Summary
Altairis, the seven-seat rocket ship AERA is marketing as the spaceship to carry the first space passengers into orbit is not yet in production. This is making people doubt if it will meet its schedule of launching the first space ride in 2006. To counter skeptics, it has announced that it has secured clearance to launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Original source:
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/tourism-05j.html
Details
True, developers of the seven-seat vehicle called Altairis have run extensive computer simulations of design and flight, according to Lewis Reynolds in West Palm Beach Fla., who is president and chief operating officer of AERA Corp.
Reynolds, a recent addition to the space community with a background in investment and financial management, said in an interview with UPI's Space Race 2 that flying from the cape not only will give AERA access to pre-existing launch facilities and established support services, but also should help buff up the firm's professional persona by associating with the U.S. Air Force and agreeing to a certain level of government insight and program oversight.
Safety - and affordability - are the keys to what dozens of upstart space tourism businesses are betting will become a massive market in the coming years.
"If we can get the safety to a point that's equivalent essentially to what commercial aviation is today - and if we can get the prices that are affordable to most people that will allow them to experience the flight - then I think there will be tremendous demand for it," Reynolds said.
Its five-foot-diameter passenger capsule separates from the launcher, peaks at an altitude of about 72 miles (110 kilometers), then descends via guided parafoil to a horizontal touchdown on inflatable airbags.
He did say the program as a whole costs more than the reported $20 million that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen paid to develop the world's first private space vehicle, SpaceShipOne, which flew to sub-orbital altitudes with a single pilot aboard three times last year.
With a license to use SpaceShipOne technology, and with Branson's deep pockets to fund development, Reynolds is sure Virgin Galactic will be among the firms flying
people to space.
"I think there's room for multiple competitors in the space market - in fact, quite a few multiple competitions, just as there are many airlines today," he said.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2005
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