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more about #spacetourism more comments → LordGriffin: Pfft. I bet that doesn't mean that NO tourists will be allowed. It just means that the price tag went up by one or two orders of magnitude. If Bill Ga... more » Brett Benedict: Is there actually a difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut or is it just semantics? more » Unknown2U: No!!! My life savings is ruined. more » Kaiser-Machead: Forget what this guy says. Virgin won't be the only ones trying this in the future. Other more visionary engineers and designers and industrialists wi... more » frigg: A catastrophic event in the next few thousand years sounds alarmist. The sun will blow up in 5 billion years, some other life-imperiling natural catas... more » Gann: It'll be expensive until I finish building my space ladder. more » norfizzle: I think 'never' was the wrong choice of words. more » aerospaceman: what is 'cheap' supposed to mean? Airline travel isn't cheap and yet many people do it, mainly because they have to.We will have extensive space trave... more » bosskev: Oh, man! I feel for those poor planes. I'm wondering if a good aeronautical surgeon could separate them, let them lead normal flights? more » OMG! Bacon!: Expensive until they make the magic space elevator? more » notyournormalpoop: Branson? Huh? Moron much? more » Nathan Tokala: so this is the piece of crap thats going to get us into space no offense but it looks retarded with the to cockpits more » Homerjay is utterly alone.: If it turns out that he also invented Clippy, then please leave him there. more » drewdoog: If I went to space, I would press a button in the shuttle.. I dont know what the button would do, but come on.. all those buttons... its like bubble w... more » deanbmmv: Why hasn't Gates done this? Surely he could afford yearly trips for him and his family. cheapsakate more » -
#space
Virgin Galactic's Boss Says Space Travel Will Never Be Cheap
Warning, middle-class Earthmen. By the end of this post, your dreams of low-cost space travel will be delayed. Above: WhiteKnightTwo Eve's Maiden Flight. Photo Credit Schereer Scherer. More » -
#space
Video: Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo in Action
We all know the Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo can actually fly. Now, Wired has an exclusive video of the plane in action, further squashing any skepticism of the plane. More » -
#space
Charles Simonyi, Creator of MS Office, Becomes First Repeat Space Tourist
I imagine the first thing on everyone's mind when they return from space is "When the f%&@ can I go back!?" Today, Charles Simonyi became the first space tourist to make a second paid flight. More » -
#spacetourism
Sweden's Ice Hotel Charging $200,000 for Space Trips in 2012
So this Swedish destination, The Ice Hotel, has linked up with Virgin Galactic to begin selling space travel packages for about $200,000, beginning in 2012. Wilson says that's cheap. I say that's relative. More » -
#spacetourism
To the Chagrin of Rich Geeks Everywhere, Russians Killing Space Tourism Program
Richard Garriot and other well-to-do nerds will no longer be able to play spaceman, now that Russia's canceling its astrotourism program to make way for three real astronauts at the International Space Station. More » -
#spacetourism
Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo Flies For the First Time
We saw ground tests last week, but yesterday morning WhiteKnightTwo—the funky-looking double-wide plane that will take SpaceShipTwo and its cargo of millionaires on suborbital spaceflights—finally took off on its maiden voyage. -
#spacetourism
Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America Gets FAA Green Light
It becomes less and less a future fever dream every day: Spaceport America in Las Cruces, NM, Virgin Galactic's future home, has gotten FAA approval to begin construction. -
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#spacetourism
Armadillo Aerospace Fishbowl Spaceship Set for a 2010 Launch (Seriously)
Believe it or not, there's a company in New Mexico that has serious plans on the table to shoot this space tourist fishbowl into the sky by 2010. The design is a concept for now, but Armadillo Aerospace, with the blessing of the New Mexico government, hopes to build a working prototype by 2009. By 2010, the reusable vehicle could be blasting crews into space, where they will enjoy 360-degree views and a fairly unique spacecraft cabin experience. And probably death. More » -
#space
A Look Inside Russia's Star City, Where Cosmonauts Are Made
Wired has a great feature on Richard Garriott, the father of MMORPG OG Ultima and the latest millionaire to get blasted up to the ISS as a paying tourist. More specifically, the grueling 8 months of training Garriott must first endure at Zvyozdny Gorodok, (Star City), a.k.a. Yuri's house, a.k.a. where space flight was born. All tourists on the ISS must be capable of performing mission-critical duties in the case of an emergency, and Wired followed Garriott through the historic site every step of the way, grabbing fantastic photos of this incredibly historic facility in the process. All photos by Benedict Redgrove: Inside Star City you'll find Gagarin idols everyhwere, full-size Soyuz mockups (top), massive Cold War era centrifuges and, often, no hot water. It is here where Space Adventures travelers like Garriott must learn to perform nearly every task that the mission's actual cosmonauts will perform, in case of emergencies (even though the most glamorous duty he'll probably end up doing is emptying the toilet). And, eventually face this (emphasis my own):All this is nothing compared with the TsF-18 centrifuge. Weighing 300 tons and measuring 59 feet long, it looks like a giant blue phallus. It spins at 170 miles per hour, and riders are instructed not to open their mouth while in motion because the pressure will break their jaw, according to Driga. "It is like nightmare," she adds. "Imagine being buried deep in sand and wanting to move but cannot."
Many more photos and a really nice read at: [Wired] -
#minispaceship
XCOR Lynx Bringing Sports Car-esque Travel to Space
A two-seater spaceship smaller than a private jet that will take people up for a 25-minute space flight, is being launched in Mojave today. According to the Lynx Mark 1's makers, Xcor Aerospace, the spacecraft is expected to be at the test-flight stage by 2010. The two-seater craft has room for one passenger besides the pilot and will be, I guess, one way for a wealthy passenger to discover just how lonely it is 38 miles above the earth. More info, plus an animated video, below. More »
