Sunday, May 19, 2024

 SPACE

Blue Origin launches 1st crewed spaceflight since August 2022 (video)

By Mike Wall


The mission, known as NS-25, sent six people on a brief trip to suborbital space today (May 19).




Blue Origin's nearly two-year human spaceflight drought is over.


Jeff Bezos' aerospace company launched its NS-25 mission today (May 19), sending six people — including the United States' first-ever Black astronaut candidate — on a brief trip to suborbital space aboard its New Shepard rocket-capsule combo.

It was Blue Origin's first space tourism launch since August 2022. That previous mission went well, but the company's next flight, an uncrewed research jaunt that launched a month later, did not: New Shepard suffered a serious anomaly, causing the destruction of the first-stage booster. (The capsule landed safely under parachutes.)

New Shepard was grounded for more than a year while Blue Origin investigated the September 2022 accident, which the company eventually traced to a thermo-structural failure in the nozzle of the rocket's single engine. The vehicle returned to action this past December on an uncrewed flight and is now fully back, with another human mission under its belt.

Related: Meet the crew of Blue Origin's NS-25 suborbital mission

The crew of Blue Origin's NS-25 suborbital mission. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

NS-25 — so named because it was the 25th New Shepard launch to date — lifted off from Blue Origin's West Texas site today at 10:37 a.m. EDT (1437 GMT; 9:30 a.m. local Texas time).

Six people were on board, including 90-year-old sculptor and author Ed Dwight. Dwight, a former U.S. Air Force captain, carved his name into the aerospace history books more than six decades ago. 

"In 1961, Ed was chosen by President John F. Kennedy to enter training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), an elite U.S. Air Force flight training program known as a pathway for entering the NASA Astronaut Corps," Blue Origin wrote in an description of the NS-25 crew. "In 1963, after successfully completing the ARPS program, Ed was recommended by the U.S. Air Force for the NASA Astronaut Corps but ultimately was not among those selected."

The first Black American to be selected for a space program was Robert Lawrence, who was picked in June 1967 for the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory project. The MOL, a planned crewed spy outpost, was never built, and Lawrence died in a supersonic jet crash in December 1967. A Black American didn't reach space until August 1983, when Guion Bluford flew on the STS-8 mission of the space shuttle Challenger. (Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on Challenger's previous mission, STS-7, which launched in June 1983.)

Dwight was joined on today's flight by venture capitalist Mason Angel; French craft-brewing magnate Sylvain Chiron; entrepreneur Kenneth L. Hess; retired accountant Carol Schaller; and pilot and aviator Gopi Thotakura.

The six passengers got to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space, from a maximum altitude of around 65.7 miles (105 km). Like all new Shepard jaunts, their trip was quite short, ending with a parachute-aided touchdown in the Texas dust at 10:47 a.m. ET (1447 GMT), just ten minutes after liftoff.

The NS-25 booster beat the mission's capsule back down to the ground, landing seven minutes after takeoff.

The capsule touched down under just two of its three parachutes, but launch commentators on Blue Origin's livestream assured viewers that "there are multiple redundancy factors in this in this system and so landing with two parachutes is perfectly okay."


Blue Origin's NS-25 mission in the Texas desert after its return to Earth. (Image credit: Blue Origin via YouTube)

NS-25 was Blue Origin's seventh crewed spaceflight; the company's other 18 missions have been uncrewed research efforts.

Blue Origin has not revealed its seat price for New Shepard missions. The company's chief competitor in the suborbital tourism industry, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, currently charges $450,000 per person for a ride on its VSS Unity space plane.

The piloted Unity is gearing up to fly its seventh commercial mission. Liftoff of that four-passenger flight, known as Galactic 07, is targeted for June 8.

Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, finally goes to space 60 years later


May 19, 2024
By The Associated Press

VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, finally rocketed into space 60 years later, flying with Jeff Bezos’ rocket company on Sunday.


Dwight was an Air Force pilot when President John F. Kennedy championed him as a candidate for NASA’s early astronaut corps. But he wasn’t picked for the 1963 class.


Dwight, now 90, went through a few minutes of weightlessness with five other passengers aboard the Blue Origin capsule as it skimmed space on a roughly 10-minute flight. He called it “a life changing experience.

