Above: Inspiration4 Crew Members / Photo / Netflix
What do a billionaire, cancer survivor, geoscientists and a data engineer have in common?
For the first time on the streaming platform, Netflix will offer a 5 part docuseries covering the SpaceX’s Inspiration4 Mission in near real-time.
The series will cover SpaceX’s first all civilian mission (no astronauts!) as they prepare and train for the mission, the live launch coverage from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as well as footage from inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft as the 4 passenger crew orbit the Earth on the 3 day mission.
Unlike recent flights from Virgin (Richard Branson) and Blue Orbit (Jeff Bezos) that led suborbital flights, Inspiration4 will reach higher altitudes than that of the International Space Station and make history as first all-civilian mission to orbit.
Multiple firsts and groundbreaking accomplishments that go beyond, way beyond…
Breakdown for Netflix’s “ Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space”
Monday, September 6: Meet the four civilians heading to space
Monday, September 13: Watch them prepare
Wednesday, September 15: Watch the live launch
Thursday, September 30: Spend time with the crew in space
The Inspiration4 Mission which was brokered as a private deal by 38 year old Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments with SpaceX.
Isaacman will lead the mission along with his 3 other crew members: 29 year old Hayley Arceneaux who will act as chief medical officer , 51 year old Dr. Sian Proctor (mission pilot), who will become the fourth Black female American in space and 41 year old Christopher Sembroski, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who will be the mission’s specialist.
The mission also serves as a $200 million fundraising campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
A day before the launch day, Netflix will also launch “A StoryBots Space Adventure” on Sept.14 which is a live-action/animation special where Inspration4 crew members will participate by answering some of kids’ most pressing space related questions.
Hints and Leaks are becoming commonplace – this time it’s the features that wow
Rumor Reports have surfaced that Apple is planning a hardware reveal event for December 8th, 2020, likely at the usual 11am PT time slot. The leak was said to some from an internal memo, and Service providers have been told to expect changes on Tuesday. MacRumors reports that this type of prior warning to suppliers has coincided historically with new products being launched.
What product(s) might be launched?
It’s not likely that a major product will be launched (so no new MacBook or iPhone, for example), but some possibilities that have been mentioned are an AppleTV update or the ever elusive AirTags.
AirTags have been in development for months now. However, Apple has kept most details on the elusive product under wraps. We expected to hear some specifics on the AirTags at the company’s September and October press events, but although those occasions offered lots of other exciting launches, they remained silent on the Tags.
Only now have two new Apple patents come out for AirTags, featuring illustrations and suggestions about how the devices might work and where they could be useful— The answers might be more expansive than we thought.
In essence, AirTags are exactly what we expected them to be: Apple products akin to a Tiles, which can be placed on any object and thus track it. Intuitively, their primary function is to help users find lost items such as keys, wallets, or phones by sending out a locational signal to Apple devices. Reportedly, these signals will be more precise than any GPS, directing people to within feet of the Tag.
The new patents, however, suggest that the AirTags’ tracking abilities could be useful beyond just recovering everyday items. They could, for example, be attached to emergency equipment like fire extinguishers or defibrillators, helping people find such crucial tools in unfamiliar environments. They could also be used to track people via Apple Watches or the wristbands featured in the patent illustrations. While tracking human beings raises major ethical questions, it could also save lives in the events of kidnappings or missing people.
Beyond such grave alternatives, the patents also suggest more leisurely uses for the AirTags. By attaching them to one’s body, they could serve as advanced gears in augmented reality gaming platforms, or play a role in the new Apple Fitness+ app by monitoring posture and other health matters.
Tags could also be placed in public areas to send signals directly to other Apple devices with useful information such as maps and guides. The patent offers the example of a business placing a Tag at its entrance, ensuring that everyone who enters receives a map of the building.
When Apple delays (as with the MagSafe surprise just announced) good things happen…
As of right now, rumor has it that the AirTags will launch in March 2021, but given their perpetual delays so far and the precarious state of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hard to say for sure when these devices will really become available. Nevertheless, the latest patents suggest that AirTags are going to be much more than mere Tile replicas. With that in mind, perhaps they will also be more worth the wait.
The Origin of Everything is Shrouded in Mystery – looking at Apple’s history yields many clues, however…
PART I of a 3 PART SERIES:
Given the sheer size, breadth and power of the various “Tech Giants” as they have become known, many, if not most would be skeptical if an assertion were put forth that all of them were a direct product or outgrowth of Apple.
Click to see “Steve Jobs” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Although there is almost constant complaining that Apple is not the innovator it once was, or that they sell overpriced and overrated products, with more marketing than substance, tracing back through the history of tech a very different story emerges. Further, all the way to the present a pattern holds true that traces all big tech back to Apple in a direct route from at least 1984 or earlier.
The whole story is long and somewhat hidden; and it diverges from the accepted notions of how the massive empires of tech came about. In the end it is almost impossible not to see the behemoths now known as Microsoft, Google, Facebook and others as little more than incidental occurrences, spawned the wake of Apple’s growth and innovation.
Apple is an entirely different company from what it seems from the point of view of the masses & the media. For example, just as now we have Biden vs. Trump we once had Jobs vs. Gates. You can decide which is which. Perhaps today it seems like a stretch, but up until around 1998 the two were considered opposites and as compatible as oil vs. water.
Above: vdieo Clip from the “One More Thing 2020 Event and Video Still Photo Collage / Lynxotic
There have always been a huge number of people who are offended by the high-price high-quality ethos that Steve Jobs created and that the company carries forward to this day.
Steve Jobs Steve Wozniak with the Apple 1 prototype
Much like Tesla owners are heckled by Toyota, Ford and Chevy pick-up truck owners, Apple has always had an army of detractors. And while for many years it was Windows / PC users now it is Android and Samsung. But if you set aside the Apple-derangement Syndrome, sister affliction to the fabled “Reality Distortion Field” there are some fascinating theories that could be put forth showing that Apple and Steve Jobs are the ultimate source of all tech since the Garden of Eden, or at least the 70s.
[Readers note: there are many accepted truths and fabled stories that will be addressed in this article. These are, at times considered “fact” and at other times questioned openly. If it bothers you when either of those choices are made to suit the narrative, you may, of course, opt-out at any time. All attempts have been made to remain true to historical fact, but no claims or guarantees are made of perfection.]
In The Beginning there was… XEROX?
In the beginning there was Xerox Parc. From that private think-tank of a copy-machine company emerged two incredible discoveries; the Graphical-User-Interface (GUI) and the Mouse (mouse). In the fable Steve Jobs is invited to visit in late 1979, to gather knowledge from the computer scientists and R&D gurus and later decides to “steal” everything he sees. Xerox, on the other hand, continues to believe that copy machines are the real future.
Click to see “iWoz” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
This fable / anecdote is often used to illustrate that Steve Jobs and Apple deserve no credit for the ultimate ubiquity of the software that emerged from the GUI concept and, the mouse that came about cause of the… mouse. It is also said, or at least implied, that Microsoft was fully justified in stealing anything and everything they could from Apple software innovations because “Steve did it first to Xerox”. These kinds of rationalizations are the reason why Apple is still, to this day, not recognized as the source for all tech in the universe.
The more accurate take on this origin story is that Steve Jobs was the first to recognize the ultimate importance of the GUI and mouse combo (after all Xerox never made any real commercially viable attempt to make and market the discoveries from its own R&D) and that the future of the tech world would be built on the bedrock of these early innovations.
