Monthly Archives: January 2022

Video games are a great way for us to journey into the unknown of space, but how realistic is spaceflight in video games?

As one of humanity's greatest curiosities, video game developers have often explored the great unknown in their games. Whether it is initial attempts at single-line space graphics, such as Space Invaders or Asteroids, or the entirely immersive experience which some of the best space VR games have to offer, it has been the aim of many game studios to explore the unending boundaries of space. However, while numerous games let you explore the great unknown, they approach the subject of astrophysics with varying degrees of serious thought.

For some games like Mario Galaxy, Astrobot: Rescue Mission, and the majority of the best Star Wars games, the science of space travel is safely thrown out the window to make room for interesting visuals, engaging storylines and fun gameplay. Whereas others such as Elite Dangerous and No Man's Sky create narratives completely wrapped up in what they have researched as theoretically possible considering our current knowledge of all the differing physics of the universe.

So lets examine the wide spectrum of possibility for spaceflight in games; what we have tried and tested with the science available currently here in real life, and what we believe to be possible, to the downright absurd science fiction some games employ all in the name of entertainment. So if while playing your favorite astronomical shooter you have ever wondered if any of it was at all possible, read on to find out.

Our current efforts to get into space are constrained by issues of size. It takes a lot of energy to put stuff into space with rockets, so we need to keep things as light and streamlined as possible. Thats not the case once you actually make it into space though. With no stresses or forces acting on a spaceship, it can theoretically be any size or shape you want it to be.

Space is also pretty frosty, so you will need some of that warmth in the cabin to keep everyone happy. On the flip side though, spaceships with large power supplies also need a way to keep themselves cool. In space, the only way to lose heat is via radiation, a rather slow process. To prevent the crew of a high-power spaceship from being cooked, spaceships need advanced solutions. This comes up in Mass Effect series, where the SRV Normandy has an advanced cloaking device, but it cant use it indefinitely due to the heat build up. It has to shut it off and let the heat sinks cool down to avoid cooking the crew.

While people have questioned the shape of crafts like Star Wars' iconic Death Star, a perfect sphere is not as unrealistic as you would think. As space has near zero resistance to objects traveling through it, a sphere is as good as any other shape. In fact, it has positives over other ships such as Dead Space's USG Ishimura. While the skeletal structure looks amazing, all those bits hanging around are likely to cause issues when hit by the pretty much infinite debris floating around up there. Boosters and jets would be placed alongside any shaped craft to stop it spinning out and give your ship direction. While players may love entering the USS Enterprise in one of the best PSVR space games, those exposed engines are just asking to get owned.

While you may laugh at the blocky design of say Kingdom Hearts Gummi Ship, it is actually not as impossible as it seems. From an engineering standpoint right angles are not optimal for structural integrity, however, the small size and ability to place thrusters alongside your craft, definitely coincide with science. There is another thing which our humble Gummi Ship got right. It does not ever travel very far.

Today's best Sony PlayStation VR deals

When youre looking at powering your spacecraft, there are two things to consider: powering its flight in space, and actually getting the thing into space in the first place. At the moment we use rockets to put things into space, but this isnt an ideal solution for massive objects.

Rockets are huge, and yet they only carry a relatively small payload into space relative to their size. This is because of what NASA scientists call the "tyranny of the rocket equation" . In short, the more stuff you want to put into space, the more fuel you need. This means you need more fuel storage, which is more mass, which means you need more fuel. So, to increase the size of useful stuff you put into space, you have to dramatically increase the amount of your spacecraft that is dedicated to liftoff (That's why NASA's Saturn V moon rocket was so big.)

Now, you can solve this issue by just building your spaceship in space in the first place, so it never needs to get off the ground. Of course, you still need to get all the parts to build it up there, unless you use something like asteroid mining to build the core structure. We could also use a space elevator, like the one seen in Halo 3 and Halo ODST, to transport parts into orbit and construct the ship there.

When it comes to the fuel vs weight questions most games tend to ignore it. However, some games like the Pikmin series keep you within a very limited space. Pikmin even goes further to show you collecting resources from the local area to re-fuel. However, there are games which take the realities of short distance space travel even further.

Kerbal Space Program tries to recreate closely the realities of building a spaceship. You begin by simply orbiting your planet, and many ships explode in your first efforts. The Hohmann transfer orbit, the method of moving between two planets while preserving fuel by taking advantage of the proximity of the two planets orbits, is the method used by experts currently and the one used by the titular Kerbals.

If you want to keep physical realism in spaceflight you generally have to remain in your solar system. This is because figuring out how to keep people alive long distances, let alone how to get there in the ever expanding universe causes even more theoretical problems. Where is the fun in keeping to your solar system though? Lets see what games have come up with to transport life beyond the Milky Way.

Cryosleep, stasis, reanimation... whatever you like to call it, if you travel vast distances in your space game the likelihood is that you use one of these methods to prevent your crew from perishing. Not only does it stop their cells from aging over large periods of time, but it helps save vital resources like water, food and oxygen for other parts of the trip. The Halo games use it, and Alien Isolation is famous for its stasis pods but this is just a trope of science fiction is it not?

In the 1960s, scientists were actually working hard on the concept of cryonics freezing and reanimating live bodies. By injecting rodents simultaneously with a freezing agent and a form of aircraft anti-freeze, they managed to freeze them completely solid as if dead. Initially they used hot spatulas to awaken our frozen friends but they would often be badly burnt in the process. However, after a lot of research and failed attempts, scientists managed to reanimate hamsters almost 100% successfully via a microwave, with no health concerns even after several rounds of freezing. Our surviving furry friends were then allowed to retire.

Unfortunately for interstellar explorers, they were unable to replicate these experiments on larger bodies. Anything bigger than a hamster will die before the cells freeze. There is promise with medically induced comas, which greatly reduce the need for resources, however, the longer someone is in one the greater the effects to their health. Comatosing someone for more than a few days can lead to issues with speech and movement. So if you cannot freeze the person, you need to make the ship go fast.

Play Halo on Xbox Game Pass

If you cant freeze them, speed them. With the universe expanding faster than the speed of light, you also need to travel faster than the speed of light in order to be moving forward at all, not just drifting further and further away. However, Einstein fans will know you cannot move through space faster than light.

