Space for Us

Virgin Galactic Unveils New Vehicles

2008-02-06T13:45:00.001+11:00

Virgin Galactic has just unveiled SpaceShipTwo (SS2) and WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), the first set of vehicles they will use to offer commercial sub-orbital spaceflights.

Sir Richard Branson had this to say about the significance of the moment:

“Finally, I think it’s very important that we make a genuine commercial success of this project. If we do, I believe we’ll unlock a wall of private sector money into both space launch systems and space technology. This could rival the scale of investment in the mobile phone and internet technologies after they were unlocked from their military origins and thrown open to the private sector.

So, Burt, congratulations on designing and building a system that will allow thousands of people to realize their dreams and that will act as a catalyst to transform human access to space. In your usual way, you have also managed to create something which is breathtakingly beautiful – so Burt, please come up and join me onstage, and let’s take a look.”

The first WK2 'mothership' will be named after Sir Richard's mother, Eve, whilst the first SS2 will be called Enterprise (after the main starship in the Star Trek shows and movies).

For Australian space tourists there is further good news as Spencer Travel will be representing Virgin Galactic in Australia and offering space tours to Australians. One Australian woman (see bottom of article) has already made it into the Founders list (the first 100 passengers). It has been reported by NEWS.com.au that Sir Richard would like to see their second spaceport setup in Australia:

“What part Australia has to play in the commercialisation of space, beyond supplying astronauts, remains to be seen. Branson said in 2006 that he would like to see the company's second spaceport set up in Australia.”

Victoria Crater on Mars

2007-11-08T08:49:00.000+11:00

A friend showed me NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day archive, and I particularly liked this composite shot of Victoria Crater on Mars.

Moon 2.0 - the Google Lunar XPrize

2007-09-14T12:54:00.000+10:00

Google and the X PRIZE Foundation have announced a new X PRIZE competition to land a robotic rover on the Moon. The first two teams who succeed in doing so will share in a US$30 million prize.

“The $30 million prize purse is segmented into a $20 million Grand Prize, a $5 million Second Prize and $5 million in bonus prizes.
...
To win the Grand Prize, a team must successfully soft land a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon, rove on the lunar surface for a minimum of 500 meters, and transmit a specific set of video, images and data back to the Earth.
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To win the Second Prize, a team must land their spacecraft on the Moon, rove and transmit data back to Earth.
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Bonus prizes will be won by successfully completing additional mission tasks such as roving longer distances (> 5,000 meters), imaging man made artifacts (e.g. Apollo hardware), discovering water ice, and/or surviving through a frigid lunar night (approximately 14.5 Earth days). The competing lunar spacecraft will be equipped with high-definition video and still cameras, and will send images and data to Earth, which the public will be able to view on the Google Lunar X PRIZE website.”

They also (of course!) have a video spruiking the worthy nature of the competition:

There is a catch, they want you to get there soon!

“The Grand Prize is $20 million until December 31st 2012; thereafter it will drop to $15 million until December 31st 2014 at which point the competition will be terminated unless extended by Google and the X PRIZE Foundation.
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Second place will be available until December 31st 2014 at which point the competition will be terminated unless extended by Google and the X PRIZE Foundation.”

For NASA's take on exploring the Moon, have a look at their Constellation program.

Space Adventures finds Singapore spaceport slow going

2007-09-12T16:51:00.000+10:00

Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures has commented on their planned Singapore spaceport project at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore and said:

“There is not enough local support... we are still looking for local partners to help finance the Singapore project but it certainly remains a possibility and we are still working through it right now,”

As this was going to be the closest commercial spaceport to Australia I was pretty excited about this, but it looks like things are going slow at the moment. Anderson seemed upbeat however about the possibility of a spaceport coming off somewhere in Asia

“We are still looking at different locations but we've been working pretty heavily in the Emirates and also in Asia.”

“It hasn't happened yet and we're obviously looking at a lot of other options but somewhere in Asia is a critical market for us and hopefully in the next few months we would find the right place to do it.”

I wonder whether they would consider talking to some folks about Darwin? It is further from the equator, which makes launches more energy intensive (but which for sub-orbital doesn't matter that much), but it provides an excellent location in terms of remoteness, whilst next to a small city with an important place in aviation history and great tourism industry. Launches would be limited to the dry season, but that is true of most of Asia.

