Space Quote: Elon Musk’s Spat Jeopardizes Starlink Operations in Brazil

Posted on by onespaceman2000

“He can’t go around insulting presidents, insulting deputies, insulting the Senate, insulting the Chamber, insulting the Supreme Court. Who does he think he is?…That guy has to accept the rules of this country, and if this country made a decision through the Supreme Court, he has to comply. If it applies to me, it applies to him.”

–Statement by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva regarding Elon Musk protesting the Brazilian Supreme Court’s order suspending Twitter/X nationwide. The issue relates to the spread of misinformation on Twitter/X and the company’s refusal to name a representative in Brazil. The spat is already having ripple effects on SpaceX’s Starlink operations in the country.

Space Quote: NASA’s North Star Means Boeing Astronauts to Return to Earth on SpaceX Capsule

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Boeing Starliner attached to the ISS. (NASA)

“Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star…I’m grateful to both the NASA and Boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work.“

–Statement by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson regarding NASA’s decision to return Boeing’s Starliner to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the spacecraft. Instead the two astronauts will remain on the International Space Station (ISS) until February 2025 when they will return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

Space Quote: Microscopic Life on Mars?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover. (NASA)

“Cheyava Falls is the most puzzling, complex, and potentially important rock yet investigated by Perseverance…On the one hand, we have our first compelling detection of organic material, distinctive colorful spots indicative of chemical reactions that microbial life could use as an energy source, and clear evidence that water — necessary for life — once passed through the rock. On the other hand, we have been unable to determine exactly how the rock formed and to what extent nearby rocks may have heated Cheyava Falls and contributed to these features.”

–Statement by Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist of Caltech in Pasadena, regarding a recent finding by the Perseverance rover on Mars. The rock, labeled “Cheyava Falls,” may answer whether Mars was home to microscopic life in the distant past.

Space Quote: Second Thoughts About a Journey to Mars

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Image (Credit): Official mission 1 CHAPEA crew portrait (from left to right: Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, Kelly Haston, Nathan Jones). (NASA)

“”It would still cause me a great deal of thought, but I think my answer now is it would be very difficult to leave my partner, to leave my people, for that amount of time, because it would be far more than a year…That commitment, it’s going to be a tremendous effort when people go, and I really applaud whoever gets to do that. But I’m not sure it’ll be me.”

–Statement by Kelly Haston, a Canadian research scientist, after spending 378 days as part of NASA’s yearlong Mars simulation project. She was part of a team of four individuals who lived together during this period at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in what is called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) project. The next simulation mission is planned for next year.

Space Quote: Starliner a Money Pit for Boeing?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): ISS view of the approaching Boeing Starliner last Thursday. (NASA)

“The Boeing Starliner is contracted to fly just six crewed missions to the International Space Station compared to 14 for the SpaceX Crew Dragon. If Boeing has any hope of earning back a return on its investment, it has to sell commercial flights of the Starliner, just as SpaceX has the Crew Dragon.”

–Editorial by Mark R. Whittington in The Hill, highlighting the issues associated with delays in getting the Boeing Spaceplane into orbit. Does this mean more tourists heading for the International Space Station (ISS)? Mr. Whittington points out the advantages of the Starliner, even if Boeing may lose some money, stating, “As good as SpaceX and its Crew Dragon are, a monopoly is never a good idea.”