Wasn't anyone else just stunned by Bert Rutan's latest the other day:


The new space race is on

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

(KRT) - The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on
Tuesday, June 22:

X X X

Veteran test pilot Michael Melvill was at the helm Monday of
SpaceShipOne, a venture underwritten by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Its journey from the Mojave Desert into the beyond and back was brief
(less than 90 minutes), expensive ($20 million) and barely reached the
inner boundary of space (62 miles).

But SpaceShipOne and Melvill proved that privately funded space travel
could be done. That may open the door to suborbital commercial flight,
just as Orville and Wilbur Wright opened the door to flight itself just
more than a century ago.


-------------------------


This really is marvelous stuff.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Wasn't anyone else just stunned by Bert Rutan's latest the other day:



Yes. Fantastic.

I'm wondering what they suppose this will cost per trip. Of course
with only one trip under their belts they don't know for sure yet. But
they must have some idea.

Gary Warner wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Wasn't anyone else just stunned by Bert Rutan's latest the other day:



Yes. Fantastic.

I'm wondering what they suppose this will cost per trip. Of course
with only one trip under their belts they don't know for sure yet. But
they must have some idea.




I thought I heard one of the reporters speculating that the target was
to bring in a "space trip" at around $10,000, but maybe my ears were
playing tricks on me.

There were so many aspects of that trip that really blew me away. I've
seen very little about Rutan and what he's been doing lately. The
movable wing aspect of his spacecraft really is other-worldly. And I
just love the looks of the plane the designed to carry the rocket up to
launch height.

Rutan is a national treasure.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

I thought I heard one of the reporters speculating that the target was
to bring in a "space trip" at around $10,000, but maybe my ears were
playing tricks on me.


I hope that number is about right. My understanding is that SpaceShipOne
is a three seater, a pilot and two passengers. If they can bring up two
paying customers at a time for around $10,000 each then I'd guess
they'll have lots of customers. And all that money flowing into the
space business will blast us to a point where in a very few years
we'll have availiable REALLY amazing things. (Not that this isn't
amazing as well.)

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Gary Warner wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Wasn't anyone else just stunned by Bert Rutan's latest the other day:



Yes. Fantastic.

I'm wondering what they suppose this will cost per trip. Of course
with only one trip under their belts they don't know for sure yet. But
they must have some idea.




I thought I heard one of the reporters speculating that the target was
to bring in a "space trip" at around $10,000, but maybe my ears were
playing tricks on me.

Some people spend that much to park their fat asses on overpriced cruise
ships and eat for 10 days. Why not a trip to space for the same price? :-)

On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:50:15 GMT, something compelled "Doug
Kanter" , to say:

I thought I heard one of the reporters speculating that the target was
to bring in a "space trip" at around $10,000, but maybe my ears were
playing tricks on me.

Some people spend that much to park their fat asses on overpriced cruise
ships and eat for 10 days. Why not a trip to space for the same price? :-)

No food on the space plane?

Steve Daniels, Seek of Spam wrote:
On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:50:15 GMT, something compelled "Doug
Kanter" , to say:

I thought I heard one of the reporters speculating that the target was
to bring in a "space trip" at around $10,000, but maybe my ears were
playing tricks on me.

Some people spend that much to park their fat asses on overpriced cruise
ships and eat for 10 days. Why not a trip to space for the same price? :-)

No food on the space plane?



M&M's, if you can catch them...

"Steve Daniels, Seek of Spam" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:50:15 GMT, something compelled "Doug
Kanter" , to say:

I thought I heard one of the reporters speculating that the target was
to bring in a "space trip" at around $10,000, but maybe my ears were
playing tricks on me.

Some people spend that much to park their fat asses on overpriced cruise
ships and eat for 10 days. Why not a trip to space for the same price?
:-)

No food on the space plane?

Probably, but I think you could still gamble to your heart's content,
assuming the chips were magnetic. :-)