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First Commercial Space Tourism Company
uberdave writes "The Canadian Arrow team (one of the contenders for the Ansari X-Prize) has joined forces with Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, a leading American entrepreneur, to form a new corporation called Planetspace. The goal of the company is to make space flight available to the public within 24 months.
Geoff Sheerin, President of Canadian Arrow, says that Planetspace has entered final discussions with partners who will establish a reality television show set in space, and with a company to hold an international lottery with space flight prizes. Planetspace expects to fly almost 2,000 new astronauts in the first five years of flying. Fares will start at USD $250,000 for a suborbital flight, including fourteen days training."
This may be interesting, but these guys are definately not the first.
TW
You will be able to play Duke Nukem Forever on the Phantom game console during flight!
Well, Virgin Galactic may be the first company *founded*, but this will be the first one to *operate*, if all goes as planned.
multifariam.net -- yet another nerd blog
So, if space flight really is becoming something consumers can do, what is the extra cost of all of the high atmospheric pollution and space junk? How are we going to keep low orbit from becoming the riskiest dodgeball court around?
Is it just me, or does the website look like 12-yr old's first try with HTML? does that mean i'm in good hands?
A company that hasn't put anyone... anyone at all... into space, is starting a company to put people into space.
One step at a time guys...
If the guys financing hem have money to burn... I've got a company with a real product taat could use some investment.
Given the present condition of the supply of energies we have available and our rates of consumption, is this yet another luxury for the few that will needlessly deplete our supply of fuels?
Yes, I know the rich can easily afford it.
And with yet more demand on a the growing scarcity of petrochemical fuels powering the whole shebang, I guess we just watch fuel costs for everybody step up another notch. Economics. Supply and demand.
Sometimes I wonder where our head is at when we choose to expend limited resources so frivously.
But then, I have wondered that for a long time on other matters... its a wonder to me that America is still a "superpower" given the way we squander our resources.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
If you've got the cash to consider dropping $250k for this, you've already got the house. And the beach house. And the Aspen condo.
...and today, a new standard of total sadness was achieved as it was announced that the first commercial venture to put humans in space will be in the form of a reality television show.
Yeah, because rich people aren't people are they?
Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' - BBC News
"...discussions with partners who will establish a reality television show set in space..."
Captain: Do you see any signs of intelligent life on that planet?
Science officer: Most definitely not, sir!
#DeleteChrome
...when I say: SCREW SUB-ORBITAL FLIGHT.
If I want a quick rush I'll get on a damn roller-coaster.
Put me in orbit for a week, and bring me back safely.
Tubby or not tubby. Fat is the question
Actually no, he's sold the various different areas of the company off bit by bit and they are no longer owned by him or related at all except for branding.
My 3D Texturing Skinning work (under construction)
This is basically a single stage booster system based on 50 year old technoligy.
In order to move to higher "orbital" flights the cost of design and equiptment goes up in multiples using this old school rocketeering tech. It means that the average cost per person will go from $250,000 to more like $1.5M and that makes it highly unlikely that we will see anything more than suborbital shots from this. It's a cheap thrill ride but says nothing of our future space exploration.
once more into the breach
I've thought some on this before, and here's my view:
Technological progress helps social progress.
Many new technologies start out as luxuries, then due to economies of scale become widely available.
Therefore, no luxuries, less technological progress, less social progress, less ways to help the poor.
Of course, that means you need concrete applications of space technology for non-luxury use... hmm:
- various spinoff technologies
- orbiting solar power generation
- doing polluting/dangerous things in space instead of on Earth
Of course they are people, but they are not the community or people as a whole which is what public means.
If you are in a position to be able to drop a quarter mill on a trip then good for you but dont try and market it as something available to the public when clearly it is beyond the means of all but a tiny elite.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
Their nearest competitor, who is steadily gaining ground with the men in the lucrative 18-34 age bracket?
Whore.
Thank you, I'll be here all week.
You gotta start charging high if you're gonna raise the capital to develop the technology to make it available to everyone.
And it's when you can start making it available to everyone that you can start making serious money.
Look at refrigerators, microwaves, cars. All of them originally rich peoples' toys, but nowadays, they're nothing special at all.
And none of it was made a bit easier by class warfare games.
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
Yeah, those people who build companies and have busted their asses to get rich (or are the beneificiaries of those who busted their asses to make themselves and their children rich) don't deserve to spend that money on anything! They should be obligated to give it away to the poorer among us, who use our average incomes to buy playstations and toys to decorate our cubicle office.
Yeah, fuck those stupid entrepranuerial cocksuckers! HOW DARE THEY!
Now all they need is a working rocket!
*cough Vaporware cough*
First the daVinci project made a TON of noise about their October 2004 launch plans. Did those ever happen?
Then we have aera corp, which is selling tickets for rides NEXT YEAR. They are ALREADY selling these. This is without demonstrating anything, or even having an engine, much less a space vehicle that can support a crew of humans. They have THIRTY flights scheduled for 2007.
"We're using such plain-vanilla technology that very little detailed testing is required," Sprague said.
MOTHER OF GOD!
Now we have this Canadian Arrow group. I mean, NONE of these guys has even gone to space ONCE with even a test pilot! I guess I'd just be a little cautious going up in things from these operations, hopefully folks considering this get some good advice before signing up.
The one contender I have some faith in is Burt Rutan and the Virgin Galatic effort.
These guys actually test, have actually gone to sub-orbital space and back with real live people inside their vehicle. Solid history building actual flying machines that don't kill people, and met some folks with great things to say about the group.
Curiously, I also noticed they don't have as many hot air releases.
So, while some folks seem to get tons of PR and are ALREADY selling tickets, I'd keep the eyes away from the Golden Palance Casino Davinci Project, Aerea Corp or Canadian arrow, and on Burt Rutan and his gang.