SpaceX Polaris Dawn Has Successful Commercial Space Walk

10 thoughts on “SpaceX Polaris Dawn Has Successful Commercial Space Walk”

1. Did she get beyond a Space Peek? It doesn’t seem like a full walk from just this picture. Walking along, say, the length of the spaceship would test more than just poking above the escape hatch. It’s a start but I wonder why @SpaceX didn’t do more.

   • Geiger counter goes BRRRRR

     They went to the edge of the van Allen belt. If the dosage is higher than expected they would have to close the hatch early

   • The way the nature of the world changes, start’s with “a peak “as you put it. Little steps, to start with. But what few people release, is how fast private enterprise has advanced space access. No government on Earth can do, what private enterprise has as fast, and advanced the technology the private sector has. Private enterprise when clever, “done well” makes more money then God. Then again, last time I “heard God”, about 25yrs ago, I was in a coma, and remember nothing about money, God, or anything else. Give me a break, I really was in a coma. But I woke up. I remember nothing. I’ve had several “near death experiences” Thanks to the skills (and love) of the people near me when it mattered, I’m still here. And trust me, I’m one persistent pain in the ass.

2. This is wonderful. Perhaps just another example of why free enterprise makes space exploration happen faster, cheaper, and much more interesting.

   • Well some decades went by before “free enterprise” really took off (pun intended) and it still hasn’t reached the moon.
     Meanwhile China seems to have big ambitions without any free enterprise involved.
     ESA on the other hand looks stuck in the past as thing evolve around them.
     But I agree that “free enterprise”, and in particular Musk, has been a real trailblazer to evolve things faster and cheaper and open up space to business.
     As far as “interesting” is concerned although Musk’s projects are all interesting he won’t be sending any science probes to planets or moons because free enterprise tends to limit itself to whatever makes a profit. But his cheaper launch systems can make science missions cheaper and easier so could be even more interesting.

     • “Slow industry” wasn’t an industry decision.

       For a long while space was the exclusive fiefdom of government and government programs.

       It was an uphill battle by grassroots groups and activists to pry such monopoly and control from them, never forget it.

     • Trust me, China is no more classic Marxist communist then I am. (believe me I am NOT communist). China is a society that tolerates free enterprise when it serves state interests. It’s a “top down” society, economically and politically, but with a twist. I don’t think there’s a current term to simply “label’ modern China. It’s a dictatorship, make no mistake. Then again, the details, are complicated.

       Starting in the late 1970’s, private business and free enterprise was first tolerated, then embraced. And why not? When average people started to make “more money”, so did the state, through taxes, kickbacks, the usual suspects. Everyone likes more money, you, me, the state, everyone. China has threaded the needle, between extreme state control, and free enterprise. In fact, the two reinforce each other.

       Think of it this way: You live in an air conditioned apartment. You have a big HDTV, (w/cable), a microwave, perhaps a car. Your parents were lucky to have electricity and toilets that flushed. Only a people who know that contrast, can feel it’s power. When the thing that freaks you out is your cable going out, your less likely to make political waves. As silly as that sounds, it’s actually very true.

     • We got to the moon in less then a decade after JFK made that decree because we put men on top of what originally were nuclear armed ballistic missals. These very experienced military pilots, most also had experience flying experimental aircraft, must have been “put off” by being on top of a ballistic missile They were passengers not pilots. If any of those guys had a “problem” being were nuclear warheads used to be, I never heard a (public) peep about it. These men were true professionals. I would have been pulling my hair out. That’s why they have the right stuff, and I’m a pain in the ass.

       I’m a pilot, who has flown several types of aircraft, including two experimental aircraft I helped design. My point? As a pilot I know were all very anal. We need to be in total control all the time. Have a problem “up there”, think we can pull over to a cloud and call AAA? I have a car problem, I pull to the side of the road and I DO call AAA. No one cares. I may be late for an appointment, but big deal. Annoying, but not much more.

       Have a problem while flying a plane? I may “drop in on you” unannounced, and certainly unwanted. NEVER good. Blowing up your house is beyond rude. It means we, or our technology (usually a combination) f***** up in the worse possible way. So for our original astronaut’s to just “go along with the ride” must have been mind blowing. As a pilot or Commander, you always want to “do something”. If you can’t, you yell or swear. Which is better then hitting someone.

       Or breaking an expensive piece of equipment. Which may have cost our NAVY $4,000.00, Which sells at Home Depot for $150.00. Think you’ll be charged the Home Depot price? Right. And what planet are you from? But this is a whole other subject.

   • 3 newlywed Women were having coffee and discussing their love lives.

     The first woman says, “My husband is a long-distance runner. When we make love it is amazing. He has such stamina.”

     The second woman says, “My husband is a weightlifter. When we make love it’s incredible because he is so powerful.”

     The third woman says, “My husband is an engineer for NASA. We haven’t actually made love yet. But he says when we finally do, it will be out of this world.”

     • I love it! Oh, so true…

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