Wormholes and the idea of folding space is popular but I wanted to focus on the spaceships rather than what space is doing. There are a couple of theories though, the most plausible seems the idea of moving space not the ship. This involves making less space in front of you and instead moving the space behind you. This theory is popular in the Mass Effect universe which uses fictional Element 0, a material with a negative mass in order to create this effect.

Despite the developers looking into theoretical physics for inspiration, this method is still just the stuff of science fiction in reality. Firstly, the problem of time dilation remains. The universe around them would still age even while the crew remain intact rendering many of their missions moot. Also we cannot be sure of the effect warping space would have on the objects in the wake of the movement, but it's safe to say that having the fabric of reality warped with you in it probably wouldn't be good for you.

Play Mass Effect on Xbox Game Pass

As for the worst representation of spaceflight in video games; that award must go to Pokmon Omega Ruby/ Alpha Sapphire where in the post game you summon a Mega-Rayquaza before riding it into space and smashing head first into an oncoming meteor. Lets ignore the fact that a 10-year-old has the ability to summon the most powerful Pokmon in existence and that the meteor which would crush your child's body. We will accept those as possible in the given universe.

However, the speed with which Rayquaza breaks through the Earths atmosphere would create so much atmospheric drag that there is no way your body would not be ripped from the monster. Even if there is some sort of harness device, which is not visible in the cut scene, your body would be dragged through all available holes. Even if you survived that, debris would likely rip through your spacesuit at those speeds exposing and killing you. It is wild that a game in which you enter a volcano without protection would fly in the face of realism like this. In summary, you're dead. Sorry.

While this is just a surface look at spaceflight in games, you can use the few ideas explored to examine the crafts in your favorite games and figure out if any of it is at all possible, probably ruining your immersion and experience.

See original here:

How realistic is spaceflight in video games? - Space.com

MCGREGOR, TX IN THE BEGINNING:

Texas has always been big in the space program, but its getting bigger.

almost every company that takes off into that wild blue yonder has a presence here and many,

including SpaceX in Central Texas, will expand their footprint.

Space, the final frontierits what brought Hefzi-Ba Ramirez to hear a NASA scientist speak at TSTC.

"I am actually planning to use my avionics degree, my associates degree to go into the Air Force," she said.

After World War Twos win, America and its allies took a victory lap while behind the Iron Curtain the biggest axis power of them all, the Soviet Union, saw its future in the stars.

The Soviets surprised the world with the first man-made satellite. There wasnt much to it, just a radio beeper inside a ball with antennas, but everyone on earth, it seemed, heard those beeps, and to some, they sounded like a warning. The Soviets then followed with a dog in space and finally Yuri Gagarin makes one small pass around the earth becoming the first man in space.

"American Democracy competing with the Soviet Union with communism in there if you look at the first years in space it looks like the soviets are in the forefront of technology and success," said NASA Historian Brian Odom.

So President Kennedy doubles down on the space program, and he places his bet in a Texas town that would later become synonymous with space travel.

"in a city noted for progress, in a State noted for strength, and we stand in need of all three," said John F. Kennedy.

At Houstons Rice University, Kennedy challenges the U.S. to put a man on the moon by end of the decade.

For years, the military had charge of whatever space program America had. The challenge to the moon would put that work into a civilian agency.. one created during the years of Dwight Eisenhower, a wartime general who envisioned the exploration of space as a peaceful venture.

"President Kennedy has a huge question. He's hot that interested in space but he understands the propaganda value and knows how those discoveries will change our lives," said Odom.

President Kennedy outlined the nations space program, saying the concept of a free nation must extend out into space and anywhere else a free people might

benefit. "For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond," he said.

The enthusiasm Jack Kennedy created for space still endures today, especially in the heart of youngTexans like Ramirez . "I wanna be an astronaut," she said.

TEXAS MAKES ITS MOVE

In the beginning of the space program, Texas was a bystander.. yet our leaders at the time saw opportunity, not only to get Texas moving into the future, but also putting Texas on the world stage.

When NASA Comes to TSTC. Students turn out by the hundreds. students, many of whom say, theyve dreamed of the stars all their lives.

As president Kennedy arrived in Texas for a Rice University speech on September 12th 1962, hat he says changes America and Texas, forever. In fact, it would establish Texas as an important part, perhaps THE most important part of the emerging national space program.

"We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people," said President Kennedy.

Because the US had failen behind as the then Soviet Union, launched the first Satellite, the first man, the woman and even the first dog into space.

At the same time the US had very public failures, and Kennedy pointed out, the Soviets surely did too.

"We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public. To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned flight. But we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead." he said.

And we did as NASA moves it operation center to Texas. Originally designed for Marylands Goddard Space Flight Center, it would come to Houstons swampy Clear Lake area where Rice had donated land and politicians had urged the move.

"They definitely wanted something that had mild weather. They wanted an Air Force base nearby. So we had Ellington Air Force base that was close by we had a mild climate which they wanted. They also wanted an area where there was a lot of cultural activities for their employees. So that was a big draw for NASA. They wanted local universities nearby because of course, they were going to have these engineers and scientists that needed potentially more training and they wanted to draw also from that workforce that we had here in Houston as well," said Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, Historian at NASA's, Johnson Space Center.

Houston had everything plus some very important politicians, steering the exploration of the stars, to the lone star state. Brazos Valley, (then Houston) Congressman Albert Thomas became the driving force behind NASAs arrival in Houston.

"I think really, Albert Thomas deserves most of the credit for bringing NASA down here. When they were building that center up in Maryland, the Goddard Space Flight Center, he actually had wanted NASA to build a center here. And he told the administrator at the time that he wasn't going to give them a red cent if they didn't move the facility," said Ross-Nazzal.

Houston would later become synonymous with space travel as it changed the way people looked at Texas forever.

"...and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out--then we must be bold.," said President Kennedy at his now-famous speech at Rice University.

And he couldnt have picked a better place than Texas, a place known for not just its boldness, but its intelligence and its hard-working people.

Instructors at Waco's TSTC believe they have more than a few future rocket scientists here, Including everyday Texans like Hefzi-Ba Ramirez who plans to take to the skies but a little closer to home, telling us she plans to use her avionics degree in the Air Force, and as she, NASA and others, fly off into that wild blue Yonder, theyll have the backing of an army of Texans who made it possible for their trip.

