SpaceX: Amateur astronauts launch on Inspiration4 mission

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: BBC

Four amateur astronauts have blasted off from Florida on their private mission to orbit. The Inspiration4 crew, comprising one billionaire and three "ordinary citizens", rode out of the Kennedy Space Center in a Dragon capsule provided by the SpaceX rocket company.

The quartet will spend the next three days circling the Earth. It's another milestone in the space tourism market, which is experiencing a resurgence after a decade's hiatus.

Earlier this summer, billionaire businessmen Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos went above Earth's atmosphere in their own space vehicles.

And following this latest mission, there'll be two privateer visits to the International Space Station (ISS) - one in October, carrying a Russian movie director and actress, and a second early in the New Year.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58561621

---

The difference here is that SpaceX is contracted to NASA to take our astronauts up to the ISS and this particular launch has 4 "civilians" (although all are trained) into low orbit and will be there for 3 days (vs what Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic did, neither of which reached orbit).

[Farmer-Rick]

1. Greedy billionaires playing with their rockets

With a great big helping of our hard earned taxes.

[relayerbob]

3. Might try researching a bit before saying things you know nothing about

This was done to raise hundreds of millions for St jude’s , as part of the plan, and is not paid for by tax dollars at all.

[Farmer-Rick]

4. Might try reading the posted article a bit before saying things that have

Nothing to do with the post.

It clearly says:"The quartet will spend the next three days circling the Earth. It's another milestone in the space tourism market."

It's a market they are trying to create not charity.

Also they are working with NASA....a tax payer funded organization.

Did you read the article?

[relayerbob]

6. I actually follow NASA and spaceflight very closely

Mostly because I'm actually in that industry. But please, Governor, proceed

[llmart]

16. +1

My son is a software engineer for NASA at the Cape. I get firsthand information and pics from him and I couldn't be prouder of what he does and what others that work in the space program do. I'm a child of the 50's and remember how exciting and thrilling it was back then. It still is.

[question everything]

22. + 2

[BumRushDaShow]

8. In this case, IMHO, the "space tourism" thing

is somewhat of a media promo.

There is the only "billionaire" among the 4 and the others aren't any such, but are either scientists/pilots or medical personnel, including one who works at St. Jude's and was actually treated there as a child.

So the question is, did YOU read all the other media about this? I only picked that BBC one because the others were doing those damn "update" things without a permanent link.

[Farmer-Rick]

11. That Is Not the article that was posted.

If you want to talk about this article that you just posted, then maybe you should post it as a separate article.

I don't need to read every article in the world on billionaires in space to discuss the post that was put up.

OK, I see you posted both of these. But why didn't you post both together? That way we would have all the info up front.

I feel like this was kind of a trap. Post just part of the info and jump on the first person who posts without the rest of the story.

Seems like a weird kind of set up.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. I told you why I posted it

But there is always that little handy tool called "trash threads" if it upsets you so.

[Farmer-Rick]

18. I don't get it.

I liked your first article...at least the way you posted it.

Why would I trash it?

Also, why criticize me for not reading an an article even you say was a bit annoying and you didn't post?

[BumRushDaShow]

23. I don't know what you are talking about

I posted a link to a BBC article in the OP because that is what came up first as a "had launched" article since all the rest were still at the "to launch" stage and I couldn't post those here because they would get automatically locked in LBN as "not having happened yet".

I posted a youtube video of one of the participants and I posted a link to space.com with excepts of the bios of the ones who launched but that article would not have been "eligible" to be posted in LBN because it was published 4 days ago.

[Farmer-Rick]

26. Well you said there was a little thing called trash

And that I should use it...or something to that affect.

But I liked you original post.

And that other article you criticized me for Not reading was 4 days old?

Geez, you expected everyone who read your original article to have read that 4 day old article? And have that info ready at hand if they posted about your article? You really expected that?

