A space tourism edition of the DailyTech's International Space Updates
Space tourism is a field which is still gaining support and publicity, especially among those who can afford a trip. A handful of wealthy people paid Space Adventures up to $20 million for the opportunity to fly to the International Space Station. The U.S.-based company remains the only private company to successfully fly into orbit. Traditionally, the Russian Space Agency is responsible for ferrying passengers into space.
An executive from a leading space tourism company believes the space tourism industry can bounce back from a disaster if they warn passengers of risks before take off. If properly briefed on the potential risks and dangers of space flight, customers will likely be unable to file a lawsuit and win in case of an accident.
"God forbid it should happen on the first flight. Hopefully it's many, many years out," said Alex Tai, Virgin Galactic chief operating officer.
Virgin Galactic plans on testing flights next year, before ferrying paying customers into space -- for ~$200,000 per flight -- in late 2009 or early 2010.
A Virgin Galactic competitor, Benson Space Co., also plans on beginning paid launches sometime in 2009. Some companies are choosing to not have height or weight limits -- since the Federal Aviation Administration decided not to require them -- meaning virtually anyone who can afford the trip is fit for launch. The federal government is leaving it up to the companies to come up with their own safety standards.
Space Adventures appears to be the space tourism company in control, and plans to continue its momentum with $100,000 suborbital flights beginning in early 2009.
"We can't expect users to use common sense. That would eliminate the need for all sorts of legislation, committees, oversight and lawyers." -- Christopher Jennings
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