HOUSTON... WE HAVE NO PROBLEM....

Whether you live in McGregor.... or Manor you may have noticed increased activity when it comes to the nations space program.

And most of that action happened right here in Texas. Houston became synonymous with space travel in the Apollo Program.... could we strengthen our brand in the privatization of space?

As President John F. Kennedy prepared to roll out the nation's space program, he hitched his star, to the Lone Star State, as a symbol of progress.

"This city of Houston, this State of Texas, this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward--and so will space," said John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. President.

President Kennedy sealed the deal, making Houston the center of manned space flight for NASA, as Texas had already begun to emerge as a high-tech hub.

In the years that followed, we would hear the word "Houston" sprinkled thorough any conversation between astronauts and mission control.

And with each mission, NASA learned more about, not only space, it learned about earth itself....as Mr. Kennedy predicted.

"Science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school," he said.

You might say the space program outdid itself, exceeding even the president's crystal ball.

Consider these products we use every day, which came straight from the Space program:

The technology that puts cameras into cell phones, Memory Foam, Scratch-resistant sunglasses, the Dustbuster, GPS, and LED lighting,

NASA Historian Brian Odom says, They all got their earliest uses, in the early days of the space program, which centered on Texas.

"Going to the moon was an incredibly important thing, right? Because you're you're looking at how do we... move ourselves off of Earth and out into other places... and that's what we're doing from the Mercury program, Gemini and Apollo, up to about Apollo 14, but Apollo 15 is a little different. You really are diving into the geology of the moon. You're really beginning with a Lunar Roving Vehicle. You can really expand your science out really do some research, right? So you got Apollo 1516 and 17. After 17 you do come back in and you say okay, where do we go from here?" he said.

The obvious choice at the time...Mars. but with the Vietnam War still going, and some troubling economic trends at home, President Richard Nixon decides the needs at home are greater than the needs of outer space.

NASA stays closer to home...

" Skylab launching America's first station in space, sending three crews to do incredibly important research and learning about low Earth orbit. And the space shuttle will go on launch in April 1981. And we'll have this incredibly important suite of missions where we learn about low Earth orbit we learn about access to low Earth orbit, building a space station, launching the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X Ray Observatory, and then servicing those missions," said Odom.

All run, from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Texas has a foothold in the door.

"What was once the furthest outpost of the old west, Houston will be the furthest outpost on the new frontier of science and space," said President John F. Kennedy.

But can it maintain that foothold in the face of a private enterprise free-for-all over space?

TO BOLDLY GO...

NASA ran the American space program as a solo act for the first 40 or so years of its existence. Now you can count more than a handful of successful companies all making money, or about to... off of space,

Most have major operations in Texas, but can Texas keep its hold on these companies?

TV's Captain Kirk explains the thin band of air around the earth, minutes after he steps off a Blue Origin capsule.

This time his beaming face has nothing to do with "Scotty", as actor William Shatner connects in a way he never expected, to the character he's played off and on, for a lifetime.

He returned from his first-ever trip into space, speaking almost in religious terms.

"Everybody in the world needs to see this....." he says in an almost reverent way.

Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, may not run the nation's top private space company, but he sure knows how to get attention, having the actor whose 4 year mission in television space still plays in re-runs today.

Where's NASA in all this? The whole plan at Blue Origin, comes directly from NASA research, as the space agency started handing off little pieces of the space program to private companies, years ago.

"At what point does does NASA leave off and private can private enterprise takeover? Where's that? Where's that sweet spot? That's a great point. And I think, you know, it depends on exactly what you're looking at, right? Because if you're looking at something from the aeronautics portfolio, you know, the X vehicles, you're learning a lot of important things there. And it still is that r&d, right you're the government can invest money in solving questions. Private industry, for the most part can't do it's not in its you know, there's no market maybe yet for that for that ability. But, you know, NASA the government can can inject money into the into a problem, but some r&d behind it and then get that to the private industry as much as as quickly as it can," said NASA Historian Brian Odom.

And from a wide field at first, three private companies have become the most recognizable names in the game.

Of those... two located major operations in Texas.

Sir Richard Branson located in New Mexico, what you might call, "Texas lite".

Just as the railroad barons Cornelius Vanderbilt, James hill, Collis Huntington shaped modern travel. The space barons, Elon musk, Jeff bezos and Richard Branson almost through sheer force of will, aim for the stars, shaping our future travel.

Bezos has a base in West Texas out near El Paso, in Van Horn where he's spent untold millions on building the Blue Origin launch site, offices and necessary infrastructure for his 275 Employees and 50 contractors.

Outside of Texas, Blue Origin has its headquarters in Kent, Washington, 20 minutes south of Seattle. ... Cape Canaveral, FL. Home to its New Glenn manufacturing, orbital launch and support facilities. . other operations you'll find in Arlington, VA. ...Huntsville, AL. .. and Los Angeles.

Blue Origin's capsule takes off from the Van Horn site, the reusable main rocket lands here, and the capsule tumbles to earth, nearby.

Richard Branson and Burt Rutan joined forces to get Virgin Galactic off the ground. Their company takes a different approach to space launches, believing the cheapest and easiest way to get off the ground... hitch a ride on a specially built mother ship to take you to the edge of the atmosphere where you unlink, hit the afterburners and sail off into the darkness.

Even though Virign had a successful first flight, issues with the stability of the space plane forced virgin to push back the start of regular service sending its stock price in for a hard landing.

uncertainty about Virgin's future also raises questions about it's home base, Spaceport America. Virgin is the biggest tenant at the facility just outside Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Managers though say with other, new tenants moving in, Virgin's success becomes less important to Spaceport's survival.

Though privatization of the space program got off to a slow start by many accounts, Today, NASA refers with pride, to it's private partners, and one of it's early success stories, SpaceX, charting a path laid out with government research.

" From that you can get incredibly important things like the you know, the ability of SpaceX to get people to the International Space Station to kind of dominate transportation paradigm in low Earth orbit," said Odom.

"This experience is something unbelievable," said Shatner.

Because if TV's Captain Kirk has it right, we may all get to ride a rocket into space in the years ahead.

"What you have given me is the most profound experience i can imagine," Shatner told Jeff Bezos.

"I hope I never recover from this," he said.

SPACE WHO?

Space X moved in near McGregor about 20 years ago.

