Daily Archives: February 22, 2024

We've added the arrow and "Earth" note to this view of Earth taken by the NASA Curiosity Mars rover. The original photograph is also in this article. Credit: NASA

Within the next few decades, NASA aims to land humans on the Moon, set up a lunar colony and use the lessons learned to send people to Mars as part of itsArtemis program.

While researchers know that space travel can stress space crew members both physically and mentally and test their ability to work together in close quarters, missions to Mars will amplify these challenges. Mars is far away millions of miles from Earth and a mission to the red planet will take two to two and a half years, between travel time and the Mars surface exploration itself.

As a psychiatristwho has studiedspacecrew member interactionsin orbit, Im interested in the stressors that will occur during a Mars mission and how to mitigate them for the benefit of future space travelers.

Given the great distance to Mars,two-way communication between crew members and Earthwill take about 25 minutes round trip. This delayed contact with home wont just hurt crew member morale. It will likely mean space crews wont get as much real-time help from Mission Control during onboard emergencies.

Because these communications travel at the speed of light and cant go any faster, experts are coming up withways to improve communication efficiencyunder time-delayed conditions.These solutions might includetexting, periodically summarizing topics and encouraging participants to ask questions at the end of each message, which the responder can answer during the next message.

Space crew memberswont be able to communicatewith Mission Control in real time to plan their schedules and activities, so theyll need to conduct their workmore autonomouslythan astronauts working on orbit on the International Space Station.

Although studies during space simulations on Earth have suggested that crew members canstill accomplish mission goalsunder highly autonomous conditions, researchers need to learn more about how these conditions affect crew member interactions and their relationship with Mission Control.

For example, Mission Control personnel usually advise crew members on how to deal with problems or emergencies in real time. That wont be an option during a Mars mission.

To study this challenge back on Earth, scientists could run a series of simulations where crew members have varying degrees of contact with Mission Control. They could then see what happens to the interactions between crew members and their ability to get along and conduct their duties productively.

Beingconfined with a small group of peoplefor a long period of time can lead totension and interpersonal strife.

In my research teamsstudies of on-orbit crews,we found thatwhen experiencing interpersonal stress in space, crew members mightdisplace this tensionby blaming Mission Control for scheduling problems or not offering enough support. This can lead to crew-ground misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

One way to deal with interpersonal tension on board would be to schedule time each week for the crew members to discuss interpersonal conflicts during planned bull sessions.We have foundthat commanders who are supportive can improve crew cohesion. A supportive commander, or someone trained in anger management, could facilitate these sessions to help crew members understand their interpersonal conflicts before their feelings fester and harm the mission.

Spendinglong periods of timeaway from home canweigh on crew members moralein space. Astronauts miss their families and report being concerned about the well-being of their family members back on Earth, especially when someone is sick or in a crisis.

Mission duration can also affect astronauts. A Mars mission will have three phases: the outbound trip, the stay on the Martian surface and the return home. Each of these phasesmay affect crew members differently. For example, the excitement of being on Mars might boost morale, while boredom during the return may sink it.

For astronauts in orbit, seeing the Earth from spaceserves as a reminderthat their home, family and friends arent too far away. But for crew members traveling to Mars, watchingas the Earth shrinksto an insignificant dot in the heavens could result in aprofound sense of isolation and homesickness.

Having telescopes on board that will allow the crew members to see Earth as a beautiful ball in space, or giving them access to virtual reality images of trees, lakes and family members, could help mitigate any disappearing-Earth effects. But these countermeasures could just as easily lead to deeper depression as the crew members reflect on what theyre missing.

Researchers studiedsome of these issues during theMars500 program, a collaboration between the Russian and other space agencies. During Mars500, six men were isolated for 520 days in a space simulator in Moscow. They underwent periods of delayed communication and autonomy, and they simulated a landing on Mars.

Scientists learned a lot from that simulation. But many features of a real Mars mission,such as microgravity, and some dangers of space meteoroid impacts, the disappearing-Earth phenomenon arent easy to simulate.

Planned missions under theArtemis programwill allow researchers to learn more about the pressures astronauts will face during the journey to Mars.

For example, NASA is planning aspace station called Gateway, which will orbit the Moon and serve as a relay station for lunar landings and a mission to Mars. Researchers could simulate the outbound and return phases of a Mars mission by sending astronauts to Gateway for six-month periods, where they could introduce Mars-like delayed communication, autonomy and views of a receding Earth.

Researchers could simulate a Mars exploration on the Moon by having astronauts conduct tasks similar to those anticipated for Mars. This way, crew members could better prepare for the psychological and interpersonal pressures that come with a real Mars mission. These simulations could improve the chances of a successful mission and contribute to astronaut well-being as they venture into space.

The author is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

This article is from The Conversation and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Isolation and annoying co-workers: Solving the stress of a trip to Mars - Astronomy Magazine

The test capsule, which is named Excelsior in honor of late balloon space-jump pioneer Joe Kittinger, is now the largest spaceflight capsule in existence and represents a significant milestone in U.S. entrepreneurship and the first commercial spacecraft designed, developed and manufactured without the backing of a billionaire or significant government funding.

