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The German song "Major Tom" adds a twist onto David Bowie's "Space Oddity", by giving clues to the spacecraft commander Mayor Tom to deliberately abort the mission in favor of escaping into deep space, being unsatisfied by the missions original scientific goals and their meaning for humanity.

So I wonder if there ever was a crewed space mission, that could possibly leave the solar system if the crew opted and pushed for that after launch?

Fred
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dronus
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    I've always worried about Major Tom, but I'm not sure I ever wanted to know how the story ended, preferring instead to think of him as forever (floating) in his tin can, far above the world, planet Earth is blue, and there's no thing he can do... The premise reminds me more of Silent Running. – uhoh Feb 04 '24 at 23:23
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    different but related: Has any human had the capability of leaving the Solar System? perhaps a duplicate? (quotes Peter Schiling's Major Tom) Has any human ever had the choice to leave Earth permanently? – uhoh Feb 04 '24 at 23:31
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    Sort of a two-part question, the first being was it technically possible on any crewed mission, and second could the crew have done it. The crew did not control the launch phase, which according to the linked answer would likely have required depleting all of the fuel in each stage. The crew did have control of the CM and LM. If prior to launch they had diligently studied the computer they might have been able to come up with modified program commands. But unless they had Buzz Aldrin on board, either literally or figuratively, they would have needed someone to do the calculations for them. – Steve Pemberton Feb 04 '24 at 23:53
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    According to David Bowie's song, Ashes to Ashes, " ... We know Major Tom's a junkie Strung out in heaven's high ...". Who knows what Major Tom's drug addled mind was hallucinating. – Fred Feb 05 '24 at 00:08
  • @Fred well ok I will have to revisit, but considering the source I think there's still room for some ambiguity – uhoh Feb 05 '24 at 05:08
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    Does the song imply that Major Tom left Earth? I thought the implication was that he stayed in orbit. – Darth Pseudonym Feb 05 '24 at 15:50

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