You might say McGregor's been booming for a long time.... most recently with SpaceX.

"They originally started off probably a couple 100 acres and now they occupied 4000 acres of our industrial park. What started as a couple of employees. Now they're in probably close to 1000 and it's still expanding," said Mc Grgor Mayor jim Hering.

What we now know as McGregor's SpaceX facility, began as a world war two era explosives factory called the "Bluebonnet Plant".

Phillips Petroleum moved in for a while with a test lab for different types of fuel.

Rockets arrived, when a small rocket company called Rocketdyne moved in to learn the secrets of the German V-2 rocket and put them to "American Use".

During that time, Rocketdyne's research helped lead to the creation of the v Saturn 5 rocket which sent men to the moon.

the turn of the century brought SpaceX here, and the site grew along with the company.

""This is the horizontal test stand. This is the very first place we fired a rocket was right here" said SpaceX Co-Founder Tom Mueller, in a SpaceX-prepared video.

Rocket genius Mueller designed, built and tested rockets from here for years, retiring in 2020.

His pre-produced tour of SpaceX McGregor shows us some of the highlights.

"The block house is an underground bunker control engine testing like the Merlin booster engine, we're setting up a test of the the daily duty cycle Falcon nine," Muller says.

The engine tests at McGregor roar loudly and shake the ground for miles... something neighbors know all too well by now.

Space X actually has three rocket testing stands, including it familiar-looking tall gantry.

When you hear how powerful these engines are made, all the shaking and roaring seems to make sense.

'" The Falcon nine first stage up here that we're getting ready to do the sort of historical the first folder burn up all nine engines so there's nine engines running 95,000 pounds each. That's a total of 860,000 pounds for about 170 seconds" says Mueller.

And the engines generate lots of heat.

"Right in there where that black type comes down and it goes into the exchangers because the exhaust of course coming out of that thruster is about 3000 degrees. " Mueller adds.

McGregor also tests the Space X capsules.

"Dragon capsule just started into qualification. This is the first fully flight Dragon capsule we built" Mueller says.

See original here:

In-Depth: Texas and the New Race for Space - KXXV News Channel 25

It may have started with Tang, but when it comes to advances developed for space travel having useful applications back on Earth, things have improved.

Case in point: New medical technology designed to help protect and treat astronauts may soon be ubiquitous down here.

"All of the constraints that you have in space really drive a lot of the innovation on Earth," said Emmanuel Urquieta Ordonez, MD, chief medical officer of NASA's Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH). "And it is a great place to test technologies that need to work in a resource-limited environment, like remote camps that are very far away or underserved regions that don't have access to internet."

Urquieta was scheduled to speak at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 Annual Meeting. He ran into terrestrial constraints when the COVID-19 surge resulted in flight cancellations forcing him to remotely interact with other CES participants as he described the new NASA technology for remote interactions.

One invention pioneered for use in space is a miniaturized ultrasound probe that connects to a cell phone, he says. "It's a single probe that has the capability to obtain images from different depths of your body." Results are interpreted by artificial intelligence (AI). "It's almost like having a radiologist in your pocket," he says.

TRISH is also researching how to monitor the health of astronauts unobtrusively, Urquieta says. Wiring them for electrocardiography or stopping them to put on blood pressure cuffs can interfere with their work. So TRISH is investigating the abilities of cameras and other contactless monitors. "Ideally, in the morning you wake up, you are brushing your teeth, getting ready for your day, and maybe having all the sensors embedded into a system that is in your mirror or somewhere like that," says Urquieta. "You can take all of the measurements without you even knowing."

But what do you do with all that information? Former NASA scientist Maarten Sierhuis, PhD, tackled that problem by automating the role of flight controller with software that exchanges medical data between Mission Control and the International Space Station.

"When there is a communication link available, this technology can also provide analytics and information to the biomedical engineers or the doctors or the support people in Mission Control," says Rachna Dhamija, PhD, who was also invited to speak at CES 2020. She joined Sierhuis in founding Ejenta, a San Francisco start-up that is commercializing some of this technology.

Healthcare centers are already using Ejenta software to monitor vital signs and give an early warning if a patient is in cardiovascular trouble, she says. "Other conditions include hypertension, high-risk pregnancy, diabetes, so you name it. Any condition where we can monitor somebody's metrics and provide clinicians with the early signs that somebody needs help is suitable for this technology."

Ejenta is also working on AI programs to automate the data analysis that physicians face as more and more diagnostic and monitoring devices come into play.

"But it's especially useful when there is that communications delay, and you want real-time support," Dhamija says.

The core technology developed by Ejenta is "intelligent agents," AI programs with sensors that take in data from their environment and make autonomous decisions based on this data.

For example, if you ask an intelligent agent how many steps you have taken today, it would understand your speech and consult the accelerometer or pedometer in your phone, make a calculation, and give you an answer. If that sounds a lot like Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa, that's no coincidence. Both are examples of intelligent agents. And Ejenta has received support from Alexa's maker, Amazon, through an Amazon Web Services accelerator program for healthcare companies.

One of the intelligent agents Sierhuis developed monitors an astronauts' metabolic rates while they are on space walks, advising them about when to rest or get something to eat.

A radio signal can take as long as 20 minutes to get to Mars, making it difficult for earthbound doctors to advise astronauts in the event of a medical emergency, such as a heart attack or broken leg. So Ejenta is designing an intelligent agent that can provide useful guidance for astronauts to use in treating themselves or each other without consulting human physicians or even connecting to the internet. It can answer verbal questions and display images on a screen.

"There is anticipated to be somebody with medical training on board," Dhamija says. "But what happens if that person is injured and the other astronauts have to assist? They may not have the training that they received on Earth top of mind. So an intelligent agent can potentially help."

Dhamija is an employee of Ejenta. Urquieta is an employee of TRISH.

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 Annual Meeting.

Laird Harrison writes about science, health, and culture. His work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, on public radio, and on websites. He is at work on a novel about alternate realities in physics. Harrison teaches writing at the Writers Grotto. Visit him at lairdharrison.com or follow him on Twitter: @LairdH.

For more news, follow Medscape on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Go here to see the original:

'Space Medicine' Returns to Earth - Medscape

NASA needs to hire more astronauts and change the way ittrains them, according to a new report from the space agency's inspector general.

NASA's Astronaut Office currently focuses its efforts on ensuringenough astronauts are trained and ready to crew the International Space Station. And it has been doing so in a post-shuttle era when NASA could only send astronauts to space as passengers on Russian rockets.

But with moon missions looming and growing numbers of vehicles capable of launching humans to space, the agency needs to increase its number of astronauts, reconsider what skillsets those astronauts will need and change the ISS-centric focus of its current training regimen, the report says.

"NASAs Astronaut Office faces several challenges at this moment in time, including meeting the Agencys goal of deep space travel; maintaining and expanding a low Earth orbit presence, in particular on the International Space Station (ISS or Station); executing space flight missions on multiple vehicles; and aiding in the design and development of systems for Artemis missions to the Moon," the reports says.

New NASA astronauts: Out of thousands of applicants, NASA announces 10 new astronauts

How do you do laundry in space?NASA and Tide are working on a long-standing space problem: cleaning astronauts' laundry

As of September, NASA had 44 "flight-ready" astronauts, down from a peak of 150 in 2000, the report said.

NASA assesses the size its astronaut corps every year. In recent years, that has meant having enough astronauts ready to fill available ISS seats for the next five years. It builds in a "safety margin" of 15% to account for attrition, crew skills mix and medical qualifications.

NASA forecasts that the number of astronauts will fall below its targeted size this year and next.

The process of recruiting, hiringand providing basic training for an astronaut takes about four years.

"In light of the expanding space flight opportunities anticipated for the Artemis missions, the corps might be at risk of being misaligned in the future, resulting in disruptive crew reorganizations or mission delays," the report reads.

NASA selected 10 new astronaut candidates in December. They begin training this month. It was the first new astronaut class since 2017.

It is not only the number of astronauts that NASA needs to worry about, the report says, but also the skill sets of each.

The earliest astronauts were all test pilots, but over the years NASA expanded the corps to include scientists, medical doctors, engineers and others with specialized skills. The agency is working now to identify the skill sets astronauts will need for theupcoming Artemis moon missions.

But the agency doesn't maintain a database of each astronaut's skills;instead, it leans on personal knowledge of those in charge of the astronaut office. But that might not be feasible as the corpsgrows, the report found.

Nor does NASA maintain detailed demographic information about astronauts, making it hard to assess whether the agency is meeting its diversity goals.

The report also said NASA needs to adapt its trainingregimen to prepare for the Artemis moon missions.

"As the Agency prepares for crewed Artemis missions, astronaut training needs will change. As with sizing, the current astronaut training framework is primarily aligned to ISS mission requirements," the report said."The Astronaut Office is in the process of developing a framework for Artemis training, but this framework has not been formally chartered nor have any Artemis crews been announced. As such, specific mission-focused training for the Artemis II missionthe first crewed Artemis flighthas not yet begun."

NASA estimates that training for Artemis missions will take two years.

Kathy Lueders, who leads NASA's Human Spaceflight Office, concurred with the report and said the agency is expected to fulfill all its recommendations this year.

A 25+ year veteran of FLORIDA TODAY, John McCarthy currently oversees the space team and special projects. Support quality local journalism bysubscribing toFLORIDA TODAY. You can contact McCarthy at 321-752-5018 or jmccarthy@floridatoday.com.

Read more:

NASA needs to hire more astronauts and train them differently, report says - Florida Today

They might be the tools of the bad guys, but you have to admit the spaceships and vehicles of Avatar look awesome.

Despite the daily who cares about Avatar posts on social media that have been a thing for roughly a decade now, James Camerons big original sci-fi universe is alive and kicking, with Avatar 2 and 3 already shot and deep in post-production. The first of the five planned sequels is set to finally arrive on December 16, 2022; the second one has occupied a slot on December 20, 2024. Disneys current plan for Christmas moviegoing, starting next year, is to alternate between big Avatar and Star Wars releases (so you might want to catch up on the Star Wars movies in chronological order)... but well see whether that sticks or not.

On top of that, the folks at Ubisofts Massive Entertainment have been developing a sprawling open-world Avatar game for a while. The game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, was officially unveiled earlier this year, and aims to hit next-gen consoles and PC in 2022 just in time for the new movie if development doesnt hit any unexpected obstacles. The (meaty) debut trailer already teased the return of plenty of creatures, spaceships, and vehicles of Avatar from the original movie, and well likely be discovering more of those as marketing ramps up next year.

Plenty has been said for over a decade about Pandoras natives and the real science of Avatar. Moreover, the moons bestiary has been equally studied and detailed by both Camerons team and the legions of diehard fans. However, we feel that most of the spaceships and vehicles of Avatar were generally taken for granted theyre quite intricate and worth discussing as well. Lets go over the movies most striking machines and their backgrounds. And, while youre at it, check out the other coolest spaceships in sci-fi too.

Watch Avatar on Disney Plus

The first man-made creation we see in the movie is the most important of the spaceships and vehicles of Avatar; the Interstellar Vehicle Venture Star (ISV) is one of ten interstellar spaceships used for the looping Earth Pandora supply chain. It kind of looks like a space station, and thats because it was designed to operate only in deep space; shuttle-like ships called Valkyries (more on them below) are the vehicles that actually land on Pandoras surface. As stated in the movie, the trip between Earth and Pandora takes more than five years, so each Venture Star carries a substantial amount of cargo and over 100 passengers, plus four crew members who also hit the sack in cryosleep for the entirety of the trip.

The Venture Star covers the 4.37 light years of distance between Earth and the Alpha Centauri system in an expected timeframe of 6.75 years an initial acceleration takes place for about six months, reaching 0.7 times the speed of light. That speed is then maintained for nearly six years until the ship decelerates with another months-long process.

Unobtanium, the extremely valuable mineral only found on Pandora, is key to the construction of these spacecraft, as it helps contain the matter-antimatter reactions needed to space-travel within reasonable time frames. While there is obviously a fair bit of artistic license here, it's an entirely plausible set-up. We've recently spotted a potentially habitable planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A

The Valkyrie SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit)-TAV-37 B-class shuttlecraft is, as stated above, of utmost importance to the Resources Development Administrations (RDA) operations on Pandora theyre the ships which offload new personnel, armed troops, and Earth-manufactured machinery and supplies. On the trip back home, around 25 tons of refined unobtanium can be fit inside. Two Valkyries are carried by each ISV Venture Star.