Soon to be the largest human spacecraft in operation (excluding the space stations), Spaceship Neptune's spherical capsule is 16 feet (4.9 meters) in diameter, providing a pressurized volume of more than 2,000 cubic feet (60 cubic meters) roughly two times the volume of Virgin Galactic's Spaceship Two and Blue Origin's New Shepard, and about four times that of SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

Entering the interior of the finished capsule for the first time just last week, capsule design lead, Dan Window, was overcome with emotion. "It's been over a decade of work with Jane (Poynter) and Taber (MacCallum)," Window said of his long-standing relationship and collaboration with Space Perspective's Founders and Co-CEOs. "I teared up. To see our designs become reality and to know that we will be taking people to space to have this life-changing experience in this beautiful capsule. It's a dream."

"The space capsule is like nothing the world has ever seen," said MacCallum, who is also Space Perspective's CTO, noting the capsule's massive windows, iconic design, and spacious interior. "We are on the cusp of a staggering shift not only in the way we humans experience space, but also what we conjure in our minds when we think of the spaceship that gets us there. We are redefining the category and paving the way for accessible space travel for years to come."

Spaceship Neptune - Excelsior Capsule Images & Video

Design Innovation & Patents

The iconic spherical shape of the exterior creates the perfect pressure vessel. Starting with this form allowed the engineers to not only create the lightest and strongest structure possible, but also the roomiest interior. Space Perspective also long considered repeated vertical windows, which allow for contiguous panoramic views (vs. horizontal windows, which would bifurcate the view to the human eye a phenomenon resulting from stereoscopic vision). Its innovative windows were designed to protect from harmful wavelengths of sunlight while also controlling for heat in the capsule and not altering the color of what you see out of them the stars above and the Earth below.

More than 100 layouts for the interior of the capsule and its Space Lounge were explored before finalizing the overall dimensions and flow to maximize space and comfort. Designed to accommodate eight Explorers and a Captain, once in commercial operations, Spaceship Neptune will set the record for the most people taken to the edge of space one more than the NASA Space Shuttle mission STS-61-A.

Every major element of its spaceship is covered by a patent this includes the SpaceBalloon, the method of launching a SpaceBalloon from a ship, the reserve descent system, the heat-rejecting radiator technology, the capsule structure with vertical windows, and the splash cone, which attenuates the capsule to provide a gentle ocean landing and then becomes a sea anchor to stabilize the capsule.

Development & Manufacturing

Uniquely, Space Perspective is vertically integrated with in-house capsule design, manufacturing, testing and operational functions. This includes a carbon composites manufacturing facility with state-of-the-art process control, a material testing laboratory, and a capsule integration hangar. The flight electrical and power systems, software, mission control and the environmental control and life support systems, including atmospheric and thermal control, are also designed and built in house as are the company's SpaceBalloons, which are manufactured in its 700-foot-long Seely SpaceBalloon Factory, named after late chemical engineer and balloon science pioneer Loren G. Seely, whom the company's head of balloon development and manufacturing studied under.

Reputable operational partners supporting test capsule completion included Llamas Plastics, Keyence, Siemens, Epsilon3, Dolphitech, ViRTEK, Rescale, Sims Crane, PCI Composites, Andromeda Systems Inc., and RS&H Aerospace Solutions.

Unparalleled Engineering Team

Space Perspective's team has been instrumental in the development of every U.S. human spacecraft for the past 40 years, and has worked directly for or on high-profile projects with the likes of NASA, SpaceX, Boeing, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and the U.S. Navy. The capsule achievement, specifically, is the result of deep collaboration between three of the company's engineering teams, including structures, led by Ryon Warren, manufacturing, led by Vincent Bachet, and design, led by Dan Window (former PriestmanGoode). Mitzi Giles and her team are responsible for the recent completion of the company's first SpaceBalloon. Rounding out the leadership is John Straus, who heads environmental control and life support; Ryan Nascimento, who heads launch and retrieval; Quentin Washington, who heads avionics, power and computational systems; Curis Larsen, who heads Spaceship Neptune's reserve descent system; and Al Witkowski, who occupies an integrated role as lead systems engineer.

Funding, Sales & International Expansion

Space Perspective has raised $77M to date, and is funded by a diverse portfolio of investors, including lead investment group, Prime Movers Lab, who specialize in deep-tech investments into companies that have the potential to impact billions of lives, and other notable venture capital funds like LightShed Partners, 1517 Fund, Republic Capital, SpaceFund, Explorer 1 Fund, E2MC Ventures, Base Ventures, Green Sands Equity, and Harry Kravis's new fund, Stonecroft Management not to mention investment from its own Explorers. Some of the company's investors joined the Space Perspective team last week for a special capsule unveiling on Valentine's Day, marking the anniversary of the Pale Blue Dot, the photograph taken of Earth from 3.7 billion miles away in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe on beloved late astronomer Carl Sagan's urging. The Pale Blue Dot is a beacon for the Space Perspective mission and brand an image that reminds us to act more kindly toward the planet and each other.

