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Astronauts name next new Dragon capsule to fly “Endurance”

The astronauts who will fly on SpaceX’s new Dragon capsule at the end of this month have named it “Endurance”, for a variety of reasons.

“First off,” said [mission commander Raja Chari], “it is a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit as we push humans and machines farther than we ever have, going both to stay and extended stays in low Earth orbit, opening it up to private companies and private astronauts and knowing we will continue our exploration to go into even further and continue.”

“Also, it is a nod to the development teams, production teams [and] training teams that got us here, who have endured through a pandemic,” he said.

…Lastly, there was a historical connection — one that spoke to the mission they are about to embark on and the skills it will take for it be successful.”I go straight to the Shackleton voyage,” said Marshburn, referring to Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to cross Antarctica. Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was trapped in ice and he and his crew endured months of hardship before being rescued.

SpaceX’s fleet of manned capsules now includes Endeavour, Resilience, and Endurance. A fourth capsule is scheduled to fly in April ’22, but no name as yet has been announced.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

13 comments

  • Cotour

    Endurance: BORING.

  • Jim Schmidt

    If they had named Resilience Enterprise the names would all start with an E.

  • geoffc

    Rumour has it (or I am trying to perpetuate it) is that after ERE, then next two will be something like Columbia and Terra Nova. Spelling out E-R-E-C-T, which fits with Musk’s teenage sense of humour.

  • Patrick Underwood

    Kind of OT, but we watched the Kenneth Branaugh Shackleton a few months ago.

    They.Ate.The.Sled.Dogs.

    AND SHOT THE SHIP’S CAT.

    Not that I wouldn’t in a similar situation, but it sure added some extra bleakness to an already bleak production. It’s a tough show to find, and now I understand a possible reason why.

    Back to business… is anyone tracking if these names correspond to ships in the Star Trek universe? :)

  • Mark

    The ‘October Surprise’ in 2020 made public by the New York Post, but buried by the Deep State and their media Minions was the Hunter Biden Laptop story.
    I predict one of the ‘October Surprises’ for 2024 will be the unveiling of the 10th SpaceX’s new Dragon capsule which will be named “Let’s Go Brandon”.

  • Col Beausabre

    “Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was trapped in ice and he and his crew endured months of hardship before being rescued.”

    They rescued themselves.

  • Kyle

    They should name the next one, Challenger.

  • Doubting Thomas

    They should name the next one “Not Boeing”

  • Ray Van Dune

    “Bonhomme Richard” would be a good name.

  • Wonder if Musk was thinking of having to endure the FAA (and the irritant busybodies who are trying to get the FAA to stop SpaceX), when he signed off on that name …

  • Richard M

    “If they had named Resilience Enterprise the names would all start with an E.”

    Best to leave the alliterative ship class names to the Royal Navy.

  • Richard M

    “They rescued themselves.”

    Like NASA did with Apollo 13.

    Only, Ernest Shackleton didn’t have Mission Control and backrooms full of thousands of engineers to advise him. Just a 23 foot open boat, a sextant, 50 feet of rope, and a carpenter’s adze.

    AND THEY ATE THE DOGS.

  • Col Beausabre: “They rescued themselves.”

    They sure as heck did, And, as I recall, didn’t lose a man. Although some came out with fewer toes than before.

    There was a saying: “When times are desperate, get on your knees, and pray for Shackleton”.

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