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Aspiring Astronaut Gideon Gidori Invents a New Holiday: Star Day (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the it's-easier-to-make-a-wish-than-to-make-it-come-true dept.

Gideon wants to be an astronaut. You could even describe him as "space-obsessed." He wants to be the first astronaut from Tanzania. The only African to make it into space so far is Mark Shuttleworth, who is from South Africa. Can Gideon talk Elon Musk into launching from Tanzania, which is directly on the equator? How about bringing in other space buffs and entrepreneurs? Don't think this is a silly idea. Gideon is only 14, but he's a straight-A student at the Florida Air Academy, and before that was one of the top students at Shepherds Junior School in Arusha, which Mama Lucy Kamptoni originally financed by raising and selling chickens. Gideon's scholarships to Shepherds and later to Florida Air Academy have been financed in part by EpicChange.org, which is also helping him spread the word about Star Day (tomorrow; June 7), the holiday Gideon created, which is being celebrated all over the world even in this, its first year of existence. You can celebrate it, too. All you have to do, weather permitting, is sleep outdoors under the stars, and maybe make a wish or two. After all, wishing (and a lot of studying and hard work) have helped Gideon get to where he is today, and may yet help him become Tanzania's first astronaut.

29 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Nope. by gfxguy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Too many bugs.

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.
    1. Re:Nope. by Roblimo · · Score: 1

      Mosquito netting.

  2. sure....why not? by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    every day needs a DAY.

    1. Re:sure....why not? by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      I propose today to be Fridayday. A day to celebrate Friday.

  3. -1 Insensitive Clod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Once per earth year? You earthlings think your star and planet are superior to everyone else's....

    1. Re:-1 Insensitive Clod by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Once per earth year? You earthlings think your star and planet are superior to everyone else's....

      Yeah. Let's go to Kashyyyk and celebrate Life Day.
      Same thing, really. But without Boba Fett.

  4. So... by msauve · · Score: 1

    Did Hallmark have a hand in this? Do I have to send cards to all the stars? They're going to make a fortune!

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
  5. SpaceX launch site in Tanzania? by Guspaz · · Score: 1

    Probably isn't going to happen. I won't say never, but the only time I could ever see SpaceX constructing a launch site that's outside of US territory is if they've both saturated the launch capacity of their American launch sites, and are also unable to secure the rights to any additional ones in the US with affordable deals.

    Yes, I'm aware that SpaceX has a defunct launch pad in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on Omelek Island, but that's leased by the US military, so it's effectively US territory.

  6. Apologies to Peter Quill by sjbe · · Score: 1

    "You might know me by another name... Star Day"

    Never mind...

  7. Did roblimo actually look at a map... by Nutria · · Score: 1

    before making such a silly suggestion?

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    1. Re:Did roblimo actually look at a map... by Roblimo · · Score: 2

      You mean a launch position on the Equator with a large ocean to the East? In a low-cost country with good port facilities and airports? That *is* kind of silly

    2. Re:Did roblimo actually look at a map... by Nutria · · Score: 1

      with a large ocean to the East?

      Yes, it is silly.

      Why? The US (where SpaceX "lives") is in the... West. On the other side of Africa.

      Tanzania (better yet, Kenya, and even better: Northern Australia -- Darwin, for example) would be a good place for an eastern hemisphere country -- China or Japan -- to launch their rockets.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    3. Re:Did roblimo actually look at a map... by camperdave · · Score: 1

      An equatorial launch would be fairly costly for a trip to the ISS. You would have to do a 51 degree orbital plane shift in order to dock.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    4. Re:Did roblimo actually look at a map... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I think the problem is less with Tanzania's latitude than ISS's inclination. ISS's inclination had to be accessible with launches from the US and Russia. Sadly, that inclination made it very useless as a jumping off point to anyplace in the solar system, including our Moon.

      However, launching from the equator is energetically favorable if you are trying to send something to someplace beyond low earth orbit, to a geostationary orbit for example. The earth's rotation gives you an eastward velocity of about 1000 miles per hour (1600 km/hr) which is delta-V that you do not need to pay for in fuel mass. Therefore you can put more payload mass into orbit or send a given payload higher.

    5. Re:Did roblimo actually look at a map... by camperdave · · Score: 1

      An equatorial orbit may not be of much help for Beyond Earth Orbit stuff anyways. The interesting stuff in the Solar System lies on the ecliptic, and the only time the ecliptic and the equator line up is twice a year at the solstices.

      Of course, launching from the equator at the proper inclination may get you more payload en route than a direct eastward launch from the latitude of the ecliptic.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  8. I wish he succeeds... by jaeztheangel · · Score: 1

    he deserves it. good kid.

    1. Re:I wish he succeeds... by Nutria · · Score: 1

      Why does he deserve it? Just because he's "good"?

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    2. Re:I wish he succeeds... by jaeztheangel · · Score: 1

      Why does he deserve it? Just because he's "good"?

      Good point.

      A person without a dream is a tragedy unfolding.

  9. Directly on the equator by rossdee · · Score: 1

    That would make Tanzania a good place to build a skyhook/orbital tower

    1. Re:Directly on the equator by Roblimo · · Score: 1

      And they have Mt. Kilimanjaro, too.

  10. Jebediah Kerman by spiritplumber · · Score: 1

    approves.

    --
    Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.
  11. Re:When one thinks of an African by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    Yeah, totally, like, if MS is from Africa, why is he white?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  12. Re: Africans can't build a spaceship... by biscuts · · Score: 2

    get the fuck off /. this is for intelligent discussion, not bigoted horn tooting.

  13. Re:When one thinks of an African by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Then one doesn't do much thinking at all. As a caucasian African I find your comment (or rather the attitude it represents) highly offensive.

  14. Re: Africans can't build a spaceship... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you go back enough, your ancestors are African

  15. Equator? Am I missing something? by tom_newton · · Score: 1

    At what point exactly does the equator run through Tanzania?
    Last time i was in East Africa it ran through Nanyuki, Kenya - many miles north of TZ.

    --
    Tom Newton
  16. Re: When one thinks of an African by flieghund · · Score: 1

    Many, many years ago, my Egyptian co-worker chastised me for lamenting the lack of "African-Americans" (I was young and foolish*) at my office. He rather pointedly noted that Egypt is located in Africa, and that as a Copt his ancestors had been Africans for a very long time.

    *Now married to a lovely Jamaican lady who rightly points out that she does not identify as "African-American" despite being Black. Apparently that's a Caribbean thing.

    --
    "I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum. I'm all out of bubblegum." MSE USC APX AIA CSI CASp
  17. Re: Africans can't build a spaceship... by biscuts · · Score: 1

    I don't care how many races brought your sorry ass into this world, it's you who's spreading your WASP ideas, and honestly, if you've got so many non-white races in your heritage, you're being a disgrace to them as well.

  18. Re: Africans can't build a spaceship... by Nutria · · Score: 1

    What -- specifically -- "WASP" idea am I spreading?

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1