Space Settlement and War

2007-08-06T15:30:00.000+10:00

A reminder of why we need to look at space as a global alternative to resource wars.

The tipping point when space investment becomes the logical default for resource exploitation is some way off, but when it is reached we can expect everyone to want a piece of space.

EADS Astrium announces new suborbital vehicle

2007-06-14T12:36:00.000+10:00

European space company EADS Astrium has announced plans for a new suborbital hybrid jet/rocket space vehicle. This is the same group behind the Ariane rockets and the European contribution to the ISS, so they have a demonstrated capacity in developing space vehicles and solutions.

“The Astrium space jet will take off and land conventionally from a standard airport using its jet engines. However, once the craft is airborne at an altitude of about 12 km, the rocket engines will be ignited to give sufficient acceleration to reach 100 km. In only 80 seconds the craft will have climbed to 60 km altitude. The highly innovative seats balance themselves to minimize the effects of acceleration and deceleration, ensuring the greatest passenger comfort and safety. The rocket propulsion system is then shut down as the ship’s inertia carries it on to over 100 km, where passengers will become one of the very few to experience zero gravity in space.”

Below is a CG mock-up of what the cabin will look like during the journey. The experience looks remarkably similar to the one promised by Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipOne, although the two vehicles are vastly different technically.

However, the two craft are both solving the same business problem, essentially slinging an empty tube with a few people in it just high enough that it qualifies as 'space' (i.e. 100km) and then safely returning to Earth, all from a reasonably standard airport. Here are some photos of the interior mockup they provided at their press conference in Paris.

Virgin Galactic look to be building a safer vehicle; the return mechanism is fairly passive (meaning less to go wrong), the capacity of jet engines to re-start after a spending an extended period 'down' in the freezing/boiling vacuum of space is unknown and they launch from and return to custom-built spaceports. EADS Astrium is still confident of winning a large piece of the space tourism market:

“We are counting on some 20,000 space tourists by the year 2020. We want to serve a third of them. We have faith in this market.”
Francois Auque, CEO of Astrium (from SMH)

Shuttle Mission STS-117 Docking Video

2007-06-12T12:51:00.000+10:00

In case you're wondering just what goes on during a docking between the space shuttle and the International Space Station, here is a great video (edited) of Shuttle Atlantis docking with the ISS a couple of days ago:

5th space tourist to IIS

2007-04-10T13:00:00.000+10:00

Charles Simonyi recently became only the 5th person to become a space tourist, with his participation in STS-115. Hungarian by birth, Simonyi emigrated to the USA in the 1970s where he led the Microsoft teams that developed Word and Excel, and is now a billionaire. Whilst space tourism is still only for the very wealthy few who are prepared to put up with cramped conditions and make-work science experiments, it does offer some hope for the rest of us.

You can find out more about his experiences at his website charlesinspace.com. There have already been some wonderfully frank insights from Charles, including this one about a little-known Soyuz tradition:

“On the way to the pad, the bus will stop and, again by tradition, we will get a chance to take a pee at the rear tire of the bus. This completed, we go to the pad, line up on the "seven steps" of a staircase to a little platform for pictures, then take the elevator to the top of the rocket that will be bathed in silver light by stadium-size lighting towers.”

I'm not quite sure how you manage to pee on a bus tire whilst wearing a spacesuit, but my own experience with kids on long road trips indicates that it's probably a messy business!

Falcon 1 - launch redux

2007-03-29T15:53:00.000+10:00

Elon Musk from SpaceX has provided more analysis of what happened with the recent Falcon 1 demonstration flight. The technical issues that were experienced seem to be minor and easily prevented, and important goals were met:

“Having had several days to examine the data, the second test launch of Falcon 1 is looking increasingly positive. Post flight review of telemetry has verified that oscillation of the second stage late in the mission is the only thing that stopped Falcon 1 from reaching full orbital velocity. The second stage was otherwise functioning well and even deployed the satellite mass simulator ring at the end of flight! Actual final velocity was 5.1 km/s or 11,000 mph, whereas 7.5 km/s or 17,000 mph is needed for orbit. Altitude was confirmed to be 289 km or 180 miles, which is certainly enough for orbit and is about where the Space Shuttle enters its initial parking orbit.”

