Re: record 19 people in space right now

On 9/13/2024 4:42 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

In article <vc2601$115s1$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire  <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

 From one of my buddies:
>
“If I'm counting correctly, there are a record 19 people in space right
now.  There is the normal 7 person ISS crew, the two astronauts that
flew to ISS on the Boeing Starliner test flight, the three who just
arrived on ISS via the Russian Soyuz for a standard crew rotation, the
four commercial astronauts on the Polaris Dawn Dragon mission, and the
three crew on the Chinese space station.  That's 7 + 2 + 3 + 4 +3 = 19.”
>
Amazing.  Maybe we will hit 100 in the next ten years.
>

 That we know of!

Here's a thought experiment. Would it be possible to launch a manned
rocket into orbit secretly?
I don't think it could be done without Russia and the US noticing,
due to their missile tracking radars.
The actual launch might be hidden, by launching from a ship in the
empty part of the South Pacific, but once in orbit it would be
picked up. Rocket launches are visible literally hundreds of miles
away at night, maybe less so in the day. Clouds would help.
Perhaps if it wasn't launched to orbit, but directly to planetary
space?
pt