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We have crossed the rubicon. Hayley Arceneaux will become the first individual with a prosthesis to go to space. In the 60 year history of crewed spaceflight,
by areoform 5y ago
We have crossed the rubicon.
Hayley Arceneaux will become the first individual with a prosthesis to go to space. In the 60 year history of crewed spaceflight, we have never put a human with titanium bones in orbit. Nor, have we sent anyone up who has met any of the requirements to be otherwise classified as "disabled". Until now.
It is the indicator of a profound tipping point.
The very first astronauts were required to be "perfect physical specimens" (cis-male specimens at that) that had no abnormal readings in all of their medical tests. Jim Lovell was eliminated from consideration during the Mercury program because of his elevated bilirubin levels, which turned out to be a fairly normal variation of human physiology.
The requirements loosened to the point where Jim Lovell could go to the moon. But most people, including women, were still excluded by NASA's and the Air Force's Flight Surgeons.
Then came the Shuttle program that opened the field wider to more bright minds who wouldn't have met the "perfect male physical specimen" standard, including Eileen Collins and Sally Ride. By the end of the program, the shuttle had launched multiple cancer survivors into space.
However, so far, people who are considered "disabled" or "unfit" by the Flight Surgeon's office are still excluded. These terms cut a wide swath and include treatable conditions such as, Type-I diabetes, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis and - yes- prosthetics. Other than a call by ESA for the first disabled state-sponsored astronauts, no other astronaut corps has admitted someone like Hayley into their ranks. Yet.
With this flight, Hayley will set a new milestone in space medicine. A big one. She will become a test case that can be used to demonstrate that people with disabilities can function and operate in the spaceflight environment. It will break the cycle of disabled people being "flight proven", from a flight surgeon's perspective.
We're now at the dawn of a new age, where anyone physically fit can go to space, provided they have the mental aptitude. It's incredible.
This flight means that I can be an astronaut. And so can you.
Hayley represents a huge milestone. And we owe it to commercial spaceflight. Thank you, Elon and Jared Isaacman (and Axiom Space).
edit: This comment is one of my more downvoted comments. I'm not sure why.
- Galaxity 5y ago> Thank you, Elon and Axiom Space. For clarification. This flight is not operated by Axiom Space. The commander, Jason Isaacman, purchased the flight directly from SpaceX. Axiom Space's first mission will be in January 2022.
- areoform 5y agoAh good point. I'll update the comment!
- lmilcin 5y agoAren't you overhyping it a little bit? Crossing the Rubicon (Rubicon is a river)? Civilians were being already sent in 1986 (unsuccessfully...) and in 1990 (successfully). What's a difference between a civilian that has or has not a prosthesis? It is not like they are going to be doing some kind of superhuman feats. They could have sent a disabled person just as well in 1986 if they decided so. If I remember there were even discussions to choose who to send to space to show how routine and safe it is and disabled person was discussed. But in the end they decided to choose woman teacher as better publicity stunt. The real important differences here are: 1. Falling costs of sending anything to orbit. 2. A business model and a technical plan to keep the costs falling for the foreseeable future. 3. Competition supported by free market. 4. A leader with power, means, plan, drive and ability to execute to achieve great things.
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago> Crossing the Rubicon (Rubicon is a river)? "Today, the phrase crossing the Rubicon is a metaphor that means to pass a point of no return." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Rubicon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Rubicon Overhyped or not; that's a perfectly valid metaphor to use to phrase it. I'd go with "milestone" which is less hype, but is also a metaphor, as no actual stone marking out a mile will be involved.
- enkid 5y agoI think the poster is saying it's not really a single point if no return and therefore isn't a great analogy. Crossing the Rubicon was about a single act that so broke the status quo it was impossible to undo that. This is more about the accumulation of a bunch of small steps making minor adjustments to the status quo instead of a singular act.
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y agoThat's why I would favour "milestone". I understand what is meant by the "Rubicon" statement though (it's not about a river). Separate from if I agree with it or not.
- cblconfederate 5y agoOne of the first animals to go to space was an untrained, probably uneducated and penniless female dog.
- zardo 5y agoHopefully this flight works out better for the passengers.
- cblconfederate 5y agoIt seems there were 57 dogs flown to space, most of which survived.
- zardo 5y agoThe first dog in space went up with no plan to bring her down.
- babesh 5y agoGive me a break. In 1998, John Glenn went to space when he was 77 years old. Don't tell me that he was physically fit. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn There is also a big difference between commercial flights and the ISS where astronauts have to perform spacewalks. EDIT: NASA may have been messed up but the Soviet Union sent a woman into space way before in 1963. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova EDIT2: There is also a history of space tourism that preceded this era by about 20 years. There was a woman in there as well. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism