Astronomy, cosmology and space thread

[hhfarang]

Jeff Bezos is now scheduled to be the first space race billionaire to go to space in one of his own rockets...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/07/tech/jef ... index.html

[pharvey]

Jeff Bezos is now scheduled to be the first space race billionaire to go to space in one of his own rockets...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/07/tech/jef ... index.html

It's great to see (hope we do).... But yeah, I couldn't cover the cost of a "flight"

[pharvey]

"A mystery bidder has paid $28m (£20m) for a seat on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's first crewed spaceflight by the billionaire's Blue Origin company.

This winning bid was made at Saturday's auction, with Blue Origin tweeting that the winner's identity would be revealed in the coming weeks.

The bidding process attracted interest from more than 140 countries.

The other two crew members of the 20 July flight are Mr Bezos' brother Mark and an unnamed space tourist.

After a nearly month-long bidding process the top bid had stood at just under $5m - but once Saturday's online auction got under way that figure rose more than five times.

"The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin's foundation, @ClubforFuture," Blue Origin tweeted."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57457378

[Lost]

^^^

I understand it's for aerodynamics 'n stuff but couldn't they have changed the shape ever so slightly? Or must it look like a giant ding dong?

blueorigin01.jpg (97.82 KiB) Viewed 1303 times

[pharvey]

This should be interesting and obviously a big step forward for "Space Tourism" - I also believe (along with Bezos and Musk) it's another big push for Space Exploration

Follow LIVE from 14:00 BST Sunday July 11th on www.space.com

"On July 11, Virgin Galactic will make a giant leap toward commercial suborbital spaceflight. The company will launch its first fully crewed flight of its SpaceShipTwo space plane Unity with a special passenger on board: the company's billionaire founder Richard Branson.

Branson, three crewmates and two pilots will launch on the historic flight after being carried into launch position by Virgin Galactic's carrier plane VMS Eve. They will take off from the company's homeport of Spaceport America in New Mexico, with a live webcast chronicling the flight. ."

[pharvey]

And for the next Billionaire in Space....

"Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is counting down for its first crewed flight on July 20, when it will launch company founder Jeff Bezos and three others into space, and you can watch the whole thing live.

The launch of New Shepard's first crewed flight will be broadcast beginning at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT) at BlueOrigin.com. Liftoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT), but that will depend on the weather forecast and other technical factors.

A typical New Shepard flight lasts 11 minutes, and a live broadcast with the astronauts will be available at BlueOrigin.com after the landing, Blue Origin said in a press release Monday (July 12). The company will also be sharing mission updates all day via @BlueOrigin on Twitter."

https://www.space.com/blue-origin-jeff- ... ch-webcast

[hhinner]

It won't actually be "crewed" in the sense of having pilot and cabin crew though. They'll be passengers on an uncrewed, pilotless flight. Perhaps that's even more amazing.

[Lost]

For a chance to win two seats on the first commercial Virgin Galactic flight to space you can enter here.

https://www.omaze.com/products/virgin-galactic-2021

Winner announced in September.

I must have submitted a hundred entries already (maximum one per minute) but, as I'm not donating money, I'm guessing my entries just go in the bin.

[pharvey]

Well, it's one hell of an achievement, but dear God that was boring viewing - you would have thought they would have shown some views from within the capsule, views of earth from those "extra large windows"..... NOPE, view from Earth - rocket goes up, rocket and capsule come down... FFS

The previous flight by Branson and Virgin Galactic held the interest despite some communication issues.

Anyway, congrats to Bezos & Blue Origin

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57849364

[Lost]

Well, it's one hell of an achievement, but dear God that was boring viewing

The take off was far more interesting than Branson's. Bezos was in an actual rocket.

[pharvey]

Well, it's one hell of an achievement, but dear God that was boring viewing

The take off was far more interesting than Branson's. Bezos was in an actual rocket.

Well, I actually found the VG launch more interesting - at least you could see some detail as to what was going on.

You'll also find that the VG "Spacecraft" is also rocket powered - the "Mother Ship" itself is jet powered....

[Lost]

Well, it's one hell of an achievement, but dear God that was boring viewing

The take off was far more interesting than Branson's. Bezos was in an actual rocket.

Well, I actually found the VG launch more interesting - at least you could see some detail as to what was going on.

You'll also find that the VG "Spacecraft" is also rocket powered - the "Mother Ship" itself is jet powered....

I'll be honest, I only watched the launch for both of them on YouTube (and a picture of the view from Branson's in space).

The Branson take off, for me, was just like watching any other aeroplane take off. Yes, you had the 'rocket powered' separation to blast him further but I prefer a big phallic shaped rocket blasting off straight from the ground.

When I win my free space flight seats from Virgin, I'm sure I'll appreciate the take off.

[pharvey]

When I win my free space flight seats from Virgin, I'm sure I'll appreciate the take off.

You and me both my dear, dear, generous and considerate Pal...... There are two tickets aren't there..?

[Lost]

When I win my free space flight seats from Virgin, I'm sure I'll appreciate the take off.

You and me both my dear, dear, generous and considerate Pal...... There are two tickets aren't there..?

There are indeed, my friend. Though I gather the small print restricts the Welsh from a seat. Something of a worry they'll be belting out Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau on take off, I believe.

[Lost]

^^^
Not a diss by the way fella. Wish our lads would sing an anthem with such pride.