As if that's a small number. I remember when there weren't any astronauts in human history. Putting the first men into orbit was a big deal.
If congress hadn’t hated Reagan there would have been many times that already in space. They refused to pass the appropriate space legislation in 1986 after the Challenger incident.
My long-time neighbor (sadly they moved to NM several years ago to be closer to grand kids) did several missions on Space Lab and also did a stint on the Challenger prior to the big ‘oops’ - all as a payload specialist.
It’s not an easy duty and sometimes they don’t come back...
Pretty soon the number of astronauts will be about the same as the number of billionaires ...
https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-nrol-85-spy-satellite-for-u-s-national-reconnaissance-office/
And safely landed the Falcon 9 booster yet again
Remember when it was just a dog?
RIP Laika.
Especially a big deal for us because the first man in orbit was a Ruskie.
Statistics show that airlines lose about 4-6 bags per 1000 passengers. Just sayin'
I’d ask if I could extend my stay.
Three years later NASA launched the "Echo" satellite. I still remember Dad taking me out to see it in the night sky and, being nine years old, I thought to myself "What's the big deal?"
NASA launched the Echo I communications balloon satellite on Aug. 12, 1960. The 100-foot-diameter satellite, designed by the Space Vehicle Group of the NASA Langley Research Center and constructed by General Mills of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was shown during ground inflation tests in 1959."Project Echo" was interesting as it was the first attempt at satellite communications for use by consumers.Suspended from the ceiling of a hangar the sphere, named "Echo," was inflated by use of a blower connected to the satellite by a hose. Forty thousand pounds of air was required to inflate the sphere on the ground, while in orbit it only required several pounds of gas to keep it inflated.
It carried no active communication components, no relays. Just two FM transmitters for telemetry purposes, powered by nickel-cadmium batteries charged by solar cells. The satellite achieved its purpose by passively reflecting any radio signal directed towards its large shiny surface. For eight years it relayed radio and television signals, and made intercontinental telephone calls possible. The best part was—any individual with the right equipment could use the satellite at no cost.
Arthur Summerfield, U.S. Postmaster General from 1953 to 1961, ran a system that was still largely processing the mail by hand. He set out to automate and mechanize the work. But he also had big dreams of the next frontier in mail: space.The Balloon Satellites of Project EchoIn 1960 Summerfield partnered with NASA to use the space agency’s Echo 1 satellite for Speed Mail, a service that would allow customers to send letters rapidly across the country. Echo 1 was an early experiment in satellite communication. Launched inside a metal sphere [a spare of which is shown above], it inflated in low Earth orbit into a giant Mylar balloon, 100 feet (30.5 meters) across. Project personnel dubbed it a “satelloon.” It circled the globe every 2 hours, reflecting radio, telephone, and TV signals on two channels—960 megahertz and 2390 megahertz—between ground stations.
How did Speed Mail work? Patrons would compose their Speed Mail missives on special stationery, similar to the Victory Mail forms used to expedite letters to U.S. soldiers during World War II. The sender would take the Speed Mail form to a designated post office. In accordance with privacy laws and expectations, postal employees would never see the contents of the sealed letter. Instead, a special machine would automatically open the letter, scan it, and then beam the contents via Echo 1 to the destination post office, where it would be printed, sealed, and delivered.
On 9 November 1960, the postmaster sent the first Speed Mail letter. Addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. America,” the letter urged people to post their holiday cards and presents early. That remains sound advice even in the Internet age and certainly during a global pandemic.
yes, and don’t forget about Ham!
Yeah, they gotta wait until Jeff Bezos gets an orbital craft up to ISS rendezvous, or the SLS.
That means that 100/107,000,000,000 = 9.34 x e^-9 or .000000009.34% of all humans who have ever lived have been in space. Pretty exclusive club.
Hi.
Long time ago someone asked me, would you like to become an Airborne Ranger?
I asked, what’s that?
The person then said, you go off to distant lands, meet interesting people and jump out of airplanes (perfectly good ones).
No, don’t think so, thanks for asking (this person had a smokey the bear hat. Weird).
Later on someone asked me if I’d like to be an astronaut. I asked, what’s that?
The person says to me, you will see the stars and moon. We strap your ass to 40 tons of hydroxyzine and oxygen, and light it off.
Riiight...
5.56mm
