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Virgin Galactic Passengers May Just Miss Going into Space

Posted by samzenpus on from the close-but-no-cigar dept.

DavidGilbert99 (2607235) writes "According to the customer contract those signing up for a $240,000 flight on Virgin Galactic's spaceship the company will bring you 'at least 50 miles' above sea level. The problem is that the internationally accepted boundary for outer space is 62 miles above sea level — known as the Karman Line. Virgin is trying to get around the issue by claiming it is using a definition of space used by NASA — in the 1960s."

4 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. Does it really matter? by Orestesx · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Presumably they are looking to see the curvature of the earth and the stars set against a black background. If I saw that, I'd feel like I went to space, even if technically I did not.

  2. Re:What a complete waste of time and money by neilo_1701D · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Back in the late '70s and early '80s, there were these expensive gimmicks called "personal computers". They didn't do much at all. Heck; some needed you to flip a whole bunch of switches before they could load a paper tape!

    Then there was this uber-expensing thing from some fruit company. Used a gadget called a "mouse", and you used the mouse to move boxes around on the screen. Cost $10,000 1983 dollars; back when the average income was just under $21,000.

    --

    Just because something is gimmicky today doesn't mean it won't become useful tomorrow. It does advance us, in terms of building an infrastructure that allows these flights to happen at all, in terms of learning to build space-rated hardware within a commercial cost basis. Then the price comes down, the $/lb comes down (over time) and we have a civilian launch system.

  3. Re:What a complete waste of time and money by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just because something is gimmicky today doesn't mean it won't become useful tomorrow.

    Conversely, just because some gimmicky things in the past have become useful today doesn't mean that everything considered gimmicky today will become useful in the future. Two words for you on that: flying cars.

    Being open-minded to technology doesn't mean you have to accept EVERY technology or technological idea as practical.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  4. Not 62 miles by YoungManKlaus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    100km you imperial-unit-morons!