Seems like that's an awful lot to expect from people who are naturally inclined not to support the ruling oligarchy.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. I'm confused

The "original post" is the OP article by BBC. I am assuming your issue is the mention of "space tourism" and the billionaire who bought the tickets. However the other article had an easier-to-excerpt formatting of who was actually participating.

A lot of the problem with moving beyond just sending people back and forth to the ISS, is actually developing craft for the "average person" to use... one day... a century from now, and that requires some big bucks. And when you have things like a 25% poverty rate in a city like mine, the battle is on regarding spending those funds on social programs or space programs. And it will be inevitable that "space" will become "commercial". There will be no way to stop it, so let them have at it.

It will take stuff like theirs to eventually get there, even if in fits and starts, regardless of whether it's funded by "the government" or "private industry" -

[NullTuples]

9. The billionaire bought all four tickets

It was still very much a case of a billionaire buying four tickets into space.

He gave three of them to other people because he knew the optics were terrible.

He also donated to St Jude's, and started a fundraiser. Again, optics. He'd already bought the tickets.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Wouldn't you prefer he "give tickets" away

to people who include someone who is now the first black woman pilot in space or a childhood cancer survivor who was treated at the place the guy donated to and who now works there (where kids who are like she was, can watch her doing that)?

It's funny how much DU worships FDR and ignores his own wealthy 1% status.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Here are bios on the 4 who launched (the ship is autonmous)

https://www.space.com/inspiration4-spacex-all-civilian-astronauts-video-profiles

Jared Isaacman



Jared Isaacman, 38, made his billionaire fortune as the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, but kept his space dreams alive through other means. Before buying the SpaceX flight and his crewmates' seats for an undisclosed price, he flew a high-speed circumnavigation of the world, flew in several air shows and became owner of jet pilot training company Draken International. He has flown roughly 6,000 hours in various flight aircraft, which he said may be helpful for any spaceflight "contingencies" because he has faced emergencies in flight. He'll command the Inspiration4 flight.

Sian Proctor



Sian Proctor, 51, is a geoscience professor at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, and will be the first person from Guam to fly in space and has completed four space analog missions, including the all-female Sensoria Mars 2020 mission at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat.

Hayley Arceneaux



Hayley Arceneaux, 29, is a physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and is the Hope seat and medical officer on the Inspiration4 flight. She was selected by St. Jude as an ambassador for the mission.

Chris Sembroski



Chris Sembroski, 41, is a data engineer and former U.S. Space Camp counselor along with a former volunteer for ProSpace, a space lobby group focused on allowing commercial space companies such as SpaceX to conduct operations. He is flying on the Generosity seat on Inspiration4, which was awarded to the winner of a fundraising campaign that only asked entrants to donate to St. Jude. A friend actually won the seat, then passed it on to Semproski.

They will be conducting experiments while there (they are actually in orbit ABOVE where the ISS is orbiting and about on the same level as where the Hubble is orbiting). They are also hooked up and being medically analyzed during the trip.

[Sapient Donkey]

37. I am curious, is your objection limited to space tourism or to private space flight in general?

If it's the latter, what sort of harm do you believe the current relationship with private space companies has caused? Do you think it has set space exploration back some how? Do you think it costs more money? Is more dangerous? Would it be more effective the way things were handled in the past? Without companies like SpaceX, what do you think would be different now? And why do you think this?

If the issue is just with space tourism, I guess my question is what harm do you think is caused by these private space tourist flights? If these people didn't go into space, then why would we better off today than we are now? I am particularly curious in the case of SpaceX equipment since their rockets and capsule are the only reason why we're not hitching a ride with the Russians still.

I'm just trying to understand why we'd be better off if Space X didn't exist.

**addition**

I should also consider the possibility that you do not think space exploration is a good use of money across the board, and that it would be better used on Earth. If that's the case, then my question is how much do you think is spent on space exploration? When you take that relatively small amount of money, how could that be used in way to make significant improvements on Earth that outweigh the benefits of space exploration?

