What's more, you could still have sort of a 'semi-star.' An object massive enough, with core temperatures and pressures great enough to fuse deuterium, the heavy isotope of hydrogen....but they soon consume that, and stop, because they can't burn the more common, harder to fuse, 'light' hydrogen....

I dunno, she looks pretty hot to me...

You mean birds don't sprout from birdseed, either...?

So, does Nichelle Nichols own all rights to Bluetooth headsets...?

Still more on this and other Russian huma commercial space ventures:

Some of the crazy videos one can find on YouTube and elsewhere, suggests otherwise...

"Sometimes when I read these kinds of reports, I get a little bit dumbfounded that "First Contact" for us is also assumed to be first contact for whoever we're contacting."

"(as a water toilet would be pretty nasty in space)"

No stepping outside for a smoke, either...

+1!

Just being in international airspace/waters/whatever, doesn't put you out of anyone's jurisdiction. It'll still be subject to the laws of the country of the company that owns it, like a ship. (though there could be the equivalent of 'flags of convenience.')

Doesn't answer my question. If you can show (as if you really had to prove anything but the ability to pay) that you're already doing something majorly philanthropic, does that give you a free pass to go alone? ("Hey, I built a hospital for sick kids! Do I still have to bring one along??") The Gates Foundation was…

Why? How do you know they don't already do such philanthropy? Whatever else you think of him, would The Gates Foundation give Bill a pass?

"...the shuttles were never going to leave low earth orbit..."

It does have a long and familiar track record, but the flights of Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11 were not good days for their crew...

"...my first thought would have been that they wouldn't let some private people even go near it. "

Azetoth: Amen to that...

Not until someone can answer this...

Not until someone can answer this...

I thought it was 'switch genes.' Oh well...