Affordable Space Tourism by the end of the decade | FerrariChat

Affordable Space Tourism by the end of the decade

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by WILLIAM H, Sep 22, 2004.

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  1. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Thats what the Pres of Space Development,Jim Benson, stated that he thinks is feasible with sufficient funding.

    SPDV builds the rocket engines for Burt Rutan's airframe with fundiing from Microsoft's Paul Allen

    The team is ready to tackle the X Prize end of this month, it will be on the discovery channel

    SPDV just signed a document with NASA to pursue building a low cost manned spacecraft, essentially a 21st C space shuttle dramatically cheaper than NASA's 1970s version. It will take off vertically & land like a plane

    Benson stated that he thinks space tourism could be a reality by the end of the decade with sufficient funding. I would imagine trips may cost $100,000 or so, Thats a lot better than $20M to stay on a smelly Russian space station :)
     
  2. Admiral Thrawn

    Admiral Thrawn F1 Rookie

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    Sounds good. Time to start buying shares!
     
  3. jsa330

    jsa330 F1 Veteran
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    No way I'm getting on one of those things...
     
  4. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    if this team can really do this it will absolutely revolutionize the tourism industry

    Hilton & a Japanese chain have expressed interest in orbiting or lunar hotels

    Once we can reach orbit then its only a matter of time until some entrpreneur,Are you listening Paul ? builds a space yacht to orbit Earth & 1 day a Space Yacht to go to the Moon & back :) Sweet
     
  5. Admiral Thrawn

    Admiral Thrawn F1 Rookie

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    The only thing though is look how difficult it is to carry out the current NASA shuttle missions. The ISS has taken years and years to build, and is constantly suffering technical problems. If it takes this much effort to build a research station only holding a few astronauts, how in the world are we supposed to build an orbiting hotel???

    For one thing we're going to need something alot larger and more capable than the shuttle to get parts into orbit. Eventually construction yards and mining facilities are going to need to be build in space, as it's too difficult constantly ferrying things back and forth through the atmosphere. But how are we going to build those?

    Honestly I can't see how it could realistically be achieved so long as it's not integral to world commerce. For example, jet powered airliners revolutionised quick world travel. The difference between this and space travel though, is currently we really have no immediately forseeable reason to go into space; it's just a immensively expensive exercise to establish the most basic building blocks of infrastructure needed for any significant space activity.
     
  6. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Wellwe have several good reasons for going. We have wars for oil now and as oil gets more scarce we will have more and more frwequent & ever more brutal wars over dwindling supplies. In space we have limiltess energy from the sun. We can build giant geostatitionary solar platforms in space & beam the enrgy to collectors down on Earth. We put the collectors in space because there are no rain, clouds, or dust in space and with several large array collectors we can gather energy 24/7. Sure its expensive but how much will it cost to occupy the Middle East ? and youu dont have to kill anyone or steal their land to set up collectors in orbit

    Another reason is for other mineral resources, we know there is Helium 3 on the Moon, its extremely rare on Earth but its all over the Moon, this is very good for Fusion energy

    Space has all the minerals we have on Earth except in quantities Billions of times greater

    Eventually when we have 10 Billion or more people destroying Earths environments colonies on Mars & the Moon will start looking a lot more attractive. Colonies on Mars will have their own water supply and a whole planet to mine and build on. The Moon may also have water as well.

    So there are lots of great reasons. What we need are great leaders & visionaries like JFK, Paul Allen, Burt Rutan & Jim Benson to lead the way

    Cheers :)
     
  7. Admiral Thrawn

    Admiral Thrawn F1 Rookie

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    Don't get me wrong, I'm well aware of the benefits of space exploration when it comes to mining for resources. However, that really seems to be theoretical at this point in time. The reality of doing these things is a logistical and financial nightmare, of far greater proportions than any human endeavor ever previously attempted.
     
  8. coolestkidever

    coolestkidever F1 Veteran

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    this is very cool, i highly doubt tourism flights by the end of the decade maybe in like 2015 or so. How would u beam energy down from solar collectors in space? I would love to see a hotel on the moon or orbititing that would be awesome, the concept of the dream worlds of dozens of generations may auctually come true is really exciting to me.
     
  9. Z0RR0

    Z0RR0 F1 Rookie

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    Will people laugh at Armstrong in 50 years?
    -"I'm Neil, and I walked on the moon"
    -"Is that it? You missed the golf course and Casino, man!"
    LMAO
    This is pretty cool!!!
     
  10. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Yes its a challenge but then again WW2 & the Saturn 5 program were also challenges that created a lot of valuable new tech
    I agree its a huge challenge but its not beyond our tech. I for 1 would rather pick up this challenge than continue fighting & killing over oil & other resources when we can find all those resources on the Moon and Mars, who knows maybe we;ll get lucky and find oil on Mars :)

    Water is already there which is an invaluable gift
     
  11. davem

    davem F1 Veteran
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    Hunny grab the kids, were going on one of those cruises to nowhere!
     
