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."

Comments

What about Virgin?

[Total_Wimp]

This may be interesting, but these guys are definately not the first.

TW

Re:What about Virgin?

[peculiarmethod]

incidentally.. you should know that America's finances during it's inception were secured thanks to a lotto. That, and extreme trust in the value of the newly printed money. (they gave up relying on english monies for various reasons, including taxation and govt control) Lottos are the very reason gambling is next to legal in most states these days. It's very profitable, and it WILL ensure the survival of this company if they can secure the safety in technology and insurance. Watch.

Re:What about Virgin?

[oniony]

Virgin Galactic was founded sometime last year.

http://www.virgingalactic.com/en/

Yeah and

[77Punker]

You will be able to play Duke Nukem Forever on the Phantom game console during flight!

Re:Whatabout?

[AnObfuscator]

Well, Virgin Galactic may be the first company *founded*, but this will be the first one to *operate*, if all goes as planned.

Total cost of space flight

[mothlos]

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?

Yes, this looks do-able

[anubi]

But should we?

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.

Re:Yes, this looks do-able

[Rei]

Um, no. Most launches worldwide use kerosene-based fuels reacted with LOX, at least for the lower stages. Lower stages of LOX/LH (like the shuttle (excepting the boosters) and Arianne are actually relatively rare. Hydrazine is rarely used (off the top of my head, all I can think of present day for getting to orbit is the optional 4th stage to the Pegasus). Solids are usually only used on boosters and ICBMs, although there are a few systems (for example, Pegasus) that use them to get to space itself.

Even if that weren't the case (which it is), LOX is produced using electricity (mostly generated through fossil fuels), LH is produced from petroleum and compressed/chilled with electricity, etc.

And furthermore, you missed the fundamental error in the GP's post, which is that rocket fuel consumption is somehow relevant. It isn't. The world consumes 71.7 million barrels (3 billion gallons - about 24 billion pounds) of oil per day. If you can shove even close to that much oil into production of rocket fuel in a decade, I'll be impressed.

The shuttle (a large launch vehicle), for example, burns about 1.6 million pounds of hydrogen with every launch (corresponding to about 4 million pounds of oil, plus, say, a million pounds of oil for producing solid fuels and LOX). So, you'd have to launch five to six thousand shuttle launches in that decade to make up for one *day* of oil consumption.

Re:Better Things to do with $250,000

[YrWrstNtmr]

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.

Sadness

[MynockGuano]

...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.

Re:Richard Branson

[Afrosheen]

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.