“…In fact, turning expensive, hard-to-use, precision instruments into cheap, mass-producible, and reliable commercial products requires its own ingenuity and creativity. This marketplace intelligence is different from, but not inferior to, the intelligence of the laboratory; it just gets far less attention by journalists and historians. In the case of the relationship between the work at PARC and the development of the Macintosh, this blindness leads us to underestimate the originality of Apple’s own work, and the differences between the Alto and Macintosh. “
Further, at the time Bill Gates was madly in love with the wonders of MS-Dos and in particular the money he could bank in licensing it to IBM and all bidders… It was only years later in 1985 when he famously decided to steal the GUI_ Mouse based system software apple was using, in spite of his promises to refrain from stealing when he was shown the secrets during his fabled meeting with Steve Jobs to discuss word and excel, early versions of which were already on the Macintosh. Hence the echos of “Steve did it first to Xerox” became the rallying cry for all those that seemed to justify the direct theft of Macintosh OS to create the clunky-named system called “Windows”.
This story carried on throughout the 80s and 90s and, all the while, a 1988 lawsuit was pending resolution, which has at its center the accusation, by Apple, that Windows 1, released in November 1985, was directly copied, a.k.a. inspired by the Macintosh OS. In the end, in another famous fabled incident, the suit was settled out of court in 1997, by then obscenely rich Bill Gates, for $150 million, thus rescuing Apple from almost certain Bankruptcy.
Moral of the story? Windows, PC’s and everything Microsoft ever became, can be directly traced back to Apple. This is the most obvious of the various lines of creative attribution leading back to Apple and Steve Jobs.
The next saga: Google’s connection and the debt owed to Anti-trust and Apple, will be more subtle but all the more timely. Timely as in right now this minute. Stay tuned for Volume II of “How Apple Created the Entire Tech Universe and it Finally Makes Sense”
Sony scores big name exclusives – Below games available NOW
Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles have been released, after which, both Sony and Microsoft received major buzz, stirring up crazy controversy of consoles arriving DOA and others smoking. Yet, for the majority of new game console owners, they have received fully functional units and are ready to gear up and start playing. Below we have listed the available games that were released on Launch Day as well as a list of games in development and to be released later within the year or early 2021.
The launch library from PS5 includes an eclectic mix of games. Most people will inevitably be drawn, at least initially, to the games exclusive to Sony, as exclusives are one of the biggest selling points. Many games have free next-gen upgrades to PS5, which can actually make buying the PS4 version a better choice in some cases.
Check out the latest Playstation 5. Available available on Amazon and Walmart.
All PS5 consoles will come with a pre-install with the game Astro’s Playroom, meant to shows gamers the power of the DualSense wireless controllers and take advantage of the all new features including: haptic feedback, triggers, motion sensor, speakers, mic and touchpad.
Along with the Playstation 5 games, the Dual Sense charging station, PULSE 3D wireless headset, Media remote and HD camera are available for purchase, click here to see all the available PS5 accessories, both available on Amazon and Walmart.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Click to see “Spider-Man” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon and Walmart.
Miles Morales discovers explosive powers that set him apart from his mentor, Peter Parker. Master his unique, bio-electric venom blast attacks and covert camouflage power alongside spectacular web-slinging acrobatics, gadgets and skills.
A war for control of Marvel’s New York has broken out between a devious energy corporation and a high-tech criminal army. With his new home at the heart of the battle, Miles must learn the cost of becoming a hero and decide what he must sacrifice for the greater good.
Traverse the snowy streets of his new, vibrant and bustling neighborhood as Miles searches for a sense of belonging. When the lines blur between his personal and crime-fighting lives, he discovers who he can trust, and what it feels like to truly be home.
Click to see “Spider-Man” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon and Walmart.
Discover where the journey began – Experience the original brutal challenge, completely remade from the ground up. All presented in stunning visual quality with enhanced performance, this is the world of Boletaria as you have never seen it before.
Become the Slayer of Demons – Venture to the northern kingdom of Boletaria – a once prosperous land of knights, now beset with unspeakable creatures and ravenous demons. Meet strange characters, unhinged and twisted by the world around them, and unravel the unsettling story of Demon’s Souls.