Watch Space Perspective's Pale Blue Dot Brand Video

In 2021, Space Perspective flew a capsule simulator to 100,000 feet under its SpaceBalloon; since then, its teams have been designing and building a pressurized capsule to resume testing, which will include evaluating all systems, corners cases and off-nominal scenarios to pass numerous safety gates. With the spaceship components now complete, a series of uncrewed test flights will begin in the next few weeks off the coast of Florida. Data gathered during those flights will pave the way for the parallel development of human-rated capsule and crewed test flights later this year.

Space Perspective's revolutionary spaceflights offer customers, who they call Explorers, a transformative six-hour journey inside a capsule lifted by a SpaceBalloon at ~12 mph. With no rockets or heavy g-forces, it's the most accessible way to travel to space and as easy as being on an airplane. Inside the capsule, Explorers will enjoy the comforts of the world's first Space Lounge, complete with Wi-Fi, a world-class culinary program, plush seating and luxury amenities provided by its growing list of partners, panoramic views through the largest windows ever flown to space even a proper restroom (a serene, beautifully designed private enclosure that they company is calling the Space Spa).

Mercedes-Maybach Partnership | OREO Space Dunk Partnership

Space Perspective is on a mission to bring more humans to space than ever before. Working with NGOs and continuing to develop its carbon-neutral operational plan, the company hopes to create positive impact and a better future for the planet. Astronauts often return from missions with a deeper understanding of our home and humanity's place within it many are compelled to get involved in environmental and societal issues. It's an insight that drives not only Space Perspective's employees, but also its expanding Explorer community.

The luxury experiences market is expected to double from $1T to $2T by 2030, and is seeing more emphasis placed on experiences vs. goods including trends around transformative, sustainable and bespoke trips for all age groups. With the world's growing high-net-worth population and adventure tourism on the rise as one of the fastest-accelerating tourism markets, Space Perspective finds itself well positioned as a first mover to capture the global demand in a severely supply constrained industry.

Now ready to resume test flights, the company is one giant leap closer.

Space Perspective aims to begin taking its more than 1,750 current ticket holders more than any other space tourism company to the edge of space in 2025, and is expected to hit 4,000 seats sold $400M in bookings by the end of this year. Roughly 35% of its current customers can be attributed to international markets, but that number continues to grow. Initial flights will launch off the Space Coast of Florida. The company is currently in talks to bring operations to the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, where there is significant interest in participating in the new space economy and in bolstering regional cultural moments and offerings through space tourism and space activation.

A seat on Spaceship Neptune costs $125,000. A full capsule (eight seats) costs $1,000,000 and accounts for 50% of reservations within the travel trade industry, which plays an important role in securing these bookings. While tickets are sold out for the next few years, interested customers can discuss waitlists and upgrade options, especially for some of the earlier flights, by contacting [emailprotected].

About Space Perspective

Space Perspective, the world's first carbon-neutral spaceflight experience company, is on a mission to make space travel more accessible than ever before. Its innovative Spaceship Neptune, which comprises a pressurized capsule propelled by a giant SpaceBalloon, offers a safe and transformative six-hour journey to the edge of space.

With no rockets, weightlessness, heavy g-forces, or training required, the experience is designed to be as gentle on Explorers as it is on the Earth. Those who fly with Space Perspective, which is being regulated by the FAA as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and follows guidelines established by NASA, enjoy a world-class meal and cocktail service, Wi-Fi, unprecedented views through the largest windows ever flown to space, and a proper restroom, which it calls the Space Spa all from the comforts of the world's first Space Lounge.

Based on Florida's Space Coast, Space Perspective was founded by human spaceflight veterans Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, who met as original crew members in Biosphere 2. They went on to launch Paragon Space Development Corporation, which develops tech for environmental control systems that can be found on the International Space Station (ISS). Space Perspective's team more broadly has been instrumental in the development of every U.S. human spacecraft for the past 40 years.

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SPACE PERSPECTIVE UNVEILS THE FUTURE OF HUMAN SPACE TRAVEL - PR Newswire

Courtesy photo

The new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Constellation takes viewers into a dimension where they might feel like they are in the twilight zone. Its a strange story that is a bit unsettling. It begins like a normal space travel show but soon spins itself into a new dimension for the viewers.

Noomi Rapace stars as Jo, an astronaut on the International Space Station. When an accident occurs on the ISS, most of the crew evacuate and return to Earth; however, Jo stays to try to fix the problem. She is basically alone in the station. Alone in space. Her husband and daughter anxiously wait for word about her situation knowing that time is running out. Her oxygen supply is dwindling and she must fix the batteries in the Soyuz capsule in order to return to Earth.

The accident occurred almost at the same time an experiment was being conducted using lasers. What happened to the experiment and what happened to the ISS? While the ground crew is keeping the faith that Jo will return safely, they are also insisting she return with the experiment in tact so they can learn about the secret of space. There are many secrets being kept and those on the ground are anxious to get to the bottom of some of them.

When Jo manages her return to Earth with no time to spare, she discovers a world that is different from the one she left. Things are not the same. What happened on the station and why are things different at home?

As the series progresses, viewers see disturbing situations and little by little might be able to put the pieces together; however, it is not until the finale when everything is settled, albeit unsettlingly. The main crux of the show is the effect space travel has on humans. The show is definitely a psychological thriller in the true meaning of the phrase.