While these vessels are designed mainly for transport activities, some are left on Pandora and later re-purposed to serve as automated gas harvesters that skim through Polyphemus (the planet which Pandora orbits around) upper atmosphere to obtain the anti-hydrogen and deuterium used to refuel ISV spacecrafts. As seen in Avatar, Valkyries also have vertical take-off and landing capabilities and can even be used for military operations despite their massive size and limited maneuverability.

The Mitsubishi (yes, really) MK-6 Amplified Mobility Platform (or AMP suit) is arguably the most iconic of the spaceships and vehicles of Avatar and a memorable mech design that has clearly had a big influence on subsequent works of science fiction. Its heavily featured throughout the flick, and plays a key role in the final confrontation between Jake Sully and main baddie Colonel Quaritch.

The official description says its a distant descendant of the first military exoskeletons used on Earth in the mid-21st century. The MK-6 AMP was improved over the decades and after its use in a myriad of theaters of war plus the Moon and Mars colonies. The Navi, the inhabitants of Pandora, often refer to this menacing machine as shield that walks. Its multi-purpose design, with human-like limbs, allows it to effectively replicate (and amplify) the functions of infantry soldiers.

The C-21 Dragon Assault Ship only appears in the film during the attacks on the Omaticaya Hometree (which is completely destroyed) and, later, the Tree of Souls, but it gets plenty of screen time. Its a heavy gunship used for full-scale military operations, or as support during smaller incursions into hostile territory; its specs make it the most powerful non-nuclear weapon on Pandora.

Unsurprisingly, the Dragons size and heavy armor make it slower and less maneuverable than the SA-2 Samson and AT-99 Scorpion (more on those later). It makes up for its movement-related shortcomings with a vast array of heavy machine guns, dozens of rocket and missile pods, and the possibility of using complements of door-gunners. Fans of James Camerons filmography might make a clear connection between the Dragons design and that of the Colonial Marines dropships in Aliens (a movie worthy of a top spot on our Alien movies, ranked worst to best list).

Another impressive example of the spaceships and vehicles of Avatar, the Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson are ducted-fan crafts that can be easily mistaken for Scorpion Gunships from afar. The Samson stands out as the main workhorse of RDA operations on Pandora thanks to its cargo-carrying capabilities, detachable rocket pods, and side-door guns.

Trial runs in Antarctica, the Himalayas, and Honduras proved the Samson could fly well in difficult atmospheres and/or extreme temperatures with minimal maintenance work needed. When the RDA started preparing large-scale operations for Pandora, the Samsons reliability and sturdiness made it the ideal candidate for everyday operations in uncharted alien territories.

It looks like the Samson takes its real world inspiration from a couple of different helicopters - namely the Boeing AH-64 Apache and the Bell UH-1 Iroquois aka the Huey, which played a huge role in the Vietnam war that Avatar takes some of its inspirations from.

The gunship of choice on Pandora, the AT-99 Scorpion Gunship packs impressive frontal firepower without sacrificing the Samsons iconic speed and agility. As a result, cargo-carrying capacity and side-door guns are gone in this ducted-fan craft design, plus a single pilot must coordinate everything that happens inside and outside the vehicle. They are mainly used to escort shuttle landings and take-offs, and to provide close-air fire support during military and mining operations.

Additional background information explains that the Scorpion Gunship was originally built for use on Earth as terrorists and insurgents had gained access to electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weaponry to counter drones and other combat machines. While the machines combat hulls and external electronics were hardened against EMP weapons, the central processing units (CPUs) remained vulnerable, so a human solution was needed the RDA quickly realized that, even on Pandora, manned attack crafts were needed to negate the short-circuiting woes that came with CPUs, as all machinery on the newly-colonized, distant moon was required to last for as long as possible.

Its safe to assume that James Cameron and his team, plus Massives artists, have already come up with many cool new vehicular designs for their upcoming Pandora-set projects, so expect to see slight variations of these vehicles and spacecrafts starting next year.

Wed be surprised if all-new designs didnt make a splash, too. Avatars universe, which is expected to expand beyond the landscapes of Pandora that weve already seen, is almost a blank canvas itd be nice to get some new vehicles that dont resemble military aircrafts or mechs, but that will depend on what (and how big) the human presence is in the upcoming sequels. For now, the Navi have kicked all the bad Earthlings back to their home planet and are quite happy with their non-mechanical flying mountain banshees (ikran), thank you very much.

Watch Avatar on Disney Plus

Go here to read the rest:

The spaceships and vehicles of Avatar - Space.com

Things are heating up in space in more ways than one. Recently, Russia conducted an anti-satellite (ASAT) test and launched a missile at one of its old spy satellites. The explosion hurtled debris through space, forcing the crew of the International Space Station to take shelter in a spacecraft for protection. ASAT tests are a growing threat to satellites, but theyre not the only threat. Gen. David Thompson of U.S. Space Force told The Washington Post that Russia and China are launching attacks on U.S. satellites every day using digital attacks, lasers, and radio frequency jamming.

The rise in satellites, rockets and shuttles is creating an expanded attack surface. Just like transportation, energy, and other vital industries, space systems need protection. And while we probably wont see civilians launching into space anytime soon, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are making such travel more feasible by the day. A proposed bill in the U.S. House of Representatives the Space Infrastructure Act would designate space as a critical infrastructure sector. It would be a good first step.

Given how much equipment is in space and how dependent we are on it, it makes sense to classify it as critical infrastructure. There are more than 6,500 satellites in orbit; a record 1,283 launched in 2020 alone. They are integral to cellular communications, Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation, monitoring weather and climate, managing Internet of Things systems for agriculture, and keeping energy and other critical infrastructure running. And this infrastructure is disconcertingly fragile.

Outages have widespread, cascading, and potentially catastrophic consequences. One disabled satellite can affect vast networks on earth, leaving regions without cellular and other services. This makes them attractive targets for malicious attackers. The risk is so great that the director of the Defense Departments Space Development Agency has cited cyber attacks against satellites as a greater threat than missiles.

