Category Archives: Space Travel

I started working at the Columbus Dispatch in 1986. Before that I worked for two years at the Tribune Chronicle in Warren, Ohio. I did freelance work for the Associated Press not long after graduating from Kent State University in 1981.

I've always known what I wanted to do for a living.I've liked photography since being a child and I was fortunate to get work doing what is my favorite thing to do.

The best thing about working for a newspaper is the variety of subjects I get to cover. I don't specialize in any one area. I've covered politics, sports and a variety of other news events. I've also done food and fashion photos. I've photographed famous people like the Pope and several presidents. I've traveled a lot in my 35 years at the Dispatch.But mostly now I photograph local people and activities. They are really the most interesting subjects to photograph.

The best assignment I've had at the Dispatch was photographing the space shuttle launch that returned John Glenn to space in 1998. I grew up during the 1960's space race to the moon and loved everything about space travel.

The biggest challenge I face is technology. It changes too fast. But I do learn what I need to know. If there's something I can't figure out, I am lucky that I have plenty of fellow staffers who can guide me.

I like to read. I prefer books about history.

To support Fred's work and all of the essential local journalism The Dispatch does, go to dispatch.com/subscribenow. And meet more of our staff members:

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Meet photographer Fred Squillante: 'The best thing ... is the variety of subjects I get to cover' - The Columbus Dispatch

Honorary Degree recipients (from left to right): Angela Swan, Roger Warren and Robert ThirskOwen Egan / Joni Dufour Owen Egan / Joni Dufour

The Fall 2021 Convocation ceremonies on Nov. 25 and 26 took on special significance for the McGill community, in that they were the first in-person ceremonies held atthe Universityin two years, after the forced COVID-19 hiatus.As part of the ceremonies, McGillconferred honorary degrees to a trio of three highly talented and engaged individuals who serve as an inspiration for its community of students, professors, researchers, and staff. Click on the video to watch the words of wisdom for the Class of 2021as imparted by each Honorary Doctorate.

B.Sc. (ME) (University of Calgary), M.Sc. (ME) (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), M.D.C.M. (McGill University), M.B.A. (MIT Sloan School of Management)

Doctor of Science, honoris causa (D.Sc.)

A Canadian icon of science and space travel, Dr. Robert Thirsk has mademajorcontributions to medicine, science, the Canadian Space Program, and science education in Canada.

A McGill M.D.C.M. graduate, Dr. Thirsk began his distinguished career as a member of the Canadian Space Agencys astronaut corps in 1983. Hisfirstspacemission was in 1996, a 17-day flight aboard the space shuttle Columbia.Later, in 2009, Dr. Thirskspent six months as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Stationconducting cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and complex robotic operations on behalf of Canadian and international researchers.Along the way, he set the Canadian record for longest time spent in space 204 days, 18 hours.

Much of Dr. Thirsks work has been dedicated to making space flight safer for astronauts, from researching the effect of weightlessness on the heart and blood vessels to strategizing the delivery of remote healthcare to future deep space explorers.He has also been avocal champion of science education, particularly for Canadas youth.

Robert Thirsks remarkable career as a scientist and astronaut, his commitment to science education and his generous dedication to community engagement make him an inspiring role model for all, and especially for future scientists of Canada.

B.Comm., LL.B. (University of British Columbia), B.C.L. (Oxford University)

Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)

Angela Swan is a distinguished legal scholar, practitioner, teacher, mentor and an acclaimed figure in both Canadian contract law and the Canadian legal community. She received a Bachelor of Commerce and an LL.B. from the University of British Columbia and a B.C.L. from Oxford University. She was admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1970.

With over fiftyyears experiencein the legal profession,shehas expertly filled a number of roles from professor to esteemed counsel. An award-winning author, renowned educator, and frequently cited scholar, she is regarded as one of the most distinguished experts in Canadian contract lawand private law broadly.

Professor Swan has inspired and informed several generations of law students with her legal expertise and scholarship. Her accomplishments are all the more remarkable for a trans woman of her generation. Angela Swan is a proud member of the LGBTQ2+ community and contributes to its ongoing development.

Angela Swan has a distinguished record of achieving the topmost professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability, and diligence. Her name is synonymous with excellence in contract law and is a shining example of a dedicated teacher and mentor.

Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)

A generous, inspiring, and humbling philanthropist, Mr. Roger Warren has been quietly making an impact within Canadian education institutions and beyond for over 50 years.

Completing three years of a Bachelor of Commerce degree at McGill University starting in 1951, Mr. Warren struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia and was unable to complete his fourth year. This made an enormous impact on him, instilling a deep sense of compassion for others facing their own challenges, which in turn became the motivation behind much of his engagement andgiving.

Roger Warren began his career in the investment business in 1954, working in Toronto, New York, and London, England. In 1984, he established theRathlynFoundation, named after his parents Ontario cottage, as a small, private family foundation to support medical research, veterinary science and education. TheRathlynFoundation has since grown tremendously and supports numerous institutions such as McGill UniversityThrough theFoundation, Mr. Warren has endowed graduate and professional degree fellowships at McGill across the Faculties of Arts, Law, Science, and the Desautels Faculty of Management, as well as scholarships for Indigenous students.

Mr. Warren is a prime example of how extraordinary success can be achieved by overcoming challenges. His generosity, perseverance, and determination to help others have created monumental strides for the Canadian education sector and are an inspiration to all.