“I thought I really didn’t need this in my life,” Dwight said shortly after exiting the capsule. ”But, now, I need it in my life .... I am ecstatic.”

The brief flight from West Texas made Dwight the new record-holder for oldest person in space — nearly two months older than “Star Trek” actor William Shatner was when he went up in 2021.

It was Blue Origin’s first crew launch in nearly two years. The company was grounded following a 2022 accident in which the booster came crashing down but the capsule full of experiments safely parachuted to the ground. Flights resumed last December, but with no one aboard. This was Blue Origin’s seventh time flying space tourists.

Dwight, a sculptor from Denver, was joined by four business entrepreneurs from the U.S. and France and a retired accountant. Their ticket prices were not disclosed; Dwight’s seat was sponsored in part by the nonprofit Space for Humanity.

Dwight was among the potential astronauts the Air Force recommended to NASA. But he wasn’t chosen for the 1963 class, which included eventual Gemini and Apollo astronauts, including Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. NASA didn’t select Black astronauts until 1978, and Guion Bluford became the first African American in space in 1983. Three years earlier, the Soviets launched the first Black astronaut, Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, a Cuban of African descent.

After leaving the military in 1966, Dwight joined IBM and started a construction company before earning a master’s degree in sculpture in the late 1970s. He’s since dedicated himself to art. His sculptures focus on Black history and include memorials and monuments across the country. Several of his sculptures have flown into space.


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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.


90-Year-Old Man Breaks Space Travel Record: 'Everybody Needs to Do This'

Published May 19, 2024
By Maura Zurick
Weekend Night Editor

A90-year-old former Air Force captain broke a record when he was launched into space Sunday morning on Blue Origin's first crewed spaceflight in nearly two years.

Ed Dwight, whose Blue Origin bio states he was born in 1933 and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, described Sunday's flight as a "life-changing" experience.

Dwight was one of six people on board, joining Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller and Gopi Thotakura for the trip. Sunday's launch marked the first time Blue Origin's New Shepard sent humans to space since August 2022.

The rocket took off around 9:35 a.m. Central Time from a site near Van Horn, Texas, and landed back on Earth within 10 minutes, Blue Origin wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, where the space company shared updates and videos of the flight. The cost per person for the spaceflight was unknown at the time of publication.

"Blue Origin successfully completed its seventh human spaceflight and the 25th flight for the New Shepard program," the space company wrote in a statement.

The capsule carrying the passengers landed around 9:45 a.m. While only two of its three parachutes deployed, it did not cause any serious problems for landing.

When the capsule door opened around 10 a.m., Dwight emerged and said he was "ecstatic," according to Blue Origin's video of the launch and landing.

"I thought I didn't need it in my life, but I lied," Dwight said. "This is a life-changing experience. Everybody needs to do this."

Newsweek reached out via email on Sunday to representatives for Dwight and Blue Origin for comment.


Former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight was one of six people on board the Blue Origin spaceflight that launched from Texas on May 19, 2024. 
 ROBBY KLEIN/CONTOUR/GETTY

Blue Origin, the space travel company founded by Jeff Bezos, has flown 37 people – including Sunday's crew – into space on its New Shepard rocket.

The spaceflight made Dwight, a former Air Force captain turned sculptor, the oldest person to go to space. He surpassed the previous record set by actor William Shatner, who was also 90 when he traveled to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard in 2021.

After Dwight was first chosen for a Blue Origin flight seat, which was sponsored by the nonprofit Space for Humanity and the Jaison and Jamie Robinson Foundation, he discussed the adventure in an interview with The New York Times that was published in April. Dwight said that after waiting decades, his trip "is a natural occurrence that should have happened at some point."

"My whole life has been about getting things done," he said. "This is the culmination."


In 1961, Dwight was selected by President John F. Kennedy to be "the nation's first Black astronaut candidate but never had the opportunity to fly," according to Blue Origin's statement.

Shortly before Dwight returned to Earth, Blue Origin shared a video on social media that highlighted his journey.

"Soon, Ed Dwight will complete a mission that began 63 years ago," Blue Origin wrote on X and YouTube.

In a post on X, Blue Origin shared a video of the passengers inside the capsule amid their spaceflight, writing: "Forever changed."