The threat is not theoretical

Attacks have been going on for many years and have recently ramped up. In 2018, hackers infected U.S. computers that control satellites. Iranian hacking groups tried to trick satellite companies into installing malware in 2019. And one report concluded that Russia has been hacking the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and sending spoofed navigation data to thousands of ships, throwing them off course. While there havent been any public reports of direct hacks on satellites, vulnerabilities in ground stations have been exploited to try to alter satellite flight paths, among other aims.

There are a number of ways satellites can be attacked. Hackers could compromise ground control systems to take control of space equipment remotely or inject malware into communications between terrestrial computers and satellites. They can spoof, or snoop on communications for espionage purposes, or disrupt signals. Imagine a weather data outage during a hurricane or data glitches that lead to power blackouts or supply chain delays. The economic costs would be vast. A cyber attack on the Global Positioning System alone could cost the U.S. $1 billion a day, according to Brian Scott, director of critical infrastructure cybersecurity for the National Security Council.

Federal initiatives are a good starting point

Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are taking notice of this fast-growing threat. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act established a new military branch Space Force. Meanwhile, President BidenJoe BidenHouse Democratic campaign arm outraises GOP counterpart in final quarter of 2021 Putin's 'Brezhnev Doctrine' involving Ukraine could backfire Rising inflation adds pain to student loan debt MORE is reviewing the first comprehensive cybersecurity policy for space systems, dubbed Space Policy Directive 5. It requires capabilities to prevent jamming and spoofing of communications and unauthorized access of equipment in orbit.

The Space Infrastructure Act, proposed by U.S. Reps. Ted LieuTed W. LieuSpace race needs better cybersecurity Buttigieg touts supply achievements at ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach In their own words: Lawmakers, staffers remember Jan. 6 insurrection MORE (D-Calif.) and Ken CalvertKenneth (Ken) Stanton CalvertMORE (R-Calif.) this summer, is another key measure that would put space on par with other industries by classifying it as a critical infrastructure domain. This move would enable more private and public collaboration on cybersecurity for space assets.

One critical infrastructure sector that has dealt with similar cybersecurity concerns is transportation. Transportation operators that have invested in IT security measures have taken first steps, but efforts are on the rise to bolster proactive risk management that demonstrate a more complete understanding of infrastructure security. Under DHS Secretary Alejandro MayorkasAlejandro MayorkasSpace race needs better cybersecurity Overnight Energy & Environment Biden officialsannounceclean energy plans DHS unveils effort to recruit climate change professionals MORE, the TSA has introduced regulations that urge operators to appoint a cybersecurity coordinator, report incidents to CISA within 24 hours, complete vulnerability assessments within information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems, and develop an incident response plan based on security issues discovered.

Another critical infrastructure that has work to do is the U.S. military. The Government Accountability Office released reports in 2018 and 2021 chiding the DOD for the poor to non-existent cybersecurity protection on its most critical fleet assets, ranging from fighter jets to tanks to aircraft carriers. These systems were never designed with cybersecurity requirements. As these systems have become more networked and interconnected, the DODhas an enormous, latent problem on its hands that its only beginning to grapple with.

Other steps to take

These initiatives addressing cybersecurity in space are important, but more is needed to get ahead of the cybersecurity problems while the market is still relatively nascent.

With SpaceX, Amazon, and others launching new satellites weekly and commercial space travel on the horizon, the stakes will only get higher if we dont work to secure these systems.

Satellites arent just communication equipment; they are infrastructure we rely on to keep our hospitals open, streets lit, internet on, food delivered and emergency systems working. Its time to make security for these systems a national priority before a disaster strikes.

Josh Lospinoso is an ex-Army sergeant and Oxford-educated cybersecurity expert who is CEO and co-founder of Shift5, which protects planes, trains and tanks from cyber threats.

View post:

Space race needs better cybersecurity | TheHill - The Hill

Rolls-Royce has moved a team onto Space Park Leicester to push forward its work on nuclear power for space travel.

The engineering giant has taken space in the new 100 million facility which was launched as a breeding ground for out-of-this-world tech by bringing together industry and academia.

Rolls-Royce is reported to be the only UK company focussing on the line of work and staff with a pedigree in nuclear power will collaborate with new space park head Professor Richard Ambrosi, Professor of Space Instrumentation and Space Nuclear Power Systems at University of Leicester and other experts in space science.

Last January, Rolls-Royce signed a contract with the UK Space Agency to study future nuclear power options for space exploration.

Abi Clayton, director for future programmes at Rolls-Royce, which is headquartered in Derby, said: Having the opportunity to have a presence at Space Park Leicester allows us to be close to the action.

Its also incredibly inspiring to work among scientists from the University of Leicester and representatives from space-related companies.

Our innovative integrated electric power and thermal management solutions will work alongside our novel nuclear technologies, digital capabilities and engineering excellence to realise our customers ambitions for exploratory space missions to become a reality.

Gary Jones, head of manufacturing innovation at Rolls-Royce, said: Our presence at Space Park Leicester is a really good opportunity for our people that are specifically working on the Space Programme to immerse themselves in all things space.

Rolls-Royce is the UKs nuclear thought leader and what we bring is unique.

The expertise and just sheer innovation and brain power of some of our people is incredible and its tremendously exciting to surround ourselves with like-minded people.

Space Park Leicester is being led by The University of Leicester in partnership with Leicester City Council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.

Professor Ambrosi, executive director of Space Park Leicester, said: The presence of Rolls-Royce at Space Park Leicester and their work in leading the development of space reactor systems will enable Leicester researchers to collaborate with Rolls-Royce on a range of space mission concepts and technology solutions that will transform access to space for scientific and human exploration endeavours.

We welcome the opportunity to grow our portfolio of research in space nuclear power technologies, built on our heritage in radioisotope power systems.

See more here:

Rolls-Royce team moves into Space Park Leicester to work on nuclear powered space travel - Business Live

David McNew/Getty Images News

Despite reaching the most important milestone in its history, Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) shredded off nearly 80% of its value since June last year. Although it is still one year away from the first revenue-generating spaceflight, the extend of its selloff is not warranted considering its progress and $1bn in liquidity. My FCF valuation model indicates 150% undervaluation at a current market price of $12, so I maintain a strong buy view on this stock.

Virgin Galactic is a space flight company backed by billionaire Richard Branson and forms part of the Virgin Group. Earlier last year Ive published my first piece on VG, so if you missed it you can pick it up here. Ive discussed a great deal of the companys business model and the commercial space tourism market trends in that article, so I will not go through it again. Rather, I am going to focus more on all major developments that happened since March last year (including latest Q3 results) and present my updated financial model.