[Deminpenn]

53. There are too many people in the US still hungry, homeless,

on the brink of financial catastrophe, stretching themselves to the limit caring for disabled or elderly family members and more. There are beat down towns where the formerly main industries have closed or moved.

The money that billionaire spent for a joyride into space could have done so much good if used differently.

I understand the public-private partnership with SpaceX, etc, happened because of NASA budget constraints. It's cheaper to support the ISS or launch satellites, etc, that way.

[BumRushDaShow]

54. You never answered this question

I should also consider the possibility that you do not think space exploration is a good use of money across the board, and that it would be better used on Earth. If that's the case, then my question is how much do you think is spent on space exploration? When you take that relatively small amount of money, how could that be used in way to make significant improvements on Earth that outweigh the benefits of space exploration?

The U.S. could go ahead and shut NASA down completely, bring our astronauts back home and disable the U.S. section of the ISS, shut off Hubble, and take that funding and spread it between HUD, USDA, HHS. And while we're at it, we can also go ahead and shut down JPL, after disabling the Mars rovers, and close up shop at that facility so we can use the funding for the Department of Education.

Let Russia, China, and India have at it!!!!111!!!

[Deminpenn]

55. Really?

Let me repeat, the money this anonymous billionaire spent for a 3 day joyride into space could have been put to better use elsewhere.

NASA needed a private partner to continue its mission, thus the RFPs and subsequent contract with SpaceX. I'm not a big fan of public-private partnerships as a replacement for work the government should be doing on its own, but I understand why they exist and are useful.

[BumRushDaShow]

56. This has always been the argument

making the affected communities nothing more than "talking points" and "pawns" in a show of words about "the billionaire class" versus "the poor", with little other effort than arguing about it on the internet.

NASA needed a private partner to continue its mission, thus the RFPs and subsequent contract with SpaceX. I'm not a big fan of public-private partnerships as a replacement for work the government should be doing on its own, but I understand why they exist and are useful.

And the above is what boggles my mind the most. The ignorance about the fact that NASA, going back to its inception, has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS done "public-private partnerships" via "contracts". SpaceX is nothing new. The government NEVER did anything "on its own". It was CONTRACTED OUT. The people who worked for these projects in the government were PROJECT MANAGERS (including many tech staff - engineers, computer specialists, mathematicians, etc) who would conceive of the project and work with private industry to do the designs and manufacture of the vehicles.

FFS who the hell do you think built the damn Lunar Rovers (or any of the craft)? It sure as hell wasn't some GS-7 federal government worker.

I mean SERIOUSLY.

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4009/v1p3a.htm
https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch4-5.html

E.g., the famous Saturn rockets - https://history.nasa.gov/MHR-5/app_c.htm

[Farmer-Rick]

57. Wow that's a lot of questions

But I appreciate that you asked in such a nonconfrontational way and you are being reasonable.

My main issue with billionaires in space is the waste of resources. Do we really need tourism in space? Why are we using Tax dollars for billionaires when we have people with no homes. Wouldn't the resources be better spent to promote everyone's rights or give people homes? Wouldn't that wealth be better applied to taking care of the hungry and suffering?

We are in a pandemic where people are dying by the thousands and our national wealth is being used to create a market for the filthy rich. I doubt you or I will ever be able to afford a ticket to outerspace and the current markets here on earth are already failing.. do we really need to develop another luxury item for the filthy rich?

The wealth the billionaires are wasting isn't their wealth. They cheated, lied, abused their privileges, broke the law, bribed oversight agencies, manipulated innocent people and abused their employees to get that wealth. They continually run a scam on citizens and our captured government helps them do it. Not to mention the vast sums of money our nation used to develop space travel that the filthy rich are allowed access to without paying for it. You and I couldn't get that kind of support from NASA.

That wealth the billionaires waste on luxuries and elaborate travel is our national wealth. It belongs to the entire nation and we have so much suffering here on earth that the enormous waste is a slap in the face to all the dead, dying, suffering and homeless people who make up the majority of this country.

