Are you afraid of space tourism?

A rocket explosion has hindered Virgin Galactic

Back in July a fatal rocket explosion set back plans for SpaceShipTwo, the second generation of the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne. So what? Well, SpaceShipTwo will also be the spaceship lifting Virgin Galactic wannabe-astronauts to their dreams.

The explosion, which killed 3, is currently being investigated, yet plans for Virgin Galactic have not yet been 'officially' delayed and, hopefully, they will not be delayed.

Obviously, going into space is risky business, but privately-funded space tourism is the kind of technological revolution the world desperately needs. I still plan on taking the trip, as soon as I come up with my $200,000.

Virgin Galactic close to lift off

SpaceShipOne just after claiming the X-Prize

It's funny. In the early days of Soultek, SpaceShipOne and X-Prize blog posts were a daily habit. Since that first X-Prize, private industry's race into space has idled some. Fortunately, with test flights scheduled for June, space tourism is finally picking up pace.

Finally, perhaps, there is something to be excited about in the world, and I can't wait to get back into this subject. For an updated picture check out thisislondon.

U.S. Ready to Issue Space Tourism Licenses by 2008

Ready to become an astronaut?

Virgin Galactic has a long list of people interested in flying into space. While their are many naysayers, the U.S. government isn't one of them. The U.S. will issue permits for space flight tests next year and if all goes well, licenses for passenger space travel could be issued the following year. (more)

Help Wanted: Spaceship builders with "fire in their eyes"

After a successful X-Prize flight more than a year ago, SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan mocked NASA a bit as he spoke to the crowd sweating it out in the Mojave Desert.

Today his annoyance with NASA is just as strong it seems.

In the article Burt Rutan: Building The People's Spaceship, Rutan states, "In fact, it’s more dangerous to fly in space in America now than it was earlier. It certainly is more expensive...more difficult. We’ve been relying on our taxpayer-funded research organization, Na Say, excuse me, NASA."

Instead, Rutan would like to see NASA focus on research that they provide to American industry to develop - bringing the entrepreneurial attitude and real competition into space development.

There are few new details in the article regarding when SpaceShipTwo will launch, unfortunately, but it's good reading for Rutan fans.

More important, however, if you are interested in building spaceships, Rutan is looking for help. "We have a lot of openings for people...not just engineers, but people that can help us build research spaceships and production spaceships," Rutan explained, people with "fire in their eyes."

More news

Burt Rutan's Company Scaled Composites

Speaking of Burt Rutan

Space privatization and space tourism

Bigelow Aerospace continues to strive towards private space tourism

According to Space.com, "Bigelow Aerospace of North Las Vegas, Nevada is readying a test prototype of the firm's expandable habitat design and looking to launch the hardware in the first quarter of 2006." (more)

Bigelow Aerospace is still offering a $50 million prize "to stimulate private development of orbital space vehicles."

America's Space Prize requires that a "spacecraft must dock or demonstrate an ability to dock with a Bigelow Aerospace inflatable space habitat and be capable of remaining on station for at least 6 months."

The contest ends January 10, 2010.

Virgin Galactic Takes another step towards SpaceShipTwo

SpaceShipTwo is largely a joint venture between English and American companies, and that causes a problem. Because such a venture has military potential, the sharing of such high tech information requires government approval, which has now been granted.

"It allows us to activate all the parts of the project," said Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic--the space tourism endeavor that is a subsidiary of British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

As a result, everything appears to be in order and the first tourist launch of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is expected in 2008. (More)

Private Space Flight Around the Moon

Want to travel around the moon?

For only a $100,000,000 you can fly with a Russian cosmonaut around the moon. Instead of a yacht, the rich and famous can help fund the private space race. More

That's a lotta money for the experience of a lifetime for many, but if it happens - I think it will - it would be a huge incentive for space agencies around the world to tap into tourism as a way of generating research income.

NASA's next purchase?

Well, probably not, but the evolution of SpaceShipOne into Virgin Galactic's fleet of spaceships for space tourism could be an option.

"What I would most like to do is to be able to buy those services from industry," NASA Administrator Mike Griffin recently told SpaceNews regarding supplying and supporting the International Space Station.

The X-Prize and Burt Rutan changed the way people think about space and if Virgin Galactic stays on pace, it will revolutionize not just the private space business, but the entire future of space exploration.

Virgin's Space Tourism plans on schedule

Virgin still plans to lauch the first commerical space tourism flight within the next 30 months. More

Space Adventures first orbital flights set for 2006

U.S.-based Space Adventures is working with a Hong Kong partner to sell space tourism flights to Chinese citizens set to begin service in 2006. "Plans call for more than 20 Chinese tourists to be able to go to the United States to undergo ground-based space travel training as soon as May," the Beijing News said (Reuters).

Watch the Superbowl - Win a Trip into Space

Want to go into space?

Volvo and Virgin Galactic are going to team up in a Superbowl ad that will offer a chance to win a seat on commercial flight into space.

According to a Volvo Press Release, Virgin Galactic -- the world's first commercial space tourism operator -- is planning the debut commercial flight some time in the next two to three years.

After the commercial airs Sunday, Volvo is giving away a chance to win a seat on Sir Richard's flight by asking aspiring astronauts to log onto www.boldlygo.com through Feb. 22. Volvo, along with Virgin Galactic, will unveil the winner March 24 at the New York International Auto Show. The value of a seat on the sub-orbital flight -- which also includes three days of pre-flight training -- is $200,000.

Space Tourism competition heating up

An article at Economist.com notes that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, is very serious about becoming a player in space tourism.

With Virgin Galactic having already signed up 13,000 people whom are ready to pay for a trip on the first spaceflights designed off Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne, other players are smelling opportunity.