He also elaborates further on the media view that this was an unsuccessful flight:

“There seems to be a lot of confusion in the media about what constitutes a success. The critical distinction is that a test flight has many gradations of success, whereas an operational satellite mission does not. Although we did our best at SpaceX to be clear about last week's launch, including naming it DemoFlight 2 and explicitly not carrying a satellite, a surprising number of people still evaluated the test launch as though it were an operational mission.

...

The reason that flight two can legitimately be called a near complete success as a test flight is that we have excellent data throughout the whole orbit insertion profile, including well past second stage shutdown, and met all of the primary objectives established beforehand by our customer (DARPA/AF). This allows us to wrap up the test phase of the Falcon 1 program and transition to the operational phase, beginning with the TacSat mission at the end of summer. Let me be clear here and now that anything less than orbit for that flight or any Falcon 1 mission with an operational satellite will unequivocally be considered a failure.”

We could reasonably expect future launches to have their own set of problems, but it looks like SpaceX is well on their way to creating an independent launch capability that NASA, DARPA and many other non-government clients might end up using. Cheaper launches = more affordable spaceflight, and eventually greater use of space as an industry and holiday destination.

Falcon 1 moves affordable spaceflight into space

2007-03-21T13:55:00.000+11:00

The second attempted launch of SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket occurred today, with the rocket making it into space before the rocket appears to have shut itself off due to an uncontrolled roll after 5 minutes of flight. In this segment of the webcast video the bell of the second stage appears to rub against the casing of the first stage - perhaps causing the roll.

SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk noted it was a positive step for them:

“It was a very good day for SpaceX,” he said. “We successfully reached space and really retired almost all the risks associated with the rocket. ... I feel very good about having successful satellite launches later this year.”

This is great news because SpaceX is one of the more promising low-cost potential heavy lift providers, and their Dragon capsule is one of the possible solutions for NASA's ISS re-supply issues, and hence becomes the possible genesis of a new family of cost effective vehicles to take humans into space.

UPDATE: Here is a video of the launch.

Elon Musk has been quoted as saying:

“I can speculate there are a few possible causes. It is could be a helium leak or it could be...we have a cold gas roll-control system, it could be that there was a problem with one of the roll-control jets. But it is difficult to say anything definitive until we have a close look at the telemetry...The only thing we can say definitely at this point is that there was a roll anomaly on the second that resulted in us not achieving the intended orbit and, like I said, not likely a full orbit. However, that is fairly easy thing to address. Certainly if it is a leak issue we'll go over and make sure any potential leaks are addressed in spades. If it's roll-control cold gas thrusters, I think that would be a very easy thing to address as well. Of the possible causes, I think there's very few that would really take much effort to address.”

Aussies can win a Space Adventures flight from brisbanetimes.com.au!

2007-03-07T22:40:00.000+11:00

Fairfax Media is opening a new website targeting Brisbane readers called brisbanetimes.com.au. For a short while they are offering Australian readers the chance to win a sub-orbital space adventure.

“Make brisbanetimes.com.au your homepage and you could be blasting off on a trip of a lifetime – a journey into space worth over $140,000. Or, if you choose not to fly, we will give you the prize value in cash! To enter, simply fill in your details and tell three friends about this amazing prize. It’s your opportunity to see the world like you’ve never seen it before.”

Fairfax have minimised the amount of information about the prize, but rest assured it seems to be a sub-orbital flight from Space Adventures, probably via their Singapore spaceport using their Russian designed Explorer spaceplane.

Spaceflight Prizes Taxable!

2007-01-30T08:22:00.000+11:00

Space.com reports that Americans who win space flight contests are finding that tax bill from their winnings prevents them accepting the prize:

“Since the Internal Revenue Service requires winnings from lottery drawings, TV game shows and other contests to be reported as taxable income, tax experts contend there's no such thing as a free spaceflight. Some contest sponsors provide a check to cover taxes, but that income is also taxable.”

Australian prize winners on the other hand are likely to be able to claim their prize tax free, according to the ATO (provided it's not an investment related lottery from an investment body, such as a bank).

Does anyone know of any space flight prizes being offered to Australian contestants?

Spaceport Sweden Opens

2007-01-29T12:45:00.000+11:00

In another example of the globalisation of space tourism, Virgin Galactic and Swedish Space Corporation have announced their intent to make Kiruna in Northern Sweden one of Virgin Galactic's flight centres.

