Astronaut Scott Kelly: In Space, You Can't See Political Divides
*By Chloe Aiello*
Astronaut Scott Kelly saw the sun rise and set about 32 times each day during the 520 total days he spent in outer space. He also spent considerable time looking at Planet Earth. Naturally, it changed his perspective ー in the most literal sense.
"You do get more in tune with the environmental issues when you see that our atmosphere is very fragile looking, very small ... you see pollution over certain parts of the planet. You see the Earth with no political borders between countries," Kelly told Cheddar Friday.
"That makes it seem like, you know, we're are all in this together ー this thing called humanity ー and we need to work together to solve our problems."
That's the perspective Kelly shares through images in his latest book, "Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut's Photographs from a Year in Space." The book contains Kelly's personal photography, which captures the Earth and Moon, sunrises and sunsets, and even life aboard the International Space Station, where Kelly spent so many hours.
But as awe-inspiring as his photos may be, there's nothing quite like the real thing. But Kelly said we're closer than we realize to space ー especially with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on the case.
Kelly said he had the chance to visit Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin a little over one year ago.
"They are absolutely serious. They are not kidding around. They are going to be flying people in space pretty soon, and I think it's a great thing," Kelly said.
Bezos has said his company hoped to begin ferrying humans to outer-space in 2018 ー with the eventual goal of regularly transporting wealthy tourists in suborbital flight. Billionaire entrepreneur Musk's SpaceX also has radically ambitious space aspirations, including a mission to Mars in 2022 and a tour around the Moon [Musk reportedly arranged](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45518776) for tourists as early as 2018. The Moon trip has yet to happen.
Kelly said it doesn't really matter who transports civilians to space first.
"I don't look at it as a race who will be flying people in space first, whether it's SpaceX or Blue Origin, I think it'll probably all be around the same time, actually," he said.
Kelly would certainly know better than most.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/former-nasa-astronaut-scott-kelly-discusses-earths-infinite-wonders).
A new analysis shows that sales in the metaverse real estate land topped $500 million in 2021. The recent surge in sales came as a result of Facebook's decision to rebrand itself as Meta in hopes to focus more on the metaverse. According to investors and analytic firms, those numbers could jump even higher and reach a billion bucks by 2025. Ceo of Republic Realm, Janine Yorio, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
In January alone, the gaming sector has seen three major acquisitions. Yesterday, Sony added to the flurry of M&A activity in the gaming space, snatching up game developer 'Bungie' for $3.6 billion dollars. Renee Gittins, executive director at the International Gaming Developers Association, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Google’s philanthropy arm, Google.org, recently announced a $10 million grant for the AARP Foundation to aid in teaching digital skills to low income older workers. As the implementation of hybrid work expands, a greater emphasis is being placed on helping workers 50 years old and up — especially among women and people of color — to be digitally literate in order to keep the workplace generationally diverse. Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of the AARP Foundation, joined Cheddar News to talk about the curriculum of the partnership. "Those of us who are 50 and older are not digital natives, so we do have a learning curve that we have to address," she noted.
AT&T announced earlier today it is spinning off its media properties in WarnerMedia in a merger with Discovery in a $43 billion deal.Scott Rostan, founder and CEO at Training The Street, joined Cheddar to talk about what the unwinding of the telecom giant's Time Warner media properties means for investors. "I think the investor sentiment is they're digesting the new information, and they're looking into the dividend, especially the reduction of the dividend," said Rostan, noting the transaction allows AT&T to focus on its core telecommunications business.
A 2021 report from UK Research and Innovation found that the shipping industry makes up at least 2.5 percent of the world's total CO2 emissions. It's a problem that energy solutions company, Leclanché, is trying to solve. Founded in 1909, the company has been developing and producing batteries for more than 100 years. Today, Leclanché's lithium-ion battery is used to electrify not just ships, but also railroad locomotives, trucks, and specialty vehicles. Cheddar News spoke with Pierre Blanc, chief technology and industrial officer of Leclanché, to discuss.
Amazon is betting that ammonia could be the fuel of the future, participating in a Series A round for the Brooklyn-based company Amogy in December. Amogy aims to de-carbonize transportation with a clean energy system that uses ammonia as a renewable fuel. Amogy is partnering with Amazon on its first commercial product - an ammonia-powered cargo-shipping vessel. Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
