Posted on 07/28/2021 8:21:01 AM PDT by PIF
The Starship vehicle is poised to revolutionize human spaceflight. With SpaceX and NASA working together to develop Starship for the Artemis Program, our ambitions in space have profoundly changed. Aspiring Martian Colonist Dr Ryan MacDonald charts the course towards the first human missions to the Red Planet.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
The first SM-20 launch is scheduled for the Oct-Dec time frame with a suborbital test to 100 miles with the booster and the StarShip; both the StarShip module and the heavy booster modules will land (if successful) in the ocean. Objective is to gather date on the performance of the StarShip module and its heat shield. Meanwhile, SpaceX is building out the needed infrastructure and test vehicles.
The video then goes on to detail future plans. Bezos and company are so far behind in tech its laughable; a huge vanity to even think his stuff is anywhere near competitive with SpaceX's as the video shows.
Have they chosen a crew?................
Beeeeezos has the $$$, but not the brains. Musk’s successes will keep attracting the best and brightest, making it difficult for the third string companies to attract good people.
Can a human cardiovascular system survive a trip to Mars?
Can a human cardiovascular system survive a trip to Mars?
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Heck, can human vision survive the 18 month long transit? Many people lose a significant part of their vision after long periods in orbit.
However, nuclear propulsion can theoretically get people there in 3 weeks. See Project Orion, killed in 1964.
Have they chosen a crew?.
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Not yet, still years away. No doubt there are some people in training now. They have to build out the infrastructure on Earth to launch the ships that will robotically build out the infrastructure on Mars and bring needed supplies before the first people arrive.
Future plans to the moon, in 2023-24 with reusable StarShips, in a round tip endeavor, can, if fully fueled in Earth orbit, deliver 50 tons to the moon; in a one way endeavor, 200 tons - done at a fraction of previously estimated costs. For comparison, the Apollo program could only deliver 5 tons, and the Blue Origin 14 tons (for 2X the price and 30% less payload). This will represent a profound change in US Lunar capabilities, something the Chinese cannot match.
Human landings scheduled begin with the Artemis 3 mission (using NASA’s Artemis capsule and a special version of the StarShip) in late 2024 - dependent on the development of NASA’s Artemis capsule, and that the woke ‘cancel culture’ does not cancel it.
The first cargo StarShips to Mars will be some time in the 2024 launch window. These will investigate availability of water, hazards, and place power, mining, and life support systems for later manned missions in 2027 and 2029 on the Arcadia Planitia plain. It will eventually lay the foundation for Mars Base Alpha colony.
There are numerous problems to overcome before humans can live on Mars. The first mission to reach Mars in 2020 was the Hope Mission bought and paid for by the UAE, built and launched in the US, run by American Universities - a UAE bragging rights mission. Will survey the Martian atmosphere daily.
The Chinese mission: the narrator uses the word “purportedly” in connection to the lander touch down - seeming to indicate some uncertainty.
The US mission: conducts the first robotic flights, proving that flight on Mars is possible - despite the thin atmosphere. The Moxie experiment successfully produced oxygen on Mars - about 10 minutes worth of O2 for a human. In 2028 the Sample Return Mission will try to collect the 38 rock/soil samples collected. these will be taken to the orbiter and then returned to Earth in 2031.
Video segments:
0:00 - Introduction
1:20 - SpaceX Starship Overview
4:00 - Early Starship Hardware
5:00 - Starbase Boca Chica Begins
5:33 - Cryogenic Tests & Static Fires
8:06 - Starship Low-Altitude Flights
9:09 - Starship High-Altitude Flights
15:10 - Future of the Starship Program
15:50 - Super Heavy Construction
16:52 - Orbital Starship Design
17:49 - Orbital Starship Launch Profile
18:42 - Starbase Orbital Flight Preparations
19:11 - Starship Program Timeline (2020 - 2021)
20:05 - Starship Sea Launch Platforms
21:45 - Human Spaceflight Overview
22:39 - Commercial Astronaut Flights
25:17 - Artemis Program Overview
26:04 - Artemis I Updates
27:02 - Artemis II & Artemis III
29:40 - Lunar Starship Timeline (2022 - 2024)
32:27 - Starship Mars Missions
34:08 - Human Mars Mission Timeline (2024 - 2029)
34:35 - New 2021 Mars Missions
35:11 - Mars Hope (UAE)
37:33 - Tianwen-1 (China)
38:27 - Zhurong Rover (China)
39:37 - Perseverance Rover (USA)
42:31 - Ingenuity Helicopter (USA)
45:16 - Mars Sample Return
47:42 - Final Thoughts
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