Actor William Shatner Makes It To Space With Blue Origin
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Kaarme
Scotty kept the engines running perfectly, it seems.
alanm
Must be the oldest guy in space. Good to know if I ever reach 90 and need to be up there when space flight is more mainstream.
Brit90
He was very emotional upon landing and I think he realised how vulnerable the earth actually is as he could physically see it and compare it to the vastness of nothingness.
Sadly, Branson and Bezos has made a mockery of the word "astronaut" as to me and many others, the word means someone who has trained and done something significant in space. being a passenger doesn't make anyone an astronaut, but more of an astrotourist to be more accurate.
LEEc337
Bet you it wasn't flat
insp1re2600
https://images.theconversation.com/files/218823/original/file-20180514-100722-1yxg7ip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=926&fit=clip
insp1re2600
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xx_1UIWI_tY/hqdefault.jpg
RealNC
The spacecraft has smart windows that transform the flat earth in a way that appears round to everyone onboard.
schmidtbag
Well by definition, you'd be correct that training is part of being an astronaut, though I guess the real question is: how much training does it take to become an astronaut. I figure some training is necessary, even for someone like Shatner. Space travel isn't as complicated for the passengers as it used to be, since the computers do all the hard work.
I think where we agree is the term "astronaut" is being thrown around too loosely. So, I would argue that if you're not actually doing work while traveling in space (and by space I mean at least above the Karman Line), then you're just an astrotourist. You're not a sailor just because you're a passenger on a boat. You're not a racer just because you're a passenger in a sports car on a track. You're not an astronaut just because you've been to space.
NewTRUMP Order
Circle the Earth a few times in space then I might be impressed. Straight up and then down is not space travel. https://media0.giphy.com/media/CcLaILAAOhvgc/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47rl3akdvn0b3l7i5cf23hpcp28vaw0i6vu87io6pd&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g
JamesSneed
Agree. It used to be everyone in the rocket was an astronaut so we tend to think about it like that. We are at the point the distinction should be made because some people are just passengers now that space travel has been commercialized.
insp1re2600
dont need training to sit on a fairground ride do you, he sat in a seat, went up, came back down. what training does he need?
alanm
They need some training to handle the G forces. Probably in a centrifuge, as well as fitness training.
Kaarme
Has has got the whole Starfleet capital ship captain training. It has to count for something.
mbk1969
[youtube=ckcdqlo3pYc]
vestibule
Shatners endeavours raise a question with me.
It does make you wonder what all that train the astronauts marine style to death was all about in the 60/70's. Maybe it was just machoism. WhooRahhh.
Cannot wait for the interviews. Oh? and billy who's shirts do yo wear!
geogan
I thought I heard that the FAA or whatever space equivalent has already redefined what it takes to be called an astronaut after the whole Branson/Bezos flights. They are knew it was bullshit to be called one for simply being a rich passenger. I'd say you have to do at least one full orbit of the Earth to be called one, not just a short up/down or high altitude flight (even if above karmon line). The "inspiration 4" crew i would now class as astronauts (3 days orbiting at much higher altitude than even the ISS)
RealNC
Shatner would never be able to go to space on his own. He was escorted by trained astronauts who know how to handle operations, equipment and emergency situations. Even learning orbital mechanics is difficult, but it's not needed if you're just a passenger.
Hell, even learning how to take a shit in space seems complicated...
Reddoguk
Is it true only 99 people have ever been to space? These were 96 97 98 99 which is crazy really. Shame William Shatner couldn't be number 90...
tsunami231
to boldly go where n other enterprise member has gone
atlest as far as i know he the only enterprise and or star trek crew has went
Venix
Not really , when someone is just going up there as tourist .. sure go on enjoy the joyride. But actual austronauts they have to be on peak physical condition , have extensive knowledge of the ship's and or station equipment repairing and maintaining if something breaks up there there is no amazon prime to deliver a replacement part with in hours , they have to be able to do hard workout at least 2 hours a day ( for the space station crew) to reduce the muscle atrophy and the softening of the bones since they become spongy and they do that fast ! Even a 2 - 3day mission takes a good toll on your bones . Equipment is designed with extreme redudency in mind . Sometimes it is not enough on apollo i think it was 13 ...anyway they had failure after failure after failure they had to withstand extreme cold to preserve electrical charge and on top of that to eyeball their re entrance to the atmospere witch sounds simple enough but if you come in too steep you come in to fast and you become a firework , come in with a too wide angle and your ship just became a skipping stone ! The apollo pilot manage to do that manually after extensive time spend temperatures well bellow 0 degrees .