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Honorary Degree recipients offer words of wisdom to the Class of 2021 - McGill Reporter - McGill Reporter

If history is anything to go by, it's been easier to fold space and time than to film Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi classic Dune, an epic far-future tale of feuding space dynasties, secret sisterhoods and New Age prophets that cleaves to and critiques the genre's classic hero narrative.

Many have tried and perished in the sandstorm. Wild-eyed Chilean surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky had grand designs a 14-hour version he hoped would star Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger and Orson Welles that proved way too ambitious to realise. Ridley Scott toyed with the idea before giving up and moving on.

David Lynch a filmmaker in sync with Herbert's psychic visions made it all the way to the screen with a memorably grotesque piece of pop art in 1984, only to have it chopped down to the point of near incoherency.

The latest filmmaker to put their hand in the pain box, Canadian writer-director Denis Villeneuve, seems like a bit of an odd choice by comparison. He's the kind of filmmaker dubiously marketed as a 'visionary' by studios, even as his recent sci-fi forays Arrival (2016); the deeply unnecessary Blade Runner 2049 (2017) seem better suited to show off flatscreen TVs in designer apartments than evoke any kind of sweeping mystical future.

So it's a pleasant surprise to report that his take on Dune, which finally descends upon cinemas this week, is an engrossing, well-mounted adaptation that makes good on his potential as a sci-fi craftsman not exactly enough to qualify as a visionary work, but an ambitious and largely satisfying space opera that rises like an oasis against the desert of Hollywood's current superhero cinema.

Boosted by Hans Zimmer's speaker-rumbling score with its metronomic thump and guttural alien chants the film is burnished and commanding, full of immense wide shots that dwarf the screen, jagged spacecraft that seem to emerge from misty oil paintings, and an admirable commitment to big, earnest movie myth-making.

But Dune's prettiest effect might be its cast, especially its young leads, baby-faced androgyne Timothe Chalamet and galaxy-eyed princess Zendaya two kids who're enough to suggest a brighter, or at least hotter, cosmic future.

Chalamet is Paul, teenage heir to the noble House Atreides, a mall-goth glowerpuss who divides his time between learning mind tricks from his witchy mother, Lady Jessica (a soulful Rebecca Ferguson), and putting off the politics of the family business with dad, house boss and resident dreamboat, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac).

It's the very distant future never mind the swords, faux-medieval trimmings and bagpipes and the galactic Emperor has dispatched House Atreides to take custody of Arrakis, the desert planet rich in the spice that is essential to space travel.

The appointment isn't going down well with the Atreides's bitter rivals House Harkonnen, a planet of sinister creeps who bathe in black slime, keep giant spiders as pets, and whose leader, Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgrd), seems modelled after Marlon Brando's performance in Apocalypse Now (1979).

Exploited for its natural resource, Arrakis also known as Dune is inhabited by the indigenous Fremen, a band of blue-eyed nomads who include Zendaya's Chani, the desert warrior who's been turning up in Paul's dreams.

These premonitions also suggest that Paul might be a kind of space messiah; much to the concern of Lady Jessica's clan, the Bene Gesserit, a shadowy, distaff order of psychic witches who've been trying to summon forth a chosen one via an Atreides daughter to bridge space and time, past and future.

"So much potential wasted on a male," hisses the order's Reverend Mother, played by Charlotte Rampling in a neat echo of her all-female-cult queen in John Boorman's Zardoz (1974).

No wonder Paul looks so gloomy, moping about like some post-punk wanderer above a sea of fog.

It's certainly a lot to swallow for the uninitiated: a fact that undid Lynch's truncated version, in which poor Virginia Madsen (as imperial Princess Irulan, heir to the galaxy) had to dispense reels of exposition over the eerie, spectral opening moments.

Villeneuve has the relative luxury of two chapters be warned, this is only Part One and he uses this to his advantage, allowing the narrative to breathe against the scope of the images.

Shooting partially on location in Jordan, Abu Dhabi and Norway, Villeneuve, Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser (Rogue One) and production designer Patrice Vermette (Sicario; Arrival) give the story a sense of scale and lived-in detail, welding the wide-screen vastness of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to the scrappy grit of the first Star Wars (1977), a film whose desert sequences were famously inspired by Herbert's writing.

The vistas are enhanced by all the special effects a reported $165 million dollar budget can buy: combat holo-shields that glitch and glimmer, insect-like ornithopters that swoop through sandstorms, and titanic spacecraft that seem to have teleported right off the pulp paperback covers of the 60s and 70s.

For sci-fi nuts, it's hard to resist.

But the showy effects are also offset by an attention to less expected, human-sized details: Jason Momoa's easy, movie-star charm as Duncan Idaho, a swordmaster who Paul adores; the way the great Stephen McKinley Henderson, as human computer Thufir Hawat, parades a parasol during a military inspection; or the beverages distilled from sweat, tears, and spit presumably not available in the Dune combo at the candy bar, unless you incur the wrath of a disgruntled teenage employee.

What Villeneuve and his co-screenwriters Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) and Eric Roth (A Star Is Born) will do with Dune's overarching narrative with its Messianic leader and looming holy war is harder to assess, given the obviously unfinished nature of their story.

At least initially, Paul is a character in conflict with his destiny as an heir to a patriarchy that ravages an ecosystem; as a potential saviour to a people and Chalamet plays him with a suitably furrowed brow.

Villeneuve has also tweaked Herbert's novel to open the film not on the imperial princess's tale of Paul, but on Chani effectively framing events through the eyes of the Fremen.

