickheads took joyrides 50 miles up and it's all we heard about for days as if they were making some huge contribution to humanity or were doing something novel that private industry had not already accomplished, yet I bet most of you have heard nothing about this flight.
Launch window opens at 7:02PM CST. Enjoy the show!
SpaceX mission streaming is live.
This post was edited on 9/15/21 at 5:21 pm
26
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:07 pm to TigerstuckinMS
I’m sensing a Donnie Darko accident in my bedroom tonight.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:12 pm to TigerstuckinMS
quote:
yet I bet most of you have heard nothing about this flight.
This is the first I'm hearing of it. Good for them. I've long said that the only way space travel opens up is if private business gets involved, and is able to hold government at arm's length.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:35 pm to TigerstuckinMS
One of the persons going up is a St Joseph’s Academy in BR alum.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:38 pm to TigerstuckinMS
A Baton Rouge girl is on the crew. We will be watching.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:41 pm to TigerstuckinMS
They should get Gordon Ramsey to do color commentary for that.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:49 pm to TigerstuckinMS
There’s a pretty cool Netflix series that has 4 parts leading up to today’s launch. The 5th episode is going to be released on Sept 30.
Let’s hope the 5th episode isn’t a memorial!
Let’s hope the 5th episode isn’t a memorial!
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:49 pm to TigerstuckinMS
quote:
I bet most of you have heard nothing about this flight.
This. I posted something about it on my FB like 3 days ago and crickets. Almost like they don't really want people to know about it.
Zuck obviously hates other billionaire nerds like Elon, and this one has Jarad Isaacman onboard.., another nerd billionaire.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:51 pm to TigerstuckinMS
quote:
A few weeks ago, two dickheads took joyrides 50 miles up and it's all we heard about for days as if they were making some huge contribution to humanity
Yep. And there will be minimal coverage on this even with the great cause and significance of the mission.
They really don’t like Elon.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:52 pm to High C
quote:
I’m sensing a Donnie Darko accident in my bedroom tonight
I didn’t want to laugh. But I did.
Say hi to the giant demon bunny for me
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:52 pm to USMEagles
quote:
They should get Gordon Ramsey to do color commentary for that.
I would totally give the hospital extra money if they got him.
How bad would it suck to have to pee right after they lock that hatch down?
I TOLD YOU TO PEE BEFORE YOU LEFT, YOU GIANT frickWIT!
This post was edited on 9/15/21 at 6:14 pm
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:55 pm to TigerstuckinMS
quote:
There are no professional astronauts accompanying them
IMO an astronaut should not be considered a professional until they have actually astronauted in space.
By that standard, most spacemen were amateurs each time they went up.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:56 pm to TigerstuckinMS
quote:
I bet most of you have heard nothing about this flight.
quote:
The commander of the crew paid for the flight personally with the main mission being fundraising for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
Fail? Other than the $100M the guy put in...
This post was edited on 9/15/21 at 5:57 pm
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:58 pm to USMEagles
Gordon Ramsey died of an overdose brah
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:58 pm to fancy like applebees
quote:
IMO an astronaut should not be considered a professional until they have actually astronauted in space.
By that standard, most spacemen were amateurs each time they went up.
Yeah. You’re not a man until you’ve had another man.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 6:00 pm to TigerstuckinMS
Ha! Ed did it first.. he assembled an amateur coaching staff for this season 
Posted on 9/15/21 at 6:01 pm to TigerstuckinMS
What could possibly go wrong?
Posted on 9/15/21 at 6:02 pm to fancy like applebees
quote:
IMO an astronaut should not be considered a professional until they have actually astronauted in space.
By that standard, most spacemen were amateurs each time they went up.
Agreed. The import of this, though, is that they aren't TRAINED to be astronauts. Sure, they do the fighter jet flights, the centrifuge, the health checks, and things like that. However, the distinction here is that they are not trained in the nuts and bolts of the spacecraft. They do the parts of the training that have to do with enduring the launch physically and mentally, but they aren't trained in orbital mechanics. They don't know how the spacecraft and its control systems work. They can control the spacecraft on a semi-autonomous basis (for instance, do something like push the "land" button if necessary, for a very crude example), but that's about it.
Instead of years of training to do this, they've trained for like 6 months for this mission. Civilians that fly with NASA still had to train for years. There is no need for that if you're just along for the ride. Think of it how you don't need to know how the airplane's engines work or how the cockpit operates to get in the plane and fly across the country. Same thing here, SpaceX loads up the spacecraft with all the instructions it needs to autonomously get to the next stable portion of its flight and then controls any necessary changes to the flight plan from the ground as the mission proceeds. The idea being that over time even that 6 months of training comes down as much as possible, making space more accessible to everyone. You pass the physicals, you get in the rocket, and SpaceX and the vehicle handle the driving while you focus on whatever it is you wanted to do in space.
THAT'S the importance of the word "amateur" here. One guy's a tech billionaire. One of the women is a physician's assistant. One's a researcher in geosciences, and the other dude's an ICBM mechanic. None of them list "astronaut" as their job.
This post was edited on 9/15/21 at 6:11 pm
Posted on 9/15/21 at 6:09 pm to TigerstuckinMS
They’ll probably be fine. Greater likelihood of them returning than not.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 6:13 pm to brickyard
quote:
One of the persons going up is a St Joseph’s Academy in BR alum.
Cool. Anyone have a link to an article about her?
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