Thanks for that. Indeed:

Astronauts return to Earth after China's longest space mission
wrote:

... They spent 90 days at the Tianhe module on China's space station, some 380km (240 miles) above Earth.

The three men had on Thursday boarded the Shenzhou-12 crewed spacecraft and undocked from the [Chinese] space station.

The successful mission is another demonstration of China's growing confidence and capability in the space...

We also have some 'proper' space tourism in orbit:

Inspiration4: All-amateur space crew enjoy views of Earth
wrote:

... Their trip was purchased from, and is organised by, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket company...

... The California-based firm used one of its Dragon ships to lift the foursome to an altitude as high as 590km. That's about 160km further than the International Space Station, and 50km higher even than the famous Hubble Space Telescope...

Keep searchin'!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

'Star Trek' Star William Shatner Heading to Space on Bezos' Next Rocket

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'Star Trek' Star William Shatner Heading to Space on Bezos' Next Rocket

Ya What!!!?

... That looks to be some pretty desperate name-dropping Marketing and ph***ic embiggening...

To me, that looks like Bezos really has lost the plot... Or does he redeem himself or dig himself down deeper by next (multiple puns intended) sending up Patrick Stewart?


Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

... Or does he redeem himself or dig himself down deeper by next (multiple puns intended) sending up Patrick Stewart?

If Patrick Stewart is not available or not interested Bezos could always punt and ask Tom Baker of 1980's Dr Who fame.

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The NASA Landsat 9 satellite has been launched from Vandenberg Air Force Station in California by an Atlas 5 launcher. Its orbit reaches 705 km, more than the ISS. It is an Earth observing satallite and the last of a series which started in 1972.
Tullio

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... Or does he redeem himself or dig himself down deeper by next (multiple puns intended) sending up Patrick Stewart?

If Patrick Stewart is not available or not interested Bezos could always punt and ask Tom Baker of 1980's Dr Who fame.

Good thoughts there. The Dr Who series pre-dates Star Trek. Also, Tom Baker is a fine thoughtful inspired candidate.


Which comes to the thought:

What popular figure is most deserving of a brief dash up to the edge of our atmosphere?

Or what popular figure would be the greatest inspiration for all for such a news splash?

My immediate suggestions would be the much more current:

Brian Cox
David Attenborough
Dianna Cowern (Physics Girl)
Scott Manley (Fly Safe!)
Ann Druyan

From an anonymous PM to me:

I'm not sure what Planet You're from but William Shatner going to Space is Epic...

To my mind, unfortunately Shatner lost the plot a long time ago...

For a Star Trek connection, Leonard Nimoy would give far more interesting commentary of the experience and be far more inspiring for the rest of the world. He would also allow the stunt to go higher and faster and farther due to the subsequently much reduced mass!


Or is this all just a Bezos Marketing Stunt and Bragging Stunt so that he can list another tick-box against a list of records for his personal medals?


Keep searchin'!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Vandalism never pays...

Jeff who? Hypocritter? Sue the world? Sue you?!


The fight between Blue Origin and SpaceX goes into the next round

Ouch!

And Bezos looks to be throwing yet another sueball out of his petulant pram each week...


See:

Boeing Starliner delay & update on Blue Origin lawsuit vs SpaceX and {also} NASA


ANGRY UPDATE!! Why is Blue Origin still getting government contracts? What about Artemis?


All that Bezos lawyering money could instead go towards useful rocket development... Just sayin'...



Keep searchin'!...
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Is this where Bezos is suing himself off this planet?...


SpaceX, NASA, FAA and even employees, {ALL} VS Blue Origin
wrote:

... toxic...

Not a good way to go...



Keep searchin',
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

The ESA BepiColombo spacecraft has reached Mercury and made a first flyby at 200 km height. Images taken were overexposed and will be followe by others wit a diffferent setting. The insertion in a Mercury orbit will happen in 2025.
Tullio

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Thanks for that.

The BepiColombo spacecraft pics are merely from 'webcam-like' 'engineering' cameras that are used to monitor the spacecraft itself. Hence only capturing black-white pictures with rather a limited dynamic range. Some parts of the image have to be overexposed to be able to see any detail of the planet itself. Regardless, rather good!