"Who will our next oppressors be?" she wonders in the film's opening minutes.

The Atreides' arrival on Arrakis carries the distinct feel of high-tech imperialists landing to pillage a desert nation.

Elements drawn from Arabic culture and Eastern mysticism run throughout Herbert's work, which tangles with themes of colonialism, ecological neglect and the corruption of power, though this mixing of cultures a staple device of science fiction sits less well with the current moment, where such creative license, however nuanced, is viewed with suspicion.

The new Dune has drawn some intelligent criticism for flattening the nuances of Herbert's text, downplaying the source material's grounding in Middle Eastern culture even as Hans Zimmer's recourse to Arabic vocal tones often used to underscore an emotional moment of pause for the protagonists leans on a Western audience's notion of the 'mysterious' for dramatic shorthand.

All of which might have been less noticeable had Villeneuve been more attuned to the psychic power of images in the way Lynch, and certainly Jodorowsky, understood the kind of filmmaking that might transcend a real-world analogue and transport an audience to something genuinely strange or alien.

His Dune is too polished and cautious to risk putting a foot wrong which makes sense, given this project's history, but also means there's nothing here willing to court ridicule, and by extension, genius. (If we can't have pugs and space slugs, couldn't we at least have gotten Timothe Chalamet doing the worm in place of the sand walk?)

But it more than captures the attention, and sometimes even inspires awe. If this is the beginning of a resurgence in ambitious, operatic space fantasy, then bring it on.

Dune is in cinemas from December 2.

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Dune review: Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic kicks off promisingly with largely satisfying part one - ABC News

I dont think its far-fetched to say that travelling is at the heart of every travesty that has happened to humankind since the beginning of time. Slavery is the direct result of a trip overseas, I would say. A European with a ship told himself he wanted to see the world and the fateful Contiki tour was afoot. World War 2, I reckon, began after an innocent interchange, a harmless thought, when Hitler turned to Goebbels and said: Ever been to France? I hear its nice.

So, why do we like to travel so much? Were like electrons darting from one spot to the next. Why cant we be protons? Why is there always better than here? What is driving humans to be constantly on the go?

I think a major contributor to this affliction of having to travel to feel human is the language in use today. We should really revisit sayings like A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and Wish you were here. Why journey for a 1,000 miles if a change of scenery is often as easy as getting up from your laptop? And why travel to a distant land only to wistfully want to change your circumstances once youre there? If you want me by your side so badly, dont leave. Hopping from one continent to the next does nothing for feelings of loneliness. Wish all you like, the only way to feel less lonely in the world is to be your own best friend, which is something you can achieve at home, or, at worst, commuting to a psychologists office once a week.

Advertising is another major trigger for the wayfarer. And this started long ago, I think. Perhaps at the same time that hunting and gathering contentedly in the same valley for generations went out of fashion. Calling it the nomadic lifestyle, for instance, made it sound like something to aspire to. The early adopters probably told others they should really get out more. Or, perhaps, more time-appropriate: A rolling stone gathers no moss. Once again, you have to ask yourself what is so bad about moss? In the right quantities, moss adds to the appearance of a stone, in my opinion. It gives it character, doesnt it? Moss is a sign of life, if anything; an indication of the abundance that comes from not rolling around all the time. Yet, Roll society says. Flatten everything in your path on your way to some undefined destination, and once youre there, roll some more.

People seem to want to travel to the bitter end. Is anyone today willing to give up a holiday for the greater good? How long before we realise that extensive travelling flying especially is the main cause of the climate crisis?

Adverse living conditions are often to blame for mass movement and you can hardly fault someone for wanting to get away from war. Nothing wrong with that. The migrant crisis is not the cause of the climate crisis. Refugees dont fly, they take a boat. A paddle-powered one or, at best, one with a very small outboard motor. No, governments may point the finger at migrants for many things; global warming is not one of them. Space travel, on the other hand, might be jet-fuelling our demise at speeds as yet unrecorded. Here we have those whove been everywhere on Earth saying: Where to next?, and strapping in for lift-off exactly perpendicular to the force of gravity for a jaunt among the stars. Imagine the energy it takes to overcome the very force that holds everything in place. Leave air travel to the environmentalists, the affluent seem to be saying. Wed like to pollute on a cosmic level.

So, how are we going to save the planet from the travelling hordes? My solution is to ban private transport altogether. If you want to go abroad so badly, you can do so on foot. Burn some calories to get to your precious tourist destination. And the same goes for going to the shops. No more popping out for milk and bread, and taking a ton of metal with you. In fact, the ban should extend to all moving objects not made of human flesh (barring bicycles). This will of course remove the luxury of having stuff delivered to your house and also take ambulances out of commission. But have you heard of cooking at home? Have you even considered dying exactly where you are?

These might all be considered extreme thoughts, but so was flying when it was first attempted. Give it a little time and well get used to staying put for hours on end. Things might get done. No traffic, no stress. Car trouble? Forget about it. No more Are we there yet? or We really need to get going. Were here. Weve arrived. Everything is going to be okay. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores. For your nearest stockist, please click here.

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Final destination: Travel will be the end of us - Daily Maverick

"There is a fifth force which shaped religious belief, but its effect is so universal and profound that it deserves to stand alone...it deserves to be written thus: SPACE TRAVEL!"unknown[src]

Space travel played a major role in the evolution and expansion of humanity throughout the known universe. Two forms of space travel existed: faster than light space travel, and conventional space travel.