Starring alongside Rapace are Jonathan Banks as Henry, who is overly insistent the experiment returns with Jo; James DArcy as Jos husband, Magnus; Julian Looman; Barbara Sukowa; Rosie Coleman and Davina Coleman, who play Jos daughter Alice; Lena Kudrjawizki as Sergei, the main connection on the com with Jo; and William Catlett as another astronaut on the ISS with Jo. It is rather a small cast and the time frame in which the story unfolds is relatively short.

Constellation premieres Wednesday on Apple TV+. There are a total of eight episodes in this very strange limited series.

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Brokaw: 'Constellation' is an unsettling story of space travel - Daily Herald

With NASA establishing the Kennedy Space Center on the Atlantic Coast of Florida, the area has since been established as the center for research and technology related to space exploration.

The area has since been called the space coast with the addition of the Cape Canaveral Space Station and the community embracing the areas focus around space.

The recent accomplishment of Space X and Axiom Space to successfully complete the longest private trip to the International Space Station (https://spacecoastdaily.com/2024/02/watch-dragon-spacecraft-makes-successful-splashdown-with-ax-3-astronauts-off-coast-of-florida/)

highlights the areas significance for space explorations present and future. Business and tourism around the Space Coast is heavily focused on Aerospace, Technology, and other related industries. Lets look at some businesses that are developing new technologies around the Space Coast:

L3Harris

L3Harris Technologies Inc. (L3Harris) provides products and technologies across sea, land, space, air, and cyber areas. The company offers integrated mission, space and airborne, communication, and aviation systems. It also provides commercial and military pilot training services and mission-critical infrastructure communications and networking solutions. It serves various commercial and government customers, including the US Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, military aircraft manufacturers, military agencies, commercial airlines, and automotive manufacturers.

Rocket Crafters

Ronald Jones started Rocket Crafters, a space launch vehicle and rocket engine manufacturing firm, in 2010. The company is based in Cocao, Florida. The business concurrently 3D prints its fuel supply, rocket engines, and the STAR-3D hybrid using 3D printing technology. They have engines that weigh between 125 and 5000 pounds. Using their Intrepid rocket, Rocket Crafters also provides launch services for small to medium-sized satellites. Businesses wishing to place their satellites in low-Earth orbit can hire the company to launch them. They are using new materials and ways to build the rockets to make them safer, more reliable, and not as expensive. This could change how we launch things into space and make it easier and cheaper for us to go there more often.

SIDUS SPACE

Sidus Space is developing a comprehensive platform for space as a service for the international space industry. The companys mission is to provide space flight legacy status for new technologies and provide data and predictive analytics to both local and foreign clients. They specialize in commercial satellite design, production, launch, and data gathering.

They are developing and planning to launch one hundred 100 kg (220-pound) satellites with available space to rapidly integrate customer sensors and technologies. By creating a standardized operating system for space, they believe that they can deliver customer sensors to orbit in months rather than years. In addition, Sidus Space intends to provide high-impact data for insights on aviation, maritime, weather, space services, earth intelligence and observation, financial technology (Fintech), and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Jaycon Systems

A corporation that designs, prototypes, and manufactures products to realize high-tech hardware concepts from conception to completion quickly. They assist sourcing managers, operations directors, engineers, startups, and entrepreneurs by delegating significant product development logistical work.

Terran Orbital

The aerospace and defense sectors in the United States and its allies are the primary customers of this well-known tiny satellite producer. In order to satisfy the most exacting demands of its military, civilian, and commercial clients, Terran Orbital offers end-to-end satellite solutions by integrating satellite design, manufacture, launch preparation, mission operations, and in-orbit support.

Redwire Space

A company that builds special things for space. They make structures that can be opened up, robots that can do tasks in space, and machines that can make things in space. They help explore space, put satellites in space, and make things while in space. It is a new leader in mission-critical space solutions and high-reliability components for next-generation space systems and infrastructure.

Space Perspective

A corporation called Space Perspective arranges for space travel for its clients. Their goal is to launch paying passengers and research payloads into the stratosphere on Spaceship Neptune, a pressurized capsule propelled by balloons that whisks passengers to the edge of space. Because they launch people into space using balloons as opposed to conventional rockets, they claim to be the first carbon-neutral space firm.

There is an article on the website of Forbes about the hospitality industry on the Space Coast growing to new heights and the region is seeing a surge in tourism (https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/01/05/why-the-space-coast-hospitality-sector-is-soaring-to-new-heights/?sh=55bb24c1431d), The Space Coast will remain a leader in the space sector if more innovative ideas and collaborative efforts are made and the economy will expand. More people will be inspired to pursue careers as space explorers and innovators in aerospace transportation as they marvel at the wonders that are found only on the Space Coast.

These new companies mentioned in the article are part of a group of exciting and creative businesses emerging in the Space Coast area. They thrive due to advancements in space travel technology, increased investment, and supportive regulations. NASAs decision to establish its launchpad on a Florida beach proved to be one of its most successful endeavors. If youre looking to engage with space-related activities while witnessing history unfold on the Space Coast, consider exploring NASA or space-inspired games. Platforms like https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/ offer free options that you can enjoy on the go.

