4633

If you ignore the clickbait title, here’s a super interesting way of looking at the planet’s orbits from an Earth-centric point of view along with 3753 Cruithne, an asteroid that is in orbital resonance with Earth:

4634

Jupiter abides. I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that, knowin’ it’s out there. Jupiter. Takin’ meteor impacts easy for all us minor planets.

4635

Haley is a terrific ambassador. This got me to donate.

4636

Reminder for those, like me, who enjoy watching these things live:

4637

10 minutes to splashdown:

4638

Captain James T. Kirk is boldly going where Jeff Bezos has gone before.

4639

I guess if I were Shatner I’d take a free trip to space in exchange for being a poster-boy for Bezos’ boondoggles, too, but it still gives me a chalky taste in my mouth.

4640

(I thought) this was a great talk about the James Webb Telescope

4641

This is the true story…of four hot strangers…picked to live in a simulated shed ride to Phobos and have their lives taped…to find out what happens…when people stop being polite…and start getting real.

The Real World. Well, Mars. Well, the fake trip to Phobos which is on the Real World, Earth: Houston.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-selects-crew-for-simulated-trip-to-a-mars-moon

4642

“Hera?” Not really an auspicious name for a mission about getting along with peers.

4643

Is he going Blue Origin because it’s an easier trip on his very old body? I honestly don’t know if there are more or less Gs on a suborbital flight than an orbital, basic guesswork says yes but obviously it could be the same. If I was Shatner I would want to orbit, because I assume he has the money to do whatever he damned well chooses.

4644

I’m not sure he has a spare $200 million lying around, and that’s what the orbital flights go for, and a lot more training/prep is involved.

4645

I was thinking of the tourist one that just happened, did they all pay SpaceX 200M? I would have thought much less.

Edit: Seems like a trip to the ISS is just 55M per head:

I have to think Shatner has 55M laying around.

4646

Considering Rescue 911 - Wikipedia, I seriously doubt that… My guess would be that Blue Origin needs a well-known name and face for publicity, and figures that Star Trek is appropriate (I can already imagine all the lame “boldy go”- references that will be made during the launch…).

And who knows: maybe they want to show that it is doable even for a 90-year old, so that all the old people that have enough money lying around might give it a go?

4647

And if Shatner dies on the trip, do they just release the body into space?

I can even imagine a Harry Harriman reference along the way.

4648

That would require Blue Origin to… actually get to space ;)

4649

I thought Shatner is receiving the trip for free as a publicity stunt?

4650

Even if they do get to space, they’re on a suborbital trajectory. They could release Shatner’s body to fall back to Earth at terminal velocity and be splattered on the ground.

4651

To boldly go splatt.

4652

Well, burning up on reentry would at least reduce the cost of cremation.

I would be concerned, however, that he would henceforth be known as Bill Spattner.