Thread: How long until space travel is feasible for the average person?

Originally Posted by Govtcheez

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe...ace/index.html

The gist of the article is, by 2008, Virgin plans to have a commercial space flight service. $200K will get you 3 days of flight training and a 2-3 hour flight into space, featuring a few minutes of actual weightlessness.

Sounds cool, but the price tag is obviously out of the range of 99% of the people out there. My question is, how long until we see this being an almost commonplace thing? Flying from earth to the Space Mall to pick up the latest CD by the Venusians? Maybe not even that advanced; how long do you think it'll be until people can fly commercial spacecraft for less than the price of a house? Is this a step in the right direction?

Also, let's talk about the space elevator, because that's awesome.

I think it'll happen eventually. It won't be for a LONG time though. But who knows, technology seems to rise exponentially as of late. I'd say I'm going to be my parents age before that's something I might even be able to think about. I doubt we will ever have a cd made by Venusians though, since everyone knows they don't make cds, they make movies. Space flight in my opinion is a cool thing, but I think there is only so much to come from it.

Unless by some wild chance intelligent life finds us, what all is there to do with a bunch of lifeless planets? It's worth expanding our technology, but I think humans will always be centered on Earth.

A space elevator is actually an unpractical alternative to commercial space flight, if you are talking about a giant elevator into space. We would first need to discover a new alloy that is light enough to not crush through the ground due to weight, but be able to hold itself up. Then we would have to have one hell of an engineering crew to design something that can handle the weight, size, weather, oxygen changes, pressure differences, et cetera.

Plus, would something of that magnitude be maintainable? Skyscrapers are relatively new, cost bundles, and take tons of time and man power to build. How would we make the upper areas that are really low oxygen enviroments, and I'd also assume the tempatures would be insane. Having people actually up there seems improbable.

SpaceShipOne is go for the second X-Prize flight today.

Unofficial 368,000 feet!

Some material for a cable to space?

Has to be BioSteel Spider Silk! Made from a goat near you

"It is stronger than steel by weight, more elastic than nylon (it can stretch to almost twice its original length without breaking), and is both lighter and stronger than kevlar.
..... It is estimated that a strand of spider silk the thickness of a pencil can stop a Boeing 747 airplane."

http://www.carleton.ca/catalyst/2003/s2.html

And what about the cannon to shoot equipment into space?

http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/SSHARP.htm

SpaceShipOne's thrust was provided by two innocuous substances that, when mixed together, are explosive: nitrous oxide and rubber.

A fuel tank about six feet in diameter at the center of the craft holds liquid nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. A hollow tube leading from the tank to the engine nozzle is filled with solid rubber. The combustive combination produces thousands of pounds of thrust, although exact amount remains secret.

Holy crap, that's amazing!

Howdy,
I heard an interview with a NASA official. He said the person that will walk on mars is probably in second grade right now.

M.R.

We must find him! He is the chosen one!

Looks like the legislators are starting to move in...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6201543/