Did you hear about Musk’s first mission?

Really, Jane.  Do you think they feel the need to do what they ask of everyone else?

Well maybe Musk is going to spring for the trip. But it is more likely he will inflate the bill and slip Trump a few bucks. NASA has probably already put time and money into getting the astronauts back to earth - plus they probably got a few supplies together to bring to the station well there at it. So that's more time and money wasted. Cheers!

There is a spacecraft and crew docked at the space station right now. But it is not scheduled to leave until the replacement crew arrives. This plan has been in place since it was deemed unsafe to send the astronauts back on the same craft they arrived on. The idea of sending a separate craft to pick them up seems very wasteful. They are in no danger, have food and everything else they need, plenty of work to keep themselves busy and the are not complaining. 

 Yes, and I'm sure that soldiers who are deployed to war zones and have their return dates pushed out feel the same. The astronauts have said they do not feel like castaways, they have everything they need and there's plenty of work to do. 

Interesting. I hadn't thought about being weighlesss for so long. I hope the have a way to keep fit.

I just recalled a video about hygiene in space and looked it up. It's quite interesting and answers a lot of questions. 

I think it would be difficult to exercise in a weightless environment as there would be no resistance.  I can imagine that atrophy would be a big result.

I am always going down the YouTube rabbit hole because of random comment on here. The ISS has a gym and astronauts need to work out 2 hours a day! Another reason I wouldn't be a good astronaut.

I wouldn't either and not just because of the exercising.  I would find it difficult having no time to myself and always having others around me.  I prize my aloe  alone time. This post was edited by Spunky at January 31, 2025 7:17 AM MST

The whole "ask for an office in the WH and have it refused" was all for show. Musk didn't want it, it was a publicity exercise intended to demonstrate that Elon doesn't own Trump, which he does. This post was edited by my2cents at February 4, 2025 7:34 AM MST

Musk's Space X was always going to bring them home when the next crew change happens. It is SpaceX that is currently docked at the space station, and it is Space X that has experienced delays in getting the next crew to the Space station. That is why that announcement confuses me. It sounds like they are going to launch another Space craft to bring them home ahead of the scheduled one. But it also could just be drawing attention to the plan that has been in place for month and making it seem like something new. I'm sure details will be forthcoming. 

It is Trump getting the media distracted.   He is quite good at that.  

No argument from me on that.

Trump gets his media attention with lies that are designed to brew hate and make others look bad and himself look good.

I sent Musk to go get the 2 American astronauts that were abandoned on the Space Station by Biden.Trump had a news conference about the commercial plane and the military helicopter that collided. He blamed it on Biden and Obama for their Hiring Diversity rules. And he talked about how the airport traffic control tower was now full of disabled and mentally challenged people. Maybe today he will distract the media by doing his impression of a mentally challenged person in a control tower. Cheers and happy weekend! 

This post was edited by Nanoose at January 31, 2025 8:16 AM MST

Exactly. Media attention is more important than truth, compassion, or good policy.

Plus it is easy for him to point the finger of blame at others instead of himself.
Here is a few things that Trump has done in the past week that will likely make flying less safe.

Jan 20: FAA Director Fired.
Jan 21: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Freeze.
Jan 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee Disbanded.
Jan 28: Buyout/retire demand employees.
Scary to think what he will do in 4 years. Going to add that the last time Trump was in office he privatized the Air Traffic controllers – which might have something thing to do with this crash. Cheers!

This post was edited by Nanoose at January 31, 2025 1:59 PM MST

The test was removed in 2018. 

It was DEI practices that lead to the accident. 
This post was edited by my2cents at February 1, 2025 9:01 AM MST

This is not an argument. It is a clarification. The lawsuit against the FAA was brought in 2015, not 2024, and is still ongoing. The lawsuit does not claim that unqualified candidates were hired over qualified candidates,  but rather that qualified candidates did not get an equal chance. The test that created the issue, was discontinued in 2018 and outlawed by Congress. I am not making any comment on whether or not this contributed to a shortage of controllers because I have no information.

That was the original case filed in 2015. 
This is a new case filed as a class action. 

https://www.newsweek.com/faa-reject-air-traffic-controllers-race-airport-crash-2024097

Sources seem to vary on whether this is a new action or a continuation, but in either case, the lawsuit is based on what happened in 2014 and that practice ended in 2018. That was what I was clarifying.