The share of income captured by the middle class has fallen from 60% in 1970 to 43% in 2014. And it is probably even worse today. Shouldn't we wait until we have corrected this imbalance before allowing millionaires to frolick in space with our technology?

I think space exploration is a very neccasary and useful plan. But turning our technology over to billionaires who are just looking for kicks is wasteful. There's a better way to get us to space travel then letting the filthy rich take it over and turn it into another polluted profit center.

Thanks for asking....

[Sapient Donkey]

61. I like to try to understand people's perspectives and how they are formed

Removing the fog makes for far more interesting and productive conversations, because it makes it easier to identify the root cause of the differences in viewpoints lay. It also reduces our tendencies to assume the least charitable interpretations of someone's intent or motives. I appreciate your thoughtful responses.

I'm am with you on space tourism for the most part. To some extent I understand that it can serve a purpose to make space more accessible for the general public, and that it helps develop the specific technology and businesses behind it. However, for that to actually happen the prices would have to drop very significantly. Another issue with space tourism using current technology is that for it to be done a scale that some people envision, it would cause large amounts of pollution. I think it's something like a long-haul flight on a plane expends three tons of carbon across several hundred people, but a rocket launch is 200 tons for a few people. Plus the idea of billionaires going into space with their friends isn't exactly exciting (to me). The successful use of technology to accomplish it is cool, but the actual "missions" are blah. That being said, I am open to being convinced I have the wrong take on this and that space tourism is a great thing I should be very excited about.

As for the money spent on these launches. My argument is that it's not really a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. We could cut our military budget by 100 billion dollars and it would be many several times over the amount of public and private money spent on space projects. Minor increases in taxes could earn more revenue. The issues we're trying to solve are a lot larger than a few billion dollars in subsidies that went to SpaceX. I also suspect a lot of the issues we have are not due to there being a lack of ability to pay for what needs to be done, but lack of will to pay for those changes due to a flawed mindset. That same mindset that has lead to the decrease in the middle-class in the past decades. These issues would exist whether or not we have private space companies.

Are we actually handing over technology to billionaires? Haven't rockets and spacecraft always been built by private corporations? Often times at costs significantly higher than what SpaceX has cost the US taxpayer? If it wasn't for SpaceX (and I perhaps to some extent Blue Origin), I don't know if we'd have the current amount of reusability with the rockets that we have now. The tech that we see for that was developed by SpaceX. The Dragon capsules were developed by SpaceX, and now we are able to send astronauts back into space without relying on other countries. SpaceX's starship thing is supposedly going to be used as the lander on a mission to the moon in the not so distant future. Without SpaceX, NASA wouldn't have a design so far along at this time, and would instead have to start the design from scratch.

Technology and activity in space has increased so much in the past couple of decades because of private spaceflight. I can only imagine that in the future we'll be mining asteroids and building Dyson spheres (okay maybe not that...). This increased activity might lead to there being a need for even more efficient travel from Earth to space, and in turn makes the idea of a space elevator seem like a worthwhile endeavor to seriously attempt. Hey, now we can seriously talk about space tourism for the masses!

*Not looking to change your mind, but just adding my perspective. I welcome any thoughts you might have.

[hunter]

59. 90% of us have crap jobs that are not making the world a better place.

If I was Supreme Emperor of the Earth SpaceX might not even be on my list of industries to eradicate.

[CaptainTruth]

62. What do you think happens to the tax dollars that go to NASA?

Do you think the money is bundled up & launched into space, to forever float through the universe, wasted & unused?

No. That money provides good-paying jobs for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who design & build & support every aspect of the space program. It provides steady paychecks that allow them to put a roof over their family's head, to feed their children & buy clothes for them, buy birthday presents for them, save up for their college, etc etc. In purely economic terms it's an investment that has positive ROI, positive return on investment, because every NASA dollar that goes to the salary of an American worker gets spent & respent & respect, over & over, & generates much more than $1 of economic activity.