  12. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    wait till you see the zero G Honeymoon suite ;)
     
  13. Stackhouse

    Stackhouse F1 Rookie
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    Never going to happen unless he can prove that there are Amazon Women on Mars!
     
  14. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Prove to me there aren't :) LOL
     
  15. davem

    davem F1 Veteran
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    Was'nt there a movie....."Mars needs woman"!!??
     
  16. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    WILLIAM H........

    At $100K a pop, you'd sell out.........when you consider the costs of fractional jets or the toys we drive.........all you'd really have to do to have a winner is throw in the Amazon women as modern day space stews and hey.......look out Russ Meyer.

    Seriously though, I could probably sell a pile of these trips just to my small client base.
     
  17. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    I know it was a song, Maybe it was 1 of those 50's Sci fi flics LOL
     
  18. Chelle

    Chelle Formula 3
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    anyone see this? Some TV journalists found a seemingly abandoned Russian space shuttle in the Persian Gulf
    http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/weltraum/0,1518,319316,00.html

    It was lots bigger than our shuttle... and could carry a larger payload..
    in many ways it is superior to the US space shuttle - for example if could do everything automated - including the landing.
    see this link:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Buran
    In September 2004 a german reporter team found a Shuttle near Bahrain, apparently it was the Buran 002 which performed 25 atmospheric flights to test landing procedures. It was bought by the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum.

    "The russian shuttle was deemed lost for years und was now found in the arab desert. It was the most ambitious project of the russian space program, code named "Buran" (snowstorm): The first space flight with a russian space shuttle! The flight was a success, but experts have been wondering ever since where the four prototypes went. Now BILD readers have found one of the russian space gliders in the arab desert! Volker Hartmann (54) from Schaumburg, Chris G. Maier (32) from Düsseldorf and Kai Niedermeier (39) from solingen met the crown prince of the island state Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa (34). He told him of the hiding place: "We drove near the border to Saudi-Arabia in a jeep. There was the shuttle - covered and abandoned." The glider is the "Buran 002", one of the four airworthy space ships of this type. 36,67 metrs long and 17,37 meters high. She took off 25 times. 1993 the space project was cancelled. A Saudi bought the shuttle, but forgot it in the desert. And the other spacecraft? One was destroyed, one dismantled, the mothership is now on display in Moscow's Gorky Park. One of the german finders now want to buy the "Buran 002" for 300,000 dollars, and go on a world tour with it: "The sheik approves".

    how long this takes before it ends up on Ebay.
    slightly used space shuttle prototype, easy fixer, be the envy of your cul-de-sac with the only russian spaceship.....

    of course What scares me is that if they lost such a huge spacecraft can you imagine what else they could have easily "misplaced" without anyone knowing?

    Chelle
     
  19. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    My 3 year old daughter (almost 4!) has been interested in the moon and planets and stars lately. We got a few books on space from the library for her, and read them to her at bedtime. Last night was a book on the moon, and naturally, like any 3 year old, she had tons of questions. She loved the idea of getting into a spacesuit, riding in a rocket, and going to the moon, where she could jump up really high.

    We told her that maybe in the future she could take a trip to the moon. Just before we turned off the lights, out of thin air, she stated "Daddy, maybe when you are 55 we can both take a trip to the moon together". I don't know where she got that number from, but anyway, that's 20 years from now.

    I better buy some more of that SpaceDevelopment stock, I've got a trip to take with my daughter!!!!

    Dom
     
  20. GrigioGuy

    GrigioGuy Splenda Daddy
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  21. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Excellent, 1st Paul Allen, now Richard Branson, finally business is starting to take notice. Maybe the dreams I've been waiting for since I was a child will be coming true soon :)

    Its like the 60s all over again except w tourists instead of test pilots. Maybe this time we can get a Space Age that will really have endurance. I think once Paul & Richard prove their is lots of $ to be made in space the floodgates will crash open.

    Whats the symbol for Bransons Co?
     
  22. GrigioGuy

    GrigioGuy Splenda Daddy
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    I don't know which part of Virgin this would fall under. Other news reports indicate that it will be a separate venture called "Virgin Galactic"
     
  23. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Next logical step for space tourism if all goes well is for a space hotel, maybe Hilton

    After that some cruise ship Cos have expressed interest in building space cruisers. That would be awesome. 1st a cruiser to orbit the Earth for a week or so. Later a cruiser around the moon & back :)

    A space cruiser would have to be built in orbit bcue it would be way to huge to haul up there.

    Maybe use a space elevator to get all the parts up there.

    The ideal would be to mine the raw materials directly from the Moon so you dont have to pay to ferry raw materials into orbit which is VERY $$$$

    of course lunar mining is a whole indistry onto itself which would need computers, robots, robot bulldozers, dumptrucks, etc

    COuld be done & H3, an important fuel source for Nuke Fusion that is very rare on Earth but plentiful on the Moon is the best reason to do it

    Now lets get those friggin fusion reactors working
     

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