New Russian Space Station 'Real Possibility'

su-geek writes: "BBC is reporting that the Russians are looking into the feasibility of a commercial space station. The Station would be used to promote space tourism and would help pay for future supply missions to the ISS." I think they should get into the business of crashing space stations into the Pacific, and bringing tourists on boats to watch the fireworks.

Comments

As it should be!

[Mr. Flibble]

The sad thing about space travel is that it is currently being used for science. Don't mistake me here though - I happen to think that science is the best possible use for space programs, if anything there is not enough money to go around for scientific research in any field.

Currently, the only real "business" in putting things into space is in military hardware and communications satelites. If "big business" gets involved in space tourism, (and here is the key!) and space tourism becomes profitable, more advancements into space travel will be achived. It is ironic really, that profit will create a drive for better space accesability than research does.

The more trips that there are into space, the more the process will become streamlined - and the greater the economic drive to make it less expensive to get people into space.

And finally, just like the article mentions - space tourists coule cover much of the cost of space missions. This would allow for more research to take place in space.

All in all. It is about time.

Now if we were only able to put nuclear powered spaceships in space (such as the "Orion" design mentioned by Carl Sagan in Cosmos) and have craft capable of 1/10 the speed of light.

Perhaps someday.

I'm amazed.

[piecewise]

I'm amazed that a country with NO money continually spends their debt on failing space programs, whereas a country with a high level of affluence and world influence shows continuing dis-interest in what its very own citizens realize as important, if not somewhat boring these days.

Father: "I grew up in the space age."
Son: "You mean that use to be a big thing? Ohhh..."

Russia SHOULD rather be focusing on rebuilding their ruined country. A place where doctors are paid in trade by the government (salt, cow dung, whatever -- and no i'm not kidding). A place with an unstable government and a weak military. What is in space that they are after, exactly?

Meanwhile, America should of course be embracing space more, but we're barely willing to increase NASA's budget beyond annual inflation.

On the other hand, it looks like we won't even be able to afford a valuable education bill without dipping heavily into social security, so maybe space can wait.