Virgin Galactic to unveil commercial spaceship

[discocrisco01]

Source: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – After five years of secret construction, the cloak is coming off a privately funded spacecraft designed to fly well-heeled tourists into space.

The long-awaited glimpse of SpaceShipTwo, slated for rollout Monday in the Mojave Desert, could not come sooner for the scores of wannabe astronauts who have forked over part of their disposable income for the chance to float in zero gravity.

"We've all been patiently waiting to see exactly what the vehicle is going to look like," said Peter Cheney, a 63-year-old potential space tourist from Seattle who was among the first to sign up for suborbital space rides marketed by Virgin Galactic. "It would be nice to see it in the flesh."

Virgin Galactic spokeswoman Jackie McQuillan promised a "theatrical unveil" followed by a cocktail party for paying passengers and other VIPs.

SpaceShipTwo's debut marks the first public appearance of a commercial passenger spacecraft. The project is bankrolled by Virgin Galactic founder, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who partnered with famed aviation designer Burt Rutan, the brains behind the venture.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091207/ap_on_bi_ge/us_space_tourism_6/print

[MindPilot]

1. Just one small example of what could be

if the money and brains are channeled to peaceful pursuits.

[rfranklin]

2. Yes, another amusement park ride for the ultra wealthy...

Now, that's progress!

[KittyWampus]

3. that was my initial reaction.

[ixion]

4. fair enough... however

it's got to start somewhere. It's fairly typical of new technology to be more accessible to people who have discretionary money to spend.

Digital watches, Personal computers... the list goes on and on. It's nothing new.

What will eventually happen, though, is that as more ships are made the price will come down.

At some point, space travel should be relatively affordable. I don't know whether that will be in the next 20-50 years, though.

[groundloop]

6. That was Burt Rutan's thinking as this was being developed

He also had planned on having a raffle for some of the spots available so that at least a few "normal" people could go sooner rather than later. Don't know if those plans are still on, but if so then I'm in.

Also, not mentioned in the OP is that the financing for this is coming from Richard Branson (hence the Virgin in Virgin Galactic). As rich folk go he's very cool, and a dedicated environmentalist.

[harmonicon]

7. and so what?

Affordable or not (and it can never really be very affordable - just not super expensive as it is now), it's still and incredibly wasteful allocation of resources

[groundloop]

9. Wasteful allocation of whose resources???

It's a private individual financing this project, which is creating employment for a few hundred people. What the hell... more power to them.

I'm sure there were folks who said the Wright Brother's work was a wasteful allocation of resources as well, after all anybody who wanted to travel could take a train.

[harmonicon]

12. of the world's resources

These things don't shoot up into space with wind-power.

[customerserviceguy]

18. I used to hear similar criticism of the space program

back in the 1960's. Not even to mention the spin-offs from the technologies that were developed to miniaturize components, there have been many direct benefits from space exploration. Satellites help us grow food more efficiently, tell us of impending bad weather, improve our communications, and keep us from wasting oceans of gasoline driving around lost. All of that saves resources.

I'm going to applaud those things that take us in directions where we could not imagine going.

[harmonicon]

19. I love the space program and wish it had 10x the funding it does

However, this is not a case of people exploring new territory for science or mankind. This is just tourism. I would rather see the resources that have gone into this go to a public space program which many people could benefit from, instead of going to a few rich people feeling excited and proud of themselves.

[customerserviceguy]

20. Tourism provides clean jobs, too

I'm here at the motel waiting for the shuttle to take me to the airport, my lady and I spent a good deal of money providing restaurant, hotel, brewery and winery workers with a portion of their incomes. I have no idea where space tourism will go, and yes, it does seem extravagent, but I remember the days when airline tickets were expensive, and people who flew were called 'the jet set'.

It's all a matter of time before some rich man's toy becomes the thing that ordinary people use and depend on, if there really is any utility to the thing.

[ixion]

11. well, that's certainly debatable... first and foremost, it is a private venture

so how they allocate their resources is of no concern to you.

Secondly, I would say that space exploration is a great thing, and hardly a waste. On the contrary, we should have been doing so decades ago.

[harmonicon]

13. I agree that space exploration is a great thing - there should be a lot more of it

I think it would be better if instead of having competing private companies working to send tourists into space, we had more cooperation between individuals and governments to use these resources to pursue scientific goals. I see it as being akin to the difference between scientists who go to a remote location to study the environment and wildlife to some rich person who pays a lot of money to go on a "safari" where they stay in a posh "lodge" on what was once wildlife habitat.

[Statistical]

5. Good thing nobody built automobiles or airlines... they initially were playthings for the wealthy.

Oh wait they did and cost came down dramatically just like virtually everything else: electricity, running water, electronics, household appliances, central heat, transportation, hdtv, and now spaceflights.

I don't so much care about the space tourism angle but to be commercially viable they will need to reduce cost of launches and now they have a massive profit motive to do so. That skill and expertise will lead to reduced costs of other launches and eventually allow larger space stations, space based power, moon base, and other research facilities.

[AlphaCentauri]

8. probably the research for such technology was financed with tax payers money

then the private industry can profit from it

[groundloop]

10. No taxpayer money whatsoever

The original rocket was built by Burt Rutan (with some private financing from Paul Allen) who was persuing the X-Prize. Then Richard Branson financed the development of the current project.

[AlphaCentauri]

14. Funny to assume that he did developed a proprietary rocket

after working at Edwards Air Force
"From 1965 to 1972 Rutan worked for the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base as a flight test project engineer" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Rutan

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. I wonder if those things could (partly) replace planes in the future.

NYC to Sydney, Australia in 3 hours, anyone?

[Ter]

17. Project Aurora already does that

And anywhere in the world in just one hour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_%28aircraft%29

[Plucketeer]

16. Certainly, this explores new horizons of technology

Rutan's approach and the materials used will advance this realm and that's a good thing. If, as has been mentioned, this leads to high-speed global transport, that would be cool too. Even if this is no more than a joy ride for the wealthy, it's still FAR from our first steps towards a world of Starships and inter-stellar travel.
We've got SO MANY pressing needs here on Earth, and yet we're trying to justify sending humans to the other planets and moons. To what practical end, I ask. We've currently got two robotic explorers on Mars that have BLOWN AWAY their anticipated life expectancies and have revealed stuff as well as some guy in a cumbersome space suit could. This has been accomplished at a FRACTION of what it would cost to send a few live humans there - not to mention having to worry about them coming back to Earth with some unforseen contamination for our home planet.