Face the world’s greatest warriors in ferocious PVP combat – With online* invasions adding to the danger of your quest. Or play cooperatively by summoning allies to aid in your fight against the demons.*Active PS Plus subscription required for online multiplayer.
Face thrilling, unpredictable challenges as you explore distinctive hand-crafted lands through deeply immersive and expressive controls.
PERILOUS PLATFORMING EXPERIENCE – Explore here, there and everywhere as you utilize Sackboy’s cool, diverse move-set to face a huge variety of thrilling challenges, fierce enemies and startling surprises.
RE-STUFFED. RE-STITCHED. RE-ZIPPED – Sackboy returns to the big time stuffed with fresh moves and game-changing gadgets in an awe-inspiring and downright fun 3D adventure in this new, but familiar world.
Other titles that will be out later this year, will be available for preorder, there are still many releases that the information has yet to be disclosed. below is the current list of PS5 exclusives. We will continue to update as new information becomes available:
Destruction AllStars
Gran Turismo 7
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Returnal
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Funny Bogus Attempt to revive the ‘ole “overheating” controversy
Two of the world biggest players in the video gaming world have just released their next-gen consoles days apart from one another. That’s big, and it’s time to evaluate.
Many were able to preorder their consoles and others took their chance on launch day. For those fans that are now opening and starting-up their new hardware – reports have surfaced of some, interesting issues… Even with the Series X only being 3 days old, already, it’s managed to start some major controversy. Videos have begun surfacing showing smoke coming from the top of the console, as if the Xbox was overheating so badly that it was smoking. Next, Gamers took to social media to comment on the video posts questioning if these videos were legit or fake.
One Twitter user even posted a video to recreate the smoky effect, and show that it was ultimately achieved by blowing vape smoke into the console, and, in fact was not due to any type of overheating malfunction of the unit.
An official spokesperson for Microsoft felt the need to publicly comment and shared the following response on its Twitter account:
For any non-vape related support questions please check out the info here: https://t.co/3CVPbbNm6D
There has been pretty consistent news that the already limited stock has quickly disappeared, nonetheless, there are still some retailers including Amazon and Walmart where you can check the latest stock/re-stocking updates. You will have multiple chances to buy, as retailers are restocking products at multiple times during the day.
Click to See: XBOX SERIES X AND S – Available on Amazon and Walmart
The Xbox launch which by now everyday already knows, took place on November 10th, with the Series X retailing at $499 and Series S for $299. The newest console will deliver backward compatibility to the vast majority of Xbox One games, even some Xbox 360 titles. Unlike the PS5 launch that announced that you could only purchase online, Microsoft made no such statement. Therefore gamers can in addition to scouring online, check your local retail stores for inventory.
So you’ve managed to purchase the next-gen console? Now the fun part, playing new games! One game we’ve had our eyes on is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The game follows a group of Vikings, in an open-world RPG, traveling outside Norway to new life in England.
The Confusion around 5G goes far beyond the political-nonsense conspiracy theories
Most articles on 5G since the Apple iPhone 12 launch event on October 13th have been looking in the rearview mirror to predict the future: 5G will “disappoint” due to the slow buildout, technical limitations of the format, and various issues with all the competing systems and carriers, and these arguments are casting doubt on the much touted potential.
This perspective misses the point on so many levels, it’s difficult to know where to begin to unpack the myriad of misunderstandings.
Much of the technical discussion has been focused on the various flavors of 5G and the associated limitations and advantages of each. The fact that the fastest 5G, which goes by the sub-category moniker millimeter wave, is not instantly available everywhere for the 5G capable iPhones, and that they will not be in the hands of most consumers before next year, has been met with feigned shock and bewilderment.
And further, many highlight the confusion mounting over the various providers and the various flavors: 5G, 5G E, 5G UW or 5G+ as they are designated by “service indicators” on the iPhone 12 itself. Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and AT&T Inc. each have their own systems they have developed and are building out – looking for a piece of the 5G market, expected to be around $1.15 trillion by 2025.
