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Mike Melvill Chosen To Fly SpaceShipOne

Posted by timothy on from the good-luck-up-there dept.

ansimon writes "Mike Melvill is chosen to fly SpaceShipOne to the outer limits of this rock that we call earth. Mike will be the first to earn his astronaut wings with a privately-developed aeroplane/rocket. A new era of space exploration is about to begin! Godspeed and come back safe, so the rest of us can go too..."

8 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. I confess to a little excitement ... by isolationism · · Score: 5, Insightful
    ... When I read the news as well, about the upcoming test flight.

    For one who's done a lot of reading of both science fiction as well as cosmology, the stars seem so far out of reach for my short lifetime.

    Getting into space isn't exactly reaching the stars, but it's the first step on the journey. I hope the mission goes smoothly and its success is a sign of things to come.

    1. Re:I confess to a little excitement ... by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Tomorrow's flight reminds me of the excitement that I felt about space flight when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies.

      I was a kid when the Columbia took its first trip in '81, so I've never lived in a time when space flight wasn't a reality. However, when I looked at pictures of SpaceShipOne tonight and read about the people filling the motels for miles around the world's first civilian spaceport, I literally started crying out of pure joy. Space has always been the domain of guys with The Right Stuff - bigger-than-life heros that risked it all. However, as of tomorrow, the rest of us get to take our shot at it. Tomorrow, I fly into space, and the universe will be a lot closer for me and my children.

      Bring 'er home safe, Mike. A whole world full of regular Joes are praying for you.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  2. So far..... by Dr+Reducto · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So far, I have seen some people posting stuff related to Melville dying. This is poor taste.

    I honestly hope that Melville completes this first trip unharmed. Not only for his sake, but for our sake. If he dies, the government will more than likely shut the whole private space exploration business down and set humanity back by an untold amount of years.

    Why would anyone wish harm upon someone trying to pave the waqy for the rest of us?

    1. Re:So far..... by TigerNut · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The government? Excuse me, but since when can your country's government bureaucracy tell private citizens in other countries what to do? (okay, besides the obvious answer - that's not my point). There is lots of underpopulated real estate outside of the USA that is entirely suitable for use as a space launching site, and there are definitely people that are not US citizens, that are also pursuing the X-prize. They may not be anywhere near as far along in their programmes as Rutan and Armadillo, but as with cryptography, the only thing that will happen if the US "bans" private spacecraft development, is that private spacecraft development will happen outside of the US, and then a lot of sniveling and handwringing will be done by those who got left behind.

      --

      Less is more.

  3. Re:First since Columbia by mgs1000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First manned vehicle.

  4. Re:Yeah by Pharmboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We need to start NOW if we want to have 40 million people on the moon by 2371...

    I am guessing your math doesn't include any births on the moon, so it would be done sooner. Besides, you put just 50 men and women in low g, several are going to at least be curious about sex.

    On another note...It will be very expensive to go into space as a passenger for a while, but I think they need to focus on their market: Rich internet dot.commers who want to have sex in space. Just like VCRs, the Internet, and video cameras, the first people who want to go into space have to be doing it for some reason tied to sex, and willing to pay full price, making it cheaper for the rest of us eventually.

    I'm not completely sure how this will work, but just about any new technology is always paid for by people wanting pr0n/sexchat/etc so why would this be any different? Would you pay $100,000 to get a bj in zero gravity?

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  5. Re:To save everyone some time tomorrow ... by TheWart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is that really fair to say? Sure, NASA has had its share of red-tape screwups, and some tragic erros, but don't overlook what they *have* done.

  6. Re:YURI GAGARIN by sheriff_p · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's the significance of the first black guy in space? Seriously?

    We note the first Chinese guy in space, but not the first East-Asian in space. Do you know who the first blonde person in space was? The first person with green eyes?

    The reason your country has such an issue with racism STILL is that you create such significance in skin colour, where really there should be none.

    --
    Score:-1, Funny