The Truth, Declassified

Gagarin’s friend and fellow Russian cosmonaut, Alexei Leonov, was in the area on the day of the crash and served (along with Gherman Titov) on the board that investigated the accident. In 2013, Leonov announced on the Russia Today TV network that another report on the crash, recently declassified, confirmed the real story: A second plane being tested that day, an Su-15 jet, mistakenly flew far lower than its planned altitude of 33,000 feet, instead passing close to where Gagarin’s plane had been flying, around 2,000 feet. Such a large aircraft would be able to roll over a smaller one (like the MiG-15) in its wake if the two planes came too close to each other.

After running various computer simulations, the report concluded that the only viable explanation for the crash was that the Su-15 flew too close to Gagarin’s plane that day, flipping it and forcing it into an unrecoverable spiral dive towards the ground. When asked why the report remained classified for so long, Leonov replied “My guess would be that one of the reasons for covering up the truth was to hide the fact that there was such a lapse so close to Moscow.” Leonov agreed not to identity the test pilot of the Su-15, who was 80 years old at the time, as a condition of being able to go public with the truth nearly five decades after the history-making cosmonaut’s fatal crash.

Read more:

https://www.history.com/news/what-really-happened-to-yuri-gagarin-the-first-man-in-space

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Auch Jeff Bezos, der reichste Mann der Welt, hat nun einen Kurzflug ins Weltall absolviert. Doch anders als seinem Milliardärsrivalen Richard Branson geht es dem Amazon-Gründer nicht nur um Kommerz und Ruhm.

Read more: https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/jeff-bezos-fliegt-erfolgreich-ins-all-und-zurueck-der-space-cowboy-a-a55e33ee-38eb-41b7-8dcb-4fcedb8aa474

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In a move that pours cold water on the dreams of a few billionaire space explorers, the US has tightened its definition of the word "astronaut".

New Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules say astronaut hopefuls must be part of the flight crew and make contributions to space flight safety.

That means Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson may not yet be astronauts in the eyes of the US government.

These are the first changes since the FAA wings programme began in 2004.

The Commercial Astronaut Wings programme updates were announced on Tuesday - the same day that Amazon's Mr Bezos flew aboard a Blue Origin rocket to the edge of space.

To qualify as commercial astronauts, space-goers must travel 50 miles (80km) above the Earth's surface, which both Mr Bezos and Mr Branson accomplished.

But altitude aside, the agency says would-be astronauts must have also "demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety". 

What exactly counts as such is determined by FAA officials.

In a statement, the FAA said that these changes brought the wings scheme more in line with its role to protect public safety during commercial space flights. 

On 11 July, Sir Richard flew on-board Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo to the edge of space as a test before allowing customers aboard next year.

Mr Bezos and the three other crew members who flew on Blue Origin's spacecraft may have less claim to the coveted title. Ahead of the launch, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said that "there's really nothing for a crew member to do" on the autonomous vehicle.

Those wishing for commercial wings need to be nominated for them as well. An FAA spokesperson told CNN they are not currently reviewing any submissions.

There are two other ways to earn astronaut wings in the US - through the military or Nasa.

Read more:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57950149

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Note: the Russians are known as "Cosmonauts"...

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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin filed a lawsuit against the US government over NASA's decision to award the $2.9 billion lunar landing contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX, a spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik on Monday.

"Blue Origin filed suit in the US Court of Federal Claims in an attempt to remedy the flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA’s Human Landing System," the spokesperson said. "We firmly believe that the issues identified in this procurement and its outcomes must be addressed to restore fairness, create competition, and ensure a safe return to the Moon for America.”

Blue Origin filed the lawsuit after the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) rejected protests filed by the company along with technology company Dynetics over the federal government's decision to award SpaceX the contract to build a lunar landing system that can take astronauts to and from the moon as part of the Artemis program.

NASA was expected to select two of three companies competing for the bid: Blue Origin, SpaceX, or Dynetics.

The GAO decided that protests from Blue Origin and Dynetics were groundless, as NASA was within its rights to award the $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX to develop the first lunar landing system to be used in more than 50 years.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/us/202108161083626531-bezos-blue-origin-sues-us-govt-over-29bln-lunar-landing-contract-given-to-spacex/

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Bezos is becoming a bit of a....

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The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a deviation in the descent of the flight of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane that carried British billionaire Richard Branson to the edge of space on July 11.

The New Yorker magazine earlier reported the regulator was investigating an off-course descent.

An FAA spokesman told Reuters the vehicle “deviated from its air traffic control clearance as it returned to Spaceport America. The FAA investigation is ongoing”.

Virgin Galactic did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

It told the New Yorker it did not initially notify the FAA of the deviation and was working with the agency on updating its notification procedures.

The plane flew outside designated airspace for one minute and 41 seconds, it said.

The magazine said during the flight a red light flashed on the ship’s console, indicating an “entry glide-cone warning”.

Mr Branson was one of six Virgin Galactic employees who took part in the flight, soaring more than 80 kilometres above the New Mexico desert, in July. He touted the mission as a precursor to a new era of space tourism and said the company he founded in 2004 was poised to begin commercial operations next year.

-AAP

Read more: https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/people-entertainment/2021/09/02/richard-branson-faa/

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