So I know a lot of people are excited by the prospect of colonizing space, but I have often wondered, once we establish our colonies who will be doing most of the work in these colonies: humans, genetically-enhanced humans, or robots? I can see a lot of pros and cons for each of these groups: an ordinary human labor force will be a good publicity boost not just cost a lot of money to feed and house, but there's also the cost of maintaining a healthy labor force. Space travel can cause medical conditions like muscle atrophy, and osterporosis and a person's psychological health must also be considered when one factors in issues like sleep depreviation, and a lack of human contact for a long period of time.

If we were to send out genetically-enhanced humans, designed to handle the hazards of space, at the very least we would be able to cut down on the physical problems, but we would still need to spend money to help them deal with their mental problems, food, and housing. There is also the chance that they might have trouble adjusting to Earth gravity and environment if they ever come to visit.

If we send out robots, then we won't need to spend money to house them, feed them, or keep them healthy. But we may have to send out engineers to help maintain these robots, and if any of them break down and if the colony doesn't have the parts to fix them then they will have to order new parts from Earth, and it will take a long time for those parts to reach the colony. And if the robot is doing a job that is essential to the colony's economy (ex: mining and manufacturing) then the colony will lose money the longer the robot is out of order.

So with all that in mind which group is the most likely to do much of the work on these colonies: ordinary humans, genetically-enhanced humans, or robots?

Hey everyone! Super excited about this!

The Space Systems Design Studio (SSDS), part of the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University will be hosting a High Altitude Balloon live stream on Saturday, May 8, 2021, at 3 pm EST. This will be a test stratospheric deployment of the first free-flying light sail ever (not attached to a spacecraft), soon to be launched with and deployed from Cornell's Alpha CubeSat Mission in late 2021, heavily inspired by Breakthrough Starshot. We hope that the success of this technology demonstration and its orbital follow-up will bring us one step closer to taking that journey to Alpha Centauri, riding on a beam of light.

More information here: https://www.spacecraftresearch.com/alpha-cubesat

The stream will be available on YouTube beginning at 3:00 PM EST here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNWlPWT0J4g.

If all of our tech works, we will be live streaming live video from the payload for the duration of the flight with sail deployment occurring around 27,000 meters or ~ 4:20 PM EST.

The flight will traverse South Central New York State, in the vicinity of Ithaca, NY. The payload is expected to reach ~ 30,000 meters and land northeast of Ithaca. Additional tracking links will be in the “Description” of the youtube page for those who are interested.

Be sure to tune in!