So are Bezos and Branson Astronauts?

[island911]

They each built their own effn rocketship and blasted towards space. And even returned safely. - childhood fantasy stuff brought to life.

No wonder the Neil Tysons are green with envy... lashing out about sour grapes.

[GH85Carrera]

I wonder how long before they have a tourist rocket that gets into orbit and does a few laps around the world before reentry. Lots more complexity and LOTS more energy and speed involved.

No doubt Musk will join the Billionaire space club soon and his rockets can get to the space station.

[masraum]

I saw something on the 'Net where someone commented something like "don't these guys (speaking of Bezos and Branson) realize that most of us hate them and wish them ill?"

I just really don't get that. I wouldn't call them astronauts, but I think what they've done is super cool.

I guess those are the same folks that key a nice car just because.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by Gogar

He's an Astronaut in the same way a club racer is a Race Car Driver.

Yep.

[Tervuren]

Personally I see it as displaying a lot of confidence in a product to go yourself.

[vash]

just cuz you cook it in a skillet doesnt make it a flapjack.

they are space travelers..astronauts, seem to be better at physics and stuff

[MikeSid]

Other than the renewed interest in space exploration (which I think is great), I don't really understand all the fuss.

From a strict technological standpoint, any number of private aerospace companies could have achieved the same feat.

So, honest question, other than the controlled return and landing of the rocket, did they do anything that wasn't already achieved by mankind over 50 years ago? Is the achievement simply that it was done privately? If so, that seems pretty insignificant given the number of private contractors involved in Apollo 11.

So what exactly was achieved here other than simply riding the giant beanstalk planted on May 15, 1997?

[gordner]

Perhaps the first two hobbyist astronauts in history.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

just cuz you cook it in a skillet doesnt make it a flapjack.

they are space travelers..astronauts, seem to be better at physics and stuff

Thanks, I'm going to steal that.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gordner

Perhaps the first two successful hobbyist astronauts in history.

FIFY


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51602655

'Mad' Mike Hughes dies after crash-landing homemade rocket

A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert.

"Mad" Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steam-powered rocket shortly after take-off near Barstow on Saturday.

A video on social media shows a rocket being fired into the sky before plummeting to the ground nearby.

Hughes was well-known for his belief that the Earth was flat. He hoped to prove his theory by going to space.

Saturday's launch was reportedly filmed as part of Homemade Astronauts, a new TV series about amateur rocket makers to be aired on the US Science Channel. The project had to be carried out on a tight budget.

With the help of his partner Waldo Stakes, Hughes was trying to reach an altitude of 5,000ft (1,525m) while riding his steam-powered rocket, according to Space.com.

Launching yourself towards space may be one of those things that gets better and more successful, the more money you have. It's just a theory, but....

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by gordner

Perhaps the first two hobbyist astronauts in history.

How could you have forgotten ...

[Joe Bob]

The original Mercury program astronauts had to fight for a window in the capsules that they were going to "pilot" despite hardly any input beyond holding on for the ride. NASA engineers considered them as live cargo.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I wonder how long before they have a tourist rocket that gets into orbit and does a few laps around the world before reentry. Lots more complexity and LOTS more energy and speed involved.

No doubt Musk will join the Billionaire space club soon and his rockets can get to the space station.

Axiom, 10 day trip to the space station. I believe it is scheduled for January.

https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/10/axiom-space-and-nasa-detail-first-fully-private-human-launch-to-the-space-station-set-for-january-2022/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA-fLW-VIZeI6R2KZTS_z1iJYQIvNTrZzrIiThxhmP2Cd36kP5dviTAnZ QIEtXj2q4X9_mT6IJlf9DL0okAGyh5C6m0M1NwvcfIZPKHsdhD Gj7cTFG1nk2oYPwj1RrefIIFG83o9Gp1921zpmtt4k8bd_2JjY y-Jq6bY79of9MZh

Axiom in January released the identity of the crew members: Canadian investor Mark Pathy, investor Larry Connor and former Israeli pilot Eytan Stibbe. Leading the crew as mission commander is former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space VP Michael López-Alegría, who has four spaceflights under his belt.

Pathy, Connor and Stibbe will engage in research missions while onboard. Pathy will be collaborating with the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Canadian Space Agency; Connor, the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic; and Stibbe will conduct scientific experiments coordinated by the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology.

“Larry and Mark are very serious individuals who are dedicated to being the best they can be in the mold of a NASA astronaut and they’re not interested in being tourists,” López-Alegría said during the media briefing. “They want to do their part to improve humankind.”