[PBC_Democrat]

2. I watch the launch on YouTube ...

and then walked out to the front yard, looked north and watched the capsule head into space.

Another awesome reason to live in S. Fla

[Politicub]

7. Space tech development has been moving quickly lately

Billionaires suck and all that, but it’s a remarkable time for space-oriented technology. It seemed like we went years with only the ISS as one of the few things happening in re: to space.

Is it a new golden age? It’s cheap and easy to say it’s an age for the rich to make more gold, so let’s get that out of the way. It does feel like revolutionary things are happening, though.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. Well many (and I know it's not "all" )

like the idea "Star Trek", and based on the demographic that posts on DU, it's most likely the original series, with some having made the jump to "Star Trek:The Next Generation" in the late '80s (with fans having followed the whole franchise through to the series running now, to date, since 1966).

However in order to actually "get to" where Star Trek did, with people flying shuttles or starships to space and settling on colonies, somehow, you have to get to a point where you can have "non-military" people be able to finally do it.

NASA tried 35 years ago with Christa McAuliffe - "the first 'teacher in space'", and we saw the tragedy of that event.

[Farmer-Rick]

13. Star Trek was not a capitalist society

We may be barking up the wrong tree with billionaire capitalists in space....

[BumRushDaShow]

15. I expect you missed DS9

Besides, everything about the storylines was to show how much it was and how, through the ideals of the United Federation of Plants, they fought it.

[Farmer-Rick]

17. You may have missed Star Trek The Next Generation episode The Neutral Zone

Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “The Neutral Zone"

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.startrek.com/news/smith-marx-and-picard-star-trek-and-our-economic-future%3famp

It's an interesting article about the Trek universe. You may enjoy it.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. I have every episode of every one of the original 6 series

(including the animated series) on tape and all of the films on DVD or laserdisc, and have watched them all over the past 50 years.

You are dealing with a Trekkie here.

I suggest you expand beyond TNG because that is not the only "canon" series.

[Farmer-Rick]

21. Shhhh, don't let anyone know

And I won't tell anyone, if you don't.

Just kidding. It's rare to have someone brag about being a Trekkie.

Anyway read the link. If you're a Trekkie you may have read the book. And if not, you'll have some very interesting reading ahead of you.

[BumRushDaShow]

25. I have shelves and shelves of Trek books

I have been at it for a LONG LONG time. I have been to conventions.

If you want to see "economics" in action, go visit Quark's on DS9.

There are many examples throughout all of the series - hell, the pilot for TNG when Q was reading off the failings of humanity (I love John de Lancie and I know there is a DUer who goes by "Farpoint" for a user name) -

[Farmer-Rick]

28. Well you really are into it

Well, everyone needs a hobby.

My brother is a big Trekkie too but I think you may out do him.

[BumRushDaShow]

30. So far I have refused to pay for CBS's pay channel

to see their newest couple of Trek series although maybe one day. I did want to see their "Picard" , which was their initial series on their pay channel and was the first "new" Trek series since "Star Trek:Enterprise" ended in 2005... but one of these days.

[EX500rider]

64. As a trekkie myself..

Discovery is way worth the Paramount+ money, if you opt with some commercials I think it is $5.99 a month.
Amazon Vid I think has the 1st episode of Discovery and Picard for free (they did last month anyway) and if not you could buy the 1st episodes there also to see if it's worth pony'ing up the $ for Paramount+
Plus you get "Lower Decks" which is also great fun.
Picard is good too, you get to see a lot of STNG and Voyager cast members in their same roles.
But Discovery is awesome i think. But the 1st episode or two are little bumpy, it gets better as it goes.
(and in later episodes you will find out why their spore drive has not been heard of)

[BumRushDaShow]

65. See....

You all are bad.

Thanks to the pandemic nightmare of the past year and other things, I have barely been able to turn on the TV let alone watch any "entertainment" on it because literally every day, is some "drama", whether nationally or locally, that directly impacts my life - stuff like, "oh yeah by the way we're shutting down one of the major routes in your neighborhood for the next 4 months to put in new storm water pipes" (and sucks to be you)!!11!!!, or "we need to replace your old gas meter RIGHT NOW!!11!!!!".