First and foremost – since Apple and iPhone are the leader of all innovations in the marketplace – not necessarily by the sheer number of handsets sold, but by the focus on increasing technical and aesthetic quality, and appealing to the top demographic, not to mention the majority of early adopters, it is precisely the fact that, until now, the iPhone 5G handset did not yet exist, that the buildout is not further along.
The fact that, in real-world tests, it is already performing at up to 7 times the fastest previously available connections, was coupled inevitably with the caveat; physical locations where these speeds can be accomplished are currently hard to find.
Due to the technical issues with this ultra-high speed version of 5G; the inability to travel more than very short distances and the lack of ability to penetrate obstacles or walls, the possibility to get these amazing speeds are, at present, more likely to be found at outdoor locations.
This is, admittedly, an odd conundrum, but you can be sure, with the upcoming massive increase in competition for ISP customers, it is one that will find at least some viable solutions very soon. There are many billions at stake for those that can find ways to improve this issue.
“Standing in front of a camera store in South of Market, I got 5G speeds reaching 2,160 megabits a second, which was 2,900 percent faster than 4G. Even where it was a tad slower — behind the Safeway parking lot in the Marina district — the 5G iPhone drew speeds of 668 megabits a second, which was 1,052 percent faster than 4G.”
– Brian X. Chen for the New York Times
The carriers have not had the market to build for, and needed to be pushed by a huge influx of iPhone 12 owners. Then, meaning now, they will begin to compete with one another for that extremely lucrative group of users. That rising competitive battle is not the only one looming on the horizon.
Regardless of the ultimate time frame of the build-out, there is an obvious and very meaningful conclusion that we can reach here: 1 year from now things will look very different in the options available for those who want to work and play with the help of a faster internet connection (meaning, obviously, everybody).
As can be seen from the chart above in early 2020 the US ranked 13th in desktop download speed while mobile speeds ranked even worse coming in at #33 (various sources have US at #10 for fixed broadband). Liechtenstein is nearly 4x faster, on average, than the US. Also note that the highest average is one-tenth to one-twentieth of the eventual “ideal conditions” speeds of 5G.
Failure of the US Broadband infrastructure and the coming shake-up in the ISP system grid-lock
The problem is not a technological one. The US lags behind due to the pseudo-geographical monopolies held by various ISPs and the ability they have enjoyed to be able to gouge customers with high priced, bad service. Lack of competition often results in slow progress, or no progress.
That is all about to change. You don’t need to have a technician to analyze the various 5G systems, or compare carriers chances of “winning” to realize that the very fact that speeds and options are increasing exponentially is going to re-write the map when it comes to who controls the cash-cow subscription gravy train. That system is about to collapse.
In steps Elon, and his little copy-cat-side-kick Jeffy Bezos, and the landscape is about to become unrecognizable
First, 5G speeds rival or exceed the former fixed / desktop speeds which had commanded a premium for the geographically entrenched providers. 5G home systems will be available in many areas that will be competitive in speed, price and convenience.
SpaceX’s Starlink, with nearly 1,000 satellites already in orbit out of an eventual 12,000, with launches continuing almost weekly with 60 in each launch, is a serious project. This ambitious plan will eventually encircle the Earth completely with interconnected satellites that will link through intermediary “ground stations” with up to 1 million planned for USA alone. Each ground station is just under 19 inches (.48 m) across.
“It looks like a UFO on a stick,” according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk “It’s very important that you don’t need a specialist to install. The goal is for … just two instructions and they can be done in either order: Point at sky, plug in.”
Satellite Broadband, such as SpaceX’s Starlink will not only add ubiquitous 100mbps and higher, low latency coverage, it will also cover the same areas with high population density, major cities, where both current systems and 5G are also focusing.
