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Space Travel For All Of Us Is Closer Than You Think
Space travel for all of us is a step closer today, after a conference of space industry engineers, economists, future astronauts and top Obama Administration officials met at Stanford University for a "Space Entrepreneurship" conference. Buying into the idea of privatized spaceflight rather than bulky, slow NASA programs, space industry leaders seem to have a clear vision of the future.
"We are placing our bets on American industry," said Lori Garver, deputy administrator for NASA in a Mercury News report. "Cargo flights under way are developing the capability of launching people to space from the U.S. on privately owned and operated rockets over the next three years."
Through a variety of private enterprises, the near future of space travel will first call on "space taxis" that NASA would buy space on for astronauts while they focus more on the unmanned exploration of deep outer space.
Boeing has partnered with a company called Space Adventures in a bid to provide transportation services to destinations in low Earth orbit, providing transportation to the International Space Station and future platforms in space at a cost far less than other options.
Bigelow Aerospace is working on the solar system's first private space station, a 36-person modular station for nations of the world that do not have the resources to build their own space station. A 30-day trip is estimated to cost about $25 million per person.
Virgin Galactic has 500 people signed up at $200,000 a seat to go 50,000 feet up on a 1.5-hour flight that launches them into outer space at four times the speed of sound for a few minutes before returning to Earth.
XCOR Aerospace has a $95,000 trip that goes even higher, up to 100,000 feet. On this one, the engines turn off after reaching Mac 3.5, passengers coast for a few minutes then glide back down to earth.
It's all in line with a new direction for the space program first outlined by president Obama in 2011 that canceled NASA's current program at the time that would have sent astronauts back to the moon.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris Feb 3rd 2013 4:43PM
This is the first thing that I disagree with Obama. NASA needs to get back onto the moon. It will begin to pay for itself. Placing a small Mass Driver on the moon will mean that we can smelt ore and deliver it to nearly any square mile of earth. This can make the need for resources on earth a moot point. Most of our wars have been over resource. The moon can provide most of these is huge amounts as well as being the stepping stone to the asteroid belts and the other planets. This is like Columbus coming to America and the Europeans welcoming him home decide not to go back. Foolishness, and very short sighted. Now I love a lot of the programs that Obama has endorsed, but not getting back onto the moon is foolish. It could employ all who are currently unemployed, just in support of the building of the base and post-processing the finished resources returned from the moon.
Chris Feb 3rd 2013 6:05PM
This is the first thing that I disagree with Obama. NASA needs to get back onto the moon. It will begin to pay for itself. Placing a small Mass Driver on the moon will mean that we can smelt ore and deliver it to nearly any square mile of earth. This can make the need for resources on earth a moot point. Most of our wars have been over resource. The moon can provide most of these is huge amounts as well as being the stepping stone to the asteroid belts and the other planets. This is like Columbus coming to America and the Europeans welcoming him home decide not to go back. Foolishness, and very short sighted. Now I love a lot of the programs that Obama has endorsed, but not getting back onto the moon is foolish. It could employ all who are currently unemployed, just in support of the building of the base and post-processing the finished resources returned from the moon.
steverman Feb 8th 2013 10:11AM
How high? Actual height will be 359040 feet, 68 miles
taxi apple valley Feb 21st 2013 11:27AM
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