As it is, since I had Sprint, which was gobbled up by T-Mobile, I have the upcoming drama of redoing my cell plan. My plan actually came with free Hulu but T-Mobile doesn't do that (they do Netflix) so since I already sub to Disney+ I am guessing I'll need to do the Hulu with Disney+ (where they also include ESPN+ that I would never use).

[hunter]

58. DS9 was a semi lawless frontier outpost on territory recently ceded to the Federation.

The show dealt with economic systems, religions, ideologies, and politics far outside the human norms of Star Trek the Next Generation's Earth. Most humans of that earth would find the resulting conflicts on DS9 abhorrent.

Commander Sisko, with his inherent respect for all sentient beings, and his appreciation of humanity's own very troubled history, make him an ideal leader there.

[BumRushDaShow]

60. Precisely

which is why it garnered so much angst for some and embrace by others - where people were literally arguing that "Roddenberry would NEVER HAVE a Star Trek series with stories where the characters were involved A WAR!!!11!!!!111!"

I think that's part of the reason why Majel Barrett became a recurring character on there to give it the "Roddenberry" blessings.

It came out during a time when the younger GenXers craved and demanded "dark" storylines (witness what was done to the "Battlestar Galactica" reboot later, with some Trek alumni contributing to that (Ron D. Moore)).

However the latter seasons of DS9 really shone because they were, as was the point of the original series, designed to "mirror" the world of that time - i.e., I think the ep "In the Pale Moonlight" was probably the finest example.

What made DS9 more powerful was that those who followed TOS and TNG were well schooled in "The Federation" and the principles of Star Fleet. So it exposed the underbelly that is "real life" - the types of things that really do go on, the ugly decisions that are often made, and the consequences of it. Which made the desire to continue reaching for a "utopia", even stronger. It's sort of like what Logan's Run did.

[Politicub]

24. That was so shocking. And I remember where I was when it happened...

I was at my grandmother’s house because I was out of school sick that day.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. I was at work on a lunch break and went out to a food cart to pick up something to bring back

right around when it happened, and I literally heard people out on the street talking about it. So I grabbed some food and ran back to the office and turned on the radio to listen to the coverage. When I got home, I talked to my mom (who was an avid VCR taper), and she had taped it right after it happened and I eventually got her tape to see what she had recorded and of course they were airing it over and over on the news as it was (so I had recorded some myself later).

[question everything]

20. BRAVO! Any thing that can add to our knowledge is welcomed

Here is a post by ZonkerHarris that has been accumulating many recommendations and accolades:

I am sick of people who pick up their cell phone, full of silicon chip technology,

semiconductors, Ethernet connections, Bluetooth capabilities, and Wi-Fi enabled to upload or download data through broadband fiber optic networks and send it to satellites in geosynchronous orbit above the earth that have been placed there by giant rockets, actual fucking rockets, so they can connect to a social media website that is powered by acres of computer servers processing terra gigs of data every second just so they can tweet about how they “don’t believe in science.”

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215859121#post49

Add to this same individuals who cannot or will not see the benefit of space explorations. Who protested the moon missions in the 60s and who now point to "millionaires." These innovators first, employ many engineers and scientists and they do add to our knowledge and to future inventions.

[BumRushDaShow]

31. LOL

I did see that OP.

A righteous rant.

[Rhiannon12866]

32. Video thread: First Launch of All Civilian Crew into Orbit LIVE

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017681469

[BumRushDaShow]

33. Thanks!

I compared it to this (looks similar) -

(ETA - that was from the 8th Trek movie "Star Trek: First Contact" - the launch of the first "warp" ship built by Zefram Cochran)

[Rhiannon12866]

34. LOL, thanks! I missed that one!

I never saw the spin-offs, but I saw all the originals - including the first one which I saw in the theater 6 times!

