Bezos' Blue Origin launches human flight: 18-year-old Oliver
Daemen becomes first space tourist
Jeff Bezos, Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen on board Blue
Origin capsule unbuckled their harnesses and experienced
weightlessness as they reached space, on Tuesday morning.
They also had "life-changing views" of Earth from above the
Kármán Line before descending on to West Texas desert from
where they had lifted off 10 minutes earlier.
VAN HORN (West Texas), July 20: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin successfully launched the first-ever commercial human flight into space on Tuesday. The New Shepard rocket carried a capsule in its first crewed spaceflight with Bezos, his brother Mark, 82-year old woman aviator Wally Funk and a teenager paid tourist, Oliver Daemen. Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk represent the youngest and oldest astronauts to travel to space.
After the mission control confirmed separation of the capsule from the booster,
Jeff, Mark, Wally and Oliver unbuckled their harnesses and experienced weightlessness.
When the capsule reached apogee, the crew began experiencing "life-changing
views" of Earth from above the Kármán Line. In the next stage, with three parachutes
opened up, the capsule descended with the crew at a comfortable 16 mph / 26
km/h on their way to touchdown in the West Texas desert as planned.
Wally Funk, whom Bezos personally invited to join the 10-minute hop, is a Mercury
aviator who was refused a chance by NASA all along since 1960's because of gender
bias. She has become the oldest astronaut. Bezos told her: “No one has waited
longer...It’s time. Welcome to the crew, Wally. We’re excited to have you fly
with us on July 20th as our honored guest.”
Hailing from Texas, Wally has 19,600 flying hours and has taught more than
3,000 people to fly. Wally was the first female inspector for the US Federal
Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the
National Transportation Safety Board.
Dutch teenager, Oliver Daemen, 18, became the youngest to go to space and the
first space tourist. He joined the team in place of the winner of the anonymous
charity auction of the first seat, bidding $ 28 m, but opted for a future flight.
And Bezos' brother Mark Bezos is a firefighter. Oliver's ticket cost is not
known. According to Blue Origin, Oliver took a year off after high school to
take pilot’s licence. "Welcome to the crew, Oliver! We’re grateful to have you
as our first customer to mark the beginning of commercial operations," Blue
Origin tweeted.
Watching Neil Armstrong land on the moon on July 20, 1969, had fired Bezos'
inspiration and he set his blast-off on the 52nd anniversary of Apollo's great
leap. This is just the beginning, he says, setting his eye on the moon.
Blue Origin had made 15 successful, uncrewed flights, with minor faults in
one trip. The 16th blast-off was from west Texas desert launch site with no
human habitations nearby. The nearest town is Van horn, 40 km away.
The Blue Origin venture comes as a booster for space tourism after Virgin Galactic's
crewed launch on July 11. While Branson had two pilots and three space specialists,
Bezos' craft was pilotless and fully autonomous. Branson's was a single use
spaceplane, Bezos' New Shepard is reusable. Besides, Branson did not cross the
Karman line. Bezos travelled to an altitude of 106 km.
Blue Origin was founded with the vision to enable a future where millions of
people are living and working in space to benefit Earth.
A third billionaire is awaiting his turn, SpaceX's entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The tickets for future slots for a space tourism trip by Virgin Galactic are
priced approximately at $250,000 for the public.
The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.
A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924)
(Today's headlines )
Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...
Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.
Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.
ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See:
New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)
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