digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About
See the original image at popularmechanics.com

Does Space Tourism Have Enough VC Cash for Your Moon Vacatio

popularmechanics.com — With the race between Virgin Galactic and XCOR in full throttle, the message at the year's biggest space conference was that the entire industry is moving fast, with plenty of cash—and a variety of business plans from the smaller players.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 3, 2008

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

39 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • sLydE, on 06/02/2008, -0/+15Man, I really wish I could go to space during my lifetime. But realistically, I will probably have to watch my son get the chance that I never did.
  • maxyRO, on 06/02/2008, -0/+10enough cash but enough fuel?
  • inactive, on 06/02/2008, -0/+7Who wouldn't love to go in space?!
  • mattnyc99, on 06/02/2008, -0/+6But won't costs go down once more companies force Virgin, XCOR, etc. to get below that $200,000 range per flight?
  • SpostareDuro, on 06/02/2008, -0/+5you mean im not already in space? d*mn.
  • hydr, on 06/02/2008, -1/+6Can´t wait to go to the moon. I´ll be the first to moon dance!

  • johneyoung, on 06/02/2008, -0/+5Probably. Still, they're going to have to go WAY lower than $200k for me to even contemplate a ticket. :)
  • EmperorAnton, on 06/02/2008, -0/+4A fire death is a reality that must be taken into account. I would take the risk.
  • NateDog, on 06/02/2008, -1/+4Anyone afraid of dying a firey death in a mishap?
  • xxTazxx, on 06/03/2008, -0/+3A fiery death can happen in a car as well. We all take risks in life, what is most important is taking into accounts things that are so important to you that the risks are worth taking.
  • Steinr, on 06/03/2008, -0/+3It would add a whole new level to "mile high club" ;)
  • sLydE, on 06/03/2008, -0/+2The point is that I probably will be too old for this type of stuff by the time it's commonplace enough for my son to be able to experience it.
  • Haoie, on 06/03/2008, -0/+2Long story short: Us old timers are never going to the moon, unfortunately.
  • starmanjones, on 06/05/2008, -0/+1>Man, I really wish I could go to space during my lifetime. But
    >realistically, I will probably have to watch my son get the
    >chance that I never did.

    not really. you have no idea... or maybe you do... how many "man years" some of us have put in lobbying, planning and knowing what we are here for. for this. that maybe some psychosocial illusion we got from growing up when we did. i hate to say it this way but, the zeal approaches religion. to see it become a reality is incredible.

    but, the tourism thing is public consumption. it will be really viable as a by product of colonization. colonization isn't a vacation. me and my fellow zealots are working to find business opportunities that support people living elsewhere.

    in my opinion that space tourism will be real after we build a facility to make carbon nanotubes on orbit... lower the cable as its made... have a safe elevator.

    that is happening a lot faster than tourism where safety is nearly the first consideration. we like safety... but we will take chances and we are ok with being uncomfortable. that is the state of space exploration now. not safe and not comfortable. we're good to go. now.

    i found this great site... TED. [www.ted.com] wow. this is an internet enabled jewel. but, i was listening to a talk by Bill Stone. he ended his presentation with a statement that he intended to lead an expedition to the moon to find water discovered by the clementine spacecraft in seven years. heres that video. if you understand this guy then you can go in your lifetime.

    http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/141
  • ripple123, on 06/03/2008, -0/+1the best chance the average person has of going to real, orbital space, is spacex.
  • EmperorAnton, on 06/02/2008, -1/+2In your mind you may very well be..quite a useful skill.
  • ecrunner, on 06/03/2008, -0/+1Yo dawg going up into space would be awesome! I hope it can be affordable to non billionaires someday.
  • tao52nyc, on 06/03/2008, -0/+1You really have to be drinking the kool-aid if you believe a word that guy wrote. I was AT that conference, and spent a lot of my time throwing a lot of cold water on many of the more outrageous schemes. Virgin and XCor are not in a "race". What XCor is building cannot even be classified as a "space vehicle" as it's only designed to go up 37 miles or so. (Unless you reach 62 miles, you are not in "space".) Only Virgin Galactic (by way of Scaled Composites) has the track record and funding to pull off suborbital tourism. No one else comes close. Orbital tourism via Soyuz has actually gone UP in price, not down, and will perpetually be the province of the very wealthy - there are no "economies of scale" to be had there.

    http://spacecynic.wordpress.com/

    I only mention this blog because I contribute to it. We did a special "Space Show" podcast from the event. You'll definitely get a different point of view!
  • RubineBoy, on 06/03/2008, -0/+1Or to bite the dust.
  • thegallery, on 06/03/2008, -0/+1Comparing the price drops of HDTV's and laptops to space tourism?

    I'll believe it when Best Buy puts a trip to the moon in the Sunday ad.
  • zorti, on 09/27/2008, -0/+0thank you so much

    http:www.bayrakline.com
  • waveringhobbit, on 06/03/2008, -1/+1I love Earth... I want to make use of my time while I'm here, and while it's alive. I'll consider going to space when Earth becomes that disgusted and boring already.
  • ceviriburosu, on 10/29/2008, -0/+0Thank you so much
    çeviri bürosu http://www.prestijceviri.com
    tercüme http://www.tercumehizmeti.com
    tercüme bürosu http://www.tercumeservisi.com
    ingilizce çeviri http://www.ingilizceceviri.com
  • abajur, on 07/27/2008, -0/+0Please talk to NASA, the Discovery channel started "When We Left Earth" . I am not sure if it is true they are wonderfull to the first two episodes, but if you are even a little, this is show really amazing NASA gave access to their boring storage vault and in exchange, and then it was edited some into this series, complete with the interviews. Worth a look; maybe even a buy but I don't like this....
    http://www.onlineflashgames.org
    http://www.bid-directory.net
  • OOTWO, on 06/03/2008, -0/+0I am so happy to see this happening. It will bring us all one step closer to being able to go to space as a common man. And the tourism industry will be unlimited as far as the extreme sports adventures that are offered. Check out this web site that purports to be the foremost intergalactic extreme sports outfitter. Golf on the moon, mountain climbing on Mars and ice fishing on Europa just to name a few. Pretty cool. The site is www.ootwo.com. Check it out.
  • mantzdapantz, on 06/03/2008, -2/+1umm.. if you were watching your son, wouldn't it be in your lifetime?
  • inactive, on 06/03/2008, -1/+0Yes I would like a two week vacation. Where can I buy a space modulator like Marvin has.
  • Surferess, on 06/02/2008, -4/+2I want to take a space-cation?
  • inactive, on 06/03/2008, -3/+1Cap...we have an air leak...what to do sir?
  • t4k3n, on 06/03/2008, -3/+1It will be interesting to see if we as a race of people can co-exist in space and our neighboring planets. Will space travel be for the noble and will earth be left to destroy itself?
  • Jasper710, on 06/03/2008, -5/+2Only astronauts with their huge NASA checks can afford this vacation...
  • gazgolter, on 06/03/2008, -5/+2I want to be first :-) i bet it's going to cost a fortune! let's all make money :-)
  • G1CPS, on 06/03/2008, -5/+1I would enjoy Space for sure coz of the less crowed
  • inactive, on 06/03/2008, -4/+0Try this …. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHCF_ajYkng

  • inactive, on 06/03/2008, -7/+0World's most popular business news!!!!!

    Is your business prepared for the current economic climate ?

    http://www.sigmainfotech.com.au/current-economic-c ...
  • rarmstr2, on 06/03/2008, -7/+0Gives new meaning to "Straight to the moon Alice!"

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...

© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.