Supposed early draft for Jodorowskys Dune

For several thousand years, faster than light travel (FTL travel or space-folding) was conducted exclusively by the Spacing Guild, using Spacefolder vessels piloted by Guild navigators that folded space-time and moved almost immeasurable distances in the blink of the eye.

This form of travel, while extremely expensive, was also not safe as one in ten ships that used space folding engine disappeared, at least during the early years of the technology's use before the advent of Navigators. It was utilized for both commercial and military purposes. Space-folding made use of two key factors:

Eventually, at some point between the fall of the Atreides Empire and the discovery of the Dar-es-Balat hoard, Ixian navigation machines broke the guild monopoly on foldspace by providing a means of safely navigating foldspace without a navigator.[1][2]

The old FTL conventional space travel was used mainly for travel within the confines of a star system (not for interstellar travel). However, before the discovery of the new faster-than-light travel method, it was also used for long-distance space travel. The old method was described as "outracing photons". Even after space-folding became the primary means of interstellar travel, many Imperial warships still kept their old FTL drives as an alternative to the much faster but less reliable Holtzmann engines.

A calculation for velocities obtainable with old FTL conventional space travel can be made from the book "The Butlerian Jihad" by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Before the Battle of Earth, the unified Armada is stated to have gathered at Salusa Secundus. This planet is stated in this wikipedia to be located in theGamma Waiping system which is about 130.8 light-years form Earth, again according to this wikipedia. In the book"The Butlerian Jihad" Xavier Harkonnen states that the Armada takes over a month to reach Earth while traveling at its maximum sustainable speed. Using terrestrial time periods (days, weeks, months) for simplicity's sake, we get1,591.4c for a month,1,136.72c for six weeks, and795.7c for two months (c being equal to the speed of light).

The connection between faster than light travel and the Holtzman Effect is not explicitly mentioned by Frank Herbert. It is a connection made in the prequel novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

In the 'Legends of Dune' trilogy, the pair describe the time shortly before and during the discovery of space-folding. In these works the discovery of space-folding is attributed to Norma Cenva, who goes on to become the first prescient folded space navigator. Prior to this, although described in 'The Machine Crusade' as "outracing the old faster than light method", vessels still took weeks or months to cross between even the closest stars.

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Space travel | Dune Wiki | Fandom

Sir Richard Branson flew into space aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the experience of a lifetime at the Spaceport America in New Mexico, United States on July 11, 2021. Virgin Galactic / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

2021 is a historic year for commercial space travel. A record number of civilian orbital and suborbital missions launched successfully: Elon Musks SpaceX launched four amateur astronauts into Earths orbit for the first time; a Russian film crew spent 12 days on the International Space Station shooting the worlds first movie in space; and two multi-billionaires flew to the edge of Earths atmosphere as the first passengers of their respective space companies to show the public that their new spacecrafts are safe and fun.

As with everything in its early stages, space tourism today is unattainably expensive (although demand appears to be strong enough to keep existing companies in this market busy for several years). But eventually, as technology matures and more companies enter the industry, prices will hopefully go down. As a space tourism entrepreneur told Observer this summer, going to space in the future will be more and more like going to Europe.

Below, weve rounded up every space tourism package that is either available now or in the near future. We have listed them in the order of price and compared them by travel duration, maximum altitude, passenger cabin amenities, and value for moneyif you can afford it, that is.

Price: $125,000Flight altitude: 30 kilometersWhat youll get: A relaxing six-hour ride to the stratosphere in a balloon-borne pressurized capsule.Date available: 2024Value for money: (4/5 stars)Space Perspective offers a radically gentle journey 20 miles above. Space Perspective

Founded by the team that launched Alan Eustace in 2014 for his Guinness World Record space jump, Florida-based Space Perspective in June began selling tickets of its yet-to-be-licensed Spaceship Neptune flights.

A pressurized capsule designed to carry up to eight passengers and one pilot will be slowly lifted by a hydrogen-filled balloon the size of a football field when fully inflated to 19 miles (30 kilometers) in the sky, about three times the altitude of commercial planes. The passenger cabin features a bar, a bathroom and huge windows specially designed for sightseeing.

The balloon will hover at its peak altitude for about two hours before slowly descending to a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, where passengers and will be picked up by a recovery ship.

Because the space balloon moves at only 12 miles per hour during ascent and descent, no special training is required before the ride.Space Perspective completed a test flight in June. The company expects to begin flying paying customers before the end of 2024.

Ticket Price: $450,000Flight altitude:50 kmWhat youll get: A 90-minute ride to 50 kilometers above sea level in a SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. A few minutes of zero-gravity experience during descent.Date available:NowValue for money: (2/5 stars)Virgin Galactic Spaceship Cabin In Payload Configuration Virgin Galactic

If you like a more thrilling space experience provided by a company with a little bit of a track record, Virgin Galactics 90-minute suborbital flight might be your choice.

In July, the companys founder, Richard Branson, became its first passenger and flew to the edge of Earths atmosphere in a VSS UnitySpaceShipTwo spaceplane along with two pilots and three Virgin Galactic employees.

A pioneer in the nascent space tourism industry, Virgin Galactic began selling seats in 2013 at $250,000 apiece. By the time it halted sales in 2014 (after a test flight failure), the company had collected deposits from more than 600 aspiring customers.Ticket sales resumed in August this year at a higher price of $450,000. Virgin Galactic said it has since received 100 reservations.