Exact pricing is as yet unknown, but it is very likely that there will be a high-pitched battle over customers, once the various systems go into the next phase of the rollout. And all of this is not factoring in additional players in 5G and satellite systems.
Longer term (2 years +) there will be major world-wide implications of this shift, toward more and faster options in internet connectivity
The first shift, primarily driven by the geographical independence of satellite broadband, such as Starlink, will be a decentralization of populations at massive scale. While we are looking at a world where, due to the current pandemic countermeasures, WFH a.k.a. work from home is becoming more than a temporary factor. As many as 20 major companies such as Google and Microsoft have announced extended or permanent work-from-home policies as of October 2020.
There are plenty of very serious discussions about what will be done with all the skyscrapers and office buildings once there are no workers to fill the offices. This is not idle chit-chat. A migration has already begun away from the insanely overpriced rents and home prices to take advantage of the work-from-home-anywhere approach.
Extrapolate, based on increased speed and availability of connectivity to millions of locations not currently viable, will soon have internet at minimum speeds rivaling the current world champion Liechtenstein (see above), and you see the beginnings of an exodus of epic proportions. Just in time for economic upheaval, due to the aftermath of the still ongoing global pandemic, and yes, the issues of accelerated global warming, which will, coincidentally, affect costal “elite” cities like Miami, San Francisco, New York and others around the world to a disproportionally large degree.
“The reality is that a technological utopian vision, one where the world is able to shift to sustainable energy and regenerative farming, and create economies based on prosperous and equal distribution of the wealth generated by those systems (along with AI plus robot technology (powered by sustainable clean energy), can only be realized by an acceleration of learning and positive social change. “
-DL
These changes, to be clear, are not all “bad” nor are they all the cause of negative side-effects such as the current covid-19 outbreak.
The reality is that a technological utopian vision, one where the world is able to shift to sustainable energy and regenerative farming, and create economies based on prosperous and equal distribution of the wealth generated by those systems, (along with AI, robot technology powered by sustainable clean energy), can only be realized by an acceleration of learning and positive social change.
Change is urgently needed to build out the human networked-communication-system that will enable the learning and cooperation which is the only hope for the survival of our species. 5G, the iPhone 12 and SpaceX’s Starlink Satellite Broadband are going to be huge factors, in making the first baby-steps toward that change, possible.
Another successful lift-off and milestone achieved for Elon Musk’s space company
SpaceX welcomed back its Falcon 9 as the company caught its rocket head (payload fairings) using a large net in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. This is the third time in less than thirty days that SpaceX has successfully retrieved its rocket head marking a significant milestone for the company. With an additional launch currently scheduled for August 27, 2020.
The payload fairing – the rocket’s nose splits into two as it comes back from orbit, both of which are equipped with a parachute and autopilot guidance software for the recovery. The two boats to catch each of the two fairings, Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief patiently waited for the rocket to come back to Earth. As you can see from the video, the company makes retrieving the fairing look extremely relaxing and seamless (cue elevator music).
The Falcon 9, which is currently SpaceX’s largest rocket was launched on August 18, 2020 for the 40th time and this also marks a record-breaking 6 times that the Falcon has used the same booster. Eco-friendly and climate conscious, Musk has been praised for his ingenuity to recover and be able to build reusable rockets, which also significantly cuts expenses on the previously extreme high cost of space launches.
During the August 18, 2020 launch that took place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the latest batch of 58 satellites were sent to orbit for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network. This marks the 11th batch of Starlink satellites sent to orbit. To-date, SpaceX has launched almost 600 satellites for its Starlink initiative.
Starlink is planning to deliver high speed broadband internet in the Northern United States and Canada As soon as September, in a limited test phase, then with full access during 2020. They then will expand for full global coverage by 2021.
In a recent update to the SpaceX web site, Elon Musk and crew added some detail and updates to the plans for passenger and satellite cargo travel using its developing rocket tech. Naturally both SpaceX Starlink Satellite Launches and work for hire missions for NASA and others have been happening on a regular basis.