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The New Companies Developing Tech on the Space Coast - SpaceCoastDaily.com

Arnie Weissmann

On Valentine's Day, a milestone toward the democratization of space travel occurred, bringing an experience that was once considered accessible only by astronauts and billionaires into the realm of ... millionaires.

Well, it's a start. And the Feb. 14 unveiling of Space Perspective's first test capsule, Spaceship Neptune, suggests to me that, in the imaginable future, space travel may even become an option for families that might otherwise be considering a week in Orlando.

Reality check: Space Perspective is, and aims to remain, a luxury experience. The 1,750 people who have signed on to be lifted 100,000 feet beneath its hydrogen-filled space balloons will be paying $125,000 each. Given that demand has been robust, the price may rise before it falls, though a growing competitive set may moderate pricing.

Often what begins as a luxury experience becomes more widely available once a certain level of scale is reached. And Space Perspective is indeed positioned to scale its operation. The company has built facilities to manufacture its own components, and while not exactly an assembly line operation, their idea is to have a fleet of balloons and capsules, launchable from a flotilla of customized ships (the first, Marine Spaceport Voyager, has been completed). As a result, liftoff can occur virtually anywhere in the world, and the ships can chase favorable weather conditions to increase the number of annual launches.

The decision to add floating spaceports in addition to terrestrial ones potentially also makes the experience much more varied for repeat guests.One launch could rise off the coast of Florida and see the Bahamian underwater trench known as the Tongue of the Ocean, or lift from Mediterranean and view the boot of Italy.

"The foundational experience is seeing the curvature, the thin blue line, the black sky, the sun in that black sky," co-CEO Jane Poynter told me earlier this week. "But what you're looking down on is really important, and the pre- and post-trip experiences can be so different."

To help sell these experiences (and capsule seats), Space Perspective has signed preferred supplier arrangements with Global Travel Collection, Signature Travel Network and Cruise Planners, among other agency groups. Advisors have sold half of the capsule buyouts, where all eight seats have been booked for $1 million.

Given that the capsule involves technologies that had not previously been applied to scalable human spaceflight, a good portion of our conversation centered on safety. I asked whether there had been a dip in bookings following the tragedy involving another tourism enterprise that ventured where few had gone before: the implosion of the OceanGate submersible Titan.

After it went missing in June, Poynter said her company did not get any requests for refunds, though two customers called to ask about safety: "One of them was an engineer, and it was a great conversation." Safety questions are legitimate talking points, she acknowledged; in fact, she seemed to welcome a discussion that drew considerable contrast between OceanGate's approach and Space Perspective's.

Whereas OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush adopted the persona of a rule-breaking maverick visionary who resisted certification and used composites untested in submersibles, "we embrace regulation," Poynter said. "We are regulated by the Coast Guard and the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation."

Also, both Poynter and her husband, co-CEO Taber MacCallum, have been involved in human spaceflight for more than 35 years through their Paragon Space Development Corp., which patented technologies used "on the International Space Station and every single human spacecraft orbiting the planet and operated by Americans," Poynter said.

"The balloon that we're using has been flown over 1,000 times in the last 20 years, and there hasn't been a single in-flight incident," she said. "It's a very well understood legacy technology. We specifically made the capsule the size and weight that we did because it's not pushing the technology."

Spaceship Neptune is a test capsule that will not carry commercial customers and has none of the luxury fixtures that will be part of the tourism experience. But its technology is identical to capsules that will carry guests, absent a carbon dioxide scrubber that would be required for manned flight.

"We have to get through safety gates" before customers are flown, Poynter said. "We're flying instruments that can tell us exactly what's going on with every aspect of the vehicle. It will be dropped from space to make sure that all of the backup systems work flawlessly. We'll be doing approximately 10 uncrewed flights and, roughly speaking, four crewed ones. I say roughly because we have to get the results of each test and may have to do a couple of them over."

As someone who had been scheduled on the Titan to dive down to see the wreck of the Titanic last May, I say hallelujah. I've learned a lot about how to better assess risk since then, and Space Perspective's approach is certainly reassuring. In fact, the contrast between the two approaches couldn't be more dramatic.

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A space tourism milestone has been reached. Now, testing begins. - Travel Weekly

TITUSVILLE, FL Space Perspective, the innovative aerospace company headquartered right here in Titusville, has reached a significant milestone in its mission to pioneer commercial space tourism.

The company provided an eagerly awaited update today, unveiling the completion of its latest test capsule, named Spaceship Neptune Excelsior, a testament to the late balloon space-jump pioneer Joe Kittinger.

The Excelsior capsule, boasting a spherical structure with a diameter of 16 feet, is set to become one of the largest human spacecraft in operation, excluding space stations.

With a pressurized volume exceeding 2,000 cubic feet, roughly two times the volume of Virgin Galactics Spaceship Two and Blue Origins New Shepard, it offers passengers a spacious and comfortable environment unparalleled in commercial sub-orbital space travel.