Each VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo can carry up to four passengers. Virgin Galactic expects to fly paying passengers three times a month in 2023. At its current reservation volume, it will take the company a number of years to clear its wait list. So, patience is your friend here.

Ticket Price: Reportedly $28 millionFlight altitude: 100 kmWhat youll get: A 12-minute ride to the Krmn line, the internationally recognized boundary between Earths atmosphere and outer space.Date available:NowValue for money: (1/5 stars)

Blue Origin offers a similar suborbital flight package to Virgin Galactics. The main difference is that Virgin flies passengers in a plane while Blue Origin launches amateur astronauts in a real rocket.

On July 20, a few days after Bransons spaceflight, Jeff Bezos became the first customer of his own space company as well, blasting off to 107 kilometers in the sky in a New Shepard booster-capsule combo. The same spacecraft launched another crew of four passengers, including Star Trek actor William Shatner, on October 13.

Blue Origin began taking reservations in May. The exact ticket price is still a mystery. Bezos has said Blue Origin will price New Shepard flights similarly to its competitors, which led us to speculate that it would likely fall in the range of what Virgin Galactic charges. But, according to Tom Hanks, the ride would cost $28 million, which he said was the reason he turned down Bezos invitation to fly on the October mission. Hanks may have been joking, but $28 million was how much an auction winner paid to fly alongside Bezos in July. Of that total, $19 million was donated to various space organizations, Blue Origin said. If the remaining amount went to the company itself, it was still a hefty $9 million.

Blue Origin said it has raked in $100 million from private clients, but refused to disclose how many tickets have been sold.

Ticket Price: Estimated $55 millionFlight altitude: 574 kmDate available:NowWhat youll get: Three-day stay inside SpaceXs Dragon capsule circling around Earth with three crew mates.Value for money: (3/5 stars)Earth view through the glass cupola on SpaceXs Dragon capsule during the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission in September. SpaceX

SpaceX has more experience launching humans into space than any other company in this roundup. Its civilian package, rightfully the most expensive of the bunch, provides the closest experience to true space exploration.

In September, four amateur astronauts blasted off into space in a modified SpaceX Dragon capsule, equipped with a 360-degree glass dome, and spent three days flying in Earths orbit. The crewed spacecraft shot up to an altitude of 357 miles, about 100 miles higher than the average orbital altitude of the International Space Station.

The trip was paid for by tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who was also one of the passengers. SpaceX didnt disclose the exact amount he paid. It was estimated in the $200 million ballpark, given that NASA pays about $55 million for each seat on SpaceXs regular crewed missions to the ISS.

Ticket Price: $55 millionFlight altitude: 408 kmDate available: 2022What youll get: A 10-day trip to the International Space Station, including a weeklong stay in the orbital lab.Value for money: (5/5 stars)

Next year, another four-person, all-civilian mission is expected to launch with a SpaceX Dragon capsule, this time to actually dock at the International Space Station and let the crew live in the orbital lab for a week. (The Inspiration4 mission stayed in orbit only.)

The trip is marketed by Houston-based Axiom Space, a company led by former NASA official Michael Suffredini. Dubbed Ax-1, the mission will be piloted by former NASA astronaut Michael Lpez-Alegra. Three passengersLarry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbehave reportedly paid $55 million each for the remaining seats.

Axiom has three more flights planned in 2022 and 2023. Under NASAs low Earth orbit commercialization policy, two ISS civilian missions no longer than 30 days are allowed per year. Axiom actually aims to eventually build a stand-alone space station to replace the aging ISS. The first major module is expected to launch in 2024.

Ticket Price: $50 million to $60 millionFlight altitude: 408 kmDate available: NowWhat youll get: A 12-day trip to the International Space Station.Value for money: (5/5 stars)Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (C), along with film director Klim Shipenko (R) and actress Yulia Peresild (L) pose for a photo ahead of the launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 05, 2021. Roscosmos Press Service/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

If you dont feel like buying your first space trip from an inexperienced private company, Russias national space agency Roscosmos has a ISS getaway package very similar to what Axiom and SpaceX have to offer.

In October, Roscosmos sent an actress and a director to the ISS for a 12-day trip to shoot scenes for what will be the first movie filmed in space. On December 8, another civilian, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, known for having booked a SpaceX Starship flight around the moon in 2023, will travel to the ISS in a Russian Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft, set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Maezawa will fly with his assistant, Yozo Hirano, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. According to Space Adventures, a Virginia-based company currently working with Roscosmos on future commercial flights, a seat on an ISS-bound Soyuz spacecraft will cost in the range of $50 million to $60 million.

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Every Space Tourism Package Available in 2021 Ranked: From $125K to $60 Million - Observer

In February 2022, Texas-based startup Axiom Space will launch the first fully private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) a milestone for commercial spaceflight. While onboard, the astronauts will conduct microgravity research that could help future astronauts, the first step in Axioms quest to create the worlds first commercial space station.

The challenge: The microgravity environment aboard the ISS allows scientists to conduct experiments that wouldnt be possible on Earth.

However, there isnt nearly enough time for government scientists to conduct all of the potential microgravity research, nor is there enough room aboard the ISS for all the potential experiments.

Humanity has only scratched the surface of low-Earth orbits potential for breakthrough innovation.

The idea: Axiom Space is working to expand the amount of research that can be done in microgravity by creating the worlds first commercial space station, a place where anyone could buy the time and space needed for their experiments.