All of these and other projects also all serve to push the development of the systems for longer term projects, goals and plans.
https://www.spacex.com/media/mission_reusability.mp4Video showing REUSABILITY – While most rockets are designed to burn up on reentry, SpaceX rockets can not only withstand reentry but can also successfully land back on Earth and refly again.
“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”
— ELON MUSK, SPACEX
One that has a specific stated timeline is the Private Lunar Mission. First announced in the fall of 2018, Japanese fashion billionaire and art collector Yusaku Maezawa has purchased the fist ticket to orbit the moon on a SpaceX flight. The undisclosed price of the ticket will help fund the ongoing project to perfect the Starship and it’s rocket booster side-kick Super Heavy (formerly known as BFR) which, together, represent a reusable transportation system that SpaceX hopes will, one day soon, take passengers into orbit and on interplanetary missions.
Diagram / SpaceX
Those missions, starting with the week-long moon mission for Maezawa, will eventually include the first manned mission to Mars, with an inaugural flight currently projected to happen by 2024. An initial cargo only flight is penciled in for 2022.
Elon and SpaceX are certainly aware of the challenges of these incredibly ambitious plans and accelerated timelines.
https://www.spacex.com/media/DragonTrunk_Animation_Render_Desktop.mp4video animation: The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and will soon become the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.
The website details the plan for the potentially treacherous landing sequence once the Starship actually reaches Mars. This includes an entry into the Mars atmosphere, never before breached by a human, at 7.5 kilometers per second. These video simulations show the ideal plan for the Starship to conquer this task.
Earth to Earth Transportation System
The team of Starship and Super Heavy are also part of a planned Earth to Earth transportation system for long distance travel around the globe. With the advantages of leaving the earth’s atmosphere (for a short time based on the incredible speed of the system) where there is little to no friction and no weather or turbulence.
As can be seen in the table below, the average intercontinental commercial jet flight, such as London to Hong Kong, that currently takes 12 in-flight hours, would be reduced to 35 minutes. Basically this would mean that any distance on earth could be reached in an hour or less.
ROUTE
DISTANCE
COMMERCIAL AIRLINE
STARSHIP
LOS ANGELES TO NEW YORK
3,983km
5 hours, 25 min
25 min
BANGKOK TO DUBAI
4,909km
6 hours, 25 min
27 min
TOKYO TO SINGAPORE
5,350km
7 hours, 10 min
28 min
LONDON TO NEW YORK
5,555km
7 hours, 55 min
29 min
NEW YORK TO PARIS
5,849km
7 hours, 20 min
30 min
SYDNEY TO SINGAPORE
6,288km
8 hours, 20 min
31 min
LOS ANGELES TO LONDON
8,781km
10 hours, 30 min
32 min
LONDON TO HONG KONG
9,648km
11 hours, 50 min
34 min
“Rocket-lag” vs. Jet-lag, that’s a topic for a whole other article.
With all these plans, in addition to the missions to and from the space station and trips to host various payloads, it begs the question, what was NASA doing during the years from 1972, when the last moon mission was completed, until SpaceX was first contracted to assist.
And with all the private space exploration companies vying for position and invested in by both public and private funding, will this push be sustained throughout the 2020s?
With the Global Climate Crisis looming and various governments and private behemoths showing little regard for cooperation or or philanthropic behavior, the outcome and timeline of off-earth projects seem almost certain to be impacted by terrestrial obstacles, virtually every step of the way.
In “the most challenging mission to date“, SpaceX and Elon Musk successfully launched the Falcon Heavy into orbit with 24 satellites onboard. Below we have embedded the SpaceX livestream link, which went live at 2:30am EDT, June 25th.
There are quite a few unique facts that make this launch special. It is the third flight for the Falcon Heavy, the first ever to take place at night, which creates a more dramatic viewing experience, and it is the first time that previously used side boosters will be redeployed. The two side boosters being used were flown previously, in April 2019, on the Arabsat-6A mission. And on top of all that, as if it was not enough, the 24 payloads are significant as well.
For example: the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 will be onboard. A prototype of a popular sci-fi concept – a solar sail to be used for propulsion in space, this is the second iteration of the LightSail to be launched, both created by the Planetary Society.
“It’s really a romantic notion that has tremendous practical applications”
― Bill Nye, CEO of Planetary Society
This version, with a span of approximately 344 square feet and which had a pricetag of seven million dollars to build, will attempt to demonstrate that, using a LightSail, a spacecraft can accelerate and increase it’s distance from earth while in orbit. A successful test of the LightSail would begin to prove or discourage the possibility of using sails for interstellar travel.
Center core engine shutdown and stage separation confirmed. Second stage engine burn underway pic.twitter.com/wrn5uMmG0L
In addition to this “Romantic” aspect of the mission, primarily this is a huge challenge for SpaceX, Musk and the Falcon Heavy,indeed, Musk, in a tweet, referred to it as …“our most difficult launch ever“. The STP-2 mission will launch 24 various spacecraft (satellites) into orbit, including the LightSail. It will be, assuming successful, more importantly, a step towards proving the Falcon Heavy’s ability to employ and reuse the side boosters described above, a first, and to observe the performance of it’s multi-burn profile for the rocket’s upper stage. In a quote from the dedicated STP-2 website: “In addition, SMC will use this mission as a pathfinder for the development of mission assurance policies and procedures related to the reuse of launch vehicle boosters.”
In “the most challenging mission to date“, SpaceX and Elon Musk are scheduled to launch the Falcon Heavy again tonight. Since there are some payloads on board from NASA they will be livestreaming the launch starting at 2am EDT. Below we have embedded the SpaceX livestream link, which goes live at 2:30am EDT, June 25th.
As of this writing, there is a 70% chance the conditions will be favorable for the attempt; if the launch does not take place today, the next window is scheduled for 11:30pm EDT, Tuesday, June 25th
There are quite a few unique facts that make this launch special. It is the third flight for the Falcon Heavy, the first ever to take place at night, which creates a more dramatic viewing experience, and it is the first time that previously used side boosters will be redeployed. The two side boosters being used were flown previously, in April 2019, on the Arabsat-6A mission. And on top of all that, as if it was not enough, the 24 payloads are significant as well.
For example: the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 will be onboard. A prototype of a popular sci-fi concept – a solar sail to be used for propulsion in space, this is the second iteration of the LightSail to be launched, both created by the Planetary Society.
“It’s really a romantic notion that has tremendous practical applications”
― Bill Nye, CEO of Planetary Society
This version, with a span of approximately 344 square feet and which had a pricetag of seven million dollars to build, will attempt to demonstrate that, using a LightSail, a spacecraft can accelerate and increase it’s distance from earth while in orbit. A successful test of the LightSail would begin to prove or discourage the possibility of using sails for interstellar travel.
Targeting T-0 of 2:30 a.m. EDT for Falcon Heavy launch of STP-2; team completed additional ground system checkouts. Vehicle and payload continue to look good
In addition to this “Romantic” aspect of the mission, primarily this is a huge challenge for SpaceX, Musk and the Falcon Heavy,indeed, Musk, in a tweet, referred to it as …“our most difficult launch ever“. The STP-2 mission will launch 24 various spacecraft (satellites) into orbit, including the LightSail. It will be, assuming successful, more importantly, a step towards proving the Falcon Heavy’s ability to employ and reuse the side boosters described above, a first, and to observe the performance of it’s multi-burn profile for the rocket’s upper stage. In a quote from the dedicated STP-2 website: “In addition, SMC will use this mission as a pathfinder for the development of mission assurance policies and procedures related to the reuse of launch vehicle boosters.”