Taber MacCallum, Founder, Co-CEO, and CTO of Space Perspective previously described the capsule as one of the greatest iterative collaborations I have ever seen and emphasized its importance in realizing the companys vision of offering an extraordinary spaceflight experience.

Excelsior will be equipped with state-of-the-art systems for thermal, pressure, and temperature control, along with fully redundant avionics, communications, and power systems, the capsule is a testament to the companys dedication to safety and reliability.

Moreover, Excelsiors iconic spherical shape not only ensures optimal structural integrity but also enhances passenger comfort, providing a roomy and luxurious environment for travelers to enjoy the journey to the edge of space.

Space Perspectives ambitious timeline aims to commence commercial flights as early as late 2024, with the company having already sold out seats for its first twenty-five flights.

These flights, lasting approximately six hours, will offer passengers a unique experience, ascending at a leisurely pace of around twelve miles per hour, providing a gentle lift without the high-G forces associated with traditional rocket launches.

The completion of Excelsior marks a significant step forward in Titusvilles burgeoning spaceflight industry, positioning the city as a hub for cutting-edge aerospace innovation.

As Space Perspective continues to push the boundaries of commercial space travel, Titusville residents can look forward to exciting developments on the horizon.

As Titusville prepares to embark on its next frontier, the completion of Spaceship Neptune Excelsior stands as a symbol of the citys pioneering spirit and unwavering commitment to shaping the future of space exploration.

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Space Perspective Unveils Test Capsule, Marks Milestone in Titusville's Spaceflight Journey | TalkOfTitusville.com - Talk of Titusville

This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribunes ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utahs biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.

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If brains and ambition are all it takes, then Delian Asparouhov has already conquered the world.

Less than 12 years ago, Asparouhov was a student at Salt Lake Citys West High School with a head for numbers and a heart for space travel. Today, he is co-founder of his own company with a $100 million investment and a vision to make chemicals for pharmaceuticals in zero gravity.

That company, Varda Space Industries, is looking to complete its first mission Wednesday, landing its capsule in Utahs West Desert a couple of hours from the West High robotics lab.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for the Asparouhov, whose rise to the rarified world of technology finance has been anything but conventional.

[Read more about the capsules landing in Utah and what it could mean to pharmaceutical innovation.]

In between has been a short stint at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an arrest for hacking into MITs email system, a $100,000 fellowship from a national competition, and a partnership at Founders Fund, a premier San Francisco venture capital fund with $11 billion in tech investments.

And he just turned 30.

For Asparouhov, his ascent came from encouragement, and high expectations, from his parents. I started coding in fifth or sixth grade. I started doing more complex projects between ninth and 10th grade.

Asparouhov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, to two brilliant mathematicians. His mother, Elena Asparouhova, was 21 and still in school at the University of Sofia. (In Bulgaria, womens last names often include an a at the end.) His father, Tihomir Asparouhov, a math prodigy who in 1990 won the gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad, was in graduate school in England.

Elena Asparouhova, who is now faculty chair of the University of Utahs Stena Center for Financial Technology and heads the U.s Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Finance, said that in many ways her mother, Delians grandmother, was his primary caretaker in Sofia as she was finishing school. She spent more time with him than I did at one time.

Both parents were admitted to doctoral programs at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

They arrived in the U.S. in their early 20s, Delian Asparouhov said, with about $300 and me in a stroller.

Day care in Pasadena was a scramble. The first stop was an all-Black church in Altadena, where Delian was the sole white student. That was followed by a period at a Spanish-speaking day care, where Delian had to pick up a third language on top of Bulgarian and English.

After living in Bulgaria, Asparouhova said, diversity was important.

When Delian was in fourth grade, they moved to Utah after Asparouhova received a faculty appointment at the U. The parents first put Delian in Rowland Hall, but he later moved to public school because his parents still desired more diversity.

And they pushed him into math contests. From an early age, he competed in MATHCOUNTS competitions in Utah and elsewhere.

He started in West Highs International Baccalaureate program in seventh grade and spent the next six years there, the longest he would attend any school. It was there that he met Dan McGuire, who was then a physics teacher at West and adviser to the schools robotics club.

(Dan McGuire) In this 2009 photo of the West High School robotics club, Delian Asparouhov is in the back row second from the right.

Over the course of the year, Mr. McGuire whupped me into shape and taught me physics, Asparouhov wrote years later. Mr. McGuire was never afraid to call me out if I was ever getting too full of myself. I dont think Ive ever learned so much in a single year while being in continuous fear.

Dan was incredible, said Asparouhova, calling him the one role model for her son.

For his part, McGuire remembers a shy kid who blossomed into a leader of the robotics club, where he was head of software.

He said Asparouhov was particularly effective at communicating. Having him do the engineering wasnt the best use of him. Everyone who worked with him agreed with that. He did the presentations, and he was really good at it.

He was also a natural leader, said McGuire, who has kept in touch with Asparouhov. Everyone who worked with him agreed with that. Im not sure he would have agreed at the time, but he understands it now.

In 2011, Asparouhov was one of two Utah students to win the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement, given to students who get perfect scores on all of their Advanced Placement exams.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Delian Asparouhov at West High School in 2011.