Since my last article, my target price has been downwardly reviewed from $48 to $30 as a result of the revenue-generating phase delay and stock dilution, which I will discuss in more detail under the valuation section.

Data by YCharts

After so many years of delayed launches and unfulfilled promises, VG has finally made it it launched its final test flight on 11th July 2021 with Sir Richard Branson on board. What a milestone! In addition, it has also received approval to fly people into the space from US aviation safety regulator FAA in June. So, now the company is officially ready to start sending private clients into space and to start its transition from a prototyping space innovator to a global, scaled, commercial operation.

Despite all skeptics out there, VG proved that it could deliver on its main promise. Nevertheless, same skeptics are now downgrading VG progress suggesting that the altitude of 53 miles, which has been reached by the VSS Unity, is not an actual outer space as it is ten miles lower than the, so-called, Karman line. I am not inclined to spend too much time debating this argument, but what I want to say is that the experience at both altitudes is exactly the same in terms of weightlessness and Earth view. In addition, some scientists argue that a more suitable choice for the beginning of space would be an altitude of 50 miles.

Blue Origin, which is currently the only competitor of the VG on suborbital commercial flights, followed suit and completed its demonstration flight with Jeff Bezos on board of New Shepherd on the 21st July, just ten days after Branson's flight.

Both companies offer suborbital flights into space with two to three minutes of weightlessness, but by design, the experiences are substantially different. New Shepherd is a much more of a traditional rocket, some sort of a rocket-and-capsule combo. It has a vertical takeoff, reaches an altitude of around 66 miles above the surface, and then is parachuted back to the Earth. The trip lasts approximately 10 minutes. On the contrary, VGs spaceship VSS Unity uses a mothership VMS Eve for a takeoff and is detached from it after reaching space. Its trip lasts around 90 minutes, and it lands on a runway like a traditional plane.

From the user experience point of view, I think both companies offer spectacular once in a lifetime experiences, and it probably depends on someones preferences which one to choose. I personally find VG design more appealing. Its cabin is more spacious, the seats are more flexible (looks more comfortable), and its easier to unbuckle the seatbelts. The access to space is more gradual as you are not shot straight into the space as in the case of New Shepherd. Despite those little wins I believe there should be sufficient demand for these two companies as well as any newcomers as the space tourism market is untapped now and is going to increase to some $3bn within the next 5 years.

However, what is more important from an analyst's point of view is the growth and scalability prospects, and from that angle, VG wins a big time. Firstly, as soon as the company starts its commercial flights and with the addition of new spaceports the scalability should ramp up very quickly. Sub-orbital space travel is only a start for VG. There are plans to offer hypersonic travel that they are working on in partnership with NASA and Rolls-Royce, which developed the original Concordes engines. VGs technology seems like a good fit for high-speed point-to-point travel on Earth. On the contrary, New Shepherd is designed purely as a space tourism vehicle and new technology will have to be developed by Blue Origin to be able to enter the hypersonic travel market.

These prospects of VG are very important for the analysis because potentially they are not only going to have a share of the space tourism market, but also a share of the commercial air travel market that before Covid-19 outbreak stand at approx. $600bn.

VG remains a cash-burning machine, which is not surprising considering it has not started its commercial service yet. It has been spending cash at a rate of $60m a quarter in 2021, so its estimated cash loss for this year is around $240m. At this cash burning rate their liquidity position of around $1bn will allow it to remain afloat for another three years and considering that they are planning to start commercial service in Q1-23 it should be more than enough.

Source: VG Earnings presentation Q3-21

I have made two important adjustments to my FCF model since my previous report. Firstly, the company confirmed (as I have expected) that the ticket price for future flights will increase. My projection was an increase of 40%, but VG has increased price way more aggressively by 80% to $450k per seat. This is of course an upside adjustment to my target price. The increase was well received by the clients and out of 1000 reservations to buy tickets, 700 had been sold by August last year. This is in addition to the previously sold 600 at lower prices. The pipeline looks very strong and it is clear that demand is not an issue for the space travel market.

Another adjustment comes from the company announcement to postpone the first revenue-generating flight to the Q1-2023 which means that until that moment we cannot record the tickets sales as a revenue item.

Despite a substantial increase in tickets price, my valuation model shows a target price of $30 which is a notable downward revision to my previously calculated price of $48. This is mainly due to a delay of the first revenue-generating spaceflight and stock dilution to 255m from the previous 225m.

Nevertheless, $30 represents 150% undervaluation at the current market price of $12, so I hold strong buy view on the stock.

Source: Authors calculations

I have used the discount rate of 10% to account for the uncertainty related and considering the current ERP is 5.5% it is quite reasonable. The terminal growth rate of 6% corresponds to the commercial space market growth rate according to the US Chamber of Commerce. I also present a sensitivity table below if you prefer to use different assumptions.

Source: Authors calculations

It is important to note that my valuation is based only on the first phase of the companys growth plan, so there is significant upside potential to the target price if the company enters the commercial air travel market with its hypersonic flights' offer.

Despite a strong demand for commercial space travel the company still does not have a predictable revenue stream. In October VG announced the beginning of the planned vehicle enhancement period with the expected start of commercial service only in Q1-23, so there is a prolonged period of no flights ahead of us, so its main risk of burning all its cash remains on the table. The companys liquidity should be able to cover running R&D and CapEx expenses for at least another three to four years, so there is still some room for further delays.

VG reached an especially important milestone last year by completing its test flights cycle and, technically, it is in a position now to start sending private clients to space. Clearly, the demand for space travel is not an issue and if the company starts revenue-generating spaceflights early 2023 it should scale up quickly and be able to reach a $1bn revenue milestone by the end of 2025. Considering the space travel is only the first stage of its growth plan and potentially VG may tap into the commercial flights market with TAM $600bn, this company may indeed grow significantly in a long term.

My valuation model indicates 150% undervaluation at current market prices, so I maintain a strong buy view on this stock. However, this should only be considered as a long-term play at this stage and is only appropriate for investors with high tolerance to risk.

Read more:

Virgin Galactic: The Best Time To Go Long Is Now - Seeking Alpha