“Spaceport Sweden is a co-operation between Swedish Space Corporation, ICEHOTEL, LFV Group and Kiruna’s business-development company Progressum.

The aim of Spaceport Sweden is to make Kiruna Europe’s first and most obvious place for personal suborbital spaceflight.

Virgin Galactic is the world’s first commercial space line that will give ordinary people the opportunity to become non-professional astronauts and they have chosen Spaceport Sweden as one of their operational partners.”

Kiruna is North of the Arctic Circle, and so has perpetual daylight from 30 May to 15 July and perpetual night from 13 December to 5 January. Virgin intends to operate during midwinter and midsummer so that they maximise the uniqueness of the experience they are offering. Below is a summer photo of Kiruna:

Hats off to the Virgin crowd for finding ways to make suborbital travel more interesting - after all if you get to stay in a unique resort like the Ice Hotel, experience perpetual might and then rocket off into space for a suborbital adventure, then you really will have got your money's worth!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T00:39:00.001+11:00

I wish you all a Merry Christmas for 2006. May your families be kept safe, and your bellies be protected from too much good food. May the weather be perfect, and the company pleasant.

Also, Happy Birthday to Jesus, the Christ, our saviour and king.

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Soyuz tickets sold out to 2009!

2006-11-16T17:05:00.000+11:00

Scenta reports that the Russian Federal Space Agency has announced that they have sold out of ISS tourist flights via Soyuz until 2009. Anatoly Perminov, the head of the agency said:

“We have a waiting list for those wishing to fly to the ISS (International space Station). All the seats have been booked up until 2009.”

Their answer to this dilemna (other than increasing the price to US$21.8 million, in line with inflation) has been to look for easier ways of getting people into space, notably something very much like Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital tours:

“Tourists would not be able to orbit around the Earth but could stay in space for several minutes.”

The new vehicle for these flights will be developed by the Myasishchev Design Bureau, based on their C-21 rocket for Space Adventures and Anoush Ansari.

Potential Moon base locations

2006-11-15T15:17:00.000+11:00

Ever wondered why some parts of the Moon look lighter than others? Other than the expected shadows, there are lighter coloured swirls that are still a bit of a mystery:

“According to some researchers, moondust is darkened by long exposure to solar wind. Maybe the swirls are light because they get less exposure: their magnetic fields deflect solar wind. If so, lunar swirls are merely a shadow of the magnetic forces arching above them.”

Magnetic areas on the moon may offer ideal locations for future bases, as they can provide much needed protection from solar radiation. One such area, Reiner Gamma, is a light area about 30km by 60km in size.

When the pattern of the magnetic fields around Reiner Gamma is laid on top of the visual imagery, we can see that the lighter regolith (Moon soil) matches the areas protected by them.

The Lunar Prospector found these magnetic anomalies as part of its mission (see animation of its view of Renier Gamma), and there is some difference in theories differ as to why that area is magnetised, however the key point for us is that it may allow easier human settlement on the Lunar surface.

“The solar wind has been found to have non-uniformly (due to localized magnetic anomalies) implanted hydrogen in the lunar crust. Strong anomalies deflect the solar wind around local magnetic field, so we find concentrations of hydrogen around the peripheries of magnetic aberrations, but very little solar wind hydrogen is located directly at the center of these regions. Around the edges, where hydrogen exists in local concentrations, may be practical locations for possible future lunar bases.”

Lon Hood of the University of Arizona explained further for Space.com:

“The lunar fields are strong enough to deflect solar wind ions with energies of several kilo-electron-volts.”

We haven't seen too many practical steps taken as yet for a Moon hotel - it is certain that a national space program will get their first, but it certainly offers the ultimate off-Earth experience in the timeframe of a few weeks (Mars would be beter, but take far longer). For some ideas of what a Lunar base might look like, check out these Lunar base designs from NASA.

The surly bonds of Earth ...

2006-11-14T12:19:00.000+11:00

Alex Tai is Vice President of Operations for Virgin Galactic, but he's also going to be one of their first pilots. He was a RAF pilot who joined Virgin Atlantic, and then started doing Branson's special projects, like Global Flyer. He obviously has the passion to get into space as he told Space.com:

“That’s the big step, to break free of the surly bonds of Earth.”

