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SpaceNut

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From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Branson Virgin Galactic
SpaceTourism

Branson offers space trip to McFly
Saturday, February 10 2007, 11:04 GMT

By Daniel Kilkelly

Richard Branson has told boyband McFly that he wants to send them into space.

The Virgin executive explained that he is offering space trips to individuals from 2009 and wants the singers to be among the first to go into orbit.

"McFly are lovely guys," Branson told The Mirror at the launch of Virgin Media this week. "I'm totally up for it."

The group's drummer Harry Judd added: "We'd have to go to Nasa in America for a three-day course to become proper astronauts."

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Space Tourism; Richard Branson, British entrepreneur with model of proposed Virgin space vehicle.

http://www.virgingalactic.com/

Private business has moved into outer space, an area long controlled solely by government. Companies like Virgin Galactic, the space era spin-off of Virgin Atlantic, plans to send tourists on sub-orbital flights within the next three years.

We speak to Pam Hurley Moser of Maine, who has just completed training to be one of Virgin Galactic's travel agents ,and Loretta Whitesides, who has booked a spot with Virgin in 2009. We also speak to James Oberg, a rocket scientist who used to work for Nasa.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

The first ticket for Virgin Galactic’s space tourism to be soldBrisbane travel agent sells world's first space holiday

Tickets for flights on Virgin Galactic suborbital planes are $US200,000, which includes three days of space training prior to the flight.

Yang Liwei Rocket

Member

Registered: 2004-03-03

Posts: 993

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

The tourism thing looks interesting, it will capture the public imagination but that's all it is  - tourism, and for people with money.

Rutan/Branson = Zero exploration

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GCNRevenger

Member

From: Earth

Registered: 2003-10-14

Posts: 6,056

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Burt/Richard = not even anything orbital!

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[i]"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw[/i]

[i]The glass is at 50% of capacity[/i]

Fledi

Member

From: in my own little world (no,

Registered: 2003-09-14

Posts: 325

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Hello all

The tourism thing looks interesting, it will capture the public imagination but that's all it is - tourism, and for people with money.

Yes but cars and aircraft started out much more expensive than they are today also.

Burt/Richard = not even anything orbital!

Just like old cars and aircraft were not orbital.
It's the motivation that counts

Rutan/Branson = Zero exploration

It depends on where you you set the limit to what directly supports exploration, they're developing cheaper solutions to old problems which can probably be applied elsewhere later on.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Even thou we have had the explosion and the buy out of scale things are still go for for SS2 -Status
Virgin Galactic Astronauts to Start Centrifuge Training

The first 100 people to fly on Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital space flights will be headed to Philadelphia to get their first taste of the G-forces of space launch and re-entry.

Terraformer

Member

From: Ceres

Registered: 2007-08-27

Posts: 3,817

Website

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Millions of americans will be able to afford it. 1 out of every 125 ais a millionaire.

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"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - If this forum was a Mars Colony

cIclops

Member

Registered: 2005-06-16

Posts: 3,230

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Only 1 in 125? this  report says it's now about 1 in 34 - 8.9 million American households, but how many will want to spend $200,000 for 5 mins in "space"?

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Tom Kalbfus

Banned

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 4,401

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Burt/Richard = not even anything orbital!

There is talk of converting a private jet into a suborbital spacecraft. Now think of this conceptually, if you can convert a 4-6 seat executive jet into a suborbital spaceship, later you might be able to convert a Jumbo jet into a suborbital spaceship, and the price per seat would go down. If you can get some horizontal distance under the spaceship while it goes above the atmosphere, you a mode of rapid transportation, that would be of practical use to some other than mere sight-seerers, that is the ballistic spaceline. A ballistic flight from New York to Los Angeles would be quite useful, it doesn't require orbital speed and it doesn't leave a sonic boom for most of its journey.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

The big question is how effective sub orbital flights will be to stimulize the real space industry as we are comparing apples to oranges not only in capability but in funding levels as well.

Here is another trying California aerospace company unveiling new rocket for space tourism

A California aerospace company plans to enter the space tourism industry with a two-seat rocket ship capable of suborbital flights to altitudes more than 37 miles (59.5 kilometers) above the Earth.

The Lynx, about the size of a small private plane, is expected to begin flying in 2010, according to developer Xcor Aerospace, which planned to release details of the design at a news conference Wednesday.

