I’ll Believe It When I See It

THE PILGRIM

THE PILGRIM

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And what if this one breaks up in flight like a previous one? I'm not the type to buy into the first year of a new car or spacecraft model. YMMV.
 
chief38 said:
Even if it does really happen soon, how many are REALLY going to be able to afford to do so?
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Russian space agency has been doing this since 2001. $20 - $40 million per flight. From 2001 - 2009 there were 7 passengers and 8 flights. So I'm sure they'll be people who can afford it

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
If God had meant me to fly, I would have been born with wings. Couldn't pay me to go.
 
Where exactly do you go?
Up and then back down-or do you get a couple of orbits? I mean after a couple it's just the same thing over and over again.
Do they stop for side trips like the cruise ships do?
Seems to me it would be like paying millions to get in an airplane, take off and fly around and then land back at the same airport :rolleyes:
Am I missing something here:confused:
 
THE PILGRIM said:
Richard Branson announced that yes indeed commercial 'Space Flight' is coming soon. Real soon.
Click to expand...

Make no mistake, this will happen. Whether it's Branson's plan or someone else's, it's the future. And we'll eventually accomplish it without the use of fossil fuels.

I predict we'll see it by 2021, 2015 at the latest. Or maybe my generation won't live to see it, I don't know.

Think of this. At an unpowered orbital speed of slightly over 17,000 miles per hour, it takes roughly 92 minutes for a spacecraft to make one orbit. That means you could take off from New Mexico (or anywhere else that has a spaceport) and reach any other spaceport destination on the planet in minutes, in less than an hour for sure.

Cost to customers will be the limiting factor for years, of course.

It's coming.

Keep watching the skies!

26c2df0bf3bf20d1d0f9f08827eeed6d.gif
 
CAJUNLAWYER said:
Where exactly do you go?
Up and then back down-or do you get a couple of orbits? I mean after a couple it's just the same thing over and over again.
Do they stop for side trips like the cruise ships do?
Seems to me it would be like paying millions to get in an airplane, take off and fly around and then land back at the same airport :rolleyes:
Am I missing something here:confused:
Click to expand...

The CAF (the organization that formerly.had a sense of humor) is doing just that with a B-29. (OK hundred$$ not millions but the same concept, so you can do it and say you did.)
 
The term New Mexico Spaceport is somewhat of a misnomer.
It's actually an Airport out in the boonies with a 12,000 foot runway.
The most memorable event there so far is Will Smith landed there in his his private jet land there and they took some movie promotional pictures.
 
THE PILGRIM said:
Richard Branson announced that yes indeed commercial 'Space Flight' is coming soon. Real soon.
But he's been saying that for several years..
And here in NM we have spent 200+ Million for a dedicated Spaceport just sitting there baking in the sun.
Will it happen? Maybe.
But it hasn't happened yet.
I'll believe it when I see it. And I do plan on seeing it.

Virgin Galactic Aiming for 1st Spaceflight This Year, Branson Says

Spaceport America - Wikipedia
Click to expand...

The space port idea is a two-way street, of course. There is a guy in Eau Claire who for years has been pushing the idea of a UFO landing site in Elmwood, WI. The Elmwood city elders are all in, calling their summer festival UFO Days.

I wonder if it is an efficient use of valuable agricultural property to build separate facilities like that. Wouldn't it make more sense to have takeoffs and landings on the same site? Or are the two functions (not to mention the crews) so different that it would be neither safe nor desirable to mix them?

Either way, the public policy implications are substantial, and merit careful consideration.
 
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If I had the cash and the opportunity presented itself, I'd take the flight. I'd take a shuttle flight too if I could - even though two of them have crashed/blown up.
 
Midland spent a great deal of time and money to get its airport designated as a space port to accommodate the supposed flights of the Lynx spacecraft by XCor. Surprisingly enough (sarcasm intended here) the craft has never been finished and has never flown. XCor is now all but out of business, so it likely never will.

When they got the designation the city asked for suggestions on the name. I suggested Midland Interplanetary Airport for laughs. Of course they named it Midland International Air & Spaceport instead.

Is it really a spaceport if nothing every reaches space from there? I guess the government says so, so it must be true . . .
 
Does Richard Branson also deal in "Carbon Credits"? Famous bridges? Ocean-front property in Utah?

It reminds me of people buying "salted" mines, or the gullible swallowing a con man's "hook".

When is it wise to buy anything sight unseen? ;)
 
ExcitableBoy said:
Does Richard Branson also deal in "Carbon Credits"? Famous bridges? Ocean-front property in Utah?

It reminds me of people buying "salted" mines, or the gullible swallowing a con man's "hook".

When is it wise to buy anything sight unseen? ;)
Click to expand...

You might want to re-read post no. 5.
 
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