Interestingly, as they got Alex, so Virgin Galactic will recruit their other pilots from amongst the various Virgin airlines, half from Virgin America and NASA, with the rest from other airlines such as our local Virgin Blue.

The aim is to create a global business flying sub-orbital flights from one country to another, and having a group of pilots and a fleet big enough to make this commercially successful.

The great news for future pilots is that getting into space won't require a US military career followed by NASA employment - instead you simply need to become the best of the Virgin pilots in order to qualify.

Space Fashion

2006-10-29T22:37:00.000+11:00

When we think of what people wear in space, the usual image is a crumpled blue coverall, with the occasional misfit turning up in the oddest of outfits (are those Russian ugg boots?). Once past the current 'rough adventure' stage, space tourism will be targetting the rich and famous, and whilst some of them might be fashion disasters, most have some idea of what they want to wear, and a blue coverall ain't it.

Recognising this, Rocketplane got together with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and launched the Hyper Space Couture Design Contest. I am not quite sure why the Japanese are so switched onto space fashion, but who cares if it gets us something less ugly than the current shapeless , one-size-fits-all coveralls.

Given Richard Branson's penchant for making a splash, Virgin Galactic is surely going to take up the gauntlet and look at jettisoning its plain boring flight suits for something more interesting. Although their current imaginings seem resolutely boring (who looks good in a catsuit anyway?), I can't imagine them not coming up with something more imaginative before they launch.

Finally, there hasn't been a zero-gee fashion parade yet, but if you want to see a bit more check out this video of a space fashion parade from the International Astronautical Congress in Fukuoka Japan (October 2005):

[UPDATE: I found another video of the same event at Reuters.]

Space Destinations: Bigelow's Sundancer

2006-10-08T22:28:00.000+10:00

Bigelow Aerospace is the first company to action plans to create an orbital destination for space tourists. Their Genesis I module is already in orbit, about 130 miles above the ISS. It represents the first successful launch of a space habitat by a private company.

Bigelow have announced plans to place a new module called Sundancer in orbit, with the ability to house three people at a time. Whilst tight and cosy, this offers an unparalleled degree of freedom compared to the conditions that tourists like Anousheh Ansari have experienced when visiting Mir or the ISS. The follow-on module will be called Nautilus and will increase capacity by six people (once an extra service module is added). This would bring the total capacity to nine people - which might be six friends and three staff. This is still not a luxury hotel - but it's a start.

Space industry insider Jonathon Goff gave some details about Sundancer from the announcement at the Space 2006 conference. He followed up with some of his own thoughts about how Bigelow could use Sundancer.

Cost is a little prohibitive, probably around US$10m per person - that will greatly cut down the number of possible tourist clients - but considering US$200k gets you 3.5 hours with Virgin Galactic, the hourly rate is about a third - and you get to live in space for 2 weeks! Goff makes a good point about Bigelow's plans to expand the market beyond simple tourists:

“Bigelow's plan of trying to convince non-space-visiting countries to start their own low-cost space programs by sending astronauts to his station is not a crazy idea. If it works, it'll probably be seen as a stroke of genius. $10M is a bit of money for a three-week vacation to orbit, but is a pittance compared with operating a normal government manned space program.”

The obvious question is how to get there? Space shuttles won't be making sidetrips for tourists after all (if they're still around). So it's not surprising to hear that Lockheed Martin and Bigelow have a deal to pencil in the Lockheed's design for the Orion spacecraft as a possible tourist transport vehicle.

As Goff says, US$10m tourists are few and far between, but government bodies wanting some time in space are much more likely to be found (including NASA, or even US states, like California), have deeper pockets and are far more willing to put up with bare accomodations.

Jim Benson starts space tourism company

2006-10-08T14:32:00.000+10:00

On the same day that Branson was talking up his SpaceShipTwo, Jim Benson announced that he would be leaving SpaceDev, the company he founded - and incidentally the people who made SpaceShipOne's engine - and launching Benson Space Company.

“Based in Poway, California, Benson Space Company is a commercial space tourism venture with an ambitious goal to be the first-to-market for commercial suborbital flights.”

They intend to be SpaceDev's best customer, using their Dreamchaser spaceplane to take clients to various orbital destinations.