To prepare for the mission, the four crew members will go on a “camping trip” in the Alaskan foothills for training in July, López-Alegría said. He will start full-time training around August, with Larry starting in September. The rest of the crew will start in October, with around two-thirds of their time dedicated to ISS-specific training and the rest dedicated to training with SpaceX. The staggered schedule is due to the differing responsibilities between the crew members while onboard. Axiom will be using the same contractor that NASA uses to train its astronauts.

While Suffredini declined to specify how much the private astronauts paid for their space on the flight, he said he “wouldn’t argue with” widely reported figures in the tens of millions. The Washington Post in January reported that the ticket prices came in at $55 million each.

Prices may not always be so high, but Suffredini said that the industry is likely at least a decade away from serious price drops that might make space travel feasible for the average space-goer

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

The original Mercury program astronauts had to fight for a window in the capsules that they were going to "pilot" despite hardly any input beyond holding on for the ride. NASA engineers considered them as live cargo.

I toured Johnson Space Center in Houston where they had a Mercury capsule. That thing was tiny!

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by masraum

FIFY


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51602655

Launching yourself towards space may be one of those things that gets better and more successful, the more money you have. It's just a theory, but....

I forgot about Mad Mike. Boy, that landing was a mofo!

https://twitter.com/justindchapman/status/1231336002175717376

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

Axiom, 10 day trip to the space station. I believe it is scheduled for January.

https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/10/axiom-space-and-nasa-detail-first-fully-private-human-launch-to-the-space-station-set-for-january-2022/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA-fLW-VIZeI6R2KZTS_z1iJYQIvNTrZzrIiThxhmP2Cd36kP5dviTAnZ QIEtXj2q4X9_mT6IJlf9DL0okAGyh5C6m0M1NwvcfIZPKHsdhD Gj7cTFG1nk2oYPwj1RrefIIFG83o9Gp1921zpmtt4k8bd_2JjY y-Jq6bY79of9MZh

Axiom in January released the identity of the crew members: Canadian investor Mark Pathy, investor Larry Connor and former Israeli pilot Eytan Stibbe. Leading the crew as mission commander is former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space VP Michael López-Alegría, who has four spaceflights under his belt.

Pathy, Connor and Stibbe will engage in research missions while onboard. Pathy will be collaborating with the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Canadian Space Agency; Connor, the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic; and Stibbe will conduct scientific experiments coordinated by the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology.

“Larry and Mark are very serious individuals who are dedicated to being the best they can be in the mold of a NASA astronaut and they’re not interested in being tourists,” López-Alegría said during the media briefing. “They want to do their part to improve humankind.”

To prepare for the mission, the four crew members will go on a “camping trip” in the Alaskan foothills for training in July, López-Alegría said. He will start full-time training around August, with Larry starting in September. The rest of the crew will start in October, with around two-thirds of their time dedicated to ISS-specific training and the rest dedicated to training with SpaceX. The staggered schedule is due to the differing responsibilities between the crew members while onboard. Axiom will be using the same contractor that NASA uses to train its astronauts.

While Suffredini declined to specify how much the private astronauts paid for their space on the flight, he said he “wouldn’t argue with” widely reported figures in the tens of millions. The Washington Post in January reported that the ticket prices came in at $55 million each.

Prices may not always be so high, but Suffredini said that the industry is likely at least a decade away from serious price drops that might make space travel feasible for the average space-goer

If I was rich enough, I'd want to do it too.

Originally Posted by craigster59

I toured Johnson Space Center in Houston where they had a Mercury capsule. That thing was tiny!

Right, crazy how small and cramped it was. They didn't have claustrophobia.

Originally Posted by craigster59

I forgot about Mad Mike. Boy, that landing was a mofo!

https://twitter.com/justindchapman/status/1231336002175717376

Wow, I hadn't previously seen the video. He basically left his 'chute on the ground at take off. And everyone watching had to know what was coming.

I don't know the whole story, but this is why so many things have backup systems. Clearly, he needed a backup chute unless he had one and had multiple failures.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by craigster59

I forgot about Mad Mike. Boy, that landing was a mofo!

https://twitter.com/justindchapman/status/1231336002175717376

The good news is he made it back to earth. The bad news is he didn’t live to tell the tale.

[flatbutt]

Astronaut = star traveler. OK so our legit astronauts never traveled "the stars" but maybe in this age of redefining everyfreakinthing to suit an acute need we need a new title.

How about Suborbital Viator?

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by masraum

If I was rich enough, I'd want to do it too.

"10 day, all inclusive excursion. Views that are out of this world! Only 5.5 million per day!"

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Hey! Don't forget Red Bull guy-