Xcor Aerospace is doing great things for methane fueled engine developement so hopefully there success will continue.

louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Ci -

I think I was researching the same figures today and I think the 8.9 million millionaires was a world wide estimate.

That's still a lot of millionaires.

Looking at this in terms of economics, we probably need to look at cruise holidays where millionaires will happily pay tens of thousands of dollars.

I think really you want to get the cost down to about 200,000 dollars to get a lot of people to bite. But there may well be an "early" market of people willing to pay larger sums to get into orbit and get to the moon.

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Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,267

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Branson is back after his 2014 Fatal Crash, Michael Alsbury's name was added to the Space Mirror Memorial in 2020
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-0 … onaut.html

TikToker in space: Virgin Galactic to send up well-known researcher
https://phys.org/news/2021-06-tiktoker- … known.html

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,267

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Branson is going for it. Bezos has fallen far far behind Musk, will he also get a beating by Branson? Space Company Virgin gets FAA approval to fly customers into space.
...of course for now Musk is a different level, he is the only one looking at Mars

Virgin Galactic gets OK for passenger flights to space — and Richard Branson will be on one
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/virgin … -1.6080115

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic given US government approval to take passengers into space
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-26/ … /100246164

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2021-06-29 15:35:00)

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Joy rides in the sub orbital clouds to give them a spring board for funding of the rocket to be is not what needs to be done....

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,267

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

'Meet the crew launching on Virgin Galactic's 1st fully crewed flight Unity 22'
https://twitter.com/SPACEdotcom/status/ … 9739603973

I don't think they will add much to space exploration but commercial space is important and I like their simple and stylish spacesuit design

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2021-07-10 14:21:24)

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

If both Branson and Bezos have trips the game on for Musk to put his money on his own ride.

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,133

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

For SpaceNut re #17

Elon Musk is in a different class and has no need to self-aggrandize .... he has successfully transported humans to real space.  There is no need for him to go personally, and I predict he will not drop to the level of the pretenders.

(th)

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,866

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

True but only until they can and will achieve orbit will that be, at least for Bezos which is building his real rocket with engine replacement money from Lockheed ..
Something missed is that they are riding on the rockets that they developed.
taking the ride

This is the ship at take off

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,267

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

US grounds Virgin Galactic after trajectory issue
https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_g … e_999.html

Oldfart1939

Member

Registered: 2016-11-26

Posts: 2,384

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

The real key here is that they (1) achieved the stated goal, and (2) all came back alive without wrecking anything.

GW Johnson

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From: McGregor, Texas USA

Registered: 2011-12-04

Posts: 5,459

Website

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

I think OF39 is right.  Ultimately the safety of what happened is paramount.  But,  for whatever reason,  they did stray outside the allotted airspace for their mission.  FAA has to investigate that,  it's their job to do that.  The solution is likely just using a bit larger chunk of allotted airspace,  when you get right down to it.

GW

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GW Johnson
McGregor,  Texas

"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew,  especially one dead from a bad management decision"

Oldfart1939

Member

Registered: 2016-11-26

Posts: 2,384

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

Unlike another style vehicle, the VG ship is piloted manually by humans. Kinda like the X2 or the X15. Shouldn't really be required to fly a programmed flight path.

GW Johnson

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From: McGregor, Texas USA

Registered: 2011-12-04

Posts: 5,459

Website

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

That's true enough.  However,  the airspace where they were flown at what is today Edwards Air Force Base is a very large restricted zone.  It was large enough so that any accidents causing the craft to stray and leave restricted airspace were quite rare. 

I that's the lesson here:  the temporary restricted airspace zone for the Virgin flight was not quite large enough to cover the real-world possibilities.  I think both Virgin and the FAA can be forgiven for that,  since nothing quite like this has been done since the NF-104 was flying at Edwards (almost 50 years ago).  That was an Air Force operation,  not an FAA operation.

My advice to the FAA:  next time,  just make the temporary zone a few miles larger,  and this issue will not arise again.  It leaves Virgin a bit more "wiggle room" to cope with the unexpected,  too.  Easy enough.

GW

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GW Johnson
McGregor,  Texas

"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew,  especially one dead from a bad management decision"

Oldfart1939

Member

Registered: 2016-11-26

Posts: 2,384

Re: Branson Virgin Galactic

I agree with GW and his assessment of the "real world" situation. After all, Neil Armstrong took a ride outside the restricted airspace flying the X-15.