Here are some images of the Dreamchaser:

Clearly Jim Benson would like to see his company portrayed as serious competitors to Virgin Galactic. However, given VG's backing, and the fact that Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne has already made its first three suborbital flights, I don't see this as a serious competitor.

Virgin Galactic reveals SpaceShipTwo

2006-09-29T14:32:00.003+10:00

The press has been full this week with talk about Richard Branson's unveiling of a mockup of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.

Space.com gave more details about the flight:

“The air-launched SpaceShipTwo is designed to seat eight people – six passengers and two pilots – and be hauled into launch position by WhiteKnightTwo, a massive carrier craft currently under construction by Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn said.

For an initial ticket price of $200,000, Virgin Galactic passengers will buy a 2.5-hour flight aboard SpaceShipTwo and launch from an altitude of about 60,000 feet (18,288 meters), while buckled safely in seats that recline flat after reaching suborbital space. A flight animation depicted passengers clad in their own personal spacesuits as they reached a maximum altitude of at least 68 miles (110 kilometers).”

Here is the flight animation they mention, the experience looks like fun - but you would get more zero-G time on the Zero-G Flight by Space Adventures:
Bottom-line? This is a great first step for regular space tourism, and will allow Virgin Galactic and their partners to put in place the infrastructure necessary to support it - but it's a whole way below the orbit of likely early tourist destinations. SpaceShipTwo will take you to just over 11 miles, which is roughly twice 68 miles, which is roughly ten times what the commercial airliner is shown at in the image below:

Bigelow Aerospace is planning on orbiting at around 350 miles - a whole lot further out!

[Update: Gizmodo have a video of the event.]
[Update 2: Someone kindly pointed out that I had misread the bit I quoted - must be the sleep deprivation - you start the flight at 11 miles, however the actual max height is still well below what is needed.]

Blow-up Space Station

2006-09-27T12:41:00.001+10:00

I missed this when it occurred, but Bigelow recently launched their blow-up space station into orbit:

Personally, I think this is cool. The fact that the Russian missile rocket launches from underground must cause some administrative headaches, but then it probably also protects it from inclement weather as well.

Mechanics in space

2006-09-27T12:40:00.001+10:00

Courtesy of famous scfi author Jerry Pournelle comes some helpful suggestions to NASA as it addresses the awesome task of finishing the ISS:

“It would be easier with better space suits. And perhaps with young mechanics rather than old PhD types?”

If we checkout the crew of STS-115, they're not wimpy "old PhD" types, however Jerry's point is not a foolish one. With Bigelow planning its own private space habitat by 2010, we can see the start of something interesting. But I wonder whether there will be a need for simple old human muscle + brain power in building in space? At first they will be mission specialists like these ones on STS-115, guys with multiple degrees and lots of ways of helping in space - but at some point we might just need cheap labour - people willing to put up with atrophying muscles, and other zero-G conditions in order to put some hard yakka in.

Space Tourist: Anousheh Ansari

2006-09-26T13:24:00.000+10:00

We have had a few space tourists already, but Anousheh Ansari has generated the most publicity so far, possibly because she's an attractive woman, but also because of how mcuh she is sharing the experience. You can visit her space blog and find out more about what it is like (she's up there right now!).

APPLEDOESNOTFALL.jpg, originally uploaded by Space Explorer.

“The most interesting experience — or I should call it experiment — is washing your hair. Now I know why people keep their hair short in space. You basically take a water bag and slowly make a huge water bubble over your head and then Very Very Gently, using a dry shampoo, you wash your hair. At the slightest sudden movement, little water bubbles start floating everywhere. I’ve made some video of my hair-washing experience that I will share when I return :)”

Who is Space for?

2006-09-24T23:40:00.000+10:00

This is the fundamental question behind this blog. In the last fifty years or so, space has been dominated by large countries and the military industrial complex that feeds off them. In the last ten years we have finally seen entrepreneurs start to break into space, and the beginning of a burgeoning space tourism industry - led by (of all people) the Russians!

The success of the XPrize has taken many by surprise, but buoyed up by investment from internet-boom millionaires, there have been several great little companies started from this humble competition.

I want to take the time to explore this area, particularly the realities of space tourism, working in space and the future needs of the space industry - such as nuclear propulsion systems.