Off in Mojave, CA - some folks with a dream getting ready to go into orbit...
The rocket flying into space today was designed by aerospace genius Burt Rutan via his Company Scaled Composites and the revolutionary rocket engine was designed & built by Space Development Corp, SPDV, The project was primarily funded by Paul Allen of Microsoft. Check this link for photos http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15418 This rocketship, Space Ship One was designed to win the X Prize which is a $10M prize given to the 1st ship to travel at least 63 miles, over 300,000 ft into the atmosphere with 3 people on board & do it again within 2 weeks SS1 is a prototype for a future space liner which Rutan & Allen plan on filling with space tourists & charging them a nice profit per ticket, probably around $100,000 per flight After that an even larger space liner & prices for tickets will tumble, Maybe Boeing will build a spaceliner 10 years from now
Just read in WORTH magazine that New Mexico plans to build a spaceport & has given $9M to the X Prize. After the initial X Prize is won they want to set up an X Cup giving prizes for fastest spacecraft or highest flying or most orbits etc SPace tourism IS coming & instead of $20M per flight the price will be closer to $100,000 initially & a lot lower as the years roll on This is the begining of a revolution in space, making a profit from space travel is the real key to opening space exploration & space exploitation
Great, just another place for fat, selfish americans to pollute... Now, not only will we have Middee East "terrorists" after us, but we'll other life forms not of this earth looking to tazer our asses for sh_tting on them, too... i'd love to see bush try to invade another planet or take over their government...
I hope you are kidding SS1 may have reached 63 miles which is the edge for Sub Orbital space but 63 miles is still well within the Earth's atmosphere which extends out to about 800 miles. Next step is winning the X Prize then going up to Orbital altitude
Only sort of; i don't think these folks vying for X Prizes and stuff are gonna do anything harmful, but once this country figures out how to exploit space and commercialize the bejeezus out of it, i think that's when it'll turn into another Disney Land...
Can't say I see anything wrong with that, personally. Commerical interests have always driven exploration and technology. Time to get our eggs out of the home basket and spread to the stars. They're ours for the taking.... It's just a shame that I'll probably be dead of old age before the first permanent colony is in place on Mars.
Sorry to be a grinch, but I don't see any benefit here at all -- at best, it's just a high energy waste tourist attraction for the wealthy.
WTF is your problem, NNO? The only fat, selfish American is yourself, and your whining is very French of you if I do say so.
This is the way it should be with space exploration. It needs to be done by the private sector. I really admire the people that have accomplished this on their own. I hope the super rich techno guys will be encouraged by this success, the pioneering spirit and the profit motive to get much more deeply interested and involved. It will get done much, much, more efficiently and cost effectively than with the government and NASA in charge. Then they can stop taking our tax money to bring back boxes of rocks from the moon and photos of fossilized amoebas from Mars (when their $200 mil. fiascos by chance happen to work). Of course, the Democrats are sure to try to screw things up for the space entrepreneurs by coming up with new and undreamed of complaints to make, taxes to levy, and new regulations to impose.
Good thing you didnt write the check for Columbus'es voyage to discover India. I'm sure the USA would have been better if Lewis & Clarke stayed home & we never went W of the Mississippi Sheesh, Theres a whole solar system out there waiting for us to explore & exploit When space exploration really takes off it will be the biggest Gold rush in human history followed by the greatest growth & wealth in human history
Getting back on topic. This is truley amazing- we really are at the dawn of a new age. I am fortunate to be living in this era.
Wow... Hard to argue with such a mature point of view, Korr... Your mentality is far beyond what mine can match... Your racism is also a bit too much for me... i bid you a good day, sir. Tillman, do we know that for sure...? Are we positive that there's NO ONE out there...? Or will we be just like the pilgrims and pillage Indian villages and rape women and destroy villages and disregard culture...? Will we have another President Jackson with a revised 'Alien' Removal Act...? Will we enslave aliens...? i could go on and on...
Carbon, We can always send you as the Earth Ambassador. That'll fix 'em! Just think, first you could introduce the aliens to F-cars and then open the first SPACE CASTLE franchise! DL
As far as we know we are the only intelligent life posessing high tech in this solar system. Asteroids which are prime targets for mining because they are rich in mineral assets & have no gravity probably have zero life, maybe some bacteria at the max. Mars may have some life on it and we should respect that life and learn from mistakes we have made on Earth but we should still mine Mars & the Moon & other planets for mineral and energy assets The alternative is stripping our own small planet bare which is pretty stupid when the riches of our solar system are so close and billions of times greater than the assets of the entire Earth
There's some great pics of the event at the Mojave Airport Weblog http://www.mojavebooks.com/mhv/040621-1.htm