Humanity has only scratched the surface of low-Earth orbits potential for breakthrough innovation, Michael Suffredini, the startups president and CEO, said in a press release, and Axiom was founded to push that envelope.

In 2024, Axiom plans to launch the first module. Initially, it will attach to the ISS to expand the amount of room available for astronauts and experiments, and when the ISS is retired, itll separate to become its own space station.

Before that happens, though, Axiom is sending groups of private astronauts to the ISS to conduct experiments.

Were doing these series of missions in order to do a couple of things, Christian Maender, in-space manufacturing and research director at Axiom, said during a November conference. First, to develop markets, but also to do pathfinder work towards what is eventually our Axiom station.

Whats new: The first of those missions, Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), is set to launch in February 2022 with four crew members one is an Axiom employee (hell serve as commander), and the other three are men paying $55 million each to spend about a week aboard the ISS.

During their time in space, the crew will conduct more than 100 hours of microgravity experiments on behalf of a number of universities, startups, and institutes.

We applaud the Ax-1 crews commitment to advancing scientific inquiry and kicking off this civilizational leap.

Those include studies related to climate change, STEM education, and the environmental health of the Great Lakes. Several microgravity experiments focused on the impact of space travel on the human body are also planned.

We applaud the Ax-1 crews commitment to advancing scientific inquiry and kicking off this civilizational leap, Suffredini said.

Were confident this mission will become not just a monumental moment in space travel, but the true beginning of making spaces potential for meaningful discovery available to private citizens and organizations for the first time, he continued.

Wed love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at tips@freethink.com.

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First commercial mission to the ISS prepares for launch - Freethink

Supercharge your familys brain power with a visit to these dynamic destinations. Here are five compelling places to consider.

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Ala..

Do you have what it takes to be a space explorer? Visit this other-worldly technology center to experience the Discovery Shuttle simulator, feel three times the force of gravity in the G-Force Accelerator and to peruse one of the largest collections of rockets and space memorabilia on display anywhere in the world.

You can also discover what it takes to be among the worlds great record holders. Check out the centers latest traveling exhibition, The Science of Guinness World Records, to uncover the stories of those whose talent and tenacity enabled them to best the longest, farthest, deepest, highest records on the planet.

Contact rocketcenter.com

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Encouraging curiosity and celebrating questions, this is the place to see a German submarine, understand how tornadoes and avalanches happen and explore the structure of the eye in a hands-on lab environment.

Discover the mathematical patterns that surround us every day in the natural world from the delicate, nested spirals of a sunflowers seed to the ridges of a majestic mountain range, in a compelling exhibit called Numbers in Nature. Then make your way to the Whispering Gallery to understand how sound travels in different environments. A theater and hands-on exhibits further enhance the experience.

Contact MSIChicago.org

Monterey Bay Aquarium. Monterey, Calif.

Founded in 1984, this world-renowned organizations mission is to inspire conservation of the worlds oceans.

Through a variety of interactive activities and exhibits designed for young children and families, your crew will learn about the delicate balance that exists in our seas today. The youngest visitors will be drawn to the 40-foot-long touch pool for an up-close look at curious creatures like sea stars, urchins, kelp crabs and abalones. Youll all enjoy the playful antics of southern sea otters, learning about the world of mud flats and marshes, and observing a master of disguise, the Giant Pacific Octopus.

Contact MontereyBayAquarium.org

The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis

Spreading 29 acres with more than 472,900 feet of exhibit space on five floors, this extraordinary nonprofit institution has been entertaining and educating families since 1925. Considered the largest childrens museum in the world, kids can learn about the day-to-day duties of astronauts and get inspired by the powerful stories of other children including Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, Ryan White and Malala Yousafzai. Families are charmed by a historic carousel and inspired by exhibits that explain how plant science can help the world by cleaning up oil spills and cultivating healthy food.

Contact childrensmuseum.org

Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix

This unique museum enables families to see and experience more than 3,000 instruments and artifacts from around the world. Live performances, family-friendly festivals and a wide array of lectures and classes are available. Check out the Steinway piano on which John Lennon composed Imagine as well as the instruments of Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and George Benson. Wireless headsets allow guests to see and hear exhibits throughout the museum. Kids will enjoy the Experience Gallery, where they can touch, play and hear instruments from far away cultures. Check out their extensive and diverse concert schedule.

Contact TheMim.org

Tribune News Service

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Education travel destinations the whole family will enjoy - Boston Herald

As yet, no-one has committed a crime in space - but someone came close in 2019.

Then Summer Worden, the wife of NASA astronaut Anne McClain, claimed that the former US Army engineer had illegally hacked her bank account from a computer on the International Space Station.

The claims were disproven, and the two women subsequently divorced. But with more and more people making their way into orbit every year its only a matter of time before the first outer-space crime is committed.

The first attempt to draft a set of laws governing space travellers dates back almost 30 years before the first manned space flight. A Czech legal expert published a book about the problems space travel might represent for lawyers.

Most efforts at creating a universal set of laws for off-world activities have centred on property law and mineral rights for example, a NASA bid to capture an asteroid and place it in lunar orbit sparked a major debate about who owns celestial objects.

After all, with the value of some asteroids estimated to be in the trillions of dollars, its a question we need to resolve.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has predicted that the Earths first trillionaire will be the person who exploits the natural resources on them.

For example, one massive iron asteroid that was probably once the core of a dead planet could make someone incredibly rich or end all life on Earth.

