Good morning. NASA is getting behind the rapid growth of private space missions – more on that below, along with Canada’s Paralympic flag-bearers and Donald Trump’s new indictment. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Canada’s ambassador to Washington says there’s no reason for this country to be ‘concerned’ by either the return of Trump or a Harris victory
- Russian missile strikes Ukrainian city that’s already in mourning for deaths in an earlier attack
- Manitoba’s remote north coast finally has an observatory to research Arctic oil spills
A photo of Boeing's Starliner, taken from inside a SpaceX spacecraft.The Associated Press
Up, up and away
High rollers
I cannot stop thinking about the two astronauts stuck aboard the International Space Station. Now, NASA would prefer I not use that word – or “stranded,” or “marooned,” or any of the verbs I’d normally reach for if I thought I was leaving on an eight-day journey but couldn’t go home for a full eight months. This week, after many delays, NASA confirmed that revised schedule: Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who blasted off in early June, won’t head back to Earth until February. But stuck? Definitely not. One NASA administrator suggested these astronauts simply have “the luxury of time.”
To be fair, the pair don’t seem particularly fussed about their extended stay – Williams’s husband told The Wall Street Journal that the ISS was “her happy place.” But this has been astronomically bad news for Boeing, which hoped for much better results from its first Starliner flight with a crew on board. It’s equally bad news for NASA. For years, the U.S. agency has been looking for a second taxi service to shuttle its astronauts to the space station. So far, only Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been up to the job.
Still, NASA might soon find another option while Boeing spins its wheels. Musk isn’t the sole billionaire eyeing something to orbit – Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, astro-tourists both, are hoping to launch proper rockets within the next year or two. So in this new era of private space travel, let’s take a look at who’s leaving the planet, how they’re getting back down and why I can promise that’ll never, ever be me.
The new crew
If all goes according to plan early this morning – and it did not yesterday, because of a helium leak – a SpaceX rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn mission into elliptical orbit. Led by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, it’s an entirely commercial effort that could lay the groundwork (the spacework?) for Musk’s long-held dream of putting people on Mars. And then tomorrow, Bezos’s company Blue Origin is expected to send off its eighth human spaceflight. Crew member Rob Ferl will become the first NASA-funded researcher to conduct a science experiment on a private suborbital flight, though he’ll have to work fast: Blue Origin’s trips only last 11 minutes.
The Euclid telescope sent back this shot of a star nursery wrapped in interstellar dust.Supplied
You’d be forgiven if you haven’t heard much about these missions: These days, it can seem like news isn’t made when spacecrafts go up, only when they go awry. Maybe some of the lustre has worn off space travel – sure, just a dozen people have walked on the moon, but hundreds have now crossed the Kármán line 100 kilometres above sea level, which is considered the border of space. That’s starting to feel like a milestone anyone can reach with enough cash and connections.
It’s worth lingering on Polaris Dawn, though, because this mission is meant to go 1,400 km beyond the planet, the farthest anyone has travelled since the Apollo moon program ended 52 years ago. You can’t knock the crew’s commitment: Isaacman spent an estimated $100-million to bankroll the trip, while his buddy Scott Poteet, a retired pilot, had a device surgically implanted in his skull to measure the pressure of fluid. (It malfunctioned and was removed.) As their reward, on Friday, the two will take their slimmed-down suits for a spin outside the cabin – the first-ever private spacewalk.
The final frontier
If you are bummed out by the commercialization of space – if you feel that something so awesome shouldn’t be the playground of the super-rich – I hear you, but that rocket ship has very much sailed. Next year, NASA will send a four-person crew, including Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a long flight to the far side of the moon. The private sector is building the bulk of the program: SpaceX and Blue Origin will take care of the landers; three American companies will assemble the lunar-terrain vehicles.
And it’s SpaceX that’s collecting those two stranded astronauts from the ISS next February. Speaking of the ISS, the 25-year-old station is showing its age and scheduled to be brought down in 2030. You guessed it: NASA has hired SpaceX to handle the mission. Blue Origin, among other companies, will build its replacement.
Personally, there isn’t enough money on Earth to tempt me to leave its orbit. Space is dark and full of terrors and also radiation. I’m getting on a Boeing 737 Max tomorrow – that’s more than enough risk-taking for me. (Actually, don’t click that link, especially if you are my family.) But I’ll never pass up an opportunity to gaze at the cosmos from the safety of my couch. Happily, the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope is sending home stunning images of distant galaxies in its mission to map one-third of the sky. Oh, jeez: Turns out I have Musk to thank for those pictures. SpaceX launched that telescope off the back of its rocket, too.
The Shot
‘I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore.’
Paralympian Aurélie Rivard will go for gold in four individual swim races in Paris.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Swimmer Katarina Roxon and wheelchair basketball player Patrick Anderson will carry the flag for the 126 Canadian athletes competing at the Paralympics, which kick off in Paris today. Aurélie Rivard, Canada’s most decorated Paralympic swimmer, is looking to add to her 10 medals – check out more athletes to watch here.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: JUMP Math – a pattern-focused approach pioneered by a Toronto playwright – has taken over elementary schools in Delta, B.C. Try 13 of its brain-teasing problems for yourself.
Abroad: Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment against Donald Trump for plotting to overthrow the 2020 election, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that grants former presidents broad immunity.
Flights: With a possible pilot strike looming in September, Air Canada is offering passengers some flexibility to rebook their travel.
Fights: Oasis is definitely (maybe) reuniting after a 15-year hiatus – the concerts are meant to happen next summer, so let’s see – and The Globe’s Brad Wheeler wants everybody aboard the Gallagher-brother train.