Hope On The Edge of Space

Wow, these last few days have brought us a tremendous amount of hope and a few steps closer to commercial spaceflight for everyone.

This morning, Spaceship One sucessfully went into space again, completing the first half of it's requirement to win the Ansari X-Prize of $10 million.

But it gets better, much, much better!

This Monday, visionary multi-millionari Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records, started the first manned commercial spaceflight company - Virgin Galactic. I've admired Richard for his bravery and vision for a long time, but now I absolutely adore this man. Virgin Galactic has just licensed Spaceship One's technology, and with an initial $60 million investment plans on building at least 4 more spacecraft and beginning commerical space flights for those who can afford it within the next 3 years! Prices will start around $170-200K per person and drop by half over time. They already anticipate taking at least 3000 per year into sub-orbital space by 2007. That's $525 million dollars a year! Not only is this a profitable business plan, but is quite likely to generate serious competition from others wanting to get on the new space tourism business. What does this mean? It means, prices will plummet. Buzz Aldrin predicts sub-orbital flights should fall below $20k within 10 years. This might sound like a lot, but when you think how much people spend on vacations or new SUV's, this is critical price point that it will make many of your wealthier neighbors, maybe even you, astronauts. So how's that equity home loan for $25k looking now?

There are several additional space prizes announced and in the works. From Space.com:

While a team of aerospace engineers takes aim this week on the $10 million Ansari X Prize competition for privately developed suborbital spaceflight, a Nevada millionaire is planning an even loftier contest.

Robert Bigelow, chief of Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace, is apparently setting higher goals for private spaceflight endeavors with America's Space Prize, a $50 million race to build an orbital vehicle capable of carrying up to seven astronauts to an orbital outpost by the end of the decade, according to Aviation Week and Space Technology.

Bigelow told Aviation Week that not only would America's Space Prize winners secure the $50 million purse, half of which he's putting up himself, but they'd also snag options to service inflatable space habitats under development by Bigelow Aerospace.

Much like the Ansari X Prize, America's Space Prize would require participants to demonstrate a quick turn around in their launch capabilities, Bigelow said.

Inflatable space habitats are definitely one very good way to go, because they are lightweight, strong and flexible. What this means, is that rather than cumbersom little tin cans that the International Space Station has now, we could have very large, roomy, comfortable and affordable space habitats, hotels for all the new people going into space, space colonies, you name it.

And a little further down the road, we have the Space Elevator. There are several companies such as Liftport already planning on building one, and now there are a is a prize for furthering its development called Elevator 2010.

The space elevator is not only utterly revolutionary but is practically within our reach. Once built and operational, the price tag of going all the way into Geosycnhronous orbit will be less than $2000 per person. I wrote an account of just how lucrative and revolutionary the space elevator will be in opening up the space frontier for everyone here.

And all of these developments are happening right now. Despite some much that is going wrong in the world, the space frontier is finally being opened up.

Think about how Virgin Galactic will positively effect the world. Over the next few years, the richest people in the world will be getting a glimpse of the Earth from space. Although they will only be weightless for 5 or 6 minutes 70 miles about the earth, they will see it's curvature and perhaps its fragility. Almost every astronaut having returned to the Earth, had a new found respect for the Earth environment, for world peace, and in some cases a new expanded sense of spiritual awareness. What this means, is that some of the worlds most powerful people in the world will get some of this "space religion" and hopefully make their new found awareness felt in their actions and their policies. Possibly in time to save the human species from extinction. Wow, I'm high as a kite right now on all this great news, and you should be too!

UPDATE:

I just found this New Article on Bigelow Aerospace's Inflatable Habitats. Bigelow plans on launching some of these test habitats next year.

Posted by paul at September 29, 2004 04:47 PM | TrackBack