His next stop after graduation was MIT, where his tenure was short but eventful.

I was drunk one night at my fraternity, said Asparouhov, relaying the story of how, in 2013, he told his frat brothers that he could hack into MITs email system. He did exactly that and sent an institutionwide message saying classes would be canceled.

That was at 2 a.m. By 3 a.m., the police had shown up and arrested him.

His mother jumped on a plane to Boston to plead with university officials to let him stay. They agreed to that, but Asparouhov already had one foot out the door.

Thats because he was a finalist for a Thiel Fellowship. Created by and named for PayPal co-founder and tech investor Peter Thiel, the fellowship was originally called the 20 under 20 fellowship. It provides $100,000 in investment funds for young entrepreneurs to bypass college and move into the startup world.

Barely a week after his arrest, he was awarded the fellowship.

I was mortified, his mother said. My child cant be dropping out.

She sat down and wrote what she called the letter to the immigrant child, telling him his parents owe everything to higher education.

He replied by saying, Mother, you have two choices. Support me or move out of the way, Asparouhova said.

She came to terms with it. Hes blessed with not being the first generation. We had nothing to fall back on.

With the Thiel funding, the young Asparouhov launched a company called Nightingale, which had a software program aimed at helping diagnose autism. He later sold that company.

But he never left Thiels orbit. Thiel started Founders Fund, which manages more than $11 billion in investments in tech companies, and Asparouhov is one of a dozen partners at the fund.

He also is pursuing his dreams of space. His current venture, Varda Space Industries, is a startup that intends to produce pharmaceutical chemicals in zero gravity, meaning an orbiting lab.

Ive been thinking about this idea for about a decade, said Asparouhov, who is president of Varda, which he founded with business partner Will Bruey.

The companys first test flight launched last year, and the capsule is due to land Wednesday at the Utah Test and Training Range west of the Great Salt Lake. The capsule will be airlifted to Wendovers airport after it is recovered.

It has been great working with the leadership and staff at the Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Ground throughout this operation, said Asparouhov.

The maiden flight was mainly about proving the capabilities of the companys factory in a capsule, but Asparouhov said the firm is negotiating with major pharmaceutical companies for long-term contracts.

And he still wants to make it into space, although for now he is getting his flight fix from the Cessna he flies around the country.

Asparouhov said he had three dreams he wanted to realize by age 30: He wanted to be a partner in a $1 billion-plus investment fund (done), a founder of a $1 billion company (started, but not worth $1 billion ... yet), and becoming a father.

In December, he and his wife, Nadia, welcomed their firstborn, a son, Branislav Asparouhov.

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Former West High student now heads tech startup making pharmaceuticals in space - Salt Lake Tribune

With an ambitious vision for the future of space exploration, NASA plans to replace the International Space Station (ISS) by the end of 2030. The new space station will not only feature cutting-edge research facilities and a more adaptive infrastructure but also provide critical insights into the health impacts of space travel. The transition to a new space station marks a significant shift in NASAs strategy, allowing the agency to focus on deep space exploration while leveraging commercial entities for low-Earth orbit activities.

Launched in 1998, the ISS has been a pivotal part of space exploration, involving five space agencies in its assembly and maintenance. However, the ISS, designed in the 80s, has started to show its age. Structural limitations and outdated technology have made it increasingly costly to maintain. Additionally, security concerns have been raised due to cracks noted in one of the modules.

With the retirement of the ISS, NASA has turned its attention to commercial space stations. One example is Starlab, which has partnered with SpaceX to launch its entire space station, or at least the first module, into Low Earth Orbit in a single mission. This new station promises to have more than twice the useful space as the ISS, ready to host four crew members for microgravity research and advanced scientific discovery.

One of the significant aspects of the new space station will be its focus on health impacts of space travel. The lack of gravity in space leads to several health issues, including bone loss. The new station will provide a platform to conduct scientific research in various fields, addressing these health concerns and pushing the boundaries of our understanding of life in space.

The new space station marks the beginning of a new era in space exploration. It is expected to pave the way for human exploration deeper into space, with a focus on international cooperation. NASAs long-term goal is to put a station beyond low-Earth orbit, expanding the possibilities of what can be achieved in space.

However, as NASA transitions to commercial space stations, there are concerns that the US could fall behind in space research. China, for instance, has its own space station, Tiangong, with over 20 mini laboratories. By 2032, it is expected to host 1,000 experiments. Furthermore, China is leading in space patents, with its share tripling to 49% between 2010 and 2020. These dynamics underscore the importance of international cooperation in the future of space exploration.

The decision to replace the ISS with a new space station reflects a changing landscape in space exploration. As NASA shifts its focus to deep space and commercial entities take over low-Earth orbit activities, we stand on the precipice of a new era in space discovery. It remains to be seen how these changes will affect international cooperation and competition, but one thing is clear: the future of space exploration is brighter than ever.

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NASA's Vision for the Future: A New Space Station by 2030 - Medriva

Interstellar travel is only something humanity has achieved in science fiction like Star Trek's USS Enterprise, which used antimatter engines to travel across star systems.

But antimatter isn't just a sci-fi trope. Antimatter really exists.