[BumRushDaShow]

35. LOL yeah

"First Contact" was the first "standalone" film for "Star Trek:The Next Generation" as the previous one ("Generations", the 7th, was a transition between the original series and TNG, and also a literal "hand-off" to that newer series since you had your 2 main Captains featured (by the quirk of a scifi gimmick - "the Nexus" ). Of course a lot of people hated the ending -

What I found painful was this -

I eventually bought it on laserdisc (DVDs hadn't really come out yet) and ended up getting into a new hobby of creating a whole "home theater" just to get the rumbling sound of that saucer hitting the ground.

[Rhiannon12866]

36. Wow! You are dedicated!

I do recognize Patrick Stewart, though I never watched the series. Thanks for the Star Trek history lesson. I have an excuse, I was away at school when Star Trek was on. My brother watched and I remember he showed me an episode to let me know what I was missing - and I still remember that it was "The Trouble With Tribbles!"

[BumRushDaShow]

43. Most casual viewers who enjoyed the original series

liked "The Trouble With Tribbles" (ironically with a "GMO" crop of wheat as part of the plot) and there was actually a follow-on animated series episode (from the early 70s when the show was revived in animated form) called "More Tribbles, More Troubles" (it's true)!

and a DS9 episode "Trials and Tibble-lations" -

I think most of the hardcore fans like Joan Collins in "The City on the Edge of Forever" though (I thought it was too sappy ) -

But my fave will always be this ("The Doomsday Machine" ) -

William Windom did such an excellent OTT performance to make that literally the "scariest" and "intense" Trek episode I ever saw.

[Rhiannon12866]

44. Thanks!

And even though I wasn't familiar with the series back then, I got the impression that the Tribbles episode wasn't a regular type of episode for the series. But of course, that was just the one that was on that night. Back then we didn't record anything.

[BumRushDaShow]

47. The tribble episode

was one of their "fun episodes" and what always distracted me about it was the actor William Schallert (who played Nilz Baris)



and I would always say - "He's on the 'Patty Duke Show'"!!!!



(he used to guest star on a bunch of other shows too)

[Rhiannon12866]

48. BTW, I just remembered, when I was in college, James Doohan came there to speak

It was apparently a big deal, but of course I had no idea who he was. I was away at camp - summers - for six years and away at school for six years, though they did overlap for two years. I only had access to television my senior year in college, my parents bought me a small TV for my 21st birthday - I was quite impressed! But then Ramsey Clark also came to speak and my friend was excited to hear him, but I had no idea who he was either...

I did, however, get to meet B.F. Skinner when he came to speak! I was a psych major and we were invited to meet with him earlier in the day. It must have been one of his last public speaking appearances, but he was a graduate of my school, so that's why he came. He was very entertaining, had lots of funny stories, he was apparently a big "cut up" back in his college days...

[BumRushDaShow]

50. Oh I bet that was great!!

Doohan's character was always so iconic and as a Canadian (like Shatner), I know many Canadian citizens were always proud of his contribution to the show. And it's wild that probably most college kids don't appreciate who might come to speak on campus until years or decades later.

Since I was a chem major, I had to somehow jam the "core courses" into my "set schedule" of chem/calc/physics classes, and I did manage to take 2 psychology courses and a sociology course to satisfy that requirement, and Skinner was definitely a biggy of the field. I expect people like him who did a lot of public speaking, were the type who had a natural sense of humor and can be a riot to listen to.

I remember having a British physics professor who would literally give lectures where for example, he would start the class dressed up in a costume and would lie on a bed of nails in order to demonstrate some physics principle.

[Rhiannon12866]

51. LOL! Your physics professor sounds quite entertaining, too - though B.F. Skinner didn't go that far!

I looked him up and he must have been retired at the time he came to my school, but he was a graduate and that's why he came. He just sat in a chair and took questions, but he had amusing stories about the rumors we may have heard about him and about his good friend Carl Rogers, LOL. They used to go fishing together. And he graduated in 1926, yikes! Neither of my parents had been born yet!