The asteroid, called 16 Psyche, is thought to contain deposits of iron worth around 8,000 quadrillion.

Theoretically, if 16 Psyche could be mined and its iron retrieved, the value of the metal could be divided between the worlds eight billion people to make every man, woman and child on the planet a billionaire.

Or, equally, any attempt to bring the multi-trillion-dollar space rock down to Earth could result in a planet-killing catastrophe on a par with the event that saw off the dinosaurs.

NASA are currently working with Elon Musk to design a probe that can land on 16 Psyche, remove a small section, and return it to the Earth for analysis.

Theres another set of international agreements covering the legality of weapons in space. A 1967 Outer Space Treaty signed by most of the major world powers bans military bases, weapons testing and military manoeuvres on other heavenly bodies.

However it doesnt go as far as banning all military activity in space, and the recent anti-satellite weapons tests from Russia and China show that the law doesnt really stretch very far beyond the Earth at all.

John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute and professor emeritus at George Washington University, says that there are no meaningful laws in space at all.

He said: The governing structure for space activities is way out of date and doesnt reflect today's realities in space.

There are no rules. Theres no space traffic regime or control. [There are] thousands of objects in space - satellites and space debris. Its a wild environment up there with things shooting around and no traffic management to make sure they dont collide with one another.

Paul Kostek, a space policy specialist from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers , says that the next phase of space exploration, with prospectors competing to claim the next valuable asteroid, threatens to turn space into a new wild west.

It really is the wild wild west, or in this case the wild wild space,' he said. "What is all of that going to mean, how are people even going to manage space?

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Race to make laws in space before asteroid mining starts and there's a 'new wild west' - Daily Star

The sleeper has awoken! More than 55 years after Frank Herberts seminal sci-fi novel "Dune" hit the shelves, and a year-long pandemic delay, director Denis Villeneuve ("Arrival," "Blade Runner: 2049") has unwrapped the first half of his ambitious $165 million adaptation of the award-winning book with mixed results but a palpable dose of storytelling passion.

The 1965 novel was inspired partly by Herbert's awareness of the Department of Agriculture's plan to stabilize and relocate tons of encroaching sand dunes in Florence, Oregon. This blossomed into a futuristic work of singular significance encompassing themes of religion, politics, and ecology amid the turbulent world of feuding houses vying for control of a valuable consciousness-expanding substance called the spice melange. This rare commodity is found only on Arrakis, AKA Dune.

With such legendary notoriety, this project is only the third Hollywood iteration of "Dune," even counting the respectable TV version produced by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2000. The first to mount an assault on the work was Chilean-French cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, whose trippy version would have come with Mick Jagger, Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and a burning giraffe! Note: If you're wondering how to see the new movie outside the theaters, check out our "Dune" streaming guide for tips on where to watch.

A superb documentary titled "Jodorowsky's Dune" chronicles his exhaustive efforts.

Following the failure of Jodorowskys wild dreams to bring "Dune" to life in the mid-70s, iconoclastic director David Lynch ("The Elephant Man," "Blue Velvet") took up the quest. In 1984, Universal Pictures released the first "Dune" feature adaptation which I still believe is a flawed masterpiece.

Audiences were enraptured with the film's scope and stirring score (and an oiled-up Sting in a loincloth), but were bewildered at the movies' hallucinatory tone and head-spinning mythology. Pre-"Game of Thrones" patrons of that era were unaccustomed to complex sci-fi narratives of the same magnitude as todays "The Expanse," requiring nervous theater owners to even issue "cheat sheet" info cards to aid the confused. Polarizing at best, it's still an ambitious attempt.

Now Villeneuve takes a stab at the book once considered unfilmable, and in his hands the material takes on a magnificent 21st century sheen that at times seems like the definitive cinematic version of the source novel. But this valiant attempt at a revelatory adaptation is sort of ponderous and boring. Not that its not without its visually arresting moments. The spaceships instill power and austerity and those dragonfly-like Ornithopters seem like theyre real machines straight from the novel!

In one of the most startling sequences of the movie near its midpoint, we're whisked from the arid wastelands of Arrakis to the harsh prison planet of Salusa Secundus.

Here in the former homeworld of Emperor Shaddam IV's House Corrino prior to its resettlement on Kaitain, we see thousands of fanatical Sardaukar terror troops in formation during a sinister ceremony while an unsettling war cry drones. It's a chilling scene that reveals the fierce warriors' recruitment process as theyre marked in fresh blood streaming from upside-down victims crucified inside tiered stone fortifications.

Herbert's novel delves briefly into Salusa Secundus as the secret hive where Sardaukar are spawned and trained, but Lynch's treatment doesn't allude to any of it. Witnessing their rituals add a measure of fear that supports their legendary status as the fiercest fighters in the galaxy.

"The big challenge was to try not to crush the audience at the start with an insane amount of exposition," Villeneuve told the Los Angeles Times. "It took a long time to find the right equilibrium so that people who don't know 'Dune' will not feel left aside and will feel part of the story."

Regarding the casting process, Timothe Chalamet is seriously up to the task of portraying Paul, the young messianic member of the Atreides clan who will bring deliverance to the desert planet of Arrakis. Doubters should watch his riveting performance as young Henry V in the Netflix film, "The King."

