L. Marcus Posted September 27, 2004 Report Share Posted September 27, 2004 The SpaceShip One consortium will start their bid for the Ansari X-Prize this wednesday . . . See this SPACE.com story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSword Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Re: Up, up and awaaayyy! I had also heard that Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group fame was planning on makeing a large investment in the group and try to get Space Tourism started. Unfortunataly the first flights were going for a few hundred thousand, but the hope was to use that seed money to lower the cost over the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Re: Up, up and awaaayyy! I read that too . . . But it was in swedish, and so to not much use to the majority of the readers here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSword Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Re: Up, up and awaaayyy! Here's a link to a Seattle Times article on Brason's announcement. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002048021_rocketside28m.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Re: Up, up and awaaayyy! Thanks, Pika- . . . Er, BlackSword! Ho, that Branson! He a scamp, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 3, 2004 Report Share Posted October 3, 2004 Re: Up, up and awaaayyy! Thanks, Pika- . . . Er, BlackSword! Ho, that Branson! He a scamp, no? No, he's not a scamp -- he's a lunatic. But he's rich enough that nobody recognizes the danger he poses to himself, and so he is free to try fool stunts like going around the world in a balloon (which not only never works but is utterly pointless). Spoace tourism will never work until it is safe for people to actually live in space for a large poriton of their lives. Put up a functioning lunar colony and you'll get people who want to be tourists -- but first you have to find people who want to settle on the Moon, possibly for the rest of their lives, and raise families there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UltraRob Posted October 3, 2004 Report Share Posted October 3, 2004 Re: Up, up and awaaayyy! On a related note, I saw on the news yesterday that NASA scientists have noticed that Astronauts immune systems aren't working as well in space. Because the people going up are in such great shape it hasn't been a problem yet, but for longer periods in space they said it might be a real problem. (ie Missions to Mars) They're not sure what's causing it, they said it might just be stress on the Astronauts themselves, but I thought it was interesting. It's those little things like this that screw up big things. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Re: Up, up and awaaayyy! Before I sound too down on space exploration, I would like to point out that if there was some way I could keep in contact with my friends and family on the Earth, if I had useful skills to offer, and if I were healthy enough toi survivie the trip, I would volunteer in a heartbeat to be a Lunar colonist and settle on the Moon for the rest of my life, raise a family there, be buried in Lunar soil when I die, etc. I think THAT -- the settlement and devlopment of the Solar System as a viable place to live, work, do business, and establish our culture -- should be the ulktimate goal of the next pahse of space exploration. That means expandable dome colonies on the Moon and mars, self-sustaining dspace stations, the mining of the Atseroid belt for useful minerals, contual exchange of information among all parts of the Solar System, the use of solar energy beamed from space to sustain power systems of Earth, trade in goods and travel for people in space, and the development of hydroponic agriculture to the poiint that no colony, whether a space station or a planetary base, would starev to death if cut off from the rest of the solar system for an extended period of time due to war or natural disaster. I'll never see it in my lifetime, but I hope it happens someday. Humankind is too big, too adventurous to be contained on one ball of mud forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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