In a first, Indian pilot Gopi Thotakura takes space tour on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin flight


ByHT News Desk
May 19, 2024 

Blue Origin space tourism: Gopichand Thotakura, Indian-origin entrepreneur and pilot, is among the six crew members on the Blue Origin New Shepard -25 mission.

Blue Origin's New Shepard took to the skies on Sunday for the first time in two years after pausing its space tourism operations following a rocket mishap in September 2022. This mission marks the seventh human flight for the New Shepard programme and the 25th in its history.Gopichand Thotakura, an Indian-origin entrepreneur and pilot, is part of the Blue Origin New Shepard -25 mission, which embarked on its seventh human flight on Sunday.(Blue Origin)

Among the six crew members selected for Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin New Shepard -25 (NS-25) mission is Gopichand Thotakura, an Indian-origin entrepreneur and pilot. The crew also includes former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate in the United States.

Launched from the Launch Site One base in West Texas, the company announced the flight on social media.

As the spacecraft surpassed the Karman Line, the internationally recognised boundary of space 62 miles (100 km) above sea level, passengers had the opportunity to marvel at Earth's curvature and experience a few minutes of weightlessness, during which they could unbuckle their seats and even perform activities like jumping jacks.
The New Shepard-25 was launched from the Launch Site One base in West Texas on Sunday, the company announced the flight on social media.(Blue Origin)

The programme faced a setback when a New Shepard rocket caught fire shortly after launch on September 12, 2022. However, the uncrewed capsule ejected in time, ensuring the safety of potential astronauts.

Who are all part of New Shepard (Mission NS-25)?

- Gopichand Thotakura, an entrepreneur and pilot of Indian origin, was chosen as one of the six crew members for Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin New Shepard -25 (NS-25) mission.

- Ed Dwight, a former Air Force pilot, who faced rejection from NASA's astronaut corps in the 1960s, is also a part. According to AFP, at 90 years, 8 months, and 10 days, Dwight became the oldest person to venture into space, narrowly surpassing Star Trek actor William Shatner, who was nearly two months younger when he flew with Blue Origin in 2021.

- Mason Angel, the founder of Industrious Ventures, a venture capital firm, is among the crew members.

The six crew members selected for Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin New Shepard -25 (NS-25) mission.(Blue Origin)

- Sylvain Chiron, the founder of Brasserie Mont Blanc, a prominent craft brewery in France, is also part of the crew.

- Kenneth L. Hess, a software engineer and entrepreneur, has been selected as for the mission.

- Carol Schaller, a retired Certified Public Accountant (CPA), completes the roster of crew members for the NS-25 mission.
Blue Origin's space tourism

Mission NS-25 marks the seventh human flight for the venture founded by Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos. Bezos envisions short excursions aboard the New Shepard suborbital craft as a precursor to larger aspirations, such as developing a heavy rocket and lunar lander.

To date, Blue Origin has flown 31 individuals aboard New Shepard, a compact, fully reusable rocket system named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

Six tourist missions have been launched on New Shepard, boasting notable passengers like William Shatner, Michael Strahan, and Bezos himself. Overall, New Shepard has carried 31 humans beyond the internationally recognized boundary of space.

Blue Origin also aims to send humans to the moon in the coming years in collaboration with NASA.

Named in tribute to Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, “New Shepard” is a reusable suborbital rocket system designed to transport astronauts and research payloads beyond the Kármán line.

"Whether you are an astronaut travelling alongside Blue Origin or dispatching a payload into space, your brief 11-minute journey aboard New Shepard promises to be an unforgettable adventure,” Blue Origin's official website says.


Boeing Starliner launch delayed to end of May to fix helium leak


A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is rolled back to the vertical integration facility to replace a pressure regulation valve on the Atlas V rocket, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday, May 8. NASA's first Boeing Crew Flight Test was delayed to May 25 to further assess a helium leak. NASA Photo by Joel Kowsky/UPI | License Photo

May 18 (UPI) -- Boeing's first crewed space mission was delayed again Friday due to a persistent helium leak.

The spacecraft now is scheduled to take off May 25 after NASA scrapped a launch set for Tuesday.

The delay will give time for the team to further assess a small helium leak in the spacecraft's service module, the agency said.

It is the latest in a series of delays for Boeing's Starliner mission, which is supposed to send NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams to the International Space Station.

