Could a billionaire space race cost a passenger’s life? Experts have such concerns, who point out one very important detail. It’s about coats. Some observers believe that spacecraft have become a catwalk. Safety is forgotten.
Wrong suits
On July 11, Sir Richard Branson became the first billionaire in space. He did this aboard Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity craft. On July 20, Jeff Bezos repeated his success. The richest man in the world, along with an extraordinary crew, reached outer space aboard a New Shepard rocket by Blue Origin.
Leading experts in the field of space flight safety note that billionaires and their companies have shown much lack of thought. In their opinion, the health and lives of both crews were at risk, all because of the wrong suits. None of the companies equipped the flight participants with pressure suits that, in the event of a malfunction, could protect passengers from sudden pressure in the cabin.
Of course, in the event of major malfunctions, the crews will have almost no chance of surviving, but pressure suits can save the lives of passengers in the event of a small leak that does not lead to a breakdown of the car.
These types of suits are a mandatory part of the missions you organize NASA. He was convinced of this, for example Elon Muskwhich together with SpaceX He had to design special costumes for astronauts on manned missions to the International Space Station. The US agency is obligated to use it as a result of several fatal accidents in the past. However, similar regulations do not apply to commercial spaceflight, which raises concerns among experts.
– When you fly in space, you don’t wear nice clothes, just the right clothes – He says about Bloomberg Tommaso Sgoba, a former member of the European Space Agency who now chairs the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety.
Lack of rules is the key to innovation
On the other hand, there is no shortage of voices pointing to such details as a lack of regulation over the claims that make up the potential for advancement in space flight. The fact that private companies can operate under much less restrictive rules than a government agency gives them the opportunity to look for places to accelerate development.
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Rich boys and their expensive toys. What is the billionaires space race all about?