According to rumors, Blue Origin, Bezo's space company is already developing its own spaceship, but there is absolute secrecy about how far along the project is, but rumors indicate it is much further along than the general public realizes.

Click here for the complete article.

Congress Acts on Space Tourism

The bill was passed by a 269-120 vote but only after a contentious debate Friday over how much protection lawmakers should provide potential space tourists. A two-thirds vote was required for passage. It was uncertain whether the Senate would take up the bill before Congress adjourns. (AP Story by Yahoo)

Amazon's Bezos in Private Space Race

According to a Reuters article, engineers at Blue Origin, a Seattle start-up funded by Jeff Bezos, "are working to build low-cost vehicles that would send passengers into space for short flights."

Amazon.com Founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, wants to compete against the likes of Scaled Composite's Burt Rutan and his SpaceShipOne success, along with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, in the privately-funded suborbital space tourism industry.

Regarding suborbital space tourism, akin to the technology of SpaceShipOne, Bezos stated, "I very much hope to go up one day, and I think that will happen. I think I will go up on a Blue Origin vehicle."

And Bezos isn't suborbitally-limited. "Then you would proceed from there to other steps, such as perhaps orbital space flights," Bezos told Reuters on Tuesday.

Perhaps America's Space Prize isn't so unrealistic?

Click for Reuter's Story

America's Space Prize Rule's Update

The $50 million dollar purse for Robert Bigelow's American Space Prize will certainly not be easy to obtain, based on the requirements released by Bigelow Aerospace today.

For example, the craft must send a crew of five 400 kilometers above the earth, complete two orbits, land and do the same within 60 days. Additionally, the ship must be at least 80 percent reusable, and the whole mission must be completed before Jan. 10, 2010 - an almost inconceivable mission.

Based upon the success of SpaceShipOne, which took at least $30 million to accomplish, such a mission - as required by America's Space Prize - will easily take more than $100 million to accomplish.

In reality, the American Space Prize seems more publicity stunt than reality. Of course, the same was said for the X-Prize. Still, suborbital space tourism is significantly less complicated than orbital space development. Additionally, suborbital space tourism will help achieve a smooth transition to orbital space tourism and commercial development

If such a mission were accomplished just 5 years from now, the world would almost instantly change as a limitless, entirely unexplored business opportunity opened to private business. The excitement of the Internet Boom would pale in comparison.

Virgin Galactic, SpaceShipTwo and the push towards privately funded commercial space ventures

Monday’s historic X-Prize-claiming space flight by SpaceShipOne has changed the world’s perception about space travel.

Just a year ago, very few people took space travel seriously. It just didn’t seem possible that the average person would ever have the opportunity, and that reality seemed all the more harsh when the second shuttle exploded.

Then came June and the announcement that SpaceShipOne would try for space. Watching that historic flight, as dawn overtook the desert, space travel seemed much closer, but still far away.

Just a few months later came the X-Prize flights, and the announcement of Virgin Galactic – a partnership between Virgin Atlantic and the SpaceShipOne creators.

Amazingly, the first flight of Virgin Galactic is expected to launch in just 3 years, and within 5 years, the aviation / space company hopes to have created over 3,000 new astronauts from countries throughout the world. Additionally, the plan includes constructing launch pads for commercial space travel through-out the world over the next few years.

To me, this seems like the key to the plan – going global. In many places resources and investors might be lined up. In other places, it just will be simpler to set up ‘spaceports’ for space flights to depart and arrive.

Some already doubt the plan, but the Branson – Rutan – Allen team isn’t the only one getting involved in sub orbital travel.

SpaceDev, contributors to the hybrid rocket system of SpaceShipOne, have also announced a new spaceship. Dream Chaser could be ready for its maiden flight as early as 2008.

Still, why doubt Rutan? SpaceShipOne now has 3 successful missions under its belt, 2 astronauts, and an incredibly innovative leadership team. Rutan recently stated, “We are extremely confident that we are going to be able to produce the first space tourism commercial spaceliner that will start out service with reliability, I believe, significantly better than the first airlines had when they started doing service decades ago when we had the first airliner.”

Still it’s not just Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic will be building its first new vessel, VSS Enterprise, next year. Additionally, Burt Rutan stated that SpaceShipOne has provided ideas for SpaceShipTwo. So it seems there might be multiple projects coming out of the Rutan – Allen camp.

Since Mohave is licensing technology to Virgin, Scaled Composites should have time – and new funding – to develop a second generation vehicle, SpaceShipTwo.

Space will be ours!

Privatized Space and the X-Prize

The incorporation of the private sector into the race for space tourism and commercialism is one of the most exciting ventures in corporate America.

Currently, the X-Prize is hosting a number of innovators. On June 21, one of the entrants, Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites will be making a historical test flight at the Mojave Airport.

This type of innovation not only embodies the kind of exuberance required to propel the U.S. into the future as a major innovator, but it provides the kind of inspiration required to give the youth a vision, a goal to strive for in their complex lives.

Let me know if you'll be there. I will.

More Articles

Not only is Burt Rutan's Scaled Composite's X-Prize entry revolutionary in funding and cost, it's fuel causes significant less pollution than most rocket fuels. This truly demonstrates that private competition will drive innovation. Read More.

The White House received it's Space Vision Report and found that "commercialization of space should become 'the primary focus' of the country's new space exploration vision. Given the proper encouragement, 'an entirely new set of businesses can emerge that will seek profit in space,'". Read More

Is the Mojave Desert the next Kitty Hawk, or Cape Canaveral? While there is some debate as to how revolutionary the X-Prize flight will be, there is no doubt Scaled Composites Flight on June 21st will be a significant historical event. Read More