Elon Musk has called antimatter power "the ticket for interstellar journeys," and physicists like Ryan Weed are exploring how to harness it.

Antimatter is made up of particles almost exactly like regular matter but with opposite electric charge. That means when antimatter contacts regular matter, they both annihilate and can produce enormous amounts of energy.

"Annihilation of antimatter and matter converts mass directly into energy," Weed, cofounder and CEO of Positron Dynamics, a company working to develop an antimatter propulsion system, told Business Insider.

Just one gram of antimatter could generate an explosion equivalent to a nuclear bomb. It's that kind of energy, some say, that could boldly take us where no one has gone before at record speed.

The benefit of all that energy is that it can be used to either accelerate or decelerate spacecraft at break-neck speeds.

For example, let's take a trip to our nearest star system, Proxima, about 4.2 light years away.

An antimatter engine could theoretically accelerate a spacecraft at 1g (9.8 meters per second squared) getting us to Proxima in just five years, Weed said in 2016. That's 8,000 times faster than it would take Voyager 1 one of the fastest spacecraft in history to travel about half the distance, according to NASA.

Even within our own solar system, an antimatter-powered spacecraft could reach Pluto in 3.5 weeks compared to the 9.5 years it took NASA's New Horizons probe to arrive, Weed said.

The reason we don't have antimatter engines, despite their tremendous capabilities, comes down to cost, not tech.

Gerald Jackson, an accelerator physicist who worked on antimatter projects at Fermilab, told Forbes in 2016 that with enough funding, we could have an antimatter spacecraft prototype within a decade.

The basic technology is there. Physicists armed with the world's most powerful particle accelerators have made antiprotons and antihydrogen atoms.

The issue is that this type of antimatter is incredibly expensive to make. It's considered the most expensive substance on Earth. Jackson gave us an idea of just how much an antimatter machine would cost to build and maintain.

Jackson is the founder, president, and CEO of Hbar Technologies, which is working on a concept for an antimatter space sail to decelerate spacecraft traveling 1% to 10% the speed of light a useful design for entering into orbit around a distant star, planet, or moon that you want to study.

Jackson said he's designed an asymmetric proton collider that could produce 20 grams of antimatter per year.

"For a 10-kilogram scientific package traveling at 2% of the speed of light, 35 grams of antimatter is needed to decelerate the spacecraft down and inject it into orbit around Proxima Centauri," Jackson told BI.

He said it would take $8 billion to build a solar power plant for the enormous energy needs of antimatter production and cost $670 million per year to operate.

The idea is just that, for now. "There is currently no serious funding for advanced space propulsion concepts," Jackson said.

However, there are other ways to produce antimatter. That's where Weed focused his work.

Weed's concept involves positrons, the antimatter version of an electron.

Positrons "are several thousand times lighter than antiprotons and don't pack quite as much punch when annihilating," Weed said.

The advantage, however, is that they occur naturally and don't need a giant accelerator and billions of dollars to make.

Weed's antimatter propulsion system is designed to use krypton-79 a form of the element krypton that naturally emits positrons.

The engine system would first gather high-energy positrons from krypton-79 and then direct them toward a layer of regular matter, producing annihilation energy. That energy would then trigger a powerful fusion reaction to generate thrust for the spacecraft.

While positrons may be less expensive to obtain than more powerful forms of antimatter, they are difficult to harness because they are highly energetic and need to be slowed down, or "moderated." So building a prototype to test in space is still beyond reach, cost-wise, Weed said.

Such is the case for all antimatter propulsion designs. Over the decades, scientists have proposed dozens of concepts, none of which have come to fruition.

For example, in 1953, Austrian physicist Eugen Snger proposed a "photon rocket" that would run on positron annihilation energy. And since the '80s, there's been talk of thermal antimatter engines, which would use antimatter to heat liquid, gas, or plasma to provide thrust.

"It's not sci-fi, but we aren't going to see it flying until there is a significant 'mission-pull,'" Weed said about his engine concept.

To build Weed's concept at the scale of a starship, "the devil's in the engineering details," Paul M. Sutter, an astrophysicist and host of "Ask a Spaceman" podcast, told BI.

"We're talking about a device that harnesses truly enormous amounts of energy, requiring exquisite balance and control," Sutter said.

That enormous energy is another obstacle holding us back from revolutionizing space travel. Because during testing, "if something goes wrong, these are big explosions," Steve Howe, a physicist who worked on antimatter concepts with NASA in the '90s, told BI.

"So we need an ability to test high energy density systems somewhere that don't threaten the biosphere, but still allow us to develop them," said Howe, who thinks the moon would make a good testing base. "And if something goes wrong, you melted a piece of the moon," and not Earth, he added.

Antimatter tends to bring out the imagination in everyone who works on them. "But, we need crazy but plausible ideas to make it further into space, so it's worth looking into," Sutter said.

Weed echoes the sentiment, saying "until there is a compelling reason to get to the Kuiper Belt, the Solar Gravitational Lens, or Alpha Centauri really quickly or perhaps we are trying to return large asteroids for mining progress will continue to be slow in this area."

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How antimatter engines could fly humans to other stars in just a few years - Business Insider Nederland