Safety Concerns Are Not a Personal Insult

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The late Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate. (OceanGate)

If you go to the OceanGate Expeditions website, home of the recently lost Titan submersible, you will notice two statements that say it all:

  • A PR blurb for interested tourists: “95% of the Earth’s ocean is unexplored. You can change that.”
  • And the current status of the expeditions for interested tourists: “OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations.”

Exploring is fine, but you are not helping to explore the other 95 percent of the Earth’s ocean if you keep going down to the same spot. In addition, “commercial” operations should not be resumed until safety is part of the package.

The New York Post recently published an article, “Titan Sub CEO was on ‘Predatory’ Hunt for Rich Clients to Join Deadly Dive, Industry Leader Says,” highlighting how Stockton Rush ignored safety concerns shared by others, seeing them as a personal insult.

I hope a few other CEOs out there looking at commercial space tourism opportunities are closely reviewing this gruesome case study.

Pic of the Week: Starship Prepares for a Future Flight

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): June 26, 2023 Starship engine test viewed from above. (SpaceX)

The image above shows the SpaceX Ship 25 rocket from above as it tested it engines on June 26, 2023. Presumably, Elon Musk was tweeting out this and other such shots, but given the restrictions placed on Twitter these days, you may not be able to acquire this on your own without an account.

As far as the next Starship launch, the exact date has yet to be shared. However, NASA is already talking about delaying the Artemis III lunar mission, which will use the Starship, from 2025 to 2026.

A Success for Virgin Galactic

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Interior of Galactic 01 after the successful launch. (Virgin Galactic)

Last Thursday, Virgin Galactic successfully brought paying customers to space, or at least to the edge of space. In this case, it was three Italians, an instructor, and two pilots. You can watch a video of the flight here.

Below is the statement by Virgin Galactic’s CEO:

Tourist flights (at $450,000 per seat) are expected to begin next month. It is too bad that this flight comes so close to the loss of the Titan submersible, but the show must go on.

I expect we might learn just as much about our home planet at the bottom of the sea than miles up in the atmosphere, but such learning will be dangerous and need the right people and skills. The rest is playful profits.

Is the Backlash to the Titan Tragedy Coming for the Space Industry?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Recent Axiom Space crew that visited the International Space Station. (Axiom Space)

Axiom has an interesting article, “Titanic Sub Tragedy Stokes Fears for Space Tourism,” on how the recent Titan tragedy may impact the space tourism industry, noting:

Congress has explicitly prohibited the Federal Aviation Administration from enacting any regulations designed to protect the safety of people flying into space. It can only concern itself with the safety of people on the ground.

That may not be an acceptable state of affairs after last week. Yet Congress seems to have little focus these days, so it is unlikely it will get involved in new regulations. So potential passengers beware because your government is not really all that engaged in your welfare.

One big difference between a sea versus a space mission is that I do not foresee an extended rescue mission at taxpayer expense. While the Titan exploded in an environment that made it difficult to locate, involving enormous resources to find the wreckage, any space explosion or incident will be easy to see from the ground and come to a quick close with little need for additional resources. That may not sound good to the tourists on the spacecraft, but it is one less thing the taxpayers need to worry about.

Space Quote: NASA and Another Type of Tourism

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): OceanGate’s Titan submersible. (Associated Press)

“OceanGate is doing for deep sea exploration, discovery, and research what companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, World View, and Virgin Galactic are doing for space exploration and discovery…I look forward to supporting OceanGate’s effort to document the Titanic and its role as a deep ocean artificial reef when I join the expedition as a crewmember this summer.“

-Statement by NASA planetary scientist Alan Stern in an OceanGate press release from March 2022. Dr. Stern is best known for his role as the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. The press release also discusses NASA’s assistance to OceanGate in the development of the Titan submersible that is still lost in the Atlantic after a mission to take tourists to see the late Titanic. While Dr. Stern mentions exploration and discovery, this was simply tourism gone wrong. Tourism is a lucrative aspect of the four space companies listed above, but it is not without its risks. Fortunately, Dr. Stern had a good trip last summer, and we can only hope the five individuals on the Titan will also return safely to the surface.