Here's looking forward to 2025 when they can get the pair of spacecraft into orbit to stay a while at Mercury. Their much more capable cameras for science are impressive...


Keep searchin'!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Indeed, we have a Bezos publicity stunt:


Pretend starship captain to take trip in real space capsule
wrote:

William Shatner joins crew for Bezos' number two

The game of billionaire one-upmanship has continued with the confirmation that Blue Origin's next flight of its New Shepard sub-orbital capsule will contain veteran actor William Shatner.

Shatner, famed for some nerdy TV show from the 1960s, had been rumoured as one of the crew taking flight on 12 October aboard NS-18. Joining him will be Audrey Powers, vice president of Blue Origin's Mission & Flight Operations and former NASA Flight Controller.

"I've heard about space for a long time now. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," said Shatner...

???!

What?!

Yeah... "Space", "The Finale Frontier" 'n' all that... Yes?

Sounds like Shatner is completely lost without a script writer...


Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

A Soyuz launcher has carried a Russian actress and a filmaker to the ISS, where they will make a movie about a doctor curing an ill astronaut, which willl be played by a Russian cosmonaut already aboard the ISS. They are to stay two weeks and return by a Soyuz spacecraft already docked to the ISS. I suppose the actress will play as a doctor.
Tullio

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NASA To Nudge Asteroid To Keep It From Threatening Earth

Dubbed the DART Mission, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) will send spacecraft to a pair of asteroids — the Didymos binary — on November 24 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

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Nothing says 'We believe in you' like NASA switching two 'nauts off Boeing's Starliner onto SpaceX's Crew Dragon
All change on 2022 ride to the ISS

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NASA is set to launch an Australian-made rover on a mission to the Moon which could be ready for take off as early as 2026.

An Australian-made rover is set to be launched to the Moon on a NASA mission that could take off by 2026.

The Federal Government is expected to make the announcement today alongside industry leaders as part of its Trailblazer program.

Australian businesses and research organisations will bid for up to $50 million from the Federal Government to build the rover, with applications submitted early next year.

The rover, which will weigh less than 20 kgs, will seek to collect lunar soils and attempt to extract oxygen from them.

It forms part of a plan to establish a human presence on the Moon and assist future journeys to Mars.

Cheers.

Today is the day of launch of the NASA Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids, They are two groups of Trojan asteroids, one which precedes Jupiter on its orbit, and one which follows it. The first group was named after the Greek heroes of the Iliad, the second after the Trojan heroes. But one of the first group was name Hector, which is an evident error, sinc Hector was a Trojan hero. I get this from a book of Joachim Hermann, "Atlas zur Astronomie", Munchen, 1973. I miss the umlaut in my Italian keyboard.
Tullio

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Virgin Galactic delays next crewed space launch to 2022.

Virgin Galactic won't fly another crewed space mission this year after all.

The company had been planning to fly members of the Italian Air Force on its VSS Unity suborbital spaceliner this fall, then take a hiatus to perform maintenance and enhancement work on Unity's carrier plane, VMS Eve. But that schedule has now changed.

Virgin Galactic has been performing lab tests on various materials recently to help prepare for the coming enhancement project. One such test "flagged a possible reduction in the strength margins of certain materials used to modify specific joints, and this requires further physical inspection," company representatives wrote in an update Thursday (Oct. 14).

"While this new lab test data has had no impact on the vehicles, our test flight protocols have clearly defined strength margins, and further analysis will assess whether any additional work is required to keep them at or above established levels," they added. "Given the time required for this effort, the company has determined the most efficient and expedient path to commercial service is to complete this work now in parallel with the planned enhancement program."

Cheers.

Lucy has been launched by an Atlas V rocket of the United Launch Alliance. After an orbit around the Earth it will go to a transfer orbit for its interplanetary mission taking years.
Tullio

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Three Chinese taikonauts have reached the Tiangong Space Station on a Shenzhou-13 mission. One of them is a woman. They will stay there six months and make spacewalks.
Tullio

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The Russian film crew has happily returned to Earth with a veteran cosmonaut.

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