And James Doohan was considered a big draw, I remember the posters announcing his appearance had his photo on them - and of course everyone was excited to see and hear him, exceot me. Though he must have been in that Tribbles episode.

BTW, I did see Tom Petty when he came to perform. I was sitting right near the aisle and he walked right by me...

[BumRushDaShow]

52. LOL

People like that have to sometimes make a speech or lecture entertaining because it can be boring listening to what can often be complex subjects. And yeah, Skinner managed to squeak in before the Depression hit. My mom hadn't been born either although my dad was born in 1924... but still. His father (my grandfather) had graduated from dental school around the time he was born, so they were the WWI generation in what became the "roaring twenties".

I guess our "twenties" are the opposite of the "roaring twenties" of a century ago.

And you had a good spot to see Petty. I remember when the Allman Brothers and Bonnie Raitt performed at my college stadium when I was in college and one of my buddies knew some of the organizers and scored tickets right on the stadium's field in front of the stage (most everyone else were in the bleacher seats). We could throw a blanket out on the ground, whip out the snacks, and watch the show.

[Sapient Donkey]

40. As a kid I was obsessed with that scene...

This one too...

[BumRushDaShow]

45. IMHO

as much as I hated their canon "break" by claiming that what happened in that film "changed the whole Trek timeline" (with a later claim of it justifying the egregious depictions of Vulcans in "Star Trek: Enterprise" ), I always thought it was one of the most iconic scenes for getting a "peek" at the beginning of the "warp engine era". Of course the excellent actor James Cromwell looked nothing like the Glenn Corbett Zefram Cochran in TOS "Metamorphosis" but I guess you'd have to obviously use your imagination.

I know that Manny Coto was brought in to try to "save" ENT from Brannon Braga's destruction of the franchise, so many of the more engaging episodes happened near the end of the series, but I think the "Mirror Universe" plots that go across many of the series, are always faves where even VOY had a "Mirror Tuvok" appear in a DS9 episode.

[Crowman2009]

38. Good job! Anything less than Yuri Gagarin's feat is a unimpressive IMO..

I'll take SpaceX's Inspiration 4 over those sub-orbital flops any day of the week. The blue origin spacecraft couldn't even go higher than Alan Shepard.

[Sapient Donkey]

39. I didn't even know about this until reading it here.

So, how many crewed launches have there been on the Crew Dragon? Three or four? I find the SpaceX stuff far more interesting that the other guys. I guess because SpaceX is actually doing stuff that goes beyond the rides for rich people and their friends.

[BumRushDaShow]

49. They did 3 previously (including their first "test" one)

https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/23/22398981/spacex-launches-third-nasa-astronaut-crew-used-crew-dragon-capsule

This would be the 4th, although obviously not associated with the ISS. However the orbit that they are in is higher than the ISS, which is kinda cool. It is supposedly at the same level as Hubble so I expect one of these days, they can get back to what the shuttles could do in the past, alowing engineers to get to the larger satellites/space instruments, to do repairs.

[NBachers]

41. The first Microwave Ovens were expensive, too.

[maddogesq]

42. I worry about Hayley's prosthetic.

Yeah I know, I am my mother’s son.

My tech background is electronics. But seeing that she pulled 8 G’s in the jet and now is in weightlessness for three days put worry into me.

Hopefully the NASA—and I emphasize NASA—materials and medical people gave this some thought before clearing her for the flight.

[BumRushDaShow]

46. She also did a trek up Mt. Ranier too

So I think whatever data they gather on how her condition might be impacted in these types of extreme circumstances, will definitely be helpful for future prosthetic designs.

[Sgent]

63. Its a worry

but someone has to be the first, and a 29yo is much better than someone older if she has to have corrective surgery when she gets home. I know they mentioned they were doing a lot of monitoring both pre and post flight to examine any effects so they can predict better with future astronaughts.