Starliner teams discovered the leak on Wednesday. While NASA said the leak is stable and wouldn't pose a risk during flight, Boeing is working to develop procedures that ensure the system "retains sufficient performance capability and appropriate redundancy during the flight."

A May 6 launch was scrubbed due to a faulty oxygen tank pressure regulation valve on the ULA Atlas V rocket, which would sent the Starliner into space from NASA's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Wilmore and Williams are quarantined in Houston and are now scheduled to fly back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida closer to the new launch date, the agency said.

Boeing's first crewed Starliner mission is about four years behind schedule. The first uncrewed mission ended in 2019 after the spacecraft failed to rendezvous with the ISS. Boeing overhauled the program with major software and hardware updates and launched a successful mission in 2022.

The company has an over $4 billion contract with NASA under the agency's Commercial Crew Program, which replaced the Space Shuttle Program after it ended in 2011.

SpaceX, meanwhile, who's contract with NASA is valued at $2.6 billion, has flown 50 people to space in 13 successful missions.

Boeing has far more troubles to deal with on Earth. The company's commercial aviation wing has come under intense scrutiny after a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing Max 737 plane in January.

Numerous other issues with the Max 737 were reported since January. The Justice Department said it would open a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident.

Eyes in the sky: How China's advanced earth observation system shapes global progress



Peer-Reviewed Publication

WUHAN UNIVERSITY

Illustration of nationwide greenhouses mapping in China. 

IMAGE: 

ILLUSTRATION OF NATIONWIDE GREENHOUSES MAPPING IN CHINA.

view more 

CREDIT: GEO-SPATIAL INFORMATION SCIENCE



China's Earth Observation (EO) System has seen significant progress, evolving into a sophisticated network of satellites supporting various global applications. This system, vital for sustainable development, promises further advancements with new technologies enhancing its capabilities.

China's EO journey began with the launch of its first satellite, DFH-1, in 1970, followed by the first recoverable remote sensing satellite in 1975. The country has since developed a comprehensive EO system with a focus on peaceful use, scientific innovation, economic contribution, and global sustainable development. The system comprises various satellite series for meteorological, oceanic, and terrestrial observations, utilizing advanced remote sensing technologies.

A comprehensive review (DOI: 10.1080/10095020.2024.2328100) of China's Earth Observation (EO) system, its missions, applications, and future directions has been published in the Geo-spatial Information Science journal. The paper, led by Professor Deren Li from Wuhan University, outlines the significant strides China has made in EO technology since the 1970s, contributing to economic growth and sustainable development.

The paper meticulously traces the evolution of China’s Earth Observation (EO) system, from its nascent stages in the 1970s to its current status as a global leader in remote sensing. Initially focusing on meteorological satellites, the program expanded to include diverse satellite series that cover meteorological, oceanic, and terrestrial observations. The recent integration of over 200 satellites into China’s EO network has solidified its capabilities in real-time global surveillance and data collection. This extensive network utilizes a range of remote sensing technologies such as synthetic-aperture radar, hyperspectral imaging, and infrared sensors to provide invaluable data across various sectors. Significantly, the research highlights the transition from experimental applications to operational services, emphasizing the active role of private enterprises in the commercialization of satellite data. This shift has not only fueled technological advancements but also diversified the applications of the EO system.

Professor Deren Li of Wuhan University notes, "China's EO system is not just a technological achievement but a cornerstone of our commitment to sustainable development and international cooperation in environmental monitoring and disaster management."

The EO system's applications are vast, ranging from improving agricultural practices through precise weather data, aiding disaster response strategies, to enhancing urban planning processes. The system's development has been pivotal in advancing China's capabilities in global environmental monitoring and disaster response.

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References

DOI

10.1080/10095020.2024.2328100

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1080/10095020.2024.2328100

Funding information

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant No. 2042022dx0002].

About Geo-spatial Information Science

Geo-spatial Information Science is an open access journal that publishes research on the application and development of surveying and mapping technology. Geo-spatial Information Science was founded by Wuhan University and is now published in partnership with Taylor & Francis. The journal particularly encourages papers on innovative applications and theories in the fields above, or of an interdisciplinary nature. Geo-spatial Information Science’s editorial committee consists of 21 professors and research scientists from different regions and countries, such as America, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and China. All articles are made freely and permanently available online through gold open access publication.

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