Chalamet plays Paul with simmering intensity and a hint of naivety that transforms into a determined leader whose compassion is matched only by his reserved vengeance against the Harkonnens and the machinations of the Emperor and the Spacing Guild. The guild and its deformed Navigators from Lynchs version are the ones who alert Shaddam IV of the necessity to kill Paul Atreides to secure spice production. Their monopoly on space travel cannot be understated. Strangely, Villeneuve brushes over the importance of the Spacing Guild and its paranoid orchestration of events that lead to the downfall of House Atreides

Those familiar with the 1984 film will recall the eerie scene when a grasshopper-like Third Stage Guild Navigator in his glass travel tank permeated with orange spice gas glides into the Emperors throne room to warn him of the Atreides' prophecy and implications of his threat to Arrakis' future.

Other cool elements of Lynch's "Dune" you won't see in Villeneuve's movies are the wearable sonic weapons called the Weirding Modules that transform sounds into high-intensity bolts. These throat-worn devices are not mentioned in Herberts "Dune" novels. The special weapons were substituted for the books' Bene Gesserit martial arts form known as the Weirding Way.

Apparently Lynch decided to use sonic modules instead to stay clear of the goofiness of seeing "Kung-fu on sand dunes." I'll sure miss those vocal-triggered neck guns as Villeneuve's "Dune: Part 2" unfolds.

For "Dune's" musical score, the great Hans Zimmer wields the orchestral baton with his usual thunderous aplomb where everything is turned up to "11." This is in stark contrast to Lynch's use of Brian Eno's hypnotic Prophecy Theme and the pop rock tracks by Toto. One wouldnt think those choices wouldn't meld into a proper soundtrack but it gave that movie an operatic grandeur which feels lost in Villeneuves film beneath deafening action-oriented drums and primal chants. Zimmers derivative music seems stale and falls somewhere between his acclaimed scores for "Black Hawk Down" and "Man of Steel." Nothing new here to hear.

The rest of Villeneuve's casting choices are a bit predictable but often daring, especially Jason Momoa inhabiting the skin of the gruff battle-hardened swordmaster, Duncan Idaho, as well as Dave Bautista's rabid Rabban, who cultivates a charismatic ferocity to match his Harkonnen pedigree.

Stellan Skarsgard's Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a bloated brute portrayed as a power-addicted despot, far different from Kenneth McMillans role in the 1984 film which bordered on over-the-top cartoonishness. (Remember the blood-gushing heart plugs?) As the short-lived patriarch of House Atreides, Oscar Issac is a solid Duke Leto and Josh Brolin lends gravitas to the troubadour-warrior Gurney Halleck. Thick-accented Javier Bardem is magnetic playing the Fremen chieftain Stilgar.

As the Lady Jessica, Rebecca Ferguson is engaging and vulnerable but feels too young to have a son of Pauls age. I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed British actress Sharon Duncan-Brewsters gender-swapped performance as the Imperial planetologist, Dr. Liet-Kynes.

Overall, the glacial pacing for Villeneuve's "Dune" feels far too relaxed, especially the plodding first act before the galactic crossing to Arrakis and the stronghold city of Arakeen. The director can apparently indulge in a languorous start due to the project being delivered in two chapters. Lynch wisely chose one extra-long cut.

And yes, those monster sandworms are on the prowl here, perfectly depicted via modern CGI instead of the intricate puppets created by "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial's" Carlo Rambaldi. These colossal creatures erupt from the sandy oceans like killer kaiju bent on disrupting spice production in the fertile harvesting beds. We're treated with some gaping maws erupting from the sand but not any full-length glimpses of their immensity.

Those hoping to see Zendaya ("Spider-Man: Homecoming") better not blink or youll miss her as her Chani consists of seven minutes of total screen time made up of pensive glances inside Pauls dreams and a dearth of lines in the films final scenes. For someone featured so prominently in all the trailers, teasers, and marketing material it seems somewhat misleading.

But it's not what is shown in "Dune" that feels adrift and absent, it's what's not shown. Namely the royal domain of Emperor Shaddam IV on planet Kaitain, his daughter Princess Irulan, the Spacing Guild and its mutated Navigators, and Feyd-Rautha, the Baron's nephew famously played with sexy savagery by The Police's Sting and whose fate is linked to Paul's.

"Dune: Part 1" unfolds as a sometimes sluggish but occasionally brilliant introduction to Frank Herberts influential magnum opus. I can only hope that the sequel, now officially greenlit by Legendary/Warner Bros. due to the films $41 million opening for a 2023 release, offers a more energized pace and emotionally resonant climax to expand our minds like the fabled psychotropic spice of Arrakis.

It shall be seen whether or not Villeneuve decides to retain the secret that Paul Atreides carries the Harkonnen bloodlines as his mother was once part of the Barons concubine. This was expressly left out of the David Lynch adaptation and needs to be included. Another piece of Herberts book thats omitted is the anti-technology stance of banning all AI and computers across the galaxy.

This movie is really focused on Paul and I brought in a little bit of the Harkonnens just for context, to understand the geopolitics of the story, Villeneuve adds in his interview. This movie just gives a little glimpse into the Harkonnens. The second movie is much more about them.

Overall, I truly miss the source materials inherent weirdness and psychedelia (Herbert experimented with magic mushrooms!) on screen and hope Villeneuve delivers a less subdued and sterile interpretation for the follow-up in two years.

Until then, I just might pop on Lynchs much-maligned Dune and soak up some radical 80s nostalgia. The spice must flow!

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Will the spice flow? How does new 'Dune' hold up to 1984's film and Frank Herbert's classic novel? - Space.com