Lot going on, lot to talk about. To get things started, who will be the first to bring tourists to space? When will Virgin Galactic launch more than two people at a time? How do the technical risks compare between Dragon 2 and SS2? -F https://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-continues-work-on-fleet-of-spaceshiptwo-vehicles/ Image Unavailable, Please Login
Virgin had 3 on their last launch. I think Branson will be going up soon. No one else has carried a live human, AFAIK.
Why do the Commander and Pilot have O2 masks but the Flight Engineer not? Is that how they'll fly going forward? Is there a reg for the flight crew flying in masks? -F Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sounds like Branson's "Astronaut Instructor" knows how to unstrap herself, and strap herself back in.
Will Boeing be required to do another unmanned demo flight of Starliner or are they good to go? That software had some issues. -F
These masks are only any good for below about 45-50K feet...above that, they are all f'd without a full pressure suit and below that, who needs a flight engineer anyway...she can be food if they land in a remote area.
SpaceX will likely beat Boeing to bring manned orbital launch capabilities back to the United States. May 27th is the date set for earliest launch. -F https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/17/21225163/nasa-spacex-crew-dragon-falcon-9-commercial-dm-2-first-crewed-launch
Starliner launch delayed indefinitely due to valve issues Boeing de-stacks space capsule from Atlas V rocket not what you want...
United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule to the ISS . .
Atlas V is scheduled to be retired. Retirement In August 2021, ULA announced that they are no longer selling launches on the Atlas V.[8] They will fulfill their 29 existing launch contracts. They made a final purchase of the RD-180 motors they need and the last of those motors were delivered in April 2021. The last launch will occur "some time in the mid-2020s".[8] Scroll way down to Replacement with Vulcan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_V .
Of course the BE-4 engine that is supposed to power the Vulcan is a whole other messy situation. BE-4 engine (Blue Origin/New Glenn heavy lift rocket/Jeff Bezos) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BE-4 April '22 Vulcan Centaur is a two-stage-to-orbit, heavy-lift launch vehicle that is under development by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_Centaur .
Three years from the start of this thread, it's looking like: Winner: SpaceX Loser: Boeing Underperformed: Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic Hopeful for great